USF president will retire in 2013
By Bob Okon bokon@stmedianetwork.com May 10, 2012 11:16AM
Michael Vinciguerra
Updated: June 12, 2012 8:16AM
JOLIET — Michael Vinciguerra, president of the University of St. Francis, is planning to retire in May 2013.
Vinciguerra announced his plan to retire at the end of the next school year during a strategic planning meeting at the university earlier this week.
He told The Herald-News on Thursday that, when he arrived in 2002, he had planned to make the University of St. Francis his last stop before retirement. He decided that next year would be a good time to exit.
“At a certain point in time, you have to recognize that you are occupying the position, and you’re not the position,” he said.
Vinciguerra said he had accomplished goals he had set when he came to Joliet, including expanding the university’s outreach into the community and reinforcing the institution’s Franciscan heritage.
“We became a real partner in our county and in our community,” he said. “We’ve got an identity, and we’re not going to lose that.”
The university has initiated a number of programs in which students partner up with social service agencies and take other roles in the community. A downtown Joliet campus for art students opened up in the Rialto Square Theatre building under Vinciguerra.
The university also has remodeled, expanded the campus, and taken care of some practical matters such as adding parking lots at the urban campus on the near West Side of Joliet.
Vinciguerra said he will not let up in his last year on the job.
“I’m going to keep working really hard,” he said.
Vinciguerra arrived as president in 2002 and has been a driving force in expanding the university’s outreach into the Joliet community.
