Fairfield University Names Its 9th President
MARK R. NEMEC, PhD
Learn more about our new president
Fairfield is clearly on the move, accelerating, growing and innovating, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of shaping this future with you. As a graduate of a Jesuit High School, I understand how a Jesuit education forms men and women to be compassionate leaders, and I know that is a value that we all share.
-Mark R. Nemec, PhD
Dear University Community:
On behalf of the Board of Trustees at Fairfield University, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mark R. Nemec, PhD, as the 9th president of Fairfield University. Dr. Nemec will also join the politics department as professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Nemec is currently dean of the William B. and Catherine V. Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago and will join Fairfield this summer.
Dr. Nemec is a nationally recognized thought leader in the area of higher education who has worked both in academia and in business. A graduate of Loyola High School, Jesuit College Preparatory, in Los Angeles, Dr. Nemec earned a PhD in Political Science and an MA in Education from the University of Michigan, as well as a BA in English at Yale, where he was an All-Ivy League rugby player.
Dr. Nemec was chosen following an intensive national search led by a search committee consisting of University trustees, faculty, administrators, students, and members of the Fairfield Jesuit community. I would like to thank fellow trustee Andrew McMahon '89, P'19, '13, for his dedication and commitment to chairing this presidential search, as well as the members of the search committee for their tireless contributions to ensuring a successful outcome in selecting Fairfield’s 9th president.
As we entered into the search for a University president, we did so with the mutual conviction that whomever we selected for the role must fully understand and embrace the values and traditions of Jesuit education, have the appropriate academic standing and credentials, as well as have an understanding of the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of higher education. Dr. Nemec has these credentials, values the Jesuit Catholic identity that is at the core of our mission as an institution, and has the necessary skills to propel Fairfield forward for years to come.
Please join me as members of the Fairfield University community in giving Dr. Nemec, his wife Suzanne and their four children a very warm welcome to Fairfield.
Thank you.
Frank Carroll III '89
Chairman, Board of Trustees
As we entered into the search for University president, we did so with the mutual conviction that whoever we selected for the role must fully understand and embrace the values and traditions of Jesuit education, have the appropriate academic standing and credentials, as well as an understanding of the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of higher education. Dr. Nemec has these credentials, values the Jesuit Catholic identity that is at the core of our mission as an institution, and has the necessary skills to propel Fairfield forward for years to come.
-Frank J. Carroll III '89
On July 1st, 2017 Mark R. Nemec, PhD became the 9th President of Fairfield University. Additionally, Dr. Nemec joined the politics department as a professor within the College of Arts and Sciences.
A graduate of Loyola High School, Jesuit College Preparatory in Los Angeles, Dr. Nemec earned a PhD in Political Science and an MA in Education from the University of Michigan and a BA in English from Yale, where he was an All-Ivy League rugby player. Early in his career, he taught American politics as a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College, and as an instructor at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Ivory Towers and Nationalist Minds: Universities, Leadership, and the Development of the American State (University of Michigan Press, 2006) and a contributor to The Educational Legacy of Woodrow Wilson (University of Virginia Press, 2012).
Beyond his research on the role of higher education in American political development, Dr. Nemec has been a frequent speaker on the current and future state of higher education and has presented to a diverse array of audiences including the White House’s Forum on College Affordability, the British Council’s Going Global, the New England Board of Higher Education’s Summit on Cost in Higher Education, and the annual meetings of numerous higher education associations.
Most recently, Dr. Nemec served as the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. As dean, Dr. Nemec led the school’s significant growth and evolution by focusing on extending the university’s reach to ever broader student populations in ever more innovative ways.
Building upon the University of Chicago’s commitment to rigorous inquiry in all its offerings, Graham reaffirmed its commitment to lifelong learning in the liberal arts by reinvesting in its core programs for adult learners. By committing resources to both long established and newly created programs ranging from the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults, which celebrated its 70th anniversary during his tenure, to working with leading global employers to develop liberal arts offerings for professionals, Nemec helped the school advance its academic goals.
During his tenure, Graham invested in professional programs in newly emerging, multi-disciplinary fields recognizing their significance to higher education’s continued relevance including master’s degrees and certificate programs to insure career development with rigor. In just three years, Graham greatly expanded its Master of Science in Analytics program and developed a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics both of which have generated significant impact with students and employers in a short amount of time.
Recognizing that not every student’s path in higher education is linear, Graham School, with Dr. Nemec’s guidance, established outreach and scholarship programs to increase access for students from a variety of backgrounds. Most notably, the school created the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Bridge Scholars Program which offered exceptional students an opportunity to explore paths to graduate or professional school after their college graduation, and to support them in their eventual applications to graduate or professional degree programs.
Under Dr. Nemec’s leadership, Graham explored, developed, and implemented new modalities and approaches to teaching and learning and served as an instrument of innovation in areas of university-wide strategic importance, with a particular emphasis on online pedagogy and digital engagement. Graham has been the steward on the university’s partnerships with innovative online course providers such as Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, and GetSmarter. Additionally, Graham partnered with the University of Chicago’s Alumni Relations and Development group to launch UChicago AlumniU, an online digital engagement platform which engaged over 1500 unique alumni (many for the first time since graduation) in its first year through courses and discussion forums.
Prior to his tenure at the University of Chicago, Nemec turned from academia to the use of data and analysis to help global organizations including institutions of higher education operate more strategically and effectively. He joined the University of Chicago after serving as president and chief executive officer of Eduventures, a Boston-based information services firm providing research and advice to the higher education community. He previously had been a member of the executive team of Forrester Research, a provider of similar services to the technology industry.
Dr. Nemec joined the Fairfield community as president and as professor in the department of politics with his wife, Suzanne, and their four children Alex, Teddy, Philip and Kit.
"Fairfield was fortunate to have had an extremely strong slate of interested candidates during our national search. Along with the search committee, I am confident that Dr. Nemec is the ideal leader for Fairfield,” said Andrew McMahon ’89, P’13, '19, University Trustee, and Chair of the University’s Presidential Search Committee. “His passion for higher education, commitment to Jesuit values and experiences in academia and business, bring a distinctive set of skills and experiences to this critical role as we begin this new chapter in our history."
