Gonzaga's president to step down next year

SPOKANE — The president of Gonzaga University announced Monday that he will step down in July 2009 after a decade marked by rising enrollments and a growing reputation thanks in part to a winning basketball team.

The Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, 55, took over in 1998. Since then, Gonzaga's enrollment has increased from 4,507 to 6,923. Cash contributions have nearly tripled. They've grown from $5.8 million to $15.4 million per year, and he has overseen campus construction projects totaling more than $200 million.

"I believe that transitions are best made during times of real advance rather than times of crisis or neutrality," Spitzer wrote Monday in a letter to the college community. "I believe that this is an ideal time to begin the transition process."

The board will appoint a search committee within the next month.