Santa Clara University

Fr. Engh's Neighborhod

Michael Engh, S.J., the new president of Santa Clara University, already feels at home in his new neighborhood. The welcoming nature of both Santa Clara, the university, and Santa Clara, the city, reminds him of the Westchester enclave of Los Angeles where he grew up.

“It was like being in a small town growing up. It wasn’t that different than Santa Clara, particularly now that I live across from the fire department— first my father and then my brother were in the L.A. City Fire Department,” says Engh, a third- generation Californian.

A distinguished historian specializing in the American West, Engh particularly enjoys strolling in the neighborhood around the university, sampling local cuisine, and visiting area museums. “It’s a beautiful community,” he says. “There is so much history in the Santa Clara community. I’m very impressed.”

Engh began his role as Santa Clara University’s 28th president Jan. 1 of this year. Formerly, he was Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is the author of Frontier Faiths: Church, Temple, and Synagogue in Los Angeles (1992) and has published extensively on the Catholic Church’s role in populating California and the history of Los Angeles.

As he settles into the neighborhood, he encourages area residents to consider the campus borders as dotted lines, rather than solid ones. Santa Clara University is an active, integral part of the commu- nity and the community is an important part of the university as well.

Students, faculty, and staff not only live in the neighborhoods, but learn there as well. “We have hundreds of students involved in community service. So my goal would be to see that strength- ened and expanded, because our students learn from these experiences,” he says.

Likewise, he encourages the community to be part of the learning and cultural opportunities on campus. With campus lectures, activities, and cultural events focusing on local and global topics open to neighbors and the public at large, he says, “it lets the world come to them in a sense, just by crossing the street.”

With his new position at Santa Clara University, the Broncos have secured the top spots as Engh’s favorite college teams. But he makes no apologies that his move to the Bay Area has not altered his diehard allegiance to the Dodgers. “Diversity,” the Dodgers fan says with a smile, “comes in many forms.”