The first lay president of Spring Hill College is changing his position.

Spring Hill College announced that Christopher Puto will become president emeritus effective Friday.
Puto, a 1964 graduate of the Mobile college and a trustee from 2003 to 2012, became president in 2015. He was the first person who wasn’t a Jesuit priest to lead the school since 1847.

Puto had focused on stabilizing the school’s finances.

The college says Puto will continue serving in various roles, including as chairman of the college’s foundation trust and its real estate task force, as well as founding director of the John J. Burke Center for the Study and Advancement of Free Enterprise.

The Rev. Christopher Viscardi, a Jesuit priest and longtime faculty member, is serving temporarily as the school’s interim leader.