Mark Nemec, Dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, has been hired as the ninth president of Fairfield University, effective July 1. 

Nemec, who has been at the University as the Graham School dean since 2014, will be the first non-Jesuit to hold the position and will also enter as a politics professor at the school in Fairfield, Connecticut.  

“I am honored and delighted by the opportunity to lead and to serve Fairfield University at this critical moment in the evolution of higher education,” Nemec said in a press release. “I’m particularly excited to be joining a Jesuit university, having been steeped in and formed by the principles of Jesuit education as a young man.” 

Nemec majored in English as an undergraduate at Yale University, and went on to the University of Michigan to earn a doctorate in political science. Now, however, he is continuing onto another educational institution in this administrative position. 

“Fairfield is a university with a reputation for excellence and one that is clearly rising in stature,” Nemec said in the release. “I look forward to working with everyone in the Fairfield community to ensure that we continue to evolve to meet the needs of students and society today in order to create a model for 21st century higher education while remaining true to our core values so we may exceptionally educate men and women for others.”