Update: October 7 #1

As we honor today as a moment for reflection, I also share timely news: I just informed the LMU Board of Trustees that I will retire from my position as president of LMU at the completion of my term on May 31, 2025. I made this decision after considerable discernment and with gratitude, pride, and joy for what we have accomplished together over the past decade. I am thankful to the LMU Board of Trustees, our former Board Chair Kathy Aikenhead, and our current Chair Paul Viviano, for their confidence and support, which have been a mainstay throughout my tenure.

Long before I was selected as your president, I was in awe of LMU. Having dedicated my career to Jesuit higher education (this is my 38th year!), I knew something was different here—a spark that animated this community and the global imagination embodied by our students, faculty, and staff. My early visits, marked by myriad smiles and wisdom, amplified my affection for this vibrant place, often described (at the time) as “L.A.’s best-kept secret.”

When I came to LMU in 2015—invigorated by its stellar talent and immense potential—I prioritized elevating LMU's profile and raising the value of an LMU degree. This was how we would attract the most accomplished students, faculty, and staff. This was how we would enhance our community's diversity to reflect the full spectrum of humankind. And this was how we would magnify our creativity. Indeed, this is how we now are igniting a brighter world.

In challenging times, LMU’s optimism and visionary solutions have been vital in responding with purpose. Guided by our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount mission, we have rigorously upheld our values, ensuring that each step of our journey is purposeful and transformative. At the onset of the global pandemic, LMU innovated and persevered. Despite widespread fears of a decline in higher education during and following such a tumultuous period, the demand for an LMU education has grown stronger, evidenced by our increasingly robust enrollment and soaring demand for our distinctive educational experience.

Of the eight universities at which I have worked, LMU stands out: here, faculty members, even amidst their scholarly success, express that their students are their top priority–routinely. The life-changing work of our faculty, student development professionals, campus ministers, staff, board members, religious communities, alumni, donors, and yes, our students has been a constant source of inspiration. Our community’s unshakable courage in the face of unrelenting pressures about us—your care for one another and the solidarity and love manifested in your conversations, research, creative works, service, and activism–have propelled the university forward moment after moment, year after year.  

Our strategic plan has set a course for a future filled with possibility and promise; our fundraising prowess has enabled us to make an LMU education more accessible; and our visibility efforts have crystalized our distinctive identity, including how we understand ourselves and how we are perceived by those around us. These and other initiatives have empowered us to advance inclusivity and diversity on our campus, enhancing our collective creativity and problem-solving fluency. Together, we have built a foundation for a future in which we can thrive and contribute in ways yet more profound to the greater good. I am encouraged that the LMU Board of Trustees will continue to prioritize these initiatives as enduring commitments to create the world in which we want to live.

The extraordinary commitment of LMU’s senior leadership team has been pivotal in our journey. I remain confident in the talent, wisdom, and dedication of our President’s Cabinet members. Our academic deans are luminaries, guiding our colleges, schools, and departments toward more prosperous futures and supporting the pursuit of knowledge that our faculty make possible. We are a university that proudly proclaims its achievements and values, a place where all are welcome–and where all can flourish. And that includes our Lion student-athletes, whose recent successes have been inspiring. As we look to the future, our work is in no way complete. We will continue to push the proverbial boundaries, leverage our abounding strengths, and strive for ever-greater impact.

Thank you for your bountiful friendship and trust. I am grateful for your support, faith in me, and steadfast devotion to making LMU a pinnacle of academic excellence and innovation. The many friend-colleagues I have made here fill my heart with joy, and that will accompany me in every moment to come. Serving you as president has been as high an honor as I have experienced–one for which I have been blessed. I know you will continue to ignite a brighter world. Do so with love and joy!

With heartfelt thanks and confidence in what is to come,

Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President