President Emeritus Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., served as president of Saint Louis University from 2014 to 2025. As SLU's first lay president, he led the University to record-breaking achievements in enrollment, fundraising and research growth. Recognized for his collaborative approach to leadership, he also saw the University through a number of historic challenges.

11 Years of Leadership

With that vision in mind, under his leadership, SLU:

• Set new records for total student enrollment, with 15,334 students enrolled during his final year in office.
• Welcomed record numbers of international students through the Global Grad program, which attracted students from around the world to graduate programs in technology, business and engineering.
• Increased enrollment at SLU-Madrid — the University’s degree-granting campus in Spain —  while also expanding classroom and lab spaces, adding academic offerings and fostering new partnerships with education and cultural associations.
• Achieved the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious R1 status, joining an elite group of U.S. research universities. It is the highest classification universities can attain for research activity.
• Implemented transformative strategies to support the holistic well-being of students across the institution.
• Launched a new core curriculum that prepares all SLU undergraduate students to be intellectually flexible, creative and reflective critical thinkers in the spirit of the Catholic, Jesuit tradition.
• Constructed new state-of-the-art facilities, including the $43 million Spring Residence Hall, $71 million Grand Residence Hall, $50 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, $16 million Jesuit Center and the donor-funded $20 million O'Loughlin Family Champions Center.
• Served as the initial coordinating institution of the Taylor Geospatial Institute, a landmark collaboration between eight research institutions that will make St. Louis a global center of geospatial innovation.
• Enhanced health care to underserved populations in St. Louis through the compassionate care of SLU faculty physicians, COVID-19 vaccine distribution to churches and other community locations, and a mobile health unit.
• Strengthened a historic partnership with SSM Health, which led to the construction of the $550 million SSM Health/Saint Louis University Hospital and outpatient care center in 2020, and the successful integration of the SLUCare medical practice with SSM Health to create the region’s leading integrated health care network in 2022.
• Supported the Gate District West neighborhood association in leading the development of new housing on property adjacent to SLU’s campus.
• Expanded access to the transformative benefits of Jesuit education to marginalized communities through continued support of SLU’s Prison Education Program and by partnering with Jesuit Worldwide Learning, which offers higher education to students living in refugee camps.
• Created the Midtown St. Louis Redevelopment Corporation (STLMRC), which elevated SLU’s role as a catalyst for major development projects in Midtown St. Louis and advanced the University’s significant economic impact on the city and region.

During his 11 years at SLU, Dr. Pestello nurtured SLU’s longstanding commitment to the Jesuit mission, ensuring that SLU is home to a large and dynamic community of Jesuits, and establishing a Catholic Studies Center and the Center for Research on Global Catholicism. He also strengthened SLU’s commitment to diversity and community engagement through investment in the division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement and the development of initiatives inspired by the 2014 Clock Tower Accords.

Dr. Pestello led SLU to become a driving force in the revitalization of Midtown St. Louis. The University joined with SSM Health to create a 353 Redevelopment Plan and the STLMRC. The STLMRC has catalyzed several development projects, including the City Foundry, a new Fresh Thyme Market grocery store, a Target store, the Steelcote Lofts, the Element Hotel by Westin, Topgolf, and more.

In 2022, Dr. Pestello led SLU’s Accelerating Excellence Campaign to its successful conclusion. The largest fundraising effort in University history, the campaign set multiple SLU records for gift totals and far exceeded its $500 million goal, ultimately raising more than $600 million.

Dr. Pestello earned his bachelor’s degree at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, from which he received an Alumni Medal in 2018. He completed his graduate work in sociology at the University of Akron.

He joined SLU after serving six years as president of Le Moyne College, where he achieved record-breaking levels of enrollment, fundraising, endowment and campus construction. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Pestello was a faculty member, department chair, associate dean, and provost and senior vice president for educational affairs during his 25-year career at the University of Dayton.

Former First Lady Frances Pestello, Ph.D.

Dr. Fran Pestello was the first presidential spouse at Saint Louis University. She supported the work of SLU’s Office of the President, often by hosting events for students, staff, faculty, and community constituents. In particular, she championed the St. Louis Literary Awards and helped to connect the work of award-winning authors to campus life through the Campus Read initiative and other SLU programs.

As an adjunct professor in SLU's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Dr. Fran Pestello teaches introductory courses and an upper-division course related to her research specialization in deviant behavior.

Prior to moving to St. Louis, she served as a professor of sociology at Le Moyne College. She was also department chair and professor of sociology at the University of Dayton. Her research interests include deviance, law, crime and delinquency, methods and statistics, social psychology, and family.

Dr. Fran Pestello earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the College of Wooster and a doctorate from the University of Akron.