University of St. Francis in Joliet names new president

The University of St. Francis Board of Trustees has announced the selection of the school’s 10th president.

The hiring of Ryan C. Hendrickson, current provost and vice president for academic affairs at Eastern Illinois University, was announced Feb. 18 at the Joliet university.

Hendrickson also has worked as a senior administrator and professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University for 26 years, according to a news release from the University of St. Francis.

He previously served in several other roles at EIU: L.M. Hamand Dean of the graduate school, acting dean of the College of Health and Human Services, and acting dean of Booth Library, according to the release.

University of St. Francis President Arvid C. Johnson will retire in May. Hendrickson begins his new role June 1.

Sister Jeanne Bessette, president of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, said in the release that Hendrickson’s background “is the perfect combination to ensure the strength of our Franciscan university in the 21st century.”

Hendrickson, who said he is a practicing Catholic, is excited to begin his new role where “my faith can be put into practice in a leadership capacity.”

“Well, first, I love the Franciscan Catholic identity of the university,” Hendrickson said. “And I think some of the performance measures, especially with retention, were impressive. And they’d done some innovative things that make the university pretty competitive.”

Hendrickson cited USF’s multiple international programs and praised the number of quality graduate programs.

“They also have some new investments, especially in the sciences, that help make the university that much more competitive,” he said.

Hendrickson said it’s important for the University of St. Francis to offer competitive programs with “market relevance.”

“I’ve been in Illinois 26 years now, so I have a pretty good understanding of Illinois higher education,” Hendrickson said. “Once I get there, we’ll assess our programs. The university needs to be competitive and needs to find programs that are competitive and attractive to students. You have to have programs that are going to draw students.”

The Board of Trustees selected Hendrickson with guidance from a 20-member presidential search committee that was composed of trustees, faculty, staff, administration, students and alumni, according to the release.

Hendrickson “emerged as the best candidate from a pool of over 50 applicants who were recruited and vetted by Academic Search, a highly regarded firm that supports executive recruitment for colleges and universities,” according to the release.

Steven Hernandez, a University of St. Francis trustee and chair of the presidential search committee, said in the release that Hendrickson brings USF “a wealth of experience and knowledge.”

“I’ve been in Illinois 26 years now, so I have a pretty good understanding of Illinois higher education.”

—  Ryan C. Hendrickson, who will become the 10th president of the University of St. Francis in Joliet on June 1

Hendrickson has written more than 70 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles, and he has authored three books: “The Clinton Wars,” “Diplomacy and War at NATO” and “Obama at War.”

“As a scholar and professor, I was very interested in foreign policy and the use of force abroad and leadership,” Hendrickson said. “So all those books dealt with that question in different ways. It helped bring a lot of life to my teaching. My students loved it when I could talk about my research, and it just really energized my lectures and teaching.”

Hendrickson said he occasionally misses the classroom, but he really “enjoys being in administration.”

“I like thinking about the mission on the largest scale and how do we advance the mission across the entire university,” he said. “That’s what’s fun about leadership.”

Hendrickson earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Marquette University, and a master’s and doctoral degree in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He and his wife Tece have three children: daughter Marguerite (married to Jack Stamper), daughter Frances and son Ryan.