Loyola Academy appoints the school's ninth president
The Loyola Academy board of trustees has appointed Rev. Gregory J. Ostdiek, SJ, to be the school's ninth president, effective July 5, 2022.
"Father Greg Ostdiek truly embraces the Jesuit, Catholic mission not only through his personal lived experience, but also in his vocation as a Jesuit priest," notes Loyola Board Chair Nancy E. Paridy. "He is a leader who cares deeply about the people he serves."
Ostdiek is a native of Dayton, Ohio, where he graduated from Carroll High School in 1988. He holds bachelor's degrees from the University of Dayton in mechanical engineering and English, master's degrees in English from Pennsylvania State University and philosophy from Fordham University, a master of divinity in theology and a master of theology in scripture from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Most recently, he completed a master of education degree in educational policy and management at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master of public administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Ostdiek joined the Jesuits in 2008, teaching physics, coaching athletics, serving in campus ministry and moderating student clubs at several Jesuit schools, including Loyola Academy from 2014-16.
He was ordained in 2019. He has served as a parish priest and a prison minister. Currently, he serves as an administrator at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis and on the boards of Loyola Academy and St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
Prior to joining the Jesuits, Ostdiek served in the Navy from 1996-2008. As an executive officer and navigator on the USS Dextrous, second in command overseeing an 80-person crew, which was deployed twice in the Persian Gulf. "Through this experience, he came to learn what makes for effective leadership," Paridy said, "and he sees the keys to Christian leadership as leading from love, getting people on board and having them aligned with a shared mission."
As Loyola's next president, Ostdiek's key responsibilities will be leading the Jesuit, Catholic mission of Loyola Academy, sustaining key focus on its strategic vision and directing the institutional advancement program.
"I am tremendously excited to join Loyola Academy in its mission of serving Chicagoland and the world," states Father Ostdiek. "Loyola is a school with incredible students, a tremendously talented and caring faculty and staff, who show daily their dedication to the school's mission of forming women and men for others in service to the Church and the world, and an amazing community. I am humbled and honored to be chosen to serve them in turn."
Father Ostdiek will succeed Rev. Patrick E. McGrath, SJ, Loyola's president for the past 12 years and who will become the next pastor of Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, starting next summer.
McGrath led the Academy's $75 million Second Century Campaign, which is the largest and most successful capital campaign in the school's history and which is expected to exceed its goal by the end of the school year.
Large-scale capital enhancements include the John D. Norcross '54 Aquatic Center and the Mary and L. Robert '62 Pasquesi Piazza, which opened in 2019, and Loyola's new Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Leemputte Family Theater, which will open in August 2022.
Under his leadership, $51.9 million in tuition assistance has been awarded to 6,759 Loyola students, and he has conferred 6,463 diplomas to graduating seniors.
"Loyola Academy has thrived under the leadership of Father McGrath," Paridy said. "Father McGrath has worked diligently to strengthen the Catholic and Jesuit identity of the school and enhanced the formation of the students, faculty and parents in our faith tradition."