Mark R. Nemec, PhD, is the first lay and ninth Ignatian President of Fairfield University.

Working with his senior leadership team, constituents across campus, and the University’s alumni and civic communities, President Nemec has positioned Fairfield to be a modern, Jesuit Catholic University of national prominence with an emphasis on excellence in all things, care for the whole person, and a broad-based liberal arts and sciences education.

At the same time, he has led the University through a course of expansion and innovation to meet the challenges of the 21st century, while enhancing the University’s scale and quality by emphasizing: innovation in teaching methods, embracement of the potential of big data/emerging technologies, the launch of new graduate/professional programs , and the fostering of industry and community partnerships.

President Nemec earned a BA in English from Yale, where he was an All-Ivy League rugby player. He received an MA in education and a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan. Dr. Nemec authored Ivory Towers and Nationalist Minds: Universities, Leadership, and the Development of the American State (UMichigan Press, 2006), and a contributor to The Educational Legacy of Woodrow Wilson (UVa Press, 2012). Prior to joining Fairfield, Dr. Nemec served as the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. Before UChicago, Dr. Nemec served as president and CEO of Eduventures, a Boston-based information services firm providing research and advice to the higher education community.