Presidents Who Shaped Our Story
As appointed by the Quincy University Board of Trustees, the President of the University is the Chief Executive Officer of the Quincy University Corporation and an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.
Franciscan friars served as our presidents for the first 142 years of Quincy University. Fr. Servatius Altmicks, the first president, and the other early presidents used the title of “rector,” consistent with the German heritage of the friars who founded and operated the university. The title of president was first used in 1905.
Dr. Brian McGee is the 24th president of Quincy University but is only the twenty-second person to hold the presidency. Two previous presidents – Fr. Anselm Mueller and Fr. Gabriel Brinkman – were named to the position on two separate occasions.
Eighteen Franciscan friars, one Franciscan sister, and three laypersons have been presidents of the university. Because the friar-presidents were assigned to different duties from time to time by the Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), Quincy University presidents often were in the role for between three and six years.
All presidents from 1860 through the second term of Fr. Gabriel Brinkman in 1983were Franciscan friars from the Sacred Heart Province, while the subsequent Franciscans were from other provinces. Since 2023, Quincy University has been sponsored by a new consolidated Franciscan province, the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Presidential Highlights
- The first president was Fr. Servatius Altmicks, when Quincy University’s story began on February 6, 1860, as Franciscan friars opened St. Francis Solanus College in Quincy, Illinois on 8th and Maine Street.
- Fr. Anselm Mueller began the first of his two times as president in 1863.
- Beginning in 1878, during Fr. Anselm Mueller’s first time as president, Augustus Tolton—who would become the first black priest in the United States & is on the way to becoming canonized a saint in the Catholic Church—entered the College as a student.
- Beginning in 1904, during Fr. Mueller’s second presidency, a recent Italian immigrant named John Riggitano attended the college. Riggitano, who later adopted “Prevost” as his last name, was the grandfather of the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV.
- The chapel in Francis Hall, the spiritual center of campus, was built and dedicated in 1912 during the presidency of Fr. Fortunatus Hausser, the 7th president.
- St. Francis Solanus College was renamed and became Quincy College & Seminary in 1917 during the presidency of Fr. Gabriel Lucan, the 8th president.
- The first female student, a religious sister, was admitted to the university in 1922, during the presidency of Fr. Ferdinand Gruen, the 9th president.
- Women first admitted as full-time day students in 1932, during the presidency of Fr. Vincent Fochtman, the 11th president.
- When World War II reduced male student enrollment, the college survived by training navel cadets, army reservists and religious sisters who were nursing students, during the presidency of Fr. Seraphin Tibesar, the 13th president.
- The Quincy College Foundation, the beginning of the College Endowment, was established in 1948, during the presidency of Fr. Henry Freiburg, the 14th president.
- The College achieved its first accreditation by the North Central Association in 1954, during the presidency of Fr. Julian Woods, the 15th president.
- Fr. Gabriel Brinkman began the first of his two times as president in 1963.
- During Fr. Gabriel Brinkman’s first time as president, Brenner Library, the College Center, several student residence halls were all constructed and College Avenue was closed to begin a unified campus.
- The Franciscan Provincial Council ceded control and ownership of the College to a combined Board of Trustees including friars and lay members in 1971, during the presidency of Fr. Titus Ludes, the 17th president.
- During Fr. Gabriel Brinkman’s second time as president, the Faculty Senate was organized, Legends Soccer Stadium was built on north campus and the Soccer team won five consecutive NAIA National Championships, a national record.
- Quincy College was renamed and became Quincy University in 1993, during the presidency of Fr. James Toal, the 19th president.
- The official relationship between Quincy University and Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing was established in 1998 during the presidency of Fr. Eugene Kole, the 20th president.
- Sr. Margaret Feldner, the 21st president and a Franciscan sister, is the only woman to serve as university president.
- Dr. Robert Gervasi, the 22nd president, was the first layperson appointed as president at Quincy University.
- Mr. Phil Conover, the 23rd president of the university, was the only non-Catholic ever named to the position.
- In addition to the presidents listed below, interim presidents have occasionally been appointed for the university, including, most recently, Fr. Mario DiCicco and Dr. David Schachtsiek. Both had previously been at the university in faculty or administrative roles.
Presidents 1860 to Present
- Dr. Brian McGee, 2019–present
- Mr. Phil Conover, 2017–2019
- Dr. Robert Gervasi, 2008–2017
- Sr. Margaret Feldner, OSF 2004–2006
- Fr. Eugene Kole, OFM, CONV, 1997–2002
- Fr. James Toal, OFM, 1983–1997
- Fr. Gabriel Brinkman, OFM, 1977–1983
- Fr. Titus Ludes, OFM, 1970–1977
- Fr. Gabriel Brinkman, OFM, 1963–1970
- Fr. Julian Woods, OFM, 1952–1963
- Fr. Henry Freiburg, OFM, 1948–1952
- Fr. Seraphin Tibesar, OFM, 1942–1948
- Fr. John Koebele, OFM, 1936–1942
- Fr. Vincent Fochtman, OFM, 1930–1936
- Fr. Alois Fromm, OFM, 1927–1930
- Fr. Ferdinand Gruen, OFM, 1921–1927
- Fr. Gabriel Lucan, OFM, 1916–1921
- Fr. Fortunatus Hausser, OFM, 1910–1916
- Fr. Samuel Macke, OFM, 1909–1910
- Fr. Anselm Mueller, OFM, 1902–1909
- Fr. Nicholas Leonard, OFM, 1893–1901
- Fr. Anselm Mueller, OFM, 1863–1893
- Fr. Capistran Zwinge, OFM, 1862–1863
- Fr. Servatius Altmicks, OFM, 1860–1862