St. Norbert College President to Give Commencement Address at Xavier High School in Appleton

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From St. Norbert College, March 7, 2016
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, 920-403-3089

St. Norbert College president Thomas Kunkel will deliver the commencement address at Xavier High School in Appleton on Wednesday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m. Xavier, a school of approximately 600 students, is recognized as one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the nation and a School of Distinction by the Diocese of Green Bay.

An author, journalist and educator, Kunkel is the seventh president of St. Norbert College. He joined the college in 2008.

Kunkel is the author or editor of six books. His most recent book, "Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker," was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2015 by Publishers Weekly.

His other works include "Genius in Disguise" (1995), the critically acclaimed biography of The New Yorker's founding editor, Harold Ross; "Enormous Prayers: A Journey into the Priesthood" (1998), an ethnographic portrait of 28 Catholic priests; and "Letters from the Editor" (2000), a compilation and analysis of Ross' letters.

During his tenure at St. Norbert College, Kunkel has overseen the construction and renovation of more than $100 million in campus facilities and infrastructure, including the Gehl-Mulva Science Center, Dudley Birder Hall, Michels Commons, Schneider Stadium, the Mulva Library, Gries Hall, the Ariens Family Welcome Center, Todd Wehr Hall and the Cassandra Voss Center. Also, in April, the college will begin construction on a $26 million renovation of its sports center on campus that will include a state-of-the-art health and wellness center and pool to be used by all students.
Before coming to St. Norbert, Kunkel served for eight years as dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, where he also served as president of the American Journalism Review and as editor and director of the Project on the State of the American Newspaper.

Kunkel spent much of his early career in newspaper management, working for such organizations as the San Jose Mercury News, the Miami Herald, the New York Times and the Cincinnati Post.
Kunkel, a member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors, announced that he will retire from St. Norbert College in May of 2017.

For more on Kunkel, go to http://www.snc.edu/about/leadership/president.html.