During his first three months on the job, University of Saint Francis President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer made a clear first impression: HE WILL LEAD ON THE MOVE.
It’s part of his nature, whether he’s hopping on his bicycle for a ride along Fort Wayne’s Rivergreenway, embarking on a weekend camping retreat or walking around campus talking to students. Fr. Zimmer’s resume reflects the fact he’s always in motion, always forging ahead. As those around him follow suit, USF can expect to gain momentum.
“People have been very supportive and welcoming,” Fr. Zimmer said. “But since I’m the first new president in 27 years, no one has any real idea of what that looks like or what it should look like.”
Fr. Zimmer took over as president on July 1 after the retirement of Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. The transition marked a major shift for the University, which has always been led by one of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, the University’s sponsor.
“Sister Elise is an institution here, being here 37 years, and 27 as president,” Fr. Zimmer said. “She transformed the college into a university, grew it dramatically and expanded programs and campuses and, on many levels, she has just been a real godsend to this University community. It will certainly be a challenge to follow that, but with the grace of God I hope to be able to do so.”
As he settles in at USF, Fr. Zimmer brings fresh eyes to approaches and activities that have been central to the University over time. He seeks to analyze the reasoning behind the University’s processes to make sure USF is operating at peak efficiency and impact.
“I certainly find myself at different events, asking, ‘How is it that this happens?’ We do this and I’m wondering where the history of the process comes from,” he said. “Sometimes I hear it and it makes sense. Sometimes I hear it and say, ‘Hmm.’”
An illustrative story comes to Fr. Zimmer’s mind.
“The Jesuit priest Anthony de Mello wrote a number of books about spirituality and such, and in one of them (“The Song of the Bird”), he wrote about tying up the cat,” he said. “He’s writing in India, with the Hindu temples there, and one of the priests in this particular temple had a cat. When he would conduct his religious service, or Puja, the cat would get in the way. He would instruct his assistant to tie up the cat while he was doing Puja. Eventually, he died before the cat died. A new priest came along, he had the cat and they continued to tie it up during Puja. After some time, the cat died, so they got another one to tie up during Puja because, as everyone knows, that’s what you do. I’m reminded of that fable as I’m thinking, ‘OK, we do this. We have to ask why we do this.’”
As part of his charge as president, Fr. Zimmer was asked by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration to strengthen USF’s Catholic and Franciscan identity. Many aspects are certainly strong, Fr. Zimmer said, including the vetting process for potential new faculty.
“We want to see before someone is hired that they are open to the identity of the University and that they’re not only fine with the five characteristics of our educational goals, but they have at least one they are passionate about,” Fr. Zimmer said.
USF recently hired Fr. John Sheehan, SJ as the new campus chaplain. “Having a chaplain who works with us, who’s a real presence on campus, will be a great addition,” Fr. Zimmer said. “I love the fact the Sisters are on campus and are very visible to the students.”
Fr. Zimmer’s background with Catholic education set the stage for him to see the bigger picture of the necessities for continued progress at USF. He has worked in higher education at Georgetown University, Creighton University and, most recently, the University of Notre Dame. In addition, Fr. Zimmer served in the Vatican as Official of the Secretariat for the Congregation for Catholic Education, University Section of the Holy See. During his time with the Vatican, he directed oversight of 1,013 Anglophone Catholic universities, with hands-on oversight of 38 post-secondary Catholic institutions. He spent the last few years as pastor at Saint Patrick’s Church in Walkerton, Indiana, while also teaching business at Notre Dame.
Fr. Zimmer sees growth at USF as an educational imperative and expects to see that growth manifest itself in many ways.
“We have a beautiful campus here and we hope to be able to use the facilities we have even more effectively than we do now—expanding programs downtown and expanding programs at Crown Point,” he said. “Longer term, we hope to increase endowment, so we have more support for scholarships and especially for first-generation and underserved communities. As a first-generation college graduate, it appealed to me to come to Saint Francis and serve in such an environment. I want to make it easier for students from similar background to be able to enjoy a fine education and grow personally, academically and professionally here at Saint Francis.”
Fr. Zimmer understands the value for students in seizing opportunities as they are presented. He has taken on many challenges during his career, working in leadership and service in places from Washington, D.C., to Kathmandu. Often, those opportunities arrived because of his willingness to take on unexpected challenges, such as working for the Vatican and taking the position as USF president.
“My background is such that it trained me for this particular position—from working at the university level and in a number of university administration positions, as well as internationally with the Vatican,” he said. “All of this brought me to the point where I was qualified to take on this position, although I didn’t initially think about the University of Saint Francis because I was not aware of it. But when the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration explained what they were attempting to do here and what the possibilities were, I became very excited about it.”
Fr. Zimmer looks forward to meeting with alumni and tapping into their connection to—and affection for—the University. He also has a passion for first-generation college students and for building upon USF’s commitment to diversity on campus.
“We have program initiatives to bring in a more diverse student body, and in our hiring practices at the University, and we continue to do so,” he said. “My background has been in a variety of areas where it has been exceedingly diverse. Diversity offers us strengths that homogeneity does not, so with that diversity we go from strength to strength.”
When he is not at his Brookside Mansion office, Fr. Zimmer can often be found riding his bicycle around Fort Wayne as he becomes more acquainted with the city. A native of Detroit, he is an avid cyclist and professionally trained bicycle mechanic who biked across the United States in 2003 for Project Rachel.
He also enjoys camping with friends during the warmer months and sets a goal of camping once a month whenever possible.
“I enjoy the companionship and camaraderie, and enjoy getting out in nature,” he said. “I enjoy hiking, bicycle riding and sitting around the campfire chewing the fat, having potluck meals.”
Once the campfire fades, Fr. Zimmer is sure to be back on the move again.
Vision for the Future
USF President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer delivered a heartfelt message during his Presidential Inauguration address. Here is an excerpt of his talk about USF’s future:
The mission of an institution does not just happen. It is worked on each and every day. If we do not work on the mission each and every day, if one day we decide ‘I’m tired, and I can no longer row this boat,’ we know what happens. The wind and waves buffet that boat. Perhaps it veers toward a rocky shore and founders, or perhaps it capsizes and sinks to the bottom. But even if those things do not happen, it is going to drift where the waves and wind push it, when the rowing stops. That is what happens to institutions. We see that all around us.
The University of Saint Francis is in its 130th year, and our focus has changed somewhat. From a normal school, a school for teachers, to something much grander than that, much larger, to a different campus and different campuses. And now we have many programs and offer degrees in the liberal arts, in healthcare, in business, and in creative arts.
In all these things we are a much different place than we were in 1944 or 1956 or 1993, and we have continued to change so wonderfully in many ways. But at the same time, we have to ask ourselves, where do we want to be in another 130 years?
I want us to be distinctive. I want us to be a place where faith and reason are complementary. I want us to be a place, as I heard in the faculty forum, where a faculty member could talk openly of his faith and how it informs his teaching and his concern for his students.
I want to be a place where students feel comfortable about what drives them in their faith lives, whether in the dining halls or in the residence halls or in the classroom. I want the University of Saint Francis to be a place where it is possible and exalted to be a person of faith, and that this is a sign of character and integrity, not a scarlet letter.
This is the university of the future. All the other models will go where they go, buffeted by the waves, blown by the wind. But each day, we will focus on our mission and what that looks like and how we, as a community of scholars and people of faith, are able to bridge faith and reason.
Then the students who come to our university won’t be buying a widget, a diploma interchangeable with some other institution’s, but will come here because they are Christ-centered. They are sustained in their faith, and perhaps they struggle with that, but once at the university, they are affirmed in that faith. And so the day that they leave they are much better exemplars of Christian virtue. Graduates of USF will be committed to their faith in Christ, focused on proclaiming the Gospels in their lives, concerned about those who are not as advantaged as they are, determined to welcome the stranger and to assist those who have no one else to help them. Not because it is convenient or the flavor of the month, but because of who they are as God’s children, because Christ is their light. This is the University that I want to lead.
There are many universities that have gone belly-up in recent years. Before the recent crisis, an average of seven higher education institutions closed per year—a certain number of those have been Catholic institutions. That will not be the University of Saint Francis. We will go from success to success by being, at our core, truly a Catholic institution. A place where parents can send their sons and daughters and be confident that their faith will be affirmed, and they will be supported in their development as children of God.
So, when we think about that 130-year mark, we will be what we are, only much more. We will reach out to those who need help completing college. We will reach out to those who are less represented in college. We will reach out to those who need affirmation in the faith. We will be Christ to one another. That will be our success. And then we will be a great university.