Dr. J. Michael Pressimone has been named vice president for Advancement at St. Bonaventure University, President Jeff Gingerich announced today. He begins work April 1.
Dr. J. Michael Pressimone has been named vice president for Advancement at St. Bonaventure University, President Jeff Gingerich announced today. He begins work April 1.
Most recently, Pressimone served as president of Notre Dame College in suburban Cleveland (2020-2023) and Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri (2014-2020), but his higher education career spans more than three decades, the majority of it in the advancement area.
Pressimone served as vice president of Advancement at Alvernia University, a Franciscan school in Reading, Pennsylvania; Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina; and Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
“Dr. Pressimone actually expressed great interest in the position late last fall, but by the time he did we had already entered the finalist stage of the search process,” Gingerich said. “We were fortunate that someone with Michael’s successful fundraising track record and broad experience in higher ed was still available after the tragic passing last month of Jason Amore. Michael will be a tremendous addition to our team.”
Pressimone successfully led the largest comprehensive campaign at Alvernia, surpassing $31 million. In that role, he also oversaw the offices of Development, Alumni Relations and Marketing and Communications. At Elizabethtown College, he designed, implemented, and managed an endowment campaign that surpassed its initial $20 million goal by more than $6 million.
Pressimone is a strong relationship builder with a reputation for teamwork, collaboration, and a passion for bringing students, faculty, staff, and the community together to achieve mutually beneficial goals.
“I am beyond excited to join President Gingerich and the St. Bonaventure community. I look forward to working with him and the team to achieve the goals of the Bolder Bonaventure campaign,” Pressimone said. “Such bold goals and achievements will position the university for even greater success in the years to come. Franciscan spirituality is an important part of our family life, and my wife, Cathy, and I look forward to being active and engaged on campus and in the community.”
Pressimone also has been an advocate for racial justice, writing in support of greater diversity and inclusion in both the news media and for his campus constituency. He is active in the interfaith community, working to promote harmony among all people of faith.
A native of Baltimore, Pressimone holds an Associate of Arts degree from Catonsville Community College (now known as the Community College of Baltimore County), a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.), a Master of Arts in Leadership in Higher Education from Regis University (Denver, Colorado) and a doctorate in Higher Education and Organizational Change from Benedictine University (Lisle, Illinois).
The Pressimones have 12 children and 11 grandchildren.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).