Lawrence Biondi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence Biondi, S.J., is the president of Saint Louis University. He has been a professor, a department chair, and a dean. He has been president since 1987.
During his tenure, Biondi has focused on recruiting the faculty and students, increasing the University's academic reputation, and developing the University as a major research center.
[edit] Biography
A Chicago native, Biondi holds six degrees. His master's degree in linguistics (1966) and his doctorate in sociolinguistics (1975) both were conferred by [[organizations, and he has been dubbed a Knight of the Italian Order of Merit by the president of Italy. In 1999, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch named Biondi one of St. Louis' "Citizens of the Century." In 1999, he won the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Arthritis Foundation, Eastern Missouri Chapter. In 2001, The St. Louis Ambassadors honored Biondi with the Leon R. Strauss Urban Pioneer Award, which is given to an individual in the St. Louis community who has contributed greatly to the development, restoration or improvement of St. Louis. The Council for Advancement and Support of Educational also recognized Biondi in 2001 with the Chief Executive Leadership Award for CASE District 6.
In 2005, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch named Father Biondi the Citizen of the Year.
Fr. Biondi was trapped in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict. He was removed from the conflict after boarding a Greek-owned, American funded vessel to Cyprus with other Americans "stranded" in Lebanon. He was able to return to St. Louis safely.
