A member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) for 50 years and a priest for 41 years, Father Richie Salmi, S.J. has a long career in Catholic education.  He taught high school for several years in Toledo and Cleveland before moving to California to study theology. While completing the Master of Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley, Salmi worked in parish ministry as RCIA director and high school Confirmation coordinator. Following ordination, he served as a campus minister at John Carroll University focusing on community service. Following the completion of his doctorate at Boston College, Salmi returned to John Carroll as the vice president of student affairs. He was one of the founding members of the Institute of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities and later of the Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities. Salmi became vice president of student affairs at Loyola University Chicago in 2002 and served for seven years helping transform Loyola from a commuter school to a residential campus. Salmi served as president of Spring Hill College from 2009 to 2014. Fordham University appointed him the director of their London Centre in 2014 where he served for six years expanding the program, increasing enrollment and overseeing the development of a new campus in the Clerkenwell neighborhood of London.  

Salmi is currently the university chaplain at Loyola University Chicago where he also serves as rector of the university chapel and rector of the Jesuit community.