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Frank Haig S.J., who served as Le Moyne’s seventh president from 1981 to 1987, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the age of 95. During his presidency Father Haig was instrumental in developing initiatives that focused on Indigenous peoples; among these were an annual lecture on the Iroquois, scholarship aid for Native American students, and a 1985 Kateri Tekakwitha conference that brought 2,500 to campus. A charismatic speaker, he was highly engaged in the regional community and became a forceful spokesperson for private education. Academically, one of Father Haig’s major accomplishment was the refurbishment of the Coyne Science Center, a project that cost $4 million and took two years to complete. A highlight of his time at Le Moyne was a campus event featuring his older brother Alexander Haig, at the time the secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. Following his term as president, he joined what was then Loyola College in Maryland as professor of physics.

“Le Moyne would not be the institution it is today without Father Haig’s accomplishments and lasting influence,” said President Linda LeMura. “As a world-class physicist, Father Haig knew the importance of rigorous academics to Jesuit education, and the steps he made in this area speak to his legacy as Le Moyne’s president.”

His bio on the Loyola University Maryland website reads, “Father Haig, professor emeritus of physics at Loyola University Maryland, has spent a lifetime studying theoretical physics, nuclear structure, elementary particle physics, and cosmology. Along the way, he has mentored and inspired generations of science students - including at Loyola, where he has taught for nearly four decades.” He also served as president of Wheeling Jesuit University from 1966 to 1972. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the Catholic University of America in 1959, entered the Society of Jesus in 1946 and was ordained in 1960. Click here for a tribute to Father Haig on Loyola University Maryland's website.