St. Bonaventure University has named a South Buffalo native and longtime higher education administrator as its 21st university president.
Dr. Dennis DePerro, dean of the Purcell School of Professional Studies at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, will take office June 1, 2017, the university announced Friday in a news release.
“Dennis is a great fit for St. Bonaventure University," said Robert Daugherty, chair of St. Bonaventure’s Board of Trustees. "His innovative enrollment efforts, allied health program development, and commitment to the liberal arts in a Catholic setting make him an ideal president."
DePerro will become the second lay president in the university's history. He is a graduate of Bishop Timon High School and Canisius College.
“The Jesuits have had a profound impact on my life, but my foundation is Franciscan,” DePerro said in the release. “To have the opportunity to lead this remarkable institution is something I never could have imagined as a student at Timon. I’m deeply grateful to the members of the Board of Trustees and those members of the campus community who have extended this measure of faith in me. I’m humbled and honored.”
DePerro has spent his entire 35-year career in college administration. He has worked in various admissions and alumni relations posts at Canisius, Marietta College in Ohio and LeMoyne.
His wife, Sherry, is a vice president at Cadaret, Grant and Co., a national financial advisory firm headquartered in Syracuse. They have two sons at Providence College: Andrew, a senior, and Matthew, a freshman.
DePerro will replace interim president Dr. Andrew Roth, who was named to the post after the retirement of longtime president Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F.
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