Rev. Gerard Reedy, S.J.

   Gerard Reedy, S.J., was named the 30th president of the College of the Holy Cross in December 1993 and assumed his duties on July 1, 1994. 
   Rev. Reedy, an authority on the sermon literature of late 17th century England, was a member of the English Department at Fordham University for 21 years. While at Fordham he served as Dean of Fordham College, Dean of the University's Arts and Sciences faculty, and Vice President for academic affairs. As an administrator, Rev. Reedy strengthened the undergraduate core curriculum, solidified the relationship between academic and residential life, led Fordham's four undergraduate schools in a process of restructuring, and, in hundreds of hiring, renewal, tenure, and promotion decisions, insisted on high standards of teaching and scholarship. 
   Apart from his dedication to literary scholarship and academic administration, Rev. Reedy's greatest devotion through the years  was to his students, both inside and outside the classroom. An entire generation of young men and women can recall attending Mass in his apartment, joining him on the sidelines of a rugby game, or spending a quiet moment with him in the pub after class. Students he taught as a Jesuit scholastic have remained his closest friends.

   Rev. Reedy was a native of New York City. He attended Regis High School in Manhattan, entered the Society of Jesus in 1957, and was awarded a bachelor's degree from Fordham University in 1963 and a licentiate in philosophy in 1964 from Woodstock College. In 1966 he earned his master's in English literature from Fordham and a Ph.D. in 1973 from the University of Pennsylvania. He was ordained in 1974. Rev. Reedy was the author of The Bible and Reason: Anglicans and Scripture in Late Seventeenth Century England, and Robert South (1634-1716): An Introduction to His Life and Sermons, as well as numerous scholarly articles and reviews.  Rev. Reedy, S.J. died on March 11, 2016 at Fordham University, Bronx, NY where he was buried in the Jesuit Cemetery.