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Dr. Conrado M. Gempesaw, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has been named the 17th president of St. John’s University. He will succeed Father Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., effective July 1.
It will be the first time in the university’s 144-year history that St. John’s president will not be a Vincentian priest. Father Levesque has served as interim president of St. John’s since last August.
Dr. Gempesaw, a Filipino-American who holds a doctorate in agricultural economics from Penn State University, comes to St. John’s with almost three decades of academic experience.
At Miami University, he led the institution’s strategic planning efforts and introduced enrollment management strategies based on capacity planning that increased the school’s applicant pool and improved student diversity. Miami University has more than 22,000 students.
The selection follows a national search overseen by a 13-member search committee co-chaired by Peter P. D’Angelo, chairman of the St. John’s University board of trustees, and Father Michael J. Carroll, C.M., vice chairman.
“Dr. Gempesaw brings an impressive record of academic achievement, administrative excellence, and the ability to inspire students, faculty, alumni and administrators,” D’Angelo said in a statement announcing the appointment April 10.
“We have found a visionary leader who understands and embraces St. John’s mission as a Catholic and Vincentian university, and has the skills necessary to realize our goals for the future.”
St. John’s has campuses in Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and Rome, Italy; an academic center in Oakdale; and study abroad locations in Paris, France, and Seville, Spain. With an enrollment of some 15,800 undergraduate students and 5,000 graduate students, St. John’s ranks second among American universities for ethnic diversity by U.S. News & World Report.
“I am deeply honored to have been chosen to lead St. John’s University during this transformational time, and grateful for the confidence and support of everyone who participated in the search process,” Dr. Gempesaw said.
At Miami University, he led the development of academic initiatives to enhance retention and graduation rates, increase international enrollment and global partnerships, establish student learning assessment practices, and create elearning programs and market strategies.
Previously at the University of Delaware, he was dean of the Lerner College of Business and Economics and was responsible for the university’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies. He held faculty positions at Miami University and the University of Delaware.
Born in the Philippines, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ateneo de Davao University there and a master’s in agricultural economics from West Virginia University.
He and his wife, Clavel Albay Gempesaw, are members of St. Mary’s parish in Oxford, Ohio. They have two adult sons.
