ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., June 14, 2019 — Fr. Russel Murray, O.F.M., has been named vice president for Mission Integration at St. Bonaventure University, President Dennis R. DePerro, Ed.D., announced today. He begins work Aug. 19.
Fr. Russel will also be a visiting associate professor of theology.
Since becoming president in 2017, DePerro has been committed to developing a plan to more formally integrate the university’s mission and values into all aspects of academic and campus life.
“I am extremely impressed with Fr. Russel and have tremendous faith that he will be able to work with me and our entire campus community to embed our Franciscan mission and university values in all that we do,” said DePerro, who established a Presidential Mission Commission in the fall of 2017.
Since then, the group recommended hiring a vice president for Mission Integration, updated the university’s mission statement, and refined the university’s value set to better reflect St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan tradition.
Since 2015, Fr. Russel has been the general animator for evangelization and president of the Commission for Dialogue at the General Curia of the Order of Friars Minor in Rome, Italy.
As general animator, he advised the general minister and his council on all endeavors promoting the evangelizing mission of the order. As Commission president, he advised the general minister and his council on matters pertaining to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
“As a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province, it is a privilege for me to follow in the footsteps of my brothers in serving the St. Bonaventure University community,” Fr. Russel said. “I’m excited to be doing so now as the university, under the leadership of President DePerro, strives to realize its ongoing, 161-year-old commitment to its Franciscan mission and values for a new generation.”
From 2011-2014, Fr. Russel was the director of Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy at Siena College. He’s also taught systematic theology at Washington Theological Union and the Franciscan School of Theology at Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California.
“As our student body and campus community becomes more diverse each year, Fr. Russel’s experience in interreligious dialogue is so important for us,” DePerro said. “Add that to his experience as an academic in the classroom and his work with students at Siena, and I’m not sure we could have found a better candidate.”
To see Fr. Russel’s complete CV, click here.
