By Elizabeth Skalski
Twitter: @ReviewSkalski
Jesuit Father Thomas A. Pesci, who has served as president of Loyola Blakefield since 2005, announced May 10 that he will be leaving the Towson school at the end of the school year.
Father Pesci’s last day will be June 30 and he will be succeeded by John H. Weetenkamp III. Weetenkamp, a 1965 graduate of the school, will serve as interim president and director of the work for the 2012-2013 school year, according to a May 10 letter from Joseph Sullivan, chairman of the Loyola Blakefield board of trustees.
“I must tell you that I am very peaceful in this decision and excited about the opportunities that it opens up for me as I enter into another phase of my apostolic life as a Jesuit,” Pesci said in a May 10 letter.
Weetenkamp will begin July 1and a long-term president is expected to succeed Weetenkamp in July 2013, Sullivan said in the letter.
“We are thankful for, and confident in, Mr. Weetenkamp’s continuing leadership,” Sullivan said in the letter.
A search committee for Father Pesci’s replacement was formed in January, said Robert Robinson, a Loyola Blakefield spokesman.
In the 1980s, Father Pesci taught Latin and theology at the school and was the yearbook advisor and campus minister.
Father Pesci came to Loyola Blakefield after nearly 11 years as president of Rockhurst Jesuit High School in Kansas City, Mo. He succeeded Jesuit Father Jack Dennis as Loyola Blakefield’s president.
“The last seven years in which I was privileged to serve as your president have only intensified my appreciation for this institution and for each one of you,” Father Pesci said in the 10 letter.
Copyright (c) May 11, 2012 CatholicReview.org