Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 11, 2007

Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic David Fike, Ph.D., president of Marygrove College, is congratulated after his inaugural Mass on May 5. He was formally installed as the school's eighth president.

But David Fike, Ph.D., sharing the vision of the IHM sisters who founded the college, sees an opportunity for learning, revitalization and real-life application of Christian principals.

"On campus, the spirit of Christ, the spirit that we are here to serve our community is profoundly found," Fike says, "not just in our religious studies department, not just in the campus ministry — but throughout all of our disciplines."

It was with that idea of service in mind that Fike — Marygrove's president since the beginning of the 2006-07 academic year — was inaugurated to lead the college into the future. He is the school's eighth president. His inauguration ceremonies took place last Saturday, and included a Mass and formal installation.

"The installation of a new college president here at Marygrove is a very significant moment, not only for this educational institution, but also for the entire metropolitan area," said Cardinal Adam Maida, who celebrated the inaugural Mass in the morning, during his homily. "Future leaders are formed here and enduring relationships are established."

Fike had been with the college since he was brought there in 2005 to be its provost. He was chosen for his background in urban economic development — for which he'd been a sought-after consultant.

It didn't take long for his prowess and enthusiasm to impress the college's board of trustees, said IHM Sr. Janet Ryan. It made him the natural successor to the college's previous president of eight years, Glenda Price, Ph.D.

"He won our confidence very easily when he served as provost," Sr. Ryan said after the ceremony. "He continues the fine tradition that others have represented and developed before him of intense interest in local areas and a commitment to urban leadership."

Indeed Fike's interest in the well-being of Detroit is transparent. He lives downtown in the city and has joined the conversation of Detroit's revitalization with local leaders, including Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

The role of Marygrove, its faculty and its 1,200 students could be great for the surrounding neighborhoods, he said.

"Look out on the street," Fike said during a recent interview preceding his inauguration. "There are commercial strips that are boarded up. What is going to be the revitalization of that area? Will we develop a business incubator? Will we develop internships to support those businesses which are trying to take root? Those are the kinds of questions that are going on right now."

The outreach goes beyond just entrepreneurial, too, he says. He talks about how the school's criminal justice curriculum could make a project out of the surrounding area, making people safe and bringing a sense of security to the neighborhoods.

Applying ideas of "restorative justice," he said could lead the college to a leadership role in youth development in the city.

Already, the school has been rife with such ideas. Their first-of-its-kind master's degree in social justices has yielded a variety of hands-on initiatives.

One student has started an urban farm. Another has begun a dialogue between the African American and Hispanic communities. Yet another has started a nonprofit to aid displaced children.

Fike says the mission of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — many still teach and council at the school — still drives the school. Also, even though the school is comprised of mostly non-Catholic students, he says, it's still predominantly Christian and "we make no bones about it that we're proud of our Catholic heritage and we manifest the teachings through the work that we do."

And, as Cardinal Maida pointed out, reaching out in the name of the Church to those in need in the surrounding area is what the city needs.

"It would be true to say," the cardinal remarked in his homily, "that in many ways, the future well-being of Detroit will be greatly impacted by the creative energy, vision, persistence and diligence of Dr. Fike."