Dr. James A Donahue has been appointed as the president of Saint Mary's College of California. He will be the first lay president in the college's 150-year history

He will assume office on July 1.

"Higher education is in an interesting state these days. There are a lot of challenges and I think Saint Mary's is uniquely poised to be a leader in addressing some of these issues," Donahue said.

He thanked the college for selecting him as their president

Donahue previoiusly served as the president of Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley for the past 12 years. He was also a professor of theology, dean of students and vice president for student affairs at Georgetown University and worked in administrative positions at Boston College and Santa Clara University.

Saint Mary's Board of Trustees Chairman Russell Harrison said that it took the 17-member committee more than six months and an international search before finalising Donahue as their 29th president.

The Catholic private coeducational liberal arts college is one of the oldest in California with 2,800 undergraduate and nearly 1,300 graduate students. The college, which is spread on a 420-acre campus, is affiliated with the De La Salle Christian Brothers, one of the oldest orders well known for its commitment to education.