Seton Hill University’s (SHU) Board of Trustees has elected Mary Finger, Ed. D. as the next president of the university, effective July 1.
“After reviewing more than 70 nominations submitted to our search firm, R.H. Perry & Associates, Dr. Finger emerged as the top candidate,” said Michele Ridge, Chair of the Board of Trustees in a press release from the university.
Finger has held a number of positions in higher education, spending the last nine years as Vice President of Advancement of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. She has also worked as Vice President for Planning and Institutional Advancement at Mount Mary University, Director of Development at Northwestern University and Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Relations at Cardinal Stritch University, in addition to a number of other notable titles.
“Throughout her career, she has proved herself a strategic thinker with a demonstrated commitment to Catholic education, philanthropy and civic engagement. We are confident she will fulfill and articulate the mission and vision of the University in a compelling way to all Seton Hill constituencies,” said Ridge.
Finger said she is drawn to Catholic higher education because of “the respect for the individual, the belief in social justice, the consistent mission of providing high-quality education to people from all backgrounds — socioeconomic, ethnic and racial,” according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Finger will be the university’s tenth president, succeeding JoAnne Boyle, who retired in June 2013, and Bibiana Boerio, the current Interim President.
“We know she will continue to advance our identity, the legacy of our distinctive Setonian tradition, and in the words of Elizabeth Ann Seton, ‘help fit our students for the world in which they are destined to live,’” said Sr. Catherine Meinert, Provincial Superior.
“The community could not have been more welcoming. There is a real sense of camaraderie,” said Finger.