Lou: From Brooklyn to Broadway: The University of the Incarnate Word's 25 Years with Dr. Louis J. Agnese, Jr

When Lou Agnese was hired as the eighth president of Incarnate Word College in 1985, he was one of the youngest university presidents in the United States. At 33, the Brooklyn native faced the daunting challenge of reviving an institution with a shrinking enrollment and an uncertain future whose student demographics were out of step with San Antonio. Now in his twenty-sixth year as UIW president, Agnese, as a local business leader recently observed, has forever transformed the educational landscape of South Texas.

Author Dr. Patricia A. Watkins, retired vice president for international affairs at UIW, mixes humor with an insider s keen eye for details. She provides an insightful look into how Agnese, over a quarter century, transformed a small college best known for being across from a popular eatery on Broadway in San Antonio into a financially robust international center of learning.

Today, the University of the Incarnate Word, as it has been known since 1996, has sites in Texas, China and Mexico. It is the largest Catholic university in Texas and the state s fourth largest private college. It is No. 1 nationally among faith-based universities in the awarding of bachelor s degrees to Hispanics and No. 2 among all private universities. And for the third consecutive year, UIW was chosen one of the Great Colleges to Work For by The Chronicle of Higher Education, reaching the national Top 10 Honor Roll twice in that span.