St. Joe’s interim president is elevated to permanent post to become school’s first female president

St. Joseph’s new president is a known quantity.

Cheryl A. McConnell, who has been serving as interim president for more than nine months and had been provost for the previous three years, was elected by the board of trustees Friday to become the first female president in the Jesuit university’s 172-year history.

McConnell, 61, was named interim president upon the departure of Mark C. Reed, who left last summer to become president of Loyola University Chicago, another Jesuit university. St. Joe’s had previously said that McConnell was not a candidate.

But McConnell said during an interview Friday afternoon that changed at some point when she couldn’t imagine the school being led by anyone else.

“We are at a pivotal point in higher education at St. Joe’s,” said McConnell, a native of Tuscon, Ariz. “There’s no one better equipped to lead the university than me right now. I have the confidence and the spirit to know that I am the right person at this point in time. I’m really excited about leading St. Joe’s now and in the future.”

James M. Norris, chair of the board of trustees, echoed that sentiment in a statement.

“Cheryl has strong business acumen, deep higher-education experience, a career marked by dedicated commitment to our Jesuit mission, and exceptional leadership skills,” he said.

During an event announcing her appointment on campus, Norris said the selection committee was most impressed with her leadership while serving as interim and her “financial acumen” — she’s a certified public accountant and fraud examiner.

McConnell talked about the importance of the school’s Jesuit mission, its emphasis on liberal arts and humanities education, and turning out students who go on to serve the world.

“Always forward,” she said to those gathered. “Forward thinking, forward looking, forward looking in how we approach problems and how we visualize what it is [and] who we are.”

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s president announces his departure less than a month before merger is final

The university hasn’t been standing still under McConnell. In January, St. Joe’s announced it had a “definitive agreement” to merge with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences in Lancaster, the school founded by Lancaster General Hospital, which is the largest hospital in Lancaster County and now owned by the University of Pennsylvania. That will give St. Joseph’s a school of nursing, a longtime goal.

That came less than a year after the university’s high-profile merger with the University of the Sciences that took effect June 1. McConnell led the university’s efforts in that merger.

St. Joe’s has faced some criticism during the implementation, most recently for the decision to discontinue four doctoral programs in chemistry and biology less than a year after acquiring them from the former USciences.

McConnell said universities sometimes have to make hard decisions for the future, and a school can’t add programs without looking closely at its current mix.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s announces merger with another college, this one with nursing programs

Arriving at St. Joe’s in 2019, she helped steer the university through the COVID-19 pandemic.

McConnell, like leaders at many colleges, will also face the challenge of declining enrollment. When planning the merger with USciences, St. Joe’s said it envisioned a combined enrollment of more than 9,100. But this fall, the university enrolled 7,863 undergraduate and graduate students, a drop of 14.1% from 2021.

McConnell said the outlook for next year’s enrollment is brighter, with applications and deposits up.

The university, like others in the city, also has faced concerns from students and parents in recent months about safety on campus after a shooting, home invasions, and assaults. The number of aggravated assaults, robberies with a firearm, and thefts have increased near its main campus, and at a higher rate than the city as a whole, according to an analysis of police data.

St. Joe’s said in January that it had beefed up security around campus and for the second consecutive semester would offer classes in self-defense, safety audits of off-campus properties, and tips to properly secure houses. The university, too, said it would continue to offer transportation and escorts 24 hours a day to any student who wanted them.

The school also recently began advertising for an assistant vice president of public safety, an upgraded position for the school given its two campuses.

» READ MORE: The devil is dead. The hawk lives on. USciences is officially part of St. Joseph’s University.

McConnell said she sees the role of president as threefold: Fundraising and external community relations; reintroducing St. Joe’s to the region and nation; and always staying true to the school’s mission.

She got her bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s in professional accountancy from Wichita State University. She earned her doctorate at Saint Louis University, also a Jesuit school.

She has worked at Jesuit universities for 35 years, including working as dean of both the College of Business, Influence, and Information Analysis and the Helzberg School of Management, as well as associate provost for academic affairs at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.

McConnell, who has a 29-year-old daughter, lives in Newtown Square but said she plans to move closer to campus with her dog, Bear.

She enjoys reading biographies and thrillers, and doing math and logic puzzles.

“I see running a university as a giant, 3D moving math and logic puzzle,” she said.