Jesuit president of Loyola College in Maryland dies at 65

Published: 2005-01-20

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Jesuit Father Harold Ridley, president of Loyola College in Maryland since 1994, died unexpectedly Jan. 18 at his home on the Baltimore college's campus. He was 65. A memorial Mass was scheduled for Jan. 24 on campus. A funeral Mass was also scheduled for Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. The cause of the priest's death was not announced. During Father Ridley's tenure, Loyola College recorded a nearly fivefold increase in applications to its undergraduate program. The graduate program added new facilities in the Baltimore suburbs of Timonium and Columbia. Today, there are nearly 3,400 undergraduate and 2,900 graduate students enrolled at Loyola. Father Ridley also oversaw the completion of a record-setting capital campaign as well as construction of a fitness and aquatic center, a new building for Loyola's business and management school, and expanded science facilities and residence halls.

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