Terrence M. Sawyer named first lay president of Loyola University Maryland

The Loyola University Maryland Board of Trustees has unanimously selected Terrence M. Sawyer as the institution’s 25th president – the first lay president in the 169-year history of the Jesuit university in Baltimore.

Sawyer, currently Loyola’s senior vice president, was chosen after a national search following the June 2021 retirement of Jesuit Father Brian F. Linnane, who led the university for 16 years. Sawyer will begin as president Jan. 1, 2022, according to an Oct. 20 news release from Loyola.

A leader at Loyola for 23 years, Sawyer has assumed increasingly significant responsibilities during his tenure at the university, advancing strategic priorities and supporting the growth of the institution, according to the news release. 

When he started at Loyola in 1998, Sawyer served as special assistant to the president for government and community relations. He rose to the position of vice president for administration before being selected as vice president for advancement in 2015. In 2017, he was named senior vice president, his current role. 

In recent years, under Sawyer’s leadership, the university raised more than $100 million through the Bright Minds, Bold Hearts campaign, the largest campaign in Loyola’s history, which significantly grew Loyola’s endowment and student scholarship support. Sawyer has also led advancement in raising funds to support strategic capital projects, including the recently opened Miguel B. Fernandez Family Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning.

“Terry values Jesuit, liberal arts education, knows Loyola’s strengths and challenges, and has a compelling, foundational vision for defining and shaping Loyola in the years ahead,” said James Forbes, ’80, chair of Loyola’s Board of Trustees. “He’s a critical thinker with a sound business sense and an appreciation for intellectual inquiry. He’s also a relationship builder who is ready to help Loyola achieve still greater success with a deep commitment to its Jesuit identity, academic success, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our search identified many talented leaders, but it was clear that Terry holds the greatest promise as the president who can – and will – move Loyola University Maryland forward.”

Sawyer led the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the planning and successful reopening and operations of Loyola’s campuses. In addition, he is an affiliate professor in Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business and Management.

“I am humbled and honored to have this incredible opportunity to serve as Loyola’s next president,” Sawyer said in the release “These are undoubtedly challenging times for higher education, but Loyola is extremely well-positioned for all that lies ahead. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the University as together we create a shared vision for the future of our University.”

Sawyer is a graduate of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities’ Ignatian Colleagues Program, which is designed to educate and form administrators and faculty more deeply in the Jesuit and Catholic tradition of higher education. During the program, Sawyer completed the Spiritual Exercises and participated in an immersion experience in El Salvador. In June 2016, he walked in the steps of St. Ignatius on a pilgrimage through parts of Spain and Italy. 

“Terry has a deep passion for Ignatian spirituality and formation, which has informed his leadership style and will serve him well as the first lay president of our Jesuit University,” Forbes said. “Our Loyola family values the Jesuit tradition and ideals that define, inspire, and drive our University. In recent years, recognizing that we do not have as many members of the Society of Jesus serving and leading at Loyola, the University has intentionally invested in the Ignatian formation of its faculty, staff, administrators, and students. The Board is confident that Terry will lead with a passion and commitment to the Jesuit, liberal arts education that we are proud to deliver to our students.”

A native of Wayne, New Jersey, Sawyer earned his bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, was awarded a Juris Doctor degree from the Widener University School of Law, and completed the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Educational Management program. Prior to working at Loyola, Sawyer was an attorney for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and practiced civil and criminal law in Baltimore City. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar.

“Loyola is blessed to have an incredibly talented and dedicated community. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues across the University in meeting the moment and leading Loyola in this next chapter of its long and illustrious history,” Sawyer said. “The extraordinary Jesuit, Catholic liberal arts education Loyola delivers to its students is unparalleled. In this moment, we can lean into the richness of our values and tradition, while enhancing Loyola in innovative ways for the future. Loyola’s future is bright, and I feel honored to be a part of it.”

Sawyer and his wife, Courtney, a speech pathologist who earned her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola, are parents to three sons – two of whom are in college and one who is serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps – and live in Towson. They are parishioners of Church of the Nativity in Timonium.

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