von Arx was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and raised in Locust Valley, New York.
He graduated from the Locust Valley Schools in 1965 and Princeton University in 1969 and entered the Society of Jesus that summer.
von Arx served as the eighth president of Fairfield University from July 1, 2004, until December 31, 2016.
Previously, von Arx served as Chair of the History Department at Georgetown University and Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill.
[1] A noted scholar and historian, von Arx is an expert in the field of 19th-century British history.