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President
Richard L. Ludwick became the 9th president of the University of St. Thomas on July 1, 2017. He previously served as president of the Independent Colleges of Indiana, the nation’s oldest association of 31 private, nonprofit colleges and universities enrolling more than 100,000 students. In that capacity, he led strategic initiatives in public policy at the state and federal levels, spurred innovative, intercollegiate collaborations, and successfully executed multi-million dollar philanthropic campaigns.
Richard served as provost at St. Gregory’s University in Oklahoma before joining ICI. Early in his career, Richard co-founded a law firm in Indiana and later went on to serve institutions of higher learning across the United States, including positions as vice president of enrollment management and student affairs at Albany Law School (Albany, NY); assistant dean for student and academic affairs at the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law (Gainesville); and dean of students at the University of Oregon School of Law (Eugene).
In addition to his Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Evansville, Richard holds a Master of Arts in higher education administration from Teachers College of Columbia University (New York), Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney Law School, and Doctor of Education in policy management and organization of higher education administration from the University of Oregon (Eugene).
Currently, Richard serves as president of the International Council of the Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a global network of institutions dedicated to the spirit of St. Thomas. Richard served as a commissioner for the Midwest Higher Education Compact; chair of the board for the Coalition for College Cost Savings; as a member of the Indiana Chamber’s Business Higher Education Policy Committee; and as a member of the State Councils’ Advisory Committee for the Council of Independent Colleges.
Richard and his wife, Melynda, a pharmacist, have two grown children, Richard III, also a graduate of the University of Evansville, and Christianne, a graduate of Ave Maria University and Butler University respectively. Christianne and husband, Michael Fenzl, have three children, Gabriel, Pia and Benedict.
Education
president@stthom.edu
713-525-2160
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Jose Luis is an accomplished financial and operations management professional with over 30 years of experience across multiple industries, including manufacturing, distribution, IT services, and sales.
Jose Luis has held significant leadership roles at Hewlett Packard, where he served as Latin America Controller, responsible for driving compliance and business controls across a diverse region. He also led the Americas Financial Controllership Operations, managing a team of over 270 professionals. His expertise extends to global financial management, having worked in various regions, including Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
He holds a MSA from the University of St. Thomas, an MBA from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and has completed executive development programs at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, Jose Luis brings a global perspective to his role at the University.
In his previous positions, Jose Luis has been instrumental in leading financial transformations, ensuring compliance with US GAAP and local statutory requirements, and enhancing operational efficiency. His strong leadership, strategic planning, and team development skills have consistently driven organizational success.
He is an avid tennis and golf player and enjoys boogie boarding whenever he’s at the beach. He also loves traveling and spending time with his wife, Marie, especially in Mexico and Canada.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs
Dr. Christopher P. Evans was appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs in November 2018. Joining the University of St. Thomas in 2007, Chris taught full time in the Theology Department. In 2011, he began his administrative career as the Theology department chair, an experience that led to his appointment as the Dean of Arts and Science in 2016, and present role as VPAA.
As VPAA, Chris offers a strong understanding of, and alignment with, the identity and mission of UST as well as the experience and courage to navigate the challenges facing Catholic higher education and the opportunities for innovation. He also seeks to perpetuate the educational values that he had as the Dean of Arts & Sciences, with the aspiration “To bestow upon students the most useful form of knowledge, the discipline of the mind to complement a comprehensive view of the human condition, and of the moral, social and political opportunities and problems that confront our world now and in the future.”
Chris earned his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University, his Th.M in New Testament from the Dallas Theological Seminary, and BA in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University. He has many publications that made original contributions particularly in the area of early-scholastic Christology, including an edited volume, Victorine Christology (Brepols, 2018) and a book, Simon of Tournai, On the Incarnation of Christ (PIMS, 2017).
Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
Gita P. Bolt, J.D., is the Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for the University of St. Thomas. A Houston native, she previously served as the Vice President and General Counsel for the Houston Housing Authority.
Prior to the Housing Authority, Gita was General Counsel for Loyola University New Orleans and Texas Southern University (TSU). She also held the positions of Associate General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, and Director of NCAA Compliance in the Department of Athletics, while at TSU. Prior to Texas Southern, Gita was an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General.
In 2011, Gita was selected as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Louisiana by the National Diversity Council. In 2018, she was named as one of the Top 30 Most Influential Women of Houston.
Gita attended Howard University, cum laude, with a BA in Political Science and Government and a minor in Business Administration. At Howard, she competed on the track team and was an Academic All-American. She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane University School of Law, along with a Sports Law Certification. While attending Tulane Law, Gita was honored as the Best Orator of the Southern Region in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.
Vice President for University Advancement and Chief Development Officer
With high energy, Dawn Koenning leads the University Advancement team toward achieving the goals established by the community as Vice President for University Advancement and Chief Development Officer.
Dawn has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising. Prior to running her own consulting company, she served as Director of Development at Texas Children’s Hospital and as a Major Gift Officer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She earned her BA in Political Science at Texas A&M University.
Dawn is actively engaged in the Houston philanthropic community as a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Houston Chapter since 2004. She served as the 2007 and 2014 Chair of the annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon and eventually went on to serve as the President of the Greater Houston Chapter of AFP in 2017. Dawn continues to be extremely active with the organization, having developed a strong network of professional peers and friends.
Dean, Cameron School of Business
Bob Keith was appointed Dean of the Cameron School of Business on July 1, 2024. He brings 30 years of broad-based executive experience to his role, including a track record for building and growing innovative life science technology businesses. Over his professional career, he has served multinational corporations, mid-cap growth companies, venture-backed startups, and a new breed of not-for-profit and for-profit hybrid enterprises.
Along the way, Bob served as the co-founder and CEO of two high profile startups, helped to raise more than $200 million in capital, participated in the development, manufacture and launch of multiple products and commercial organizations, was associated with exits of more than $2 billion in total potential value, and has discovered many important life lessons.
In addition to his professional career, most recently, Bob served as Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Creative Entrepreneurship at John Paul the Great Catholic University. He began his academic career in 2015 at The Catholic University of America, where he co-founded the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Busch School of Business and later served as Vice Provost where he led a team to reimagine and launch an innovative undergraduate business program.
Bob earned his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, his MCP from the University of Pennsylvania, and his BA from The George Washington University. Additionally, he has participated in a variety of leadership development and executive education programs at the Center for Creative Leadership, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.
Bob enjoys helping organizations create novel strategic visions, designing the necessary operating models, partnerships, and funding mechanisms, and cultivating a collaborative team culture for long-term success. He also enjoys guiding spiritual entrepreneurs on their journeys. In 2023, he and his wife walked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across Spain.
Dean, Carol and Odis Peavy School of Nursing
Dr. Claudine Dufrene serves as Associate Professor and Dean of the Carol and Odis Peavy School of Nursing. She also holds the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Chair in Nursing.
Dr. Dufrene is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a medical/surgical nurse and a geriatric nurse practitioner and by the National League for Nursing as a Certified Nurse Educator. Her research interests are in the area of nursing education, specifically student learning outcomes and program success, as well as healthy aging in the older adult. She serves as a manuscript reviewer for Geriatric Nursing and Nurse Education Today.
Claudine earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Science from Texas Woman's University, and her MS and BS in Nursing from the University of Phoenix.
Dean of the Doherty Library and Beran Library
James Piccininni is the Dean of Libraries, providing leadership for the Doherty Library at the University of St. Thomas’ main campus and the Beran Library at St. Mary’s Seminary. He has over 35 years of experience working in libraries, including serving as Dean of Libraries and previously as the Director of Doherty Library at UST.
James has a broad range of library experience, having worked at two SUNY campus libraries that required involvement in virtually every aspect of academic libraries: reference, instruction, cataloging, collection development, circulation and library automation. He has served on the Texas Council of Academic Libraries executive board and is a member of the Texas Library Association, American Library Association and the Catholic Library Association. He is an active reviewer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges, the regional accrediting agency for universities in the southeastern United States.
James received his MA in Public Administration from Marist College, and his MA in Library Science and BA in Political Science from State University of New York.
Dean, School of Education and Human Services
Dr. Ana-Lisa Gonzalez became Dean of the School of Education and Human Services in January 2021. Her areas of expertise are motivation, reading and parenting, and she enjoys speaking on literacy, educational psychology, and Catholic education.
Ana-Lisa received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Individual Differences from the University of Houston, and her M.Ed. in Educational Administration and BA in General Studies from the University of St. Thomas.
Dean, The Kolbe School of Innovation and Professional Studies
Dr. Nicole McZeal Walters has been the Dean of The Kolbe School of Innovation and Professional Studies since its inception in August of 2019. Dr. Walters is the founding dean of the program and has been significant in its creation designed to support a growing population that needs a skilled workforce infused with UST’s Basilian Core Values and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Prior to this appointment as Dean, she served as the Associate Dean in the School of Education and Human Services for 7 years and is also an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership.
As a leadership professor, her research agenda includes developing leaders to embrace servant and moral leadership, workforce development, and integrating culture and language to support academic achievement in historically underserved, marginalized students. She is a former school teacher, specialist, and principal. Previously, she served as the Education Chair of the Education Foundation of Harris County and Co-Chair of Catholics and Public Life Planning/AnglicCVM Initiative. She has been recognized by Houston Magazine as one of “Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of Houston in 2014.”
Nicole earned her Ed.D. and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Texas Southern University, and her BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Houston. Her academic work has been published in the Women, Gender, and Families of Color Journal, the International Journal of Educational Reform, Wisconsin English Journal, Gifted Child Today, and School Leadership Review, to name a selected few, and has lectured widely at national and international conferences and universities.
She and her husband are the proud parents of one daughter, and Venus, their fun-loving Boxer!
Chief of Staff
Joseph Garcia brings a wealth of experience and a distinguished career to the role of Chief of Staff at the University of St Thomas. With a background that spans military service, corporate leadership, and specialized consultancy, Joseph is uniquely positioned to support and enhance the university's mission and operations.
Joseph began his career with service as an active-duty army officer, where he developed key leadership and strategic skills. Following his military service, Joseph transitioned to the corporate sector, becoming a senior executive at a Fortune 50 company. In this role, he honed his skills in high-level management, operational efficiency, and strategic planning, driving significant growth and innovation within the company.
For the past 15 years, Joseph has been at the helm of Mindstream, a management consulting firm specializing in higher education that he founded with his father, a former President of Texas A&M International University. Under his leadership, Mindstream has partnered with approximately 40 public and private colleges and universities across the United States, helping them to thrive in a challenging environment. This extensive experience has provided Joseph with a deep understanding of the diverse challenges and opportunities within higher education.
As the leader of Mindstream, Joseph has gained expertise in all facets of the modern university. He has crafted and implemented strategic plans that align with institutional goals and enhance overall mission effectiveness. As a consultant he has optimized administrative processes and operational efficiencies to support sustainable growth and performance, while ensuring financial stability through sound budgeting and resource allocation.
Working closely with academic leaders and faculty at both public, private, and graduate- level schools, he has enhanced academic offerings and supported faculty development to maintain high standards of educational excellence. His work is responsible for driving initiatives to boost enrollment, retention, and student satisfaction.
Joseph’s career is marked by a commitment to excellence, strategic vision, and servant leadership. He is dedicated to the core principles of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, advancing the University of St Thomas’ mission, supporting its community, and ensuring its continued success and growth.
