Timothy Law Snyder Ph.D, whose career in higher education spans more than two decades as a professor, scholar, dean and vice president, was installed today as the 16th president of Loyola Marymount University before a crowd of more than 2,000.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed the audience of students, faculty members, university leaders, local dignitaries and others attending the afternoon Inauguration Ceremony at Gersten Pavilion on the Westchester campus.
The ceremony was the highlight of a series of events leading to Snyder’s installation, including a morning Mass of the Holy Spirit in Sacred Heart Chapel celebrated by Michael F. Weiler, S.J., provincial of the Jesuits California Province, and the dedication of the university’s new cutting-edge Life Sciences Building on Monday, Oct. 5. Georgetown University Professor John F. Haught presented an inauguration lecture on Sept. 30 that explored Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment.
In his inaugural speech, Snyder spoke about the university’s place in a changing society.
“As we contemplate our wildly changing world, as we address that world today, and as our global imagination illuminates pathways into our future, we must accept change, embrace change, imagine, then inspire change,” he said.
Snyder, who succeeds President David W. Burcham, is the former Vice President for Academic Affairs at Loyola University in Maryland. He also served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University and as Dean of Science at Georgetown University, where he began his academic career.
At the time of his appointment, LMU board Chair Kathleen H. Aikenhead described Snyder as “the best person to lead LMU forward,” and recognized his “passion for our mission of creating the well-rounded person within a rich academic community of excellence.”
“LMU is one of the great institutions of higher learning in Los Angeles and around this country,” said Garcetti, who spoke about the university’s place in a city that celebrates diversity. “Every day, with every graduate, LMU adds to that legacy.”
As an accomplished academic, Snyder has received numerous grants and recognitions for his work and has focused on guiding his students to academic success. His teaching career also developed through visiting faculty positions at Berklee College of Music and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also taught at Princeton University and the University of Toledo. His research interests include computational mathematics, data structures, design and analysis of algorithms, geometric probability, digital processing and computer music, and airline flight safety.
An Ohio native, Snyder earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in applied and computational mathematics from Princeton University as well as an M.S. in mathematics, a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Toledo.
Below are Mayor Garcetti’s speech and President Snyder’s inaugural address.
