Jim Towey

Jim Towey
Former Director White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives
Nationality	United States
Education	B.S. and J.D.
Alma mater	Florida State University
Occupation	President and CEO of Ave Maria University
Spouse(s)	Mary
Children	Five

Jim Towey served as Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and as Assistant to President George W. Bush from 2002 to May 2006. He served as president of Saint Vincent College, a small Catholic university in Latrobe, Pennsylvania from 2006 until stepping down on June 30, 2010. Towey currently serves as President/CEO of Ave Maria University.

Towey grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in 1974. He went on to Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1978, and a Juris Doctor in 1981 from Florida State University College of Law. He is a Roman Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He served as the sixteenth President of Saint Vincent College (Latrobe, Pennsylvania), from July 1, 2006 until June 30, 2010. Major accomplishments during the years of his presidency include record levels of applications, enrollment as well as new pledge commitments; three consecutive budget surpluses; and the initiation of the most expensive construction and renovation project in the college’s history. Towey has made a priority of recruiting minority and international students. He also created a new Office of Service Learning to provide opportunities for hundreds of Saint Vincent students to experience serving those in need. Towey also presided over as somewhat controversial reaccreditation of the college by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 2007. A frequent speaker to groups and organizations all over the United States, Towey has spoken or lectured at Harvard, Yale, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Georgetown, and Davidson.