February 11, 2025
St. Mary’s University on Friday, Feb. 14, will inaugurate Winston F. Erevelles, Ph.D., as the institution’s 14th president during a Eucharistic Celebration and Investiture Ceremony. The event will begin with the academic processional at 10:30 a.m. in the Bill Greehey Arena, inside the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center.
The Board of Trustees selected Erevelles for the presidency in December 2023 following a national search after the 13th president, Thomas M. Mengler, J.D., announced plans to retire from the office. Erevelles began his presidency on June 1, 2024. He served 12 years as Dean of the St. Mary’s School of Science, Engineering and Technology and Professor of Engineering. During his tenure as dean, he significantly enhanced the school’s STEM capabilities, raised more than $45 million and initiated a project that would become the Blank Sheppard Innovation Center. In Fall 2024, the St. Mary’s community celebrated the opening of the three-story, cutting-edge Blank Sheppard Innovation Center as well as the start of a new Nursing Program.
“As only the 14th president in the University’s long history, I believe holding the role is a sacred honor,” Erevelles said. “Ceremonially recognized in the Investiture, we mark another milestone in the University’s history, and we share an opportunity to celebrate, pray and reflect on our shared future together.”
During the Eucharistic Celebration, the Most Rev. Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archbishop of San Antonio, will be the principal celebrant. The Rev. Martin Solma, S.M., Trustee Emeritus and the former University chancellor, will deliver the homily.
St. Mary’s University in San Antonio is a private liberal arts institution and the oldest Catholic university in Texas. Through small classes, close student-faculty relationships and an engaged community, teaching and learning flourish at St. Mary’s. The University offers a variety of academic programs in humanities, sciences and business and options to pursue graduate, doctoral and law degrees. St. Mary’s students engage in learning and social opportunities through undergraduate and graduate research, internships and community engagement.
As a nationally recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution, St. Mary’s has a diverse student population of more than 3,000 of all faiths and backgrounds. Students experience a nurturing and vibrant community rooted in the University’s Catholic and Marianist commitments to providing a holistic education in a faith-centered, family-spirit environment.
The ceremony will be livestreamed on the St. Mary’s University channel.