William C. McInnes,S.J. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 5th President ofFairfield University | |
| In office 1964–1973 | |
| Preceded by | James E. FitzGerald, S.J. |
| Succeeded by | Thomas R. Fitzgerald, S.J. |
| President of the University of San Francisco | |
| In office 1972–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Albert R. Jonsen, S.J. |
| Succeeded by | John Lo Schiavo, S.J. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 20, 1923 |
| Died | December 8, 2009(2009-12-08) (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Jesuit, academic |
William Charles McInnes Jr.,[1]S.J. (January 20, 1923 – December 8, 2009) was an AmericanJesuit and academic.
McInnes served as the fifth President ofFairfield University, located inFairfield, Connecticut, from 1964 to 1973,[2][3] and the President of theUniversity of San Francisco from 1972 to 1977. He served as the president of both universities simultaneously for a few months in 1972.[4] He later headed theAssociation of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, aconsortium of Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States, from 1977 until 1989. McInnes was one of the first Jesuit priests to studybusiness administration.[2][3]
McInnes was born on January 20, 1923, inDorchester, Massachusetts, to parents, William and Mary (Byrne) McInnes.[3] He was one of three children, including his sister, Helen and brother, Paul.[3] McInnes lived in Boston during his early childhood before the family purchased a home inQuincy, Massachusetts.[3] He attended local public schools.
McInness enrolled inBoston College in 1940.[3] However, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 after noticing an ad on a Boston College bulletin board promising to train students asmeteorologists.[3] TheUnited States Army trained McInnes as a meteorologist at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.[3] He travelled with theArmy Air Forces as ameteorology officer duringWorld War II, serving inChina,Africa andIndia.[2] He was stationed inAssam for six months and later worked inShanghai.[3]
McInnes graduated fromBoston College in 1944[2] and was honorably discharged from the United States Army in 1946.[3] He initially enrolled inSaint John's Seminary in Massachusetts following World War II, intending to become a diocesan Roman Catholic priest. However, Father John Drummey, a professor at Boston College, recommended that he join theJesuit order instead.[4]
He entered the Society of Jesus in 1946[5] and studiedphilosophy atWeston College.[4] McInnes earned hismaster's degree in business from Boston College.[3] He then obtained adoctorate inbusiness administration fromNew York University.[2]
McInnes wasordained a Jesuit priest in 1957.[3] In doing so, McInnes became one of the first Jesuits to specialize inbusiness administration.[2][3][4]
McInness joined the faculty of Boston College in 1959. In 1964, he was promoted to assistant dean of Boston College's school of business.[3]
McInness was appointed as the President ofFairfield University inConnecticut by the Jesuits in 1964, a position he would hold until 1973.[2][3] He had no prior knowledge that he would was to be given the post at Fairfield and was summoned to a "secret meeting" where he was appointed president.[3]
He oversaw the rapid expansion of the university's campus and student population during his presidency. Under Mcinness, the overall student enrollment at Fairfield doubled to nearly 2,500 students at the time.[2] Fairfield, which had previously been an all-male institution, began accepting women in 1970, becoming aco-ed institution for the first time.[2] The school's first female alumni graduated in 1973.[6] The Graduate School of Corporate and Political Communication,School of Nursing and Center for Lifetime Learning were all established during McInness' tenure as college president.[3]
McInness also oversaw several major challenges to Fairfield University during the 1960s and 1970s. McInness offered testimony before the United States Supreme Court in theTilton vs. Richardson case.[2] The Tilton vs. Richardsonlawsuit, which was filed against Fairfield University and three otherRoman Catholic colleges, ultimately upheld the constitutionality of using American federal money for the construction ofsecular academic buildings at colleges and universities with religious affiliations.[2] The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fairfield in 1971.[2]
In 1969, a group ofAfrican American students seized an academic building located on Fairfield's campus.[2] McInness negotiated directly with the students involved, eventually agreeing to some of their demands, including a commitment to hiring minority faculty members and increasing the number of black students from 43 to 240 at the time.[2] Fairfield University also experienced a ten-daystudent strike during the late 1960s.[3]
McInnes was criticized outside Fairfield University because no university students were ever punished for building takeovers or strikes. He noted that no university property or buildings were damaged or destroyed during the 1960s campus unrest, "We never had any physical damages on the Fairfield campus, and we did not have any fatalities or serious injuries. But we lost several outside friends, because they did not appreciate the way we were handling the crisis."[3]
McInnes was appointed president of theUniversity of San Francisco in 1972.[4] However, he remained the president of both Fairfield and San Francisco simultaneously for four months during the Fall 1972 semester while transititioning between the two colleges.[4]
McInnes officially stepped down as president of Fairfield University in 1973 and was succeeded byThomas R. Fitzgerald, S.J.
Father McInnes was appointed president of the University of San Francisco in 1972.[4] He simultaneously served as president of both San Francisco and Fairfield University for four months during the transition between the two universities.[4]
The University of San Francisco was in a deep financial crisis at the time of McInnes' arrival in 1972.[7] McInnes instituted a series of financial reforms which resulted in a corrected,balanced budget for the university.[7]
McInnes initiated negotiations which led to the acquisition of the now defunctSan Francisco College for Women campus onLone Mountain.[5] Today, the Lone Mountain campus housesadministrative offices, classrooms and the offices of the university's president and vice president.
McInnes also founded the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, a program forretirees, during his tenure as president.[5]
He departed the University of San Francisco in 1977 to become the head of theAssociation of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), aconsortium consisting of the twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in theUnited States. He served as the head of the AJCU for twelve years.[3] His position allowed him to meet bothPope Paul VI andPope John Paul II.[3] McInness stepped down as head of the AJCU in 1989.[7]
He later became thecampus minister at theUniversity of Connecticut in 1990.[2] That same year, McInnes also became theparochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Parish inStorrs, Connecticut.[3]
In 1998, McInness rejoined Boston College as anadjunct professor at theCarroll School of Management.[2] He also became the faculty advisor for BC's chapter of theAlpha Sigma Nu Jesuithonor society.[3]
McInnes campaigned to build aVietnam War memorial on the Boston College campus.[4] The memorial, which measures 70 feet long and commemorates members of the Boston College community killed inVietnam, was dedicated on November 11, 2009.[4]
Father William McInnes died on December 8, 2009, from complications of cancer and a fall at the Campion Center Jesuit retreat facility inWeston, Massachusetts, at the age of 86.[3] His funeral was held at St. Ignatius Church inChestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and he was buried at the Campion Center Cemetery in Weston, Massachusetts.[3]
| Preceded by | President of Fairfield University 1964–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Albert R. Jonsen, S.J. | President of theUniversity of San Francisco 1972–1977 | Succeeded by John Lo Schiavo, S.J. |