Rev. Thomas “Tom” Wolfe’s move to the deanship was, as he put it, a few feet down the hall. After eight years as the interdenominational Protestant chaplain at Hendricks, he was selected as dean in May 1998 and began in January 1999. Before Syracuse, he served as a minister in Ithaca and Moravia. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College, a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Syracuse University.
Wolfe strengthened the chapel’s interfaith tradition and opened it to holy unions and weddings for same-sex couples. After the September 11 attacks, he brought Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish leaders together for an interfaith campus service and kept the chapel open at all hours as a place to gather, comfort one another, and pray. Colleagues and students described his calm presence and patience, and he said he most valued the trust students placed in him.
Wolfe was inspired in his interfaith work by his father, a United Methodist clergyman. He was studying aviation before he felt called to ministry. He is married to Marilyn, and they have daughters. Friends say his talents include riding a unicycle and making a perfect tuna noodle casserole. In 2008, he became the University’s Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs. In 2013, he left after 23 years at SU to become president of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.