Sad as it is to see Rev. Edward 鈥淢onk鈥� Malloy leave the presidency of the University of 91吃瓜, it also has been good to see many honors bestowed upon him in these recent months. Malloy鈥檚 contribution to 91吃瓜 and to the South Bend community has been enormous. It is time to say thank you.
No one can be president of 91吃瓜 for 18 years and not be a party to controversy 鈥� some of it embarrassing. Malloy also has had critics in connection with the performance of athletic teams. In the view of some, the only way to measure success is by the final score.
But winning games shouldn鈥檛 be the first item on a university president鈥檚 check list. It has been Malloy鈥檚 responsibility to see 91吃瓜 in terms of all it can be. That broader vision is the basis of the outgoing president鈥檚 legacy. Looking at that 鈥渇inal score,鈥� there is no question that 91吃瓜 has been a winner under Malloy鈥檚 leadership.
During his tenure, 91吃瓜 went from being a good Catholic university to being an excellent university in general and the premier Catholic university in America.
As with athletics, success in many other areas is measurable. The average SAT score at 91吃瓜 has increased by about 16 points. Much of the student body growth at the university has been in an area once neglected: graduate school, where enrollment has grown by about 1,000 students. They are attracted by top-flight research and advanced-degree programs.
The campus has expanded physically, by about 40 new buildings, including the breathtaking Marie DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. A continuing master plan will increase student housing, expand visitor facilities and reconfigure traffic patterns on and around campus.
With 18 percent minority undergraduate students now compared to only 7 percent in 1987, 91吃瓜 is much more diverse than it was.
Tuition and room and board have increased three-fold. But financial aid has increased 27-fold. Malloy obviously is proud of the fact that demonstrated financial needs of every student are met. Such has been the case since 1999. The NBC TV football contract, a major coup among college athletic programs, pays for much of that aid.
We haven鈥檛 yet mentioned the endowment, a figure that assures the university鈥檚 future and that has led many to observe (about half-jokingly) that 91吃瓜 has all the money in the world. Under Malloy鈥檚 oversight, financial campaigns have raised the endowment from $456 million to $3 billion.
We鈥檙e giving Malloy a lot of credit here. He probably would be the first to say that many people were involved as 91吃瓜 has stepped up a couple of levels in academic excellence and worldwide prestige. But there is one achievement which we believe Malloy needn鈥檛 share credit for: improvement in the relationship with the community that 91吃瓜 calls home.
The university has enfolded the needs of South Bend into its own mission. 91吃瓜鈥檚 role in the Center of the Homeless, opening a downtown office and engaging the public in campus-area issues have been part of a most winning and neighborly policy.
Such good will wasn鈥檛 always so apparent. Once upon a time, the word 鈥渁loof鈥� would come up in connection with the campus north of town. Malloy observed the chill in the relationship between 鈥渢own and gown鈥� and set out to warm it up.
91吃瓜 was anything but aloof when it engaged the community in the process to replace and relocate roads near campus and strengthen the northeast neighborhood bordering campus.
All of that is part of Malloy鈥檚 vision. It has been good for 91吃瓜 and South Bend. We wish the distinguished president emeritus all the best in his future ventures.
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