Ave Maria University names Christopher Ice as next president

Ave Maria University's Board of Trustees has selected Christopher Ice as the private school's next president, the university announced Friday. 

Ice, 56, a Kansas City area native and CEO of Catholic Charities of Kansas City in St. Joseph, will be the third president of Ave Maria University.

He will take over in January for current President Jim Towey, who served for nearly nine years at the helm of the school. 

In October 2018, Towey announced he would be leaving his leadership role and would not seek an extension to his contract. 

Read:Ave Maria University President Jim Towey to step down in 2020

"As a Catholic institution, why do you want to be like public schools?" Ice said at an announcement ceremony Friday. "At Ave Maria, I'll commit to you we are going to run to our Catholic faith not away from our Catholic faith."

Ice said it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell Catholic universities from public schools. 

"We may be small," Ice said. "We may be new, but we're going to have great impact."

Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, who founded Ave Maria and serves as chancellor, praised Towey for his service to the school, especially after Hurricane Irma.

Monaghan said he was excited to see what's next for Ave Maria.

"I believe the university will be in good hands as we look to the future," Monaghan said.

Board Chairman Pat Rainey, who started in his new role Friday, announced the school's decision on campus outside the Bob Thomas Student Union.

"The search committee had many great candidates to look at, and Chris rose to the top," Rainey said. "We felt that he was uniquely the most qualified candidate and that he shared the vision of this community."

The board's search committee, led by trustee Louis Argenta, started its process to select a new president in June. 

Twelve members, including eight trustees, two faculty members, the school's chief financial officer and one student, narrowed a pool of 37 candidates to six over several months. After interviewing all six candidates, Ice was picked, Rainey said.

The committee looked for three things in a candidate: a focus on Catholicism, Catholic community experience and managerial skills.

Ice also worked in fundraising at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Rainey said Ice's experience at that school and Catholic Charities of Kansas City in St. Joseph, weighed heavily in his selection.

Michael Lis-Planells, a sophomore and event coordinator for the Student Activities Board, said he was surprised to see Towey leaving Ave Maria, but Ice seems like a good fit for the school.

“Just from his speech it seems like he really wants to preserve the Catholic identity, which I honestly think is one of the most important things of Ave (Maria),” Lis-Planells said. “I want to get to know him.”

Lis-Planells, 19, said he wants to see his school expand. Ave Maria's undergraduate enrollment this fall was 1,082 students.

“We love to fill the dorms as quickly as possible and putting additional resources into folks that can help us in the admissions and advancement to be able to continue to grow Ave (Maria),” Ice said.

More academic options could be decided on by the school and trustees during his presidency, Ice said.

“The biggest thing that I want to see from him is that he cares about the student body,” Lis-Planells said. “I want him to be passionate. I want him to care, and I think he will.”

Ice said Towey built a great culture at Ave Maria that he doesn’t see changing, but rather built on, including communication with students.

“I’m going to listen a lot in these first 90 to 100 days, just to hear what the needs are of the university,” Ice said.