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Towey Steps Down After Successful Presidency
TOWEY STEPS DOWN AFTER SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENCY
GROWTH, TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE AMPLIFY MONAGHAN’S LEGACY
Jim Towey, Ave Maria University’s second president, will step down in June at the end of his ninth year at the helm. To appreciate the magnitude of change and the scale of accomplishment that marked his tenure, one must stroll through the University’s early history. When Ave Maria University established its temporary campus in Naples in 2003, founder and former Domino’s Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan, had a vision: create an authentically Catholic, academically excellent, liberal arts college. He chose a remote area of Southwest Florida – a tract of tomato fields and brush – as the site for his plan. Construction began in 2006 and 18 months later, Ave Maria University welcomed 400 students to its new, permanent campus. No one accused Monaghan of not thinking big. During that academic year he laid out ambitious targets by 2027, he expected the University to have 4,000 students!
2011: Inauguration of President Towey with Tom Monaghan
For such lofty goals to be pursued, Ave Maria University would need a solid foundation, which began with strong leadership and distinguished faculty. Monaghan and Ave Maria’s first president, Nick Healy, guided the University’s early years, and over 100 faculty and staff joined them in this noble adventure. The task they undertook was made more difficult by the collapse in the national housing market that thwarted the founder’s hope that the sale of area real estate would fund University operations. It took a Herculean effort on their part to build a new campus, finance its operations, and support academic and student life programs.
1989: Visit with St. Mother Teresa in Mexico
After eight years, Monaghan and Healy decided it was time to step down from running the day-to-day operations of the University and hand those responsibilities over to a single successor. The Board of Trustees conducted a national search and in February 2011, chose Jim Towey.
Towey was well-known in Catholic circles, having been a friend and legal counsel to Mother Teresa of Calcutta for the last 12 years of her life, a relationship so significant that Towey was invited by her Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, to do the first reading at Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s canonization Mass in Rome in 2016. Because Towey was the director of the Office of Faith-based Initiatives in the White House of George W. Bush for nearly five years, he had relationships with nearly all of the Church’s hierarchy in the US. His successful four-year term as president of Saint Vincent College provided Towey, previously a newcomer to academia, with the experience necessary to hit the ground running in the new town of Ave Maria, Florida.
Michael Timmis, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University, was thrilled with Towey’s selection. “We were very fortunate to get a leader of Jim’s experience and reputation. He grew up in Florida and knew the state, and had a proven record as a turnaround guy and a fundraiser, and that’s what we needed.”
Towey took over as chief executive officer on St. Patrick’s Day, 2011, in honor of Monaghan’s Irish roots. He faced a number of immediate challenges. “My first task was to get the University officially recognized as Catholic,” Towey recalled. “On the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the day of my inauguration, Bishop Dewane signed a proclamation conferring this recognition, and that was huge for us.”
The University also faced formidable financial challenges and large operational deficits. Towey and his team, led by longtime associates Dennis Grace and Eddie Dejthai, immediately cut over $3 million in spending and eliminated dozens of positions. They had to refinance the University’s founding debt of nearly $60 million. They closed the Nicaragua campus and other programs that were running sizeable deficits, and sold the law school property and radio station to build a cash reserve. And with the Board of Trustees support, Towey transferred the Oratory and Donahue Academy to the Diocese, which not only brought in millions of dollars in endowment, but also saved a fortune in annual operating costs. “All those changes were made in the span of about four years,” Timmis said. “If the University had not taken those steps, I doubt we would have survived.”
1995: President Towey visits St. Mother Teresa with wife Mary, and son
Ave Maria’s finances gradually stabilized and did so without sacrificing academic excellence. Indeed, under the leadership of Drs. Michael Dauphinais, Seana Sugrue, Gabriel Martinez and Roger Nutt, the number of majors the University offered grew from 10 to 32, to include nursing, biochemistry, psychology, exercise physiology, finance and education, among others. Today, over 70% of Ave Maria’s students are in majors that did not exist before Towey’s time. In addition, under Towey’s direction, the administration worked with the faculty to transform the core curriculum, create an honors program, and secure re-accreditation through 2025.
“President Towey spared the faculty and classrooms from the early budget cuts,” Dr. Nutt, current Vice President for Academic Affairs, observed. “And when our finances improved, he restored the retirement benefit and sabbatical program that had been suspended for years. He also increased faculty salaries and department chair stipends. Most significantly, on his watch the University retained or brought in scholars distinguished in their fields and committed to their faith.”
Towey’s devotion to the Catholic faith was evident throughout his nine years of service. The University opened a shrine and chapel in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and for the first time, students were able to attend daily or weekend Masses on campus. Towey also instituted aroundthe-clock exposition of the Eucharist for students and town residents, led a weekly Bible Study, and launched other initiatives that advanced the University’s goal of forming “intentional followers of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament, scholarship and service.”
2003: President Towey with St. John Paul II
“I think the formal consecration of the University to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was the high point of my time here,” Towey remarked. “When I sat there in front of the great Annunciation Sculpture, with Tom, Michael, the trustees, and Bishop Dewane, and with the University community and town residents all there together, I realized that Ave Maria wasn’t Tom’s university or my university it was Mary’s university.”
2006: President Towey in Oval Office with P esident George W. Bush
Evidence of her intercessory favor abounds. Enrollment at AMU has increased over 75% during Towey’s presidency. According to data compiled by the Cardinal Newman Society, Ave Maria added more undergraduate students over the last eight years than Catholic University, Franciscan, Benedictine, the University of Dallas, Christendom or Belmont Abbey. In other words, Ave outperformed all of the competition. And future growth continues to look promising: Ave’s entering class sizes the last two years were the largest in history, averaging over 400.
Part of the reason enrollment surged was the University’s growing national reputation that, in part, was fed by Towey’s contacts and friendships from his years of public service in Washington and Florida. Ave enjoyed a stellar procession of top-tier visitors -- a line-up perhaps unrivaled in academia. Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, US Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, US Senators Rick Scott, Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, and Fox News commentator and political guru Karl Rove came to Ave’s campus. Students also heard from Church leaders, including Cardinals Sean O’Malley of Boston, Donald Wuerl of Washington, and Timothy Dolan of New York, as well as Catholic role models like Carlyle Group co-founder Dan D’Aniello, best-selling author and Harvard scholar Arthur Brooks, and renowned art historian Dr. Liz Lev.
The University’s enhanced profile and Towey’s skill set as a fundraiser translated into an unprecedented wave of philanthropy from individuals across America who did not attend Ave Maria but chose to “adopt” it. This transitioning of the fundraising burden from Monaghan to a much broader base of Catholic donors was perhaps the greatest of all challenges Towey faced. And yet, he succeeded, raising over $80 million during his tenure, including nearly half from donors who had not contributed to AMU before his arrival. The annual scholarship dinners which Towey instituted raised over $3 million and helped hundreds of students afford an Ave education.
2016: Reading at the Canonization Mass of St. Mother Teresa
Perhaps the most remarkable fundraising statistic is the following: over 25 seven-figure gifts were given to the University on Towey’s watch. That cohort of major donors included four that helped fund the new $14 million Prince Building that was conceived by Towey, built without debt, and opened last year. This multi-purpose building houses the Donahue Family Black Box Theater which features AMU’s nationally-renowned Shakespeare performances, and also the state-of-the-art nursing laboratory and classrooms that support the new nursing major. The Prince Building also boasts of the 400-seat O’Bryan Performance Hall, where everything from academic lectures to student talent shows take place.
Towey, like Ave’s founder, has been a major supporter of the most popular student activity on campus: athletics. Over 40% of Ave Maria’s students compete on one of the Gyrenes’ 15 intercollegiate teams, and Towey made their flourishment a priority. During Towey’s time in office, Ave Maria added an artificial turf field, stadium seating and lighting to allow for evening competition, a new baseball field, and four tennis courts.
No account of the difference Jim Towey made as Ave’s second president would be complete without mention of his crisis management skills. Towey’s leadership in the days before and after the largest storm in US history, Hurricane Irma, were in strumental. The University came together like never before as the campus sheltered hundreds of residents from the nearby farmworker community of Immokalee, and hosted dozens of first responders in the ballroom. Students welcomed into the dorms a group of elderly Haitians whose caregivers had fled. When the storm passed, Ave student volunteers loaded up vans with food and water and went to serve those in desperate need. It was one of Ave’s finest hours, and these efforts attracted recognition from the national media.
Towey also was a soothing presence in the hours and days after the tragic car accident that claimed the life of women’s basketball star Emily Acosta last year. Few who were present will forget Towey’s impromptu remarks at the conclusion of the rosary walk that evening with hundreds of students assembled at the base of the footbridge. He, his wife Mary and hundreds of students traveled to central Florida that same weekend to join Emily’s teammates in cheering for the men’s basketball team as they won a come-from-behind victory in the conference tournament, perhaps the University’s most cathartic sports moment in its history.
President Towey considers the establishment of the Mother Teresa Project, a comprehensive program that fosters study of, and devotion to, the legendary saint and promotes service, as his most significant contribution. Towey joined students every year on a mission trip to Calcutta, and his wife accompanied students annually to Haiti or elsewhere in the region. Vice President for Student Affairs Kimberly King has witnessed how the Mother Teresa Project has taken root in Ave’s campus culture. “Now Ave students are not just with the children in Immokalee or the nursing home residents of Naples, they also are going on mission trips to India, Haiti, Uganda, Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic,” she said. “A new generation of Catholics is getting to know Mother Teresa by following in her footsteps, serving the poor, and meeting Jesus.”
The University also is privileged to house the only Mother Teresa Museum in America. On display are actual artifacts of Mother Teresa, including handwritten letters to Towey and others, a piece of her own sari, and an exact replication of her room in her Calcutta convent. Advanced media technology allows visitors to learn about the Saint’s life and teachings through oral histories by those who knew her best. And just as Mother Teresa would wish, there is no admission charge for visitors. Towey believes the project and museum will attract students, visitors, and others for decades to come.
There is never a good time for a successful president to leave, but Towey believes he has found the right moment. “By any measure Ave Maria University is at a high point,” he said. “So this is a good time for me to pass the torch to the next president so that she or he can take the University to even greater heights.”
2019: Vice President Michael Pence visit to AMU
Board Chairman Timmis believes many will miss the University’s first family. “Jim and Mary have been quite a team, and in some ways, Mary will be harder to replace,” he said. “Mary has been loved by donors, faculty, and especially our students. She set up over half of the mission trips and led many of them. She guided a formation program for students, and was a mom to countless of them. The Toweys will always have a place in our hearts – and in Ave Maria University’s history,” Timmis concluded.
As you might expect, when asked about his legacy, Towey paraphrased Scripture in summarizing his time as the University’s president. “Tom planted the seed, we did the watering and weeding, but God made it grow. And I know that Our Blessed Mother will continue to intercede for her University in the years ahead.”
2019: President Towey with Bishop Frank Dewane, Diocese of Venice, FL and the student’s of the 19-20 President’s Council
Towey’s Tenure…At a Glance
75% increase in undergraduate enrollment
Over $80 million raised, including dozens of seven-figure gifts and completion of a $60 million campaign
Increased majors from 10 to 32
Re-accreditation through 2025
Revitalized core curriculum
Creation of honors program
New classrooms, faculty offices, and exercise physiology and nursing labs
Refinanced debt and made over $35 million in debt service payments
Construction of debt-free $14 million Prince Building
Over $5 million in additional capital improvements:
Upgrade in campus security
Artificial turf field and lights, bleachers and new baseball field
Completion of the St. Anne’s Guest House
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine and student chapel
Opened popular coffee klatch in Canizaro Library
Won lawsuit against the Federal government and the proposed Obamacare “contraceptive services” mandate
Founded Mother Teresa Project that has sent hundreds of students on mission trips to Uganda, India, Brazil, Mexico and other countries, and opened a museum in her honor on campus
Jim & Mary Towey Q&A
What made you come to Ave?
Mary: The Blessed Mother.
Jim: Mary and I just felt this move was God’s will for us. I saw challenges at Ave Maria where I thought I could make a difference. When I came to the campus before accepting the job, the students really impressed me. Michael Timmis, Jack Donahue and Tom Monaghan sealed the deal with me and it was one of the best decisions Mary and I ever made.
Could you describe your time here?
Mary: Our time here has been one of the greatest gifts and privileges of our life together, because what’s happening at AMU is a beautiful work of the Church right now. We have the best student body in the world, and faculty and staff too. Working together to grow, contribute, and worship has been exhilarating. We are extremely grateful.
Jim: This has been the hardest and most rewarding job of my life. It simply never let up. But all the effort was worth it. The great people I worked with here made our tenure successful, thank God.
How has Ave helped you grow in your faith during your time here?
Mary: Through the exceptional people I’ve met here, the intense sacramental life, and the abundant opportunities to serve, especially through our wonderful students and the Mother Teresa Project.
Jim: Mother Teresa said she “preferred the insecurity of Divine Providence” and I have grown to understand what she meant. This University isn’t mine or Tom Monaghan’s. It is a work of the Church, under Our Lady’s gaze, and I’ve learned to trust more and worry less.
What are a few of your best memories?
Mary: There are so many. The ones that rush to mind are the consecration of the University to Our Lady in 2015; the outpouring of love and solidarity by our students when Emily Acosta died last year - the Mass and candlelight procession to Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine that night; the men’s basketball game a few days later where busloads of students traveled to Warner and our men won in dramatic fashion; every single Shakespeare performance and the many student theatre productions and “Ave’s Got Talent” performances; and the Mother Teresa Project mission trips to Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Mexico where I was fortunate enough to accompany students.
Jim: When we first moved here, our house was on the remotest edge of town. So we had black bears in our garage, and a rattlesnake even bit our dog (Skippy survived!). I remember my first “date night” with Mary was at the Rib City in Immokalee! But the town has really grown since those days, and so has the University. Mary and I have made close friends that we’ll keep when we leave, and we’ll also take great memories of raising our children here and coming to know so many wonderful students who are the future of the Church. I have to add to the list Mary gave the days before and after Hurricane Irma. So much compassion and heroism was unleashed on our campus by that storm.
What will you both miss about AMU?
Mary: I’ll miss the people we’ve come to know. They are too many to name. They know who they are. It also has been fun to ditch my car for a bike. I’ll miss the weather, the beach, and the skies.
Jim: I have a real debt of gratitude to Board Chairman Michael Timmis who stood by me through thick and thin. The success the University these years owes to him and the incredible group of trustees and their spouses whom I have come to know and respect, and the donors who gave to a University they didn’t attend. I’ll really miss the people I worked with every day, and of course, the great young people God entrusted to the University.
Do you have any specific plans for what is in store for yourselves and the family next?
Jim: On our wedding day I toasted Mary and said that I looked forward to following the star together and worshiping the Lord beneath wherever it came to a rest. We’ve loved our time at Ave Maria and we’ll see what’s next.
Mary: Our plan is to keep following the star.
