| | Published April 10th, 2013
| Saint Mary's College Introduces New President
| | By Sophie Braccini |  | | From left: Past president Brother Mel Anderson, president-elect James Donahue and current president Brother Ronald Gallagher. Photo provided
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For the first time in its 150-year history, Saint Mary's College is hiring a lay president. Dr. James A. Donahue will begin his term July 1 as the school's 29th president. Donahue is currently the president of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and was introduced to the Saint Mary's community as a distinguished scholar and a committed, engaged Roman Catholic.
Brother Donald Johanson, Provincial of San Francisco Province of the Order of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, introduced Donahue on March 27. "It is with complete trust and confidence that I entrust the college to James Donahue's capable hands," he said.
Michael Beseda, vice president for college communications, added later that the Brothers of Saint Mary's are 100 percent behind the hiring of the lay president. "All the Brothers I talked to were ecstatic about the decision," he said. "They were surprised to find in Dr. Donahue someone so perfectly aligned with their values."
The president-elect promised to dedicate himself with all that he has to make Saint Mary's College the finest academic institution it possibly can be. Donahue immediately demonstrated his understanding of the college's values. "What Saint Mary's offers today is what the world desperately needs and desperately wants," he said. "Our mission is clear: to probe the fundamental questions of human existence in the context of the Catholic and Lasallian tradition, to develop and understanding of the human person, in all of our complexity... and a commitment to service to others and to creating a community that is inclusive, diverse and respectful... this is the mission that draws me to Saint Mary's College."
Donahue was selected after an extensive six-month international search, which was guided by a 17-member search committee made up of trustees, faculty, staff and alumni. "His exceptional qualities as an outstanding leader in higher education, academic scholarship, proven track record in financial management and fundraising, and commitment to Catholic higher education made James Donahue our unambiguous choice to be the college's first lay president," said Russell Harrison, chair of the board of trustees.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA