Dear LMU Community,
As many of you are aware, Chancellor Robert Walsh, S.J., has been spending his final days at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, California. We all pray for his peaceful rest and send our warmest thoughts and love to him. In light of this sad news, Rev. Michael Engh, S.J., associate chancellor, has been appointed chancellor of Loyola Marymount University, effective Oct. 1, 2020.
Chancellor Engh will serve our LMU community as an advocate for Catholic higher education. He will continue to build upon the foundational work of Father Walsh, the late Patrick Cahalan, S.J., the chancellor emeritus, and the late Al Koppes, O.Carm., the previous associate chancellor, in promoting our distinctive mission as a Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount university.
Much of what LMU is today results from the many contributions Father Engh made during his 20 years on the Bluff from 1988-2008. As dean of LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, he promoted an ambitious initiative in inter-religious dialogue by establishing the Huffington Ecumenical Institute, the Doshi Professorship in Indic Religions, and the Jewish Studies Program. He also raised $15 million for endowed professorships and student scholarships.
During his visionary tenure as the 28th president of Santa Clara University from January 2009 until June 2019, Chancellor Engh advanced the university’s mission and reputation. Among his achievements, he expanded academic offerings; transformed the size, diversity and caliber of the student body by growing the number of applicants by 60 percent; and he improved the graduation rate by some 10 percent. Under his bold leadership, SCU’s endowment nearly doubled from $515 million in 2009 to $926 million in 2018.
Chancellor Engh earned a B.A. from Loyola University of Los Angeles, now LMU, an M.A. from Gonzaga, a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a doctorate in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A generous teacher and astute historian, Chancellor Engh’s commitment to the intellectual rigor of Jesuit education, coupled with his ministerial service, will help us fortify our reputation as a leader in Catholic higher education.
Please join me (once again) in welcoming Chancellor Engh back to LMU, and please keep Father Walsh, his family, and his many friends in your prayers.
With appreciation and thanks,
Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President
