Originally from Boston, The Rev. Francis X. Shea was the first male president of the College (1971-74) and the first non-Benedictine (he was a Jesuit). With the influx of male students still a new phenomenon, he sought to strengthen campus community.  He began the traditions of the all-school Christmas party and Mayfest in the spring, which included a smelt fry at his home on Park Point. His tenure saw the beginning of intervarsity athletics including men's hockey, as well as construction of the Groves apartments and the addition of academic programs in American Indian studies, physical therapy, media studies, and self-designed majors.