- Stephen Privett
The Reverend Stephen Privett, S.J. is a
Roman Catholic priest and member of theSociety of Jesus . Father Privett is the 27th and current president of theUniversity of San Francisco .Born in
San Francisco, California , Father Privett joined the Society of Jesus in1960 and was ordained a priest in1972 . He holds a bachelor's degree from theGonzaga University , a masters of Divinity from theJesuit School of Theology at Berkeley , and a doctorate in catechetics fromThe Catholic University of America inWashington, D.C. He served as, among others, instructor and principal at
Bellarmine College Preparatory inSan Jose, California and associate professor atSanta Clara University . While at Santa Clara, Father Privett was appointed academic vice-president in1991 and provost in1997 .In
2000 , Father Privett was appointed president of the University of San Francisco, succeeding Father John Schlegel, S.J.In January of
2007 , Father Privett performed the Invocation at the opening of the110th Congress and the swearing in ofNancy Pelosi asSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives .During his commencement addresses at December graduations, Father Privett usually removes his
Tudor bonnet and replaces it with aSanta Claus hat. His commencement address usually contains a variation of the following: "At these December graduations it is customary for me to switch hats—this one, for this one. I do so because the diploma I just gave you, is probably the most expensive Christmas gift that you will ever receive. Happily, my responsibility is only to give you your diploma—not pay for it. "External links
* [http://www.usfca.edu/president/genInfo/bio.html Official Biography]
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