Archdiocese Names Jesuit as President of Schools

Father Albert J. DiUlio, a Jesuit who formerly headed Marquette and Xavier universities, was named Tuesday as the new president of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

DiUlio, who turns 58 today, will oversee a 278-school system with more than 97,000 students in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It is the third-largest school system in the state, after Los Angeles and San Diego.

A Wisconsin native, DiUlio is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles early next month after wrapping up duties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he has been studying the feasibility of starting a Catholic university. He will officially start his new duties July 1.

“He brings a great love of education and the church to the job,” said Father James P. Flaherty, a fellow member of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus.

DiUlio, who was not available for comment, said in a statement that he was looking forward to the task of helping Los Angeles Catholic schools “meet the continuing challenges of access, diversity and development present in such a large and exciting urban area.”

DiUlio has an impressive background in education, business and finance, all of which he will call upon in his new role, admirers say.

They say he is adept at integrating his faith with his life’s work.

“Father DiUlio’s broad experience and many skills place him in a unique position to further the mission and ministry of Catholic education in the Archdiocese,” said Sister Bernadette Murphy, the senior archdiocesan official for education.

Although enrollment at Los Angeles Catholic schools has held steady in recent years, DiUlio’s charge will be to bring in a diverse array of students. He will also wrestle with the usual financial issues of schools supported by parents and fund-raising campaigns.

DiUlio will be responsible for strategic planning and for collaborating with foundations, boards and church organizations, as well as national and local groups that promote Catholic education. Spokesmen for various Catholic organizations said they expect DiUlio to spend much of his time fund-raising for scholarships and other needs for individual schools.

While DiUlio was president of Marquette, a Jesuit university in Milwaukee, the school set records for raising cash and watched its endowment nearly double, to $147 million. But a $6-million budget deficit in 1995 resulted in faculty and staff buyouts, layoffs and a salary freeze.

In 1991, DiUlio led an urban redevelopment project near Marquette called Campus Circle. The project received an award for excellence from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The $53-million project, which the university paid for with bonds, loans and fund-raising, arose out of concern about shrinking enrollments caused by economic deterioration of Marquette’s urban neighborhood, a Marquette spokesman said. DiUlio’s initiative called for building and rehabilitating housing, enhancing police presence and bringing in commercial development.

Critics said Campus Circle spent too much buying and fixing up some properties, some of which the university ended up selling at a loss in 1996 and 1997.

Still, residents and business owners praised the project’s effects on the area, saying it reduced crime and provided economic stability.

The position of Catholic schools president was created in 1999 as part of a reorganization. Two superintendent posts were also created. Sister Mary Elizabeth Galt, superintendent of 227 elementary schools, and Nancy Coonis, superintendent of 51 secondary schools, will report to DiUlio.

DiUlio holds a doctorate in education and policy analysis, a master’s of business administration in finance and a master’s degree in education, all from Stanford University.

His 1974 master’s of divinity degree is from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass. He received his bachelor’s degree in business economics.

Among other education assignments, DiUlio served in the late 1990s as visiting professor of finance at Santa Clara University and Stanford.

Previously, he was president of Xavier University, a Jesuit campus in Cincinnati, from 1986 until 1990.