Marquette University names new president

Marquette University on Tuesday named Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, president of the University of Scranton, as its next president.

Pilarz, who has been a member of Marquette's Board of Trustees since 2009, will take the post next summer. He succeeds Father Robert A. Wild, who has led the school for the past 15 years.

The appointment of Pilarz, 51, came as somewhat of a surprise. Wild announced only last March that he planned to step down as university president next year. Marquette had appointed a search committee led by Mary Ellen Stanek, a Marquette graduate who is managing director and director of asset management for Robert W. Baird & Co.

Evidently, she and her committee didn't have to search very far or very long.

Pilarz became president of the University of Scranton, a Jesuit university, on July 1, 2003. As was the case with Wild, Pilarz was responsible for a major fund-raising initiative at Scranton. That $100 million campaign entered a public phase in April 2008.

But Pilarz, invoking the words of St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, said that "…our home is the road."

"Marquette, like Scranton, is an institution with roots in its local diocese, a storied past, rich community and boundless potential. It is an institution poised to serve its more than 12,000 students, the Church and the world in new and exciting ways. I look forward to the challenge of leading this Catholic and Jesuit institution in all its complexity, bringing what I have learned from all of you at Scranton with me to Milwaukee."

In a question-and-answer published on Marquette's website, Pilarz said he felt Marquette "plays on a national stage, both academically, in terms of its research and student achievement, and in athletics. That's important - to the university and to Milwaukee."

Asked what his impressions were of Milwaukee, Pilarz said he took note of a city with Polish restaurants and a Polish Fest.

"I even made it down to St. Josphat's (Basilica) on my last visit and was just amazed by its beauty."

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