Jeffrey D. Senese Ph.D.

President, Caldwell University

Jeffrey D. Senese, Ph.D. joined Caldwell University as its 10th President on July 10, 2023.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Senese was the chief innovation officer at Corvus Education in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He previously served as president of  Saint Leo  University in Florida and as a provost and vice president for academic affairs at several institutions including Saint Leo prior to serving as its president, Cardinal Stritch University and Johnson and Wales University. He was a faculty member at Indiana University and the University of Baltimore for more than a decade and has engaged in extensive research with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Defense on use of force and other topics. Dr. Senese also served as the chief academic officer of one of the Penn State campuses.

President Senese has extensive international work experience in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South Africa. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State, a master’s degree from Indiana State and a Ph.D. in criminal justice/research methods/statistics from Michigan State. He completed studies at the Institute for Higher Education Management and the President’s Institute at Harvard, the Academic Management Institute at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Boulder, Colorado, and the Penn State University Leadership Academy and earned a certificate in fundraising from the University of Pennsylvania. 

He has published a methods book, dozens of articles in professional publications, papers, book chapters and other works.

Dr. Senese is a member of the Global Listening Center’s advisory board, and has previously served on the boards of the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce including service on the Executive Committee, the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, the Sunshine State Conference President’s Council serving at the president’s council chair, Enterprise Florida and the Urban League of Milwaukee. He has been recognized by the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore and the Baltimore City Council for his contributions during nearly a decade of service in that community and received the key to the City of Tampa for his contributions. 

Dr. Senese and his wife, Alicia, have two adult children.