9 minute read
ICE IN FLORIDA
ICE IN FLORIDA
Prepared by Faith and Experience
President Christopher Ice has wealth of experience in several fields relevant to his current position, from college admissions, to fundraising, to athletics, and even the insurance industry. He has owned businesses and served as CEO of a major Catholic charity. He has a beautiful and ambitious vision for Ave Maria University’s (AMU) future. But at the root of it all lies the quality that makes him the ideal university leader: Ice is a man of deep faith.
“If it wasn’t for my faith, I’m not sure I would be sitting here today as president of Ave Maria University. I say that because I rely on that [faith] in so many respects.” His trust in God’s plan, combined with a strong devotion to our Blessed Mother, is what drew Ice to AMU.
“I’ve always had a draw to the University and there was something pulling me here, ever since it first started...When it came to the opportunity for the president’s job opening, I had three or four calls from people saying, ‘I think you need to apply.’ It really wasn’t on my radar. I was working as CEO of Catholic Charities in Kansas City, things were going well, and I was not looking for any kind of change, but I did commit to them I would put it to prayer.”
After discussing the opportunity with his wife, Mary, Ice decided to consider the position.
On August 15, 2019, after completing a Marian consecration, he submitted his application to AMU. Our Blessed Mother continued to guide him at every turn. A few months later, as he was looking out his window at the Portiuncula (Our Lady of the Angels) while on pilgrimage in Assisi, Ice received the phone call offering him the position. “Our Lady has shown the way through the whole process,” President Ice recalled. “That gave me a strong sense of calm, that this was the right decision. I was really at ease through it all.”
But that doesn’t mean the path was easy. President Ice’s wife, Mary, finished a chemotherapy treatment in September 2019. In November, shortly after AMU announced Ice would be the university’s next president, the doctors found a tumor on Mary’s brain and she underwent surgery to have it removed. The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, prompting the whole family to move to Florida much earlier than anticipated. As if that weren’t enough of a challenge, Mary’s health was declining. She went home to Our Lord and Our Lady on April 30, 2020.
Through it all, President Ice held firmly to his faith in Christ, just as Mary did through her fight with cancer. Ice reflected on his wife’s great faith and courage throughout her health challenges:
“That’s the way my wife was. She was faith-filled. She always said, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ She kept bringing that back...she embraced it all as a gift. One of the things I asked of her before she passed was that she continue to pray for the University and intercede for us, and she promised that. With her and the Blessed Mother side by side, I continue to go forth in faith. I feel her presence a lot, and I know she’s got a great interest in this University.”
President Ice asked for prayers as he takes on his new responsibilities as president. “I just pray that God can help me navigate everything clearly. That’s why I keep saying, ‘Keep praying for me to create this clear vision.’” In these uncertain times, President Ice’s authentic faith and trust in God and His plan for the future of AMU is a beacon of light. His journey has been marked with both great joy and deep sorrow, but as he said, “...all the way through, Our Lady has shown the way.” For example, Ice mentioned how grateful he is that the family moved to Florida earlier than they had anticipated. “It would have made it more difficult if [the kids] were still in Kansas City, which was our original intent. That’s God’s hand in all of this, I can see it...you can’t always see God’s Providence in advance, but then when you look back, you see, ‘Wow, He really guided us in this process.’”
Of course, God’s Providence has been at work much longer than the last year. Christopher and Mary Ice were married 1988, and saw many changes over the next thirty years. President Ice’s career journey began in higher education. His first job was as a college baseball coach and admissions counselor at St. Mary of the Plains in Dodge City, Kansas. Then he transitioned to the insurance sector. “I loved the competitive nature of that,” Ice shared during our interview. “I managed a sales team of seventy people, with over a hundred million in premiums at one point over five states. And with all of that success, as an individual in the corporate world, you go, “Wow, that’s great!” But inside, it was a little empty, in some respects, because there wasn’t that support of my faith.” After the birth of his fifth child, Ice decided to move in a different direction and have more time with his family. He went on to work as the CEO of two hospice organizations, then worked as the Director of Major Gifts at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In 2017, Ice moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to become the CEO of Catholic Charities, a 140-year old organization.
Needless to say, all these experiences have brought a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to Ice’s presidency at AMU. For example, I asked President Ice how he plans to grow AMU enrollment while still remaining true to the Catholic faith. His answer: Be true to who we are. “When you are true to your statement, people will come to you,” Ice explained. “I witnessed this at Catholic Charities. People told me, ‘You’re going to lose donors if you change the way things are,’ and I chose to, and we had more donors.” Even for non-Catholic students, the witness of authentic, orthodox Catholic faith rings true and calls to the human heart. As Ice noted, “If you
come into my home, you know these are my values. You don’t ask me to take down my crucifix because you’re in my home. This is our home, Ave Maria University. We want to invited you to come in and experience it. Let’s have a great logical debate about the Catholic faith, and we’ll have a lot of fun. But we’re going to seek the truth.”
As an AMU alumna (Class of 2007!), I can say this vibrant faith is what made my time at AMU life-changing. As I watched many of my close friends and family members lose their faith during the college years, at AMU, my faith was fostered, not forgotten. As President Ice explained, a primary reason AMU’s students hold fast to the faith is the strong Catholic identity of the school’s professors. “So often schools waver from that. They put out there that they’re Catholic, but then you dig into the details a bit and find maybe their professors aren’t following suit.” Lack of authenticity and orthodoxy pushes people away. As Ice put it, “People flock to authentic things. People want to know they’re not going to get a watered-down version of something and our Catholic faith should never be watered down.” Likewise, in the athletic program, passing on the faith starts with the leaders. “It starts with coaches. They’re the mentors, so we’re looking and talking with each of the coaches and making sure they understand the clear vision of who we are as a Catholic university, and the expectation built within that.”
This integrated vision of Catholic education is what drew Ice to AMU, and what makes it unique among other Catholic universities. “The Catholic faith can be integrated into every segment of the educational environment,” Ice explained. “Whether it’s philosophy, business, economics, nursing - having that opportunity to build the Catholic faith and values within every one of those disciplines helps students graduate and go into the world. All of a sudden they say, ‘Wow, I can apply my Catholic faith.’” As a personal example, Ice talked about his time working in hospice care at the time the Terri Schiavo case was happening in Florida. “I was able to go to my Catechism at that time and demonstrate to my hundred-employee staff, ‘Look, here’s the truth.’” President Ice knows the youth of our times want an encounter with reality. “This generation of youth are looking and seeking for truth... They are searching for that authentic Catholic faith, for being taught.” He shared the story of two football players who came to AMU as non-Catholics, who graduated and converted to the Faith. One of them is now attending seminary. Daily Mass, perpetual adoration, the nightly Rosary walk - all of these small witnesses are powerful, especially when combined with a core curriculum and community life rooted in the reality of our Catholic faith.
As I spoke with President Ice, I was struck by his great courage. We live in confusing and tumultuous times that call for evangelization. As President Ice put it, “You simply share the truth in love, and people will be attracted.” But as we all know, sharing the truth requires tremendous courage. AMU can be proud to have a leader who not only possesses the wisdom to see the need for Christ’s love, but also the courage to share it in an authentically Catholic way - with AMU students, faculty, and ultimately, the world.
ICE’S PATH WITH THE BLESSED MOTHER
At age 12, a priest visiting Ice’s grade school recruited him to attend high school seminary at St. Henry’s Prep in Belleville, IL. The school was operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
After high school, Ice attended St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, Kansas where he met his future wife, duly named, Mary.
Ice began a Marian consecration on July 13, 2019. Three days later, on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, he submitted his application to become AMU’s next president.
On August 22, the Feast of the Coronation of Our Lady, Ice received an email congratulating him on making it past the first round of the search for a new president.
On September 8, the feast of the Birth of Mary, the AMU Board requested Ice come to campus for an in-person interview.
On October 7, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Ice checked his voicemail to find a message from the search committee. He was on pilgrimage to Rome and listened as he opened the blinds to his hotel room, taking in the sight of Saint Mary of the Angels Basilica. Ice laughs, saying at this point he almost knew what was going to happen on that telephone call. He was offered and accepted the position of President of Ave Maria University.
By the way, Ice’s first day as president was January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God.
by: Nicole Crawford ‘07
