University provost assumes presidency on acting basis

ST. LEO — William Lennox Jr. has announced his retirement as president of Saint Leo University, effective April 30.

According to a press release, Jeffrey Senese, the Pasco County university’s provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs, has been named acting president.

Lennox became the university’s ninth president in 2015, following the retirement of Arthur Kirk Jr. A retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, Lennox previously served as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy.

“When I was asked to assume the role of president, it was always my intention to serve, in a way, as a transition leader between the long service of Dr. Kirk and a candidate who could serve for a decade or longer,” Lennox states in the release.

The new acting president was named Saint Leo’s first-ever provost following a nationwide search. Senese has held significant leadership roles in previous assignments such as at Cardinal Stritch University, one of the nation’s largest Franciscan universities; Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island; Philadelphia University, and Penn State Wilkes-Barre.