Smarrelli to leave CBU presidency in June
At least once a semester, Christian Brothers University President John Smarrelli, who also happens to be a biochemist, pops into an introductory biology class to see if he’s “still got it.”
“A little rusty, let’s put it that way,” Smarrelli said of his last appearance in front of a classroom.
He’ll soon have a lot more time to sharpen his teaching skills if he wants.
This academic year, his 10th as president of CBU, will be Smarrelli’s last. The 65-year-old grandfather of five informed the school’s board of trustees he plans to give out diplomas at graduation, and then he will be done.
Smarrelli, who has his hands in several Memphis education initiatives outside of CBU, said it’s not retirement, and he’s not leaving the city he adopted as home 10 years ago.
He’ll continue his work as chairman of two charter school boards, one of which was just approved to open six schools next year. He’s also not ruling out a return to the classroom.
“I’m just ready to do something different,” Smarrelli said. “Do something that allows me a little more balance in life, of being able to be a grandfather.”
The search for a successor
The search for the next leader of Memphis’ oldest university began Sept. 11, with the first meeting of a search committee, headed by trustee and former board chairman Mitch Graves. The first order of business, he said, will be to hire a search firm. The board hopes to have a list of names by late fall and a final candidate chosen in February.
“We want the new president to get as much knowledge from John” as possible, Graves said.
Smarrelli was the first president in CBU’s history not to be a Brother, although he is Catholic.
Graves said must-haves for the next leader include a strong academic background and a commitment to the university’s values.
“John was very true to those values and the mission of the organization, and I think the Brothers will tell you he’s done a fine job,” Graves said.
Access for DACA students
Smarrelli said not being a Brother, he had to prove himself in the job.
“The challenge was convincing folks that the mission of this university would be fulfilled in spite of the fact I was not a Brother,” Smarrelli said.
He took the school’s mission — faith, service, community — to heart.
His time at the university included the launch of a massive, privately-funded program to enroll students in the federal government’s Deferred Action Against Childhood Arrivals program. As children brought to the United States without documentation when they were young, they had no access to scholarships.
It started with one student, Smarrelli said, and the school now enrolls more than 100 DACA recipients.
He’s taken heat from the outside for the program, Smarrelli said, but internally, the school has embraced the initiative as part of the school’s mission to educate students in need.
“To me, the choice was pretty clear,” Smarrelli said. “I’m not making a political statement as much as, I’m an educator, my job is to educate.
“And as an educator at CBU, my job is to be able to educate students who normally wouldn’t be able to have an opportunity like this.”
The university is committed to continuing that work, Graves said.
Capital campaign still underway
Smarrelli said he plans to spend his last year heavily fundraising, aiming to put his successor in a solid financial position moving forward.