MAAC_Program_2026_V11_Pages

OPERATING STRUCTURE

Operating Structure

MARK R. NEMEC, PHD PRESIDENT OF FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY, CHAIR OF THE MAAC COUNCIL PRESIDENTS On July 1, 2017 Mark R. Nemec, PhD, became the 9th Ignatian and first lay President of Fairfield University.

the University of Michigan. Early in his career, he taught American politics as a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College, and as an instructor at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Fairfield, Dr. Nemec served as the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. Before joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Nemec served as president and chief executive officer of Eduventures, a Boston-based information services firm providing research and advice to the higher education community. He previously had been a member of the executive team of Forrester Research, a provider of similar services to the technology industry. Dr. Nemec is the author of Ivory Towers and Nationalist Minds: Universities, Leadership, and the Development of the American State (University of Michigan Press, 2006), and a contributor to The Educational Legacy of Woodrow Wilson (University of Virginia Press, 2012). Dr. Nemec serves as Chair of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges and Chair of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents. He also serves on the Educational Resources Committee of Loyola High School, and is a fellow of Timothy Dwight College of Yale University. For his and the university’s commitment to educational access, he has been honored with Brooklyn Jesuit Prep’s Sister Thea Bowman Award, Cristo Rey New York’s Ensuring our Future Award as well as the Archdiocese of Bridgeport’s Foundations in Education Award.

Working with his senior leadership team, constituents across campus, and the University’s alumni and civic communities, President Nemec has positioned Fairfield to be a modern, Jesuit Catholic University of national prominence — committed to lifelong learning, holistic formation, expansive partnership and advancing educational access.

Under President Nemec’s leadership, Fairfield has renewed its commitment to the nearly 500-year-old traditions of Jesuit pedagogy, with an emphasis on care for the whole student. This values-based, student-centric, outcomes-focused approach is designed to form men and women who will live and work for and with others, in pursuit of societal stewardship and productive citizenship. At the same time, he has led the University through a course of expansion and innovation designed to meet the challenges of the 21 st century, and has expanded the University’s reach to learners of all ages, emphasizing: innovation, the launch of new graduate and professional programs, and the fostering of industry and community partnerships to strengthen the University’s reputation as a leader in contemporary higher education. In particular, since 2018 Fairfield has launched successful online graduate programs in business, nursing, education, engineering and the arts and social sciences to complement its on-campus programs. In addition, Fairfield has expanded to provide business graduate programs to students in China and India, and recently opened a satellite campus in Austin, TX to provide graduate nursing programs to meet a regional nursing shortage in that area. Under Dr. Nemec’s stewardship, the University’s Ignatian commitment to provide access to education to traditionally underserved communities has also expanded. In addition to significantly increasing need-based financial aid, the University’s Company Scholars program offers full funding and enhanced programing to a select first-generation, Jesuit high school and Cristo Rey graduates. And in partnership with the Diocese of Bridgeport Fairfield has established Fairfield Bellarmine, a campus in Bridgeport that offers no-cost associate’s degree program for traditionally underserved high school graduates, offering a pathway to a four-year degree. President Nemec also led the largest capital campaign in University history, exceeding an original goal of $160 million to raise a total of $218 million to benefit the University. The fulfillment of a University master plan to enhance the campus environment under his stewardship has brought new, and has included the completion of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business facility, the School of Engineering and Computing Innovation Annex, the Barnyard Townhouses and the Leo D. Mahoney Arena amongst others. A graduate of Loyola High School, Jesuit College Preparatory in Los Angeles, President Nemec earned a BA in English from Yale, where he was an All-Ivy League rugby player. He received an MA in education and a PhD in political science from

CHUCK SEIFERT PRESIDENT OF SIENA UNIVERSITY, VICE CHAIR OF THE MAAC COUNCIL PRESIDENTS

Charles ‘Chuck’ Seifert was elected by the Board of Trustees and announced as the 13 th president of Siena University on December 2, 2022. He began his term on June 1, 2023 and was officially inaugurated on September 21, 2023. Seifert most recently served as dean of the School of Business at Siena (2014 2019, 2020 present). He was the interim vice president for academic affairs from 2019-2020; founder and executive director

of Siena’s Institute for Leadership Development (2009-2014); department chair of Marketing and Management (2004-2007); and assistant dean of the School of Business from 1997-1998. In addition to his administrative work, Seifert has taught at Siena for decades. He originally came to campus as a visiting faculty member in 1996, and was promoted up through the academic ranks in the Management department, achieving full professorship in 2007. He taught as an adjunct at several other Capital Region colleges prior to joining Siena’s faculty. Prior to entering academia Seifert had a successful career in banking and finance in the Capital Region. He served as chief financial officer of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce from 1994-1996, and served as a vice president of Evergreen Bank and a manager at First American Bank. Seifert holds a B.A. in economics from the University at Buffalo, an MBA in finance from Sage Graduate School, and a Ph.D., in organizational studies with a specialization in leadership from the University at Albany.

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