Mark R. Nemec

Mark R. Nemec (born in Chicago, Illinois) is an American educator. He is the ninth person and first layperson to serve as the president of the Fairfield University. Nemec was previously the Dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago.

Education

Nemec graduated from Loyola High School of Los Angeles in 1987. He received his bachelor's degree in English, cum laude, from Yale University in 1991, where he was a member of the Yale Rugby team and an All-Ivy League rugby player. Nemec then earned a master's degree in education with a concentration on higher education and public policy and a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Michigan in 2000, where he was awarded a Regents Fellowship and a Rackham Dissertation Fellowship.

Nemec is a frequent speaker on the current and future state of higher education and has presented to a diverse array of audiences including the White House’s Forum on College Affordability, the British Council’s Going Global, the New England Board of Higher Education’s Summit on Cost in Higher Education, and university faculty forums.

Earlier in his career, Nemec taught American politics as a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College and served as a policy advisor on technology and development to the Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.