125 Days of Gratitude: Reflections on this Inauguration Week

November 3, 2025

Dear members of the SLU community,

This week marks a milestone in my first year at Saint Louis University.

Since Kathy and I arrived in St. Louis, you have generously welcomed us and introduced us to this remarkable city and university. It will be an honor to celebrate my inauguration with you in just two days.

To be sure, I am not done listening and learning – that work will continue as we chart our next steps.

But it is clear to me that SLU is a community with incredible assets. With our Catholic and Jesuit identity, distinctive history, and impressive accomplishments, SLU has the capacity to make unique contributions in our current moment.

The conviction I expressed on day one of my presidency has not wavered: SLU’s future is bright. I believe we are ready to build on our strengths and define the strategies that will move us forward.

Gratitude

Thank you to the staff, faculty, colleagues, neighbors, and community members who have helped Kathy and me get settled at SLU and in St. Louis. In 2022, the Shaughnessy family donated the house we now call home to the university; since our arrival, the Shaughnessys have welcomed us warmly to the neighborhood. SLU’s Jesuits, faculty, staff, and leaders from every academic and administrative unit – in St. Louis and Madrid – have introduced me to the university and its compelling work. Students have shared their experiences and favorite SLU lore. The Sodexo team has fed us at countless events. St. Francis Xavier College Church welcomed Kathy and me to the parish. New friends from the city and region have invited us for gatherings and tours. National and international Jesuit colleagues have offered wisdom and support. To everyone who has played a part in welcoming us here: Thank you.

Experience

In the past 125 days, I have met and heard the stories of Billikens and SLU supporters in St. Louis and around the world.

As July 1 approached, our dynamic SLU 101 leaders helped me get oriented to campus and learn about the SLU student experience.

The first days of my presidency coincided with the International Association of Jesuit Universities assembly in Bogotá, Colombia, where I witnessed the global connections that are unique to the Jesuit network. I also attended my first Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities board meeting in Chicago.

On my first official morning on campus, SLU Jesuits welcomed senior university leaders to the Jesuit Center for a celebratory Mass and reception. At the Mass of the Holy Spirit in August, Fr. Provincial Thomas P. Greene, S.J., formally missioned me as director of this Jesuit work — an honor that is both humbling and moving. Last week, I joined students and local parish members at the Catholic Studies Center for a Campion Night Mass and dinner. It has been a distinct pleasure to get to know the Jesuits at SLU and the local faith community. I thank Fr. Provincial Greene and Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski for their prayers and support.

I have had the joy of meeting SLU students during fall move-in and Convocation, over lunch in Grand Hall, at Oriflamme and Housing and Residence Life orientations, at the Student Government Association inauguration, at the library and around campus, and beyond. I have encountered impressive, passionate engaged Billikens who bring their perspectives, priorities and energy to make SLU the special place that it is.

At Faculty Senate and Staff Advisory Committee gatherings, the recent Cannonball Conference, and visits to SLU's schools, colleges and administrative units — which will continue throughout the year — faculty and staff have posed thoughtful questions and shared ideas to advance SLU's mission to provide exceptional teaching, student support, research, and scholarship.

During our first visit to SLU-Madrid, Kathy and I observed firsthand how SLU’s longstanding commitment to international education has taken root in a vibrant campus that fosters global understanding and advances innovation.

I’ve had in-depth conversations with trustees, where I encountered much eagerness to contribute to SLU’s success. And I joined gatherings with loyal and dedicated alumni and donors at Homecoming and additional events in St. Louis, Chicago, and Madrid – hearing multiple accounts of the power of a SLU education. New York and Washington, D.C.: I’ll see you soon!

Community leaders, elected officials, and higher education leaders from the city, region, and state have taken time to meet and discuss our shared opportunities and challenges. Grand Center, Inc. and the Missouri History Museum generously hosted receptions to introduce Kathy and me to neighbors, colleagues, and friends. I met with the Cortex Innovation District, BioSTL, and Greater St. Louis, Inc. to discuss SLU’s role in the economic development in the region. And I have celebrated with community members at local events like Music at the Intersection and the St. Louis Chess Club’s Strategy Across the Board gala.

I have enjoyed a Friday morning cup of coffee at Java with the Jesuits. I have seen Billiken student-athletes in action as fall sports began, and I threw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game. And if that isn’t St. Louis enough, I learned that my perspective on provel cheese is not universally appreciated.

Reflection

Through all these experiences and more, I have witnessed the spirit of hope that defines Saint Louis University. Despite the multiple headwinds that our university and broader community face, SLU students, staff, faculty, trustees, neighbors, and partners are inspired by our Jesuit mission and ready to build a bright future together.

• Faculty, staff, and leaders have shown a willingness to make difficult choices and transformative changes in service to SLU’s larger mission and the students we serve. We are navigating challenges with a collaborative, collegial, and mission-focused spirit.
• The Mission Priority Examen demonstrates that SLU’s Jesuit mission is deeply embedded across the university and we are reflecting actively on opportunities to more fully live that mission.
• SLU possesses a strong commitment to delivering a transformative educational experience and to advancing groundbreaking research. We have begun to identify new opportunities to innovate at the intersections between academic domains. We recognize a need to refine our research infrastructure and redouble our efforts to ensure every student succeeds.
• SLU has many compelling stories to tell. The recent feature film based on SLU Alumnus John O’Leary’s life is just one example. We share a collective commitment to bringing SLU’s story to more audiences and positioning SLU at the national table for critical conversations about the future of higher education.
• Our partners – in the arts, in adjacent neighborhoods, in business, healthcare, and government – are proud of collaborations that have contributed to community well-being and catalyzed more than $2 billion in investment in the area surrounding our campus. We are ready to strengthen our community partnerships with a more cohesive and coordinated approach.

SLU’s accomplishments open new possibilities. Next, we must turn those possibilities into action. The structures we’re putting in place — committees, teams, planning processes, and new collaborations — are designed to do just that.

Action

At the Cannonball Conference on Oct. 23, I shared with nearly 1,000 SLU staff that the leadership mindset I value most emerges from an enterprise-level perspective. SLU’s leaders, faculty, and staff are all on one team. That team is Saint Louis University, and our primary focus must be the success of our students.

With that in mind, I have worked with SLU trustees and executives to ensure that we are organized to lead focused, effective strategic action.

• With senior leaders, we formulated a balanced FY26 budget that supports enterprise-level priorities. Rather than implementing across the board expense reductions, we sought to protect spending on student success, academic distinction, and reputational growth across the university.
• With SLU Board of Trustees Chair Eric Engler, we restructured board committees and meetings to help our board focus on the University’s most pressing challenges and compelling opportunities. We created a new event called “Spotlight” for trustees to learn about the work of SLU's faculty. The first spotlight was hosted by the School of Science and Engineering. Medicine, Arts and Sciences, and Business will be featured in this year’s remaining board meetings, and other schools and colleges will rotate through next year. Trustees will also have breakfast with student groups during each meeting.
• To increase cohesiveness and collaboration across the university, I revised the composition of the president’s cabinet to include those senior leaders who report directly to me. With a more tightly-formed team, we will build our capacity for enterprise-level thinking at the highest level.
• I announced the establishment of a new Office of Belonging, which will report to me and provide university-wide strategy, direction, capacity building, and assessment to ensure we are supporting student belonging across the institution. The Division of Innovative Community Engagement (DICE) will be sunset and selected programming currently offered by DICE will shift to other divisions.
• With the provost, academic deans, and key vice presidents, we held an academic visioning retreat to discuss what it means to craft compelling institutional strategies and to explore the questions that will guide the creation of SLU’s next strategic plan.

We will continue to refine how we work together, as a leadership team and as a university, in the months and years ahead. And through a focused and collaborative strategic planning process, we will chart SLU’s path forward.

Hope

While the challenges facing us are many, so are the opportunities. I look forward to working with you — with unwavering focus and bold action — to further elevate our mission and build on Saint Louis University’s remarkable legacy. One important guide will be our next strategic plan.

I announced the development of the plan recently, and you can read more about the process and steering committee.

These first 125 days have flown by quickly. Thank you again for the opportunity to join you on this journey. May God continue to bless Saint Louis University.

Edward Feser, Ph.D.
President