Frank Lazarus

Francis M. Lazarus is the current president of the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. Dr. Lazarus assumed the presidency of the University of Dallas in July of 2004. The former Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the University of San Diego began his position at USD in July 1996, after serving at Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1988 to 1996.

Lazarus, a native of Elma, New York, came to his position at Marquette University in 1988 after eight years at the University of Dayton in Ohio, where he served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining Dayton, Lazarus was Associate Academic Dean at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During his seven years at Salem College, he was Chairman of Classics and Director of the Honors Program.

Lazarus was named an Administrative Fellow of the American Council on Education in 1978, serving for one year as a Special Assistant to the President of Memphis State University. Before joining the Salem College faculty, he was an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1970 to 1973.

Lazarus has participated as a professional archaeologist in excavations in Nemea, Greece, as part of a 1977 University of California expedition and in Tel Beer Sheba, Israel, as part of a 1972 Tel Aviv University/University of North Carolina joint expedition. In 1993, he was a consultant to a University Feasibility Study at the Port Authority of Freeport, Bahamas. Lazarus holds an A.B. degree (with concentrations in classical languages and philosophy) from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Classical Languages from Cornell University. He is the editor of Discovery, Faith, Service: Perspectives on Jesuit Education (Marquette University Press, 1992).

Lazarus and his wife, Carol, have three children.

Recent Criticism

Lazarus has come under heavy fire for his response to the February 14, 2008 theft of a controversial piece of artwork. The print, entitled "Saint or Sinner?", portrayed the Virgin of Guadalupe as an exotic dancer. Lazarus has repeatedly called for a forum to discuss the meritorious questions raised by the art and a thorough review of the nature of academic freedom at a Catholic university. While a number of students and faculty have expressed support for Lazarus, others in the university community, particularly university alumni, have expressed outrage at Lazarus' perceived lack of action over an allegedly sacrilegious work of art. Multiple letters in the University News have targeted Lazarus and gone so far as to call for his resignation.