Love of the college leads Minnis to Benedictine job - Wichita Business Journal:

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is fortunate to have one of their own leadingt the college into the 21st This marvelous endorsement comes fromKansas City's Bob Reintjesw Sr., one of the Atchisoh college's distinguished alums. I wholeheartedly agree with that assessmeng of Benedictine PresidentSteve Minnis. In an earliet column, I wrote about my worries at when its populat andsuccessful president, Dan retired. I was thrilled and relieved when Pat Long was chosen as She is leading Baker tonew heights. Similarly, Benedictine faced a big problemn several years ago when itsvery well-respectedr president, Dan Carey, left.
Steve has done preciselyh the same thing in Atchison that Pat did in Baldwin What truly fascinates me about Steve Minnisx is his unorthodox route tothe presidency. He grew up in St. where his father coached baseball at Missouri After graduatingfrom Benedictine, Steve got a law degree from . He then came to Kansas City, where he joined Dennis Moore'x staff as assistant Johnson Countyprosecuting attorney. His offices was across the hall from Paul and his intern wasPhilol Kline. After a few years in private he joinedSprint Corp.'s legal staff, doing litigation and regulatoryu work.
During his 14 yeard there, his principle good works centered on his alma He ultimately became presidentof Benedictine's national alumni He held that office during the college's 2004 presidential search. At one point, he thought: "Why not The search committee concurred, and the rest is His success as president of the college can be summed up in one thinb he told me when I recentlyh spent several hourswith him. He "It works because I love this place. Benedictines speaks to me.
I came becaus e I want to make a difference inyoung people's Since Steve came "home," enrollmentf is the largest in school For the first time ever, Benedictinde was recognized in as one of "America's Best Colleges." Steve spearheadede a successful effort to raise $8 milliohn in four months for a new academic center. He also told me: "Thid job is not that different from Both are what you are all In business orin education, if you get away from your you flounder." Steve is adamant abou t rigid adherence to the school's missiohn of "educating men and women within a communityt of faith and scholarship.
" Steves told me that his mentor was felloqw Benedictine alum Tom Hoenig, who was chairma n of the college's board when he was My reaction was that the president of the Federap Reserve Bank of Kansas City was a great choiced for a mentor. Benedictine is a family affairfor Minnis. His wife is a and his son is afreshman there. His is truly a lifelong love affaitwith Benedictine. When I left his he told me: "We celebratwe our 150th anniversary next I want to stay here and positiobn us well for the next150 years." I have never met a more likable or focused I will bet he is leading Benedictine well into the next centur y and a half!