President of Gonzaga

McCulloh was named interim president of the university by Gonzaga's board of trustees on April 17, 2009. His appointment was effective on July 15, 2009.^[1] McCulloh was elevated from interim president to president of Gonzaga by the board of trustees on July 16, 2010.^[2] His promotion made McCulloh the university's first permanent, non-Jesuit to hold the office in Gonzaga's history.^[2]

One of McCulloh's consistent emphases focuses on student success and placing student needs at the center of projects and decision-making. A signature development as president has been instilling the importance of thoughts and prayers whenever any sort of tragedy occurs, no matter the severity.^{[citation needed]}

During his tenure, Gonzaga University has undertaken a number of significant capital projects with the goal of significantly improving the student experience as well as improving and expanding the learning environment of the university. Shortly after assuming office (2011), the university constructed a multi-level parking structure; in the summer of 2013 the university began construction of a 168,000 square foot University Center. This project supported by what was then the largest gift in Gonzaga's history.^[3] The John J. Hemmingson University Center opened in 2015 and provides a technologically advanced environment reflective of the core components of a distinctly Jesuit education. A LEED Gold certified facility, it prominently features the Center for Global Engagement, reflective of the institution's commitment to international education and study abroad, as well as numerous services to host and support student learning and functions to support student development. The center also hosts the new, primary residential dining facility for the campus. In 2014, Gonzaga announced a significant bequest, which supported construction of the 52,000 s.f. Myrtle Woldson Center for the Performing Arts.^[4] Recognizing the importance of healthcare as a vital growth area as well as a local economic development focus, McCulloh has worked to support significant developments, such as the launch of a new School of Nursing and Human Physiology in response to growing demand, as well as the creation of a Spokane medical education partnership with the University of Washington.^[5] A new facility to support the UW-Gonzaga Health Partnership was completed and formally opened in September, 2022 ^[6]

In September 2018, Gonzaga University concluded its most ambitious fundraising campaign to date which, when announced in 2015, had a goal of $250 million. The total raised was $355.4 million, of which $110 million was dedicated to fund scholarships for students.^[7]

Gonzaga's part in the Catholic sex abuse scandal once again made headlines during McCulloh's term as president, when an investigative report found that priests with histories of sexual abuse had been quietly sent to live in a retirement facility on the university campus, shielding them from public awareness.^[8] McCulloh said he had no knowledge of the campus being used to hide abusive priests, and that he understood why some were incredulous that he could have not known.^[9][10] McCulloh established a commission to investigate the university's role and actions,^[9] and, in a public letter, said he was horrified by the abuse by priests, and expressed his feelings of "feelings of sadness, disgust and betrayal" upon learning that they had been housed on campus.^{[11][12][13][14]}

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the immediate closure of all institutions of learning in the United States in March 2020, McCulloh created a task force to guide the short- and long-term response of the university. Gonzaga did not engage in layoffs or furloughs of its personnel, nor did it reduce benefits or salaries. The university-wide planning effort made possible the resumption of in-class instruction for the Fall semester of 2020 at a time when the university was one of few higher education institutions in the state to return to in-person as well as hybrid instruction.^[15] Gonzaga also partnered with local health care organizations to provide access to COVID-19 vaccines in early 2021 and assisted in making them more widely available to the Spokane community.

The COVID-19 pandemic briefly interrupted, but did not stop, construction of important new campus improvements, both in Spokane and at the university's site in Florence, Italy. The 82,000 square foot John and Joan Bollier Family Center for Integrated Science and Engineering, which broke ground in September 2019, was completed in Fall 2021.^[16]