Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. (January 17, 1921 – April 19, 1993) was an American

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priest and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. He served as the President of

Loyola College in Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the U ...

from 1964 to 1993, making him the longest-serving president of any Jesuit university in the United States at the time. During his presidency, he oversaw a significant transformation and growth of the school, including its merger with

Mount Saint Agnes College Mount Saint Agnes College was a Catholic women's college located in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It opened in 1890 and was operated by the Sisters of Mercy. In 1971, Mount Saint Agnes merged with nearby Loyola College ...

, the admission of female students, the creation of an independent

School of Business and Management A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulso ...

(which was later named in his honor), and substantial increases in the school's endowment, number of professors, and campus. Prior to his appointment as president, he was a professor of theology at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

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, and served as the Dean of

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...

from 1957 to 1964.

Early life

Joseph Sellinger was born on January 17, 1921 in

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to Frank and Carolyn Sellinger. He was the younger brother of Frank Sellinger, an executive who worked with the Burger Brewing Company and

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

but was most noted for being vice chairman and chief executive officer of the

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz (), was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was adve ...

from 1978 until his retirement in 1983. He attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School, where he graduated first in his class, before entering the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1938. He was then sent to the seminary in

Wernersville, Pennsylvania Wernersville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,494 at the 2010 census. Geography Wernersville is located at (40.329941, -76.080701). History In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Wer ...

and then

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

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in 1942. He began teaching chemistry, philosophy, logic, and German at

at the age of 24. In 1951, he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

at the Facultes St. Albert de Louvain in

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. Following his ordination, he was made a professor of theology at

He became the Dean of

at Georgetown University in 1957, and remained in the position until 1964. Sellinger was expected to become the next President of Georgetown University, but had a falling-out with the Jesuit hierarchy, and was sent to Loyola.

Loyola College

Sellinger was appointed president of Loyola College in Maryland in 1964. He oversaw significant changes in the school as a result of the turmoil of the 1960s as well as the reforms of the

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. Among these was the conversion of the college from all-male to

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

(despite his initial opposition), which occurred after the absorption of

in 1971. Over the course of his almost 30-year presidency, the school transitioned from a small commuter school to a regional college. He acquired the school's first dormitory in 1967, Hammerman House, and established the School of Business and Management as its own institution in 1983. A successful fundraiser, he created the school's endowment, which totaled $42 million at the time of his death. Likewise, the school's operating budget increased from $1.4 million in 1964 to $65 million in 1993; the number of professors increased from 100 to 400 in the same time. The campus also grew from to . He died on April 19, 1993, of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in the President's House on Loyola College's campus, and his funeral was held in the

Cathedral of Mary Our Queen The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a Catholic cathedral located in northern Baltimore, Maryland. The structure, remarkable in size, was completed in 1959. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore, joining the Basilica of the Nati ...

. He is interred at the Jesuit Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville. His presidency was the longest of any among the Jesuit universities in the United States.

Legacy

Sellinger Lounge in the Leavey Center at Georgetown is named in his honor. Governor

William Donald Schaefer William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...

announced in 1993 that the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

's program for distributing money to private colleges would be named after him. This fund was challenged before the

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grounds, and Sellinger partook in the program's defense along with other private colleges; the constitutionality of the fund was upheld in 1976, in the case of ''Romer v. Board of Public Works.'' In 1984, Loyola College's business school was renamed the Rev. Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. School of Business and Management in honor of him, after an anonymous donor pledged $1 million to the school contingent upon its renaming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellinger, Joseph A. 1921 births 1993 deaths St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni Spring Hill College alumni Clergy from Philadelphia 20th-century American Jesuits Deans of Georgetown College Presidents of Loyola University Maryland Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from pancreatic cancer 20th-century American academics