Ex-CU V.P. to lead St. Xavier

A former Creighton administrator known for her leadership and fairness has been named president of Saint Xavier University in Chicago.

Christine Wiseman, who served as Creighton’s vice president for academic affairs until 2007, will begin as Saint Xavier’s leader in June, the Chicago school announced this week.

Creighton leaders cheered that announcement Wednesday, remembering Wiseman as an administrator who was well-liked by colleagues, Creighton’s faculty and its students.

“I always thought she was a great vice president at Creighton ... and now that I have her old job, I know how tough it is,” said Patrick Borchers, Creighton’s current academic affairs vice president.

While a Creighton vice president, Wiseman led the school’s re-accreditation efforts and promoted joint academic forums that brought together the health sciences and other fields.

She also helped to envision and plan what became the Harper Center, a four-story building that houses classrooms, more than a dozen campus offices, a theater and a ballroom.

Wiseman served as an intermediary between Creighton’s academic deans and its president, Borchers said, and left with the respect of both her boss and her subordinates.

She also helped to steer Creighton through several budget crunches, Borchers said, and gave a fair financial shake to each academic area before making decisions.

“Chris is a conscientious, caring and strategic manager of people and resources,” said the Rev. John Schlegel, Creighton’s president. “She is a great communicator and will help Saint Xavier with her strategic thinking and inclusive style.”

Wiseman left Creighton to become provost at Loyola University, where she directed the academic division of the largest Catholic research university in the United States.

Now she becomes president at Saint Xavier, a 5,057-student Catholic university in Chicago.

“I look forward to building on its successes and implementing a future that is both exciting for its vision yet true to its mission, core values and the educational ideals founded by the Sisters of Mercy,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman becomes at least the third former Creighton administrator in recent memory to become a university president elsewhere, Borchers said.

Charles Dougherty, a former Creighton vice president, has led Duquesne University since 2001. Maryanne Stevens, a former chair of Creighton’s theology department, has presided at Omaha’s College of Saint Mary since 1996.

Wiseman is more than deserving of her new title, Borchers said.

“Lots of good stuff got started and got done when Christine was here,” he said. “It’s hard for me to imagine that Saint Xavier could have found anybody better to be president.”

Contact the writer:

444-1064, matthew.hansen@owh.com

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