20 years later, Locatelli leaves a lasting legacy

By Gina Belmonte

From raising the university's endowment tenfold, to the rerouting of the Alameda and construction of new residence halls, stadiums, department buildings and a learning commons, University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., has overseen radical changes during his 20-year tenure as president.

Locatelli, the university's longest-serving president, has been appointed to an unprecedented four six-year terms since he took the reigns in 1988.

The university's Board of Trustees and fellow colleagues have credited Locatelli for promoting substantial physical and cultural changes across the campus, all the while striving to create a Jesuit university dedicated to fostering leaders of "competence, conscience and compassion" -- the three C's philosophy that Locatelli turned into a part of the common vocabulary at Santa Clara.

His term did not proceed without controversy -- the 1993 cancellation of football and 2001 phasing out of the Greek system rank high on this list -- but he is also credited with raising the university's financial and academic fortunes and raising minority enrollment from 25 percent in 1998 to 38 percent today. Santa Clara has also emerged as more than a regional college, with over 40 percent of the student body hailing from outside of California today compared to less than 20 percent prior to Locatelli's presidency.

A significant part of Locatelli's presidency has been dedicated to building a strong financial foundation that would allow the university a better opportunity to execute its mission. With an endowment of $700 million in 2007 as compared to $77 million in 1988, Santa Clara now holds a position in the nation's top 100 endowed universities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

This large endowment has allowed for the resources and facilities that help Santa Clara remain loyal to its mission, said Locatelli. With a stable endowment, class sizes can remain small, the university can afford top faculty and staff, and it can expand certain programs and centers all dedicated to the integration of academic excellence, faith and justice, he added.

Locatelli, 69, hasn't just spent his presidency increasing the endowment. The reason for his successful mission is his focus on students, said Vice President for University Relations Jim Purcell. As a first-generation college student, Locatelli has focused his presidency on enhancing students' experiences, said Purcell.

When he became university president, Locatelli said he planned to remain true to the Jesuit ideals of academic excellence, as well as to faith and justice.

"My mission was to really build upon what my predecessors had started building on, and it was to build an academically excellent Jesuit university," he said.

As an instrument to implement his vision, Locatelli drafted a strategic plan that delineates the goals, values and themes of a university as a Jesuit institution.

"With the strategic planning process, we have been able to move forward, and benefit students who are here to go out into the world and be good citizens and leaders that are academically qualified, have a sense of ethics, and have the compassion to make the world a better place," Locatelli said.

Several trustee members have attributed the university's prosperity to the strategic plan, an actual document that can be found online at www.scu.edu/strategicplan.

"Everything the university does or wants to do is tested against that strategy, and that's how he has guided this very complex organization," said Bob Finocchio, a member of the Board of Trustees. "Having that strategy proved paramount to establishing the identity of Santa Clara."

There were many hard decisions along the line, but few as emotionally charged as the cutting of the football team and the Greek system. Both were revoked so the university could better allocate funds toward more inclusive social programs and gender equity in sports, Locatelli said.

Both moves may have unjustifiably given him a bad reputation, said Justice Ed Panelli, who has served on the Board of Trustees for 44 years, 19 years as chair.

"But he did it with the cooperation of the Board of Trustees and in accordance to the university's ideals," Panelli said.

The university announced it would phase out fraternities and sororities on campus in 2001. Locatelli said that removing the university's affiliation with the Greek system was aimed at better allocating university resources for student life.

"We made the decision that if we were going to put money into student life, we would put it into student life for everyone, not just 10 percent of the student body," said Locatelli. Instead, the effort was made to create more community building programs and facilities, such as the Residential Learning Community programs and the late-night student hangout and food venue The Bronco.

Cutting the football team was a difficult decision for Locatelli, who was well acquainted with several football players and alumni that had been on the team. However, the football program used up one-third of the intercollegiate sports budget, caused gender equity problems and played in a league without strong competition, making cutting it altogether the best decision, said Locatelli.

Those who have worked with Locatelli have said he exemplifies his three-C philosophy.

He is a competent leader in that "he doesn't cram things down people's throats" and picks sharp trustees, said Mike Markkula, chairman of the Board of Trustees, adding Locatelli consciously made sacrifices to achieve the university mission. And he's a "great priest," said Purcell, citing the time that Locatelli visited a university donor he hardly knew undergoing open-heart surgery at Stanford Medical Center.

Purcell recalls Locatelli offering him his current university position while Purcell was working as the director of the Catholic Charities in the diocese of San Jose.

"I knew that a big piece of the job was fundraising," he said. "But in that first conversation, he didn't talk about fundraising. He talked about his vision of Santa Clara and educating leaders of competence, conscience and compassion -- and that's what really got me interested."

Prior to becoming president, Locatelli served as the university academic vice president and taught accounting classes at Santa Clara.

He grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Boulder Creek, Calif., and began his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to Santa Clara in 1958. After graduating from Santa Clara with a degree in accounting and serving the in the U.S. Army, Locatelli joined the Society of Jesus in 1962 and was ordained as a priest in 1974.

Locatelli also received a doctorate in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1971 and a master of divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in 1974.

Proud of the trajectory in which he leaves Santa Clara, Locatelli suggests a future focus on global understanding and learning in application of the university's Jesuit distinction.

Locatelli noted that Santa Clara has already been put on this road in terms of its three centers of distinction: the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the Center for Science, Technology and Society, and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. The centers were expanded or created while Locatelli was president to focus the university in terms of a global community, said Locatelli. Locatelli has also worked hard to increase global recognition of Santa Clara during visits to the Philippines and other countries, said Purcell.

Locatelli's embodiment of Jesuit ideals and leadership skills contributed to the university's progress, said Panelli.

"Paul's vision has been a success because he doesn't just work hard to train people to be leaders," said Panelli. "He clearly practices what he wishes to instill."

Contact Gina Belmonte at (408) 554-4546 or gbelmonte@scu.edu.