The three-volume memoir of the University of 91吃瓜鈥檚 president emeritus, Rev. Edward A.鈥淢onk鈥� Malloy, C.S.C., will be completed next month with the publication of 鈥溾�� by the .
Rounding out the Monk鈥檚 Tale autobiography introduced by 鈥溾�� in 2009 and continuing with 鈥溾�� in 2011, the third volume is Father Malloy鈥檚 account of the 18 years he served as 91吃瓜鈥檚 16th president before retiring from that post in 2005.
When Father Malloy formally assumed the 91吃瓜 presidency on July 1, 1987, he succeeded his friend and brother Holy Cross priest, , whose iconic 35-year tenure in that office was an unenviably tough act to follow. Although grateful that 鈥淭ed had done me the generous service of being away from the campus during most of my first year as president,鈥� Father Malloy resolved 鈥渢hat the greatest compliment I could pay Ted was to build on what he had helped to establish over 35 years and to sustain the momentum.鈥�
That compliment to his predecessor was paid amply by Father Malloy during subsequent years as he oversaw a considerable enhancement of 91吃瓜鈥檚 reputation, substantive improvements in the size and scholarly credentials of its faculty, a strengthening of the academic quality, diversity and selectivity of its student body, and a dramatic growth of its endowment. Three years into Father Malloy鈥檚 presidency, in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, 91吃瓜鈥檚 then-provost Timothy O鈥橫eara, who had served both with Father Hesburgh and with Father Malloy, could describe the changes the latter had brought to 91吃瓜鈥檚 administration as 鈥渆volutionary rather than revolutionary.鈥�
The third installment of 鈥淢onk鈥檚 Tale鈥� gives a straightforwardly chronological and detailed account of the evolution, assigning one chapter to each of the 18 years of Father Malloy鈥檚 presidency. Confiding to readers his 鈥渆fforts to find a comfortable balance among my various roles as president, professor, writer, liturgical leader, pastor, Holy Cross community member and public speaker,鈥� Father Malloy provides an account of a successful balancing act while presenting a unique and absorbing ship鈥檚 log of two crucial decades in 91吃瓜鈥檚 history.
In the 18th and final chapter of 鈥淢onk鈥檚 Tale,鈥� Father Malloy concludes a reflection on his legacy this way: 鈥淚t may seem odd for me to say this about being president of 91吃瓜, but it was fun.鈥�
For most readers of Father Malloy鈥檚 autobiography, it really won鈥檛 seem odd at all.
鈥淢onks Tale: The Presidential Years鈥� will be released Aug. 25 (Thursday). Review copies are available by contacting Kathryn Pitts, University of 91吃瓜 Press, at pitts.5@nd.edu.