Quincy University’s Board of Trustees has announced the resignation of Dr. Robert Gervasi, the school’s first lay president. Dr. Gervasi informed the board of his decision to accept the Presidency of Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, OH during the executive session of the QU Board meeting held on February 25. Dr. Gervasi will continue in his role as president of Quincy University through the end of the current academic year.
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve QU students and the larger Quincy region. The campus has undergone a dramatic transformation during the past nine years that has enhanced the environment for students’ education and has set the stage for further developments in the future,” Gervasi said. “Our students’ academic success–for example, enrollment in QU’s Honors Program has increased more than six-fold, and more than 90% of our graduates are in professional positions or in graduate school within six months of graduation–is a further testament to QU’s commitment to excellence.”
The QU Board of Trustees will meet in April to continue discussions surrounding leadership succession planning for the university. The board will solicit input from faculty, staff and students on the leadership structure for the university moving forward.
“I congratulate Dr. Gervasi on this new adventure and thank him for his service these past nine years. The average tenure of a university president is around six years, so we have been blessed,” said Father Tom Nairn, OFM, Quincy University board chair. “Quincy University is a
much more beautiful place now than when he arrived. We are happy that he will continue to contribute to Catholic higher education as he begins his service with Ohio Dominican.”
Ohio Dominican University is a comprehensive, four-year, private, liberal arts and master’s institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican tradition by the Dominican Sisters of Peace. The University has approximately 2,550 students and offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors and nine graduate degree programs.
Gervasi has helped to raise significant funds for the university by connecting both alumni and community members to the campus.
“Beyond the QU campus, both Jen and I feel proud of the closer bonds the University now enjoys with the greater Quincy community. We have done our best to bring QU into the community, and to invite the community to QU,” said Gervasi. “As I now respond to a new call to service, and Jen and I move to Ohio Dominican University, we will always recall our friends and colleagues at Quincy University with great fondness and good wishes for QU’s ongoing success.”
Dr. Gervasi started on June 1, 2008 and is the schools 22nd President. He has more than thirty years of experience in higher education and business including service as the president and C.E.O. of the Institute for Study Abroad in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to that, he served as dean of Kentucky Campuses and dean of external programs for McKendree University at its Louisville campus. He has lectured at numerous colleges and universities in the US and abroad, including two terms as Senior Fulbright Scholar in Classics at the University of Zimbabwe.