The Experts

BOTH PHOTOS: CHRIS HO

Introducing UP’s 21st President

After a rigorous nation-wide search, University of Portland announced that Rob Kelly, PhD, will be UP’s 21st president, starting his term on July 1, 2022.

ONE OF THE most influential people in Rob Kelly’s life is his grandmother. Bedrock and dispenser of wise words, she once posed a question to Kelly that has been a touchstone for him. “You’re guaranteed to have someone listening to you,” she said. And, indeed, throughout his career—in the roles of professor, scholar, administrator—many people have been (and will be) listening to what Rob Kelly has to say. Her challenging question? “But when they walk away,” she asked, “what did they hear you say?”

I only had a brief interview with Kelly, when he and his lovely family visited Portland for the announcement of his presidency, and well, even in this short time, I heard so very much.

The first thing I heard is that Kelly is ready to step in and lead. “Everything in my life has led me to this moment,” he told me. Much has been written in the press about the fact that he is the first lay president at UP, as well as the first African American president in the institution’s history. These characteristics are notable and historic, though they aren’t what make him qualified for the job. His long career in higher education does. Most recently he was vice president and special assistant to the president at Loyola University Maryland, a Catholic Jesuit school, where he oversaw the divisions involving mission and identity, external affairs, student development, Title IX, and intercollegiate athletics. He also held leadership positions at Seattle University, University of Vermont, Loyola University Chicago, Union College, and Colgate University.

When he spoke about his philosophy of leadership, he nodded to Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement about service: “Everybody can serve.” Within this philosophy are echoes of the humble servant leader we regard so highly in Catholic higher education, a philosophy and perhaps a style that I could feel in his easy and open presence.

Kelly’s commitment to Catholic education came through loud and clear. He grew up attending Catholic schools in New Jersey—Sacred Heart and St. Peter’s Prep. He also attended Loyola University Maryland for his undergraduate degree. For Kelly, the Catholic piece was always both the “why” and the “how” of his education. “The Catholic mission,” he said, “is how the education connects us to a larger world during our lives and in terms of our citizenship and leadership and our equity and diversity and inclusion efforts. It’s also the nature of the rigor.” He wants those who work here to find a supportive environment where the work becomes more than a job, a vocation.

Catholic social teaching and social justice are important to him personally and professionally. He was part of a team that created a series of “anchored in Baltimore” listening sessions between Loyola students and community neighbors to find ways the university could fill needs, be a better neighbor. He has written about successful staff and faculty collaborations. And he is ready to take on the role of lay collaborator that the Holy Cross order cherishes so deeply. “Charism matters,” he said. “If we are bringing hope to the world, the city, the region, there are no bounds to what we can do.”

But his primary focus is on the lives and well-being of students. “Students are our whole reason for being,” he said. At Loyola, he has walked with students through the challenges of the pandemic. It’s been a tough time. He can see how some young people may feel right now that some institutions have failed them. Still, he believes educational institutions—and devoted faculty and staff—have a big role to play in making sure students stretch and grow and, ultimately, feel supported and whole. On the day of the announcement, when he stood at the podium in front of the Chapel of Christ the Teacher, he said, “I believe in the transformative power of what we’re doing for and with students.” We all heard that too. We’re excited to see him succeed here at UP.

Portland will be profiling Rob Kelly in more depth in our fall issue. —Jessica Murphy Moo