Pressimone selected as next Notre Dame College president

SOUTH EUCLID — After a search that lasted nearly a year, the Notre Dame College Board of Trustees has named J. Michael Pressimone as the school's next president. Pressimone, according to an NDC release, comes to the college as a noted relationship builder with a "reputation for teamwork, collaboration and an ability and passion for bringing students, faculty, staff and community together to achieve mutually beneficial goals." Pressimone succeeds former NDC president Thomas Kruczek, who retired in May, 2019. The new president will officially assume his duties at NDC on July 1. John Galovic, a longtime NDC faculty and administrative leader, has served as interim president since Kruczek's departure. A Baltimore native, Pressimone will be the 15th president in NDC's 98-year history. He comes to South Euclid from his current position as president of Fontbonne University in St. Louis, a position he has held since 2014. He holds an associate of arts degree from Catonsville Community College (now known as the Community College of Baltimore County); a bachelor of fine arts from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.; a master of arts in leadership in higher education from Regis University in Denver; and a doctorate in higher education and organizational change from Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. In 2018, he received the Benedictine University Alumni Achievement Visionary Award. Pressimone was a first-generation college student, as are about 40 percent of the students who attend Notre Dame College. "We are delighted that after a thorough and thoughtful national search, Dr. Pressimone emerged as the best fit to be Notre Dame's next president," said Ann Hawkins, Chair of the Notre Dame College Board of Trustees, in the release. "The number of outstanding candidates who came forward reflects the college's reputation for quality education, service to students, and respect for the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame. "I have complete confidence in Dr. Pressimone as our next president, and I look forward to working with him, as I am sure the entire college community does." "I would also like to thank Dr. John Galovic for his outstanding service to our college during this transition period," Hawkins added. "He has provided exemplary leadership, unselfish service and tireless energy in making sure our programs and operations continued without missing a beat." During his career, Pressimone has has written in support of greater diversity and inclusion in both the news media and for his campus constituency. He is active in the interfaith community working to promote harmony among all people of faith. In the wake of community unrest following the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the Stockley verdict in 2017, he hosted gatherings of community leaders who were committed to exploring non-violent responses. "I am honored to join the Notre Dame College community as we begin our important work together," Pressimone stated in the NDC release. "My wife, Cathy, and I felt a strong connection to the mission and the beautiful work begun by the Sisters of Notre Dame nearly 100 years ago. As we met more and more Notre Dame College colleagues, it was clear that the college was a place that would marry our passion for this work with a community of hope and optimism and dedicated to serving a wonderfully diverse student population. I am anxious to hit the ground running." At Fontbonne, Pressimone expanded educational access for the underserved through the creation of the Fontbonne Promise program, which provides free education to academically able students who lack the ability to pay. Working with faculty and external funders, Fontbonne addressed the crisis of sex and human trafficking through the establishment of the Center Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation. Pressimone also spearheaded the effort to purchase the former John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Manchester, Mo., more than doubling the university's real estate holdings. Pressimone and his wife of 38 years, Cathy, are the parents of 12 children and grandparents of six, with three more grandchildren on the way. ——— ©2020 The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Visit The Plain Dealer, Cleveland at www.cleveland.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.