A New Calling: Dr. Jeffrey W. Talley’s Journey to Belmont Abbey

By: Laura Schaffer, Director of Communications

If you have the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jeffrey W. Talley, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Retired), it won’t take you long to realize that he’s a man who gets things done.

I learned this for myself when I interviewed Dr. Talley, soon after his selection as Belmont Abbey College’s 21st President. 

Although I certainly enjoyed our conversation, and he answered my questions thoroughly and good-naturedly, the fact is that Dr. Jeff Talley is much less interested in talking about himself than in rolling up his sleeves and getting to work…

Working his way

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Jeff moved to Arlington, Virginia as a child when his father took a Department of Defense job at the Pentagon. 

In a house full of brothers, the resourcefulness and tenacity that would later give Jeff such galvanizing impetus could also land him in hot water, as when he broke into his father’s closet and picked the lock on his classified Pentagon briefcase… This same dogged and creative energy, however, spurred Jeff to start multiple lawn service businesses in high school. “I was quite the entrepreneur,” he said, working what amounted to a full-time job on top of his classes. Focused more on working than on studying, Jeff “didn’t take high school very seriously,” but he graduated in 1977 with a college acceptance and a 1969 Mach I Mustang.

Although his in-state college experience wasn’t a good fit, Jeff kept on with characteristic determination, working long hours to pay his way while continuing as a full-time student. “I did every job you could think of,” he remembers, including buffing floors and cleaning pews at the local Episcopal Cathedral. 

Even working full-time, however, the college meal plan was outside his budget, so Jeff ate macaroni and cheese every night – with a little tuna mixed in on Fridays. “That’s all I could afford… And all of a sudden I get this letter from the Army… offering an Army ROTC scholarship.” At first, he threw it away and “kept eating mac and cheese,” but the next week, Jeff pulled it back out of the trash, thinking, “What the heck? I’m patriotic. I love the United States, and the Army would be good for me. It’d give me some discipline.”

So, Jeff transferred to Louisiana State University and accepted an ROTC scholarship. LSU’s exceptional forestry and natural resource management program appealed to his interest in the outdoors; moreover, “to a boy from Northern Virginia who’s 17 years old,” he smiled, “Louisiana is a far, exotic country.” It was also where Jeff met his wife, Linda. 

Working on calculus in the library one night, sitting by the front window, Jeff noticed a young woman who kept looking up from her English paper. “I thought, ‘this beautiful young woman’s looking at me. I’m going to go say hi.” Jeff and Linda dated through college and were married after graduation. Only years after their wedding did he discover she’d been looking past him that night, waiting for her girlfriends to walk her back to the dorm. They have been married for over 40 years.

Journey of faith

At this time in his life, Jeff started “digging into [his] faith.” He had been raised Methodist but had never given much thought to what he believed. So, Jeff brought his questions to the Methodist minister and chewed over the answers. 

The “problem was,” he said, “I had a certain belief about Holy Communion… I basically believed in real presence…. I believed Holy Communion wasn’t symbolic… so when I discussed that with the Methodist minister, he goes, ‘you can’t be Methodist …we don’t believe that.’”

So, Jeff started meeting with Episcopal and Lutheran ministers, as well as Orthodox and Catholic priests. He attended retreats and immersed himself in reading, studying, and prayer. “And meanwhile,” he recalled, “I got commissioned.”

“I graduated at 11:00 a.m. from LSU, commissioned at 1:00 p.m. as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers… and then at 3:00 p.m. I was ordered to leave and report to my first assignment in the Army,” at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he continued his journey of conversion at St. Paul’s K Street in Washington DC, an “Anglo-Catholic” Parish. Jeff was confirmed in the Episcopal Church, and Linda followed soon thereafter when they relocated to St. Louis.

Meanwhile, during his ten years in the Regular Army, he began, with characteristic tenacity, to accumulate degrees, including a master’s in religious studies from Assumption College and another in liberal arts from Washington University in St. Louis. He also began a Ph.D. in Historical Theology (Patristics) at St. Louis University.  

But his journey didn’t end here. At first, Jeff’s ongoing discernment seemed to be leading him to Anglican orders, where he would attend St. Stephen’s House at Oxford, followed by seminary at Nashotah House in Wisconsin, and then finish the Ph.D. he had started in historical theology. However, it was at this time that he felt God calling him to convert to the Catholic Faith. “What converted me was St. John Henry Newman,” Jeff notes, and the Oxford Movement. When he did eventually go to Oxford years later to study business, Jeff chose Keble College in honor of Newman’s colleague, John Keble, who together with Edward Pusey, were the main three Anglican clergymen who led the Oxford movement. 

Jeff received spiritual direction and “rigorous examination” from Abbot Thomas Frerking, O.S.B (St. Louis Abbey – English Benedictines) and Fr. Brian Van Hove, S.J., and then in a private ceremony at a chapel at St. Louis University, he was given his first Holy Communion and Confirmation. 

Following their life in St. Louis, Jeff and Linda were transferred in the Army to Washington, D.C. It was here that Linda would join him in conversion at the hands of the Archbishop of Military Service in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of Immaculate Conception. Jeff also continued his spiritual direction with the English Benedictines of St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, D.C., where he would develop a deep and lasting friendship with his spiritual director and father confessor, Abbot Aidan Shae, O.S.B. 

Thanks to Abbot Aidan’s guidance and friendship, Jeff ultimately discerned that “God was calling me to a more structured life than just a normal layman.” While serving as a lieutenant back at Fort Belvoir, he also became a third-order Benedictine, or Oblate, of St. Anselm’s Abbey, vowing obedience, stability, and chastity within his state in life, vows which have governed Talley’s vocation as a Christian for almost 40 years. Adding to his confirmation name of Joseph, Benedict was Jeff’s selected oblation name; thus Jeffrey Joseph Benedict was born. 

Service at Home and Overseas

After serving two years in Korea, Jeff was assigned to Baltimore, where he would complete his company command, join the Army Reserve, and earn his graduate degree in Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He then completed his PhD in Engineering at Carnegie Mellon in three years, taking a job as a research engineer at a Corps of Engineers research lab in Vicksburg, Mississippi, before joining the faculty at the University of Notre Dame. In his nine years at ND, where he received early tenure and a Teacher of the Year award, Jeff was twice deployed as a reservist to fight in Iraq.

During one of these deployments, in 2008, his exemplary leadership as Commander of the 926th Engineer Brigade under General Dave Petraeus earned two (of three career) Bronze Stars. By developing and implementing a policy called “Engineering the Peace,” Jeff led an essential effort to rebuild Baghdad swiftly and efficiently, restoring the city’s infrastructure and leaving an incalculable impact on the region’s stability. 

Back home, Jeff continued teaching at Notre Dame until an enticing offer from Southern Methodist University, backed by calls from the governor of Texas, the bishop of Dallas, and legendary quarterback Roger Staubach, convinced him to move South. 

After teaching for two years at Southern Methodist and earning a business degree at Oxford, Jeff and Linda moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where Jeff, along with a classmate from Oxford, began several startup tech companies. Meanwhile, missing academia, Jeff also accepted a faculty position at Johns Hopkins.

Though he had continued to serve as a reservist during this time, at this point in his career, Jeff received a call from the Secretary of the Army, asking if he would return to active duty as the 32nd Chief of the Army Reserve and assume command of all the reserve forces. 

At first, Jeff declined. Taking on such a role would mean resigning from his companies and quitting his professorship. But when he relayed the offer to Linda, she told him bluntly, “Your country’s asking you to serve one more time. The answer must be ‘yes.’ You and I must serve if the country asks us to serve.” 

So, Dr. Jeff Talley became the Chief and Commanding General of Army Reserve Forces and was appointed to the three-star rank. For four years, he dedicated himself to this demanding role, which included extensive congressional and media responsibilities, as well as leading one of the largest commands in the Defense Department. “You’re exhausted when it’s done,” Jeff said, and when he and Linda heard rumblings of an extended appointment, Linda spoke up again, asking the Secretary directly: “Please let us retire.” And he agreed.

Taking Care of Business

Jeff retired, taking an appointment as the Cabot House Scholar in Residence, an Advanced Leadership Fellowship at Harvard University. For the next year, he and Linda lived in the dormitory with their dog, Baxter, “the first and last official mascot at Cabot House,” before moving back to Arizona. Jeff then spent four years as a senior executive at IBM, overseeing the corporation’s global public sector interests and dealing directly with heads of state and heads of government worldwide. 

While at IBM, Jeff held a faculty position at the University of Southern California in Public Policy, Engineering, and Business. In 2020, he realized he was burning out, so he “took a knee” and formed his own advisory firm around public-private partnerships, or P3s. Since then, the P3 Initiatives Group has assisted DOD-referred and B2B clients in developing strategies and pursuing contracts. 

Now, although he will remain Chairman of the Board of the P3I Group, Jeff is handing the reins to his vice president, who will assume the managing partnership role, allowing Talley to take on his new role as President of Belmont Abbey College.

A New Calling

His civilian and military careers, accomplishments, and accolades have continually proven Dr. Jeff Talley not only a man of unparalleled determination and energy but also someone who takes personal discernment seriously, who holds himself accountable, and who never rests on his (considerable) laurels.

As President of Belmont Abbey College, Dr. Talley’s vision for this nearly 150-year-old institution reflects the same clear and decisive vision and the same energetic commitment to excellence by which he has lived his own life. His priorities will center on strengthening our rigorous academics, rooted in faith and dedicated to growth in leadership.

“We have a unique opportunity,” he urges the Belmont Abbey College community, “to help young men and women get a rigorous academic experience in a faith-filled environment that’s strong in its Catholic identity so they can go forth in a world that’s become so challenging, so complex, so difficult. Leaders who are balanced both morally and professionally are in greater need than ever before. For this purpose, Belmont Abbey College exists. I thank God for the opportunity to become part of the Belmont Abbey College family, where together we can bear the light of Christ in the world today.” 

A convicting sense of vocation undergirds everything Dr. Talley has achieved over the course of his personal and professional life, and today it powerfully informs his vision for the future of Belmont Abbey. His own progress through a “challenging, complex, difficult” world has seen the benefit of rootedness in faith. And now, by the grace of God, his scholarly dedication, commitment to service, and faithful leadership will bring to this new era of Abbey history a vision that both cherishes our rich institutional past and aspires to an even brighter future.

As the Abbey prepares with gratitude to celebrate its 150th anniversary, the BAC community welcomes Dr. Jeff Talley as the 21st President of Belmont Abbey College, ready to build toward new levels of faith, scholarship, and leadership together, that in all things God may be glorified.