Lucey said he took on the new role at age 78 because he is “very, very, very interested in the Jesuit, Catholic identity of our schools. I’ve worked on that since I did my dissertation back in 1978, looking at Marquette as a Catholic school. It’s been kind of my focus, and so now to be in a position to encourage and foster the Jesuit, Catholic identity of our colleges and universities — it’s just kind of ideal.”

Lucey visited nearly all 28 Jesuit colleges and universities between February and May of this year and said the experience “reaffirmed my appreciation of what is being accomplished and heightened my awareness of the challenges we face.”

As president, Lucey said that the three areas of priority he’ll be focusing on are formation in the Ignatian tradition, restructuring and ensuring that AJCU maintains an effective presence in Washington, D.C., in support of higher education.

Read the full interview with Lucey at the Seattle University website.