The University of Mary enters a new era with the inauguration of its sixth president.

A ceremony in Our Lady of Annunciation Chapel on Saturday marked the beginning of the Rev. James Shea's presidency. The audience included state and community leaders in government and the Catholic church, as well as many students and people from the Bismarck community.

During his inaugural address, Shea spoke of leadership in truth and how the university can use the foundation of its values to create a meaningful education for its students.

He looked to the university's past and its founding. He wants to continue and renew the university's commitment to Benedictine values. Those values are community, hospitality, respect, service, moderation, prayer and education.

"When they founded Mary College, the Sisters said that our mission would be to serve the needs of the people of our region and to prepare leaders in the service of truth; leaders in the service of truth," he said.

This aspect of service is like the principle of servant leadership the university has promoted. This form of leadership is like acting in good faith to help others. He would like the university to create students that can incorporate their faith into every aspect of life.

Society in the name of reason and religion in the name of faith have diverged.

"One of the central projects of our tradition, the harmonious synthesis of faith and reason, is as urgent in our time as it ever was," Shea said. "Our students and graduates will have to grapple with a world which is both increasingly secular and more radically religious. The notion that faith and reason have nothing to say to each other is at the root of some of the most complex and volatile challenges which face our society."

But, one concept does not need to exist at the exclusion of the other, he said. Both can form a foundation for education that allows students to create understanding in their world.

"Our students stand upon the doorstep of life, and we aim too low if we see our work as an elaborate kind of career preparation," Shea said. "Even as we rightly devote energy and resources to help our students acquire and sharpen certain specialized skills, we should also stand convinced that a good university education can impart something more: the capacity to live a full and well-examined life."

A university that embraces its Christian, Catholic and Benedictine values does not make it second rate, he said.

"At the University of Mary, reason is at home in a culture of faith ... where leadership is born and flourishes," he said.

Preceding his address, some university and community officials spoke to give congratulations for Shea. Among the speakers were Gov. John Hoeven; Bishop Paul Zipfel of the Bismarck Catholic Diocese; Sister Nancy Miller, prioress of the Annunciation Monastery; Bismarck Mayor John Warford; and members representing the university's faculty, staff and alumni.

Shea was particularly pleased to have his family at the ceremony on Saturday.

"I greet with great personal affection my mom and dad, my brothers and their wives and children, my little sister, and the rest of my large and raucous family," he said.

He was heartened by the presence of Hoeven and his wife, and U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy and his wife. Zipfel read letters of congratulations from Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. The Rev. Al Bitz of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo read a letter from Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo.

The university's newest president is also its youngest. Shea is 34 years old.

"I was 3 years old, Sister (Thomas Welder), when you assumed the presidency," he said. But, it is fitting that a young man should run a young university, he said.

A musical selection composed by Tom Porter for Shea's inauguration also used more youthful musical elements. Toward the end of "Magnificat," the men in the ensemble started beat boxing, which is making percussion-like sounds with their mouths.

Shea comes to the university after serving in a parish in Killdeer and working with Trinity High School students in Dickinson. Prior to his work there, he was in the Bismarck diocese, where he was assistant pastor at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and Christ the King and school chaplain at St. Mary's Central High School. His extensive work with students shows through the rapport he has with students.

"There has been a buzz going around campus, and after our conversation with Father Shea, it is louder," said Tom Seifert, student body president. "I know he is committed to students ... I looked to him to make wise decisions."

Members of the community share in the student's enthusiasm for the new president.

"He is the most amazing being," said Pat Clairmont of Bismarck. She and her friend, Mary Hixson, knew Shea when he worked at Cathedral. They see many similarities between his personality and outgoing president Sister Thomas Welder.

Sister Thomas was well-known on campus for knowing the names of students. It's a courtesy they expect Shea will continue.

"He's a terrific leader for young people ... he's like the Pied Piper," Hixson said.

About 500 people filled the chapel, and an overflow room was set up in Butler Auditorium in the Tharaldson School of Business. A reception outside by the bell banner followed the inauguration ceremony.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)