Office of the President

Fr. Hendrickson’s priorities for Creighton include bolstering the role of interdisciplinary higher education between the sciences and humanities; advancing a pedagogy of engaged learning and global experiences; and broadening the reach of Creighton’s health sciences programs.

During his presidency, the University has experienced record-breaking enrollments; an expansion of academic program offerings and undergraduate research opportunities; and national recognition as one of only 25 higher education institutions named to the Carnegie Foundation’s Leadership for Public Purpose elective designation. Additionally, an increase in student support efforts has helped Creighton achieve a 98% outcomes rate for graduates and a 94% first-to-second year retention rate, both far outpacing national averages.

Fr. Hendrickson has also overseen significant expansion and enhancements to the University’s physical footprint. This includes more than half a billion dollars in investments to the urban core of Omaha through infrastructural improvements as well as building a new campus in Phoenix in 2021 for interprofessional health sciences education, including a second four-year medical school, with the ability to serve approximately 1,000 students in one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.

Moreover, with Fr. Hendrickson's leadership, Creighton strengthened its philanthropic support. As of 2025, the University has seen a 38% increase in endowed chairs during his tenure with 14 positions being created since 2015 and 13 of those being funded during the ambitious Forward Blue campaign, which launched publicly in 2021. With student support as a priority, the campaign has raised more than $246 million in scholarship dollars, with more than 488 new scholarships established. During this time, Creighton’s total investments, which reflect a nearly 75% increase in the endowment pool as well as other contributions, have topped $1 billion.

Outside of Creighton, Fr. Hendrickson serves on the boards of Boston College, Xavier University, and the BIG EAST Conference Board of Directors. He is also a trustee of ILAC/Centro de Educación para la Salud Integral in the Dominican Republic and Jesuit Worldwide Learning. His international experiences in more than 60 countries on nearly every continent have nurtured his belief in the importance of global immersion as key to a well-rounded education.  

Fr. Hendrickson grew up in Fremont, Nebraska, graduating from Mount Michael Benedictine High School in Elkhorn, Nebraska. He comes from a family of educators including his identical twin, the Rev. D. Scott Hendrickson, SJ, DPhil, who serves as interim president of Regis University in Colorado, and his older brother, Ryan Hendrickson, PhD, who is president of the University of St. Francis, in Illinois. 
 
Fr. Hendrickson holds a BA from Marquette University; an MA in philosophical resources from Fordham University; a MDiv degree from Santa Clara University; and MA and PhD degrees from Columbia University. He is the author of “Jesuit Higher Education in a Secular Age: A Response to Charles Taylor and the Crisis of Fullness,” published in 2022.