Welcome back to Saint Louis University folks. We at The University News are very pleased to have everyone back. We especially welcome the new first years, bringing with them new experiences and perspectives, interests and talents.

Our university also welcomed a new president this year in Dr. Fred Pestello. Dr. Pestello is the first lay president of SLU; however, he does bring a distinctly Catholic experience, having both been raised Catholic and serving at Catholic institutions over almost 30 years.

After the turbulent events surrounding former president Rev. Lawrence Biondi S.J. and his 26-year tenure as university president , the university is now moving forward to a time of change, and hopefully, calm. .

SLU’s potential for growth can be seen in multiple areas. Our national rankings have steadily slipped over the last several years to outside the top 100. While the business and medical schools have increased their prestige over the past, other programs at the University are not receiving the attention they feel they deserve. There are many parcels of land, including the site of the old Pevely plant, which remain underdeveloped or completely undeveloped. Lastly, the SLU community is becoming increasingly disparate from the surrounding community; SLU is feeling more and more like a bubble within the city.

The university also needs calm. Near the end of Fr. Biondi’s tenure, a perceivable ‘culture of fear’ existed amongst graduate students and the faculty, after the president seemed intent on changing the Professors’ tenure procedure. A Professor of Political Science called Biondi’s tenure “a raj.”  Interim President Bill Kaufmann helped return the University back to a sense of calm and mutual respect between administration, faculty and students, and it is up to Dr. Pestello to solidify that calm.

Dr. Pestello’s reception on this campus has been nothing but positive since he was named as the next SLU president last spring. Unlike our relationship with the last president, which sometimes felt like an awful game of hide-and-seek, Dr. Pestello has had an actual presence on this campus, appearing and speaking at many of the university-wide events held thus far. Many of the members of the editorial board who were present during Biondi’s tenure believe they have seen more of Dr. Pestello the past few months than they saw Fr. Biondi in one or two years. Dr. Pestello has already shown his relatable nature with his well publicized and masterful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with dozens of other members of the SLU community?

Despite his measured presence on campus, which is undoubtedly appreciated, some worry still exists that SLU students will not be noticing any change in their daily lives. It would be unwise to think this campus is going to undergo massive change for students. There usually won’t be a massive change from president to president, and for some students, this is not problematic in the slightest..

Behind the scenes, however, there is a hope and an expectation that Dr. Pestello will be able to do the things as a president that a SLU president should be capable of. This means launching a fundraising job of massive proportions from SLU alums that will raise both the endowment and profile of the university. That means filling the positions left by faculty that accepted the Voluntary Enhanced Retirement Program (VERP) with full time faculty, NOT solely with adjuncts. Lastly, that means helping to fulfill the goal made by the previous university president: to make SLU the best Jesuit University in the country.

So welcome, Dr. Pestello. Your presence is extremely welcome to both those who lived through the tumult and to the younger folk who didn’t. As a University, we’re happy to have you. It’s time now, though, to do the job we  all need of you. Good luck, sir.