Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M. assumed the
presidency of St. John’s University in 1989. As the 15th President
of one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States,
he has provided leadership for an ambitious initiative that has
positioned the institution as a leader in higher education for the
21st century.
His vision has resulted in an extraordinary transformation of
the University into a “new” St. John’s, with enhanced facilities,
expanded academic initiatives and an increasing global presence.
The vision has been enabled by Fulfilling the Dream, a capital
campaign that ended in May 2006, exceeding its goal and raising
more than $271 million, the largest amount ever realized by a
Catholic institution in New York State. New buildings include St.
Thomas More Church, the gift of alumnus John V. Brennan and his
wife, Anita, which stands at the center of the Queens campus;
DaSilva Hall, a state-of-the-art classroom building, which opened
in September 2004 on the Staten Island campus; and Taffner Field
House, which is located adjacent to Lou Carnesecca Arena on the
Queens campus and named for the late Donald and Eleanor Taffner.
Most recently completed is the 127,000-square-foot D’Angelo Center,
named for alumnus and Chair of the Board of Trustees Peter D’Angelo
and his wife, Peg. This impressive edifice, with its 144-foot
tower, provides both state-of-the-art classroom facilities as well
as space for student activities and has become the hub for student
life on the Queens campus.
Academic initiatives include new degree programs on both the
graduate and undergraduate levels and curricular changes that
incorporate service-learning and global studies into academic
preparation. Online Learning courses and programs provide
flexibility in scheduling and are expected to enable
non-traditional students, especially working adults, to take
advantage of the University’s broad spectrum of offerings. While
expanding its outreach through technology, the University has also
increased its physical presence within the metropolitan area and
beyond. During Father Harrington’s tenure, the University has
opened a Graduate Center in Rome, Italy (1995); acquired an
Extension Center in Oakdale at a 175-acre site on the Great South
Bay (1999); gained a campus in Manhattan through consolidation with
The College of Insurance (2000); and purchased facilities and
acquired some academic programs formerly operated by St. Vincent’s
Catholic Medical Center in Queens (2006). Through its unique global
studies program, Discover the World, students have the opportunity
to study on the University’s campus in Rome as well as at a site
opened by St. John’s in Paris (2008). Consistent with the mission
of the University as a Vincentian institution, founded in the
spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of charity,
students studying abroad not only combine classroom instruction
with cultural activities but engage in a unique component – service
activities designed to provide them with direct contact to the
poor.
Among the most transformative aspects of the University’s
impressive growth has been the transition to residence life. Six
residence halls have been constructed on the Queens campus. The
first three buildings, one of them named for John Cardinal
O’Connor, the beloved prelate of the Archdiocese of New York, were
completed in August 1999. Two more halls were opened in September
2000, and one additional building, named for alumnus, benefactor
and former Chairman of Mellon Bank Corporation Thomas Donovan, was
opened in September 2002. Complementing the residence hall complex
is a dining facility named for alumnus and former trustee William
Montgoris, retired CFO of Bear Stearns. The residence halls were
supplemented in 2005 by acquisition of two complexes on Union
Turnpike that provide off-campus housing in apartment-style
facilities. A townhouse complex, completed in 2008, was followed by
signing of a long-term lease on a newly constructed apartment
building close to the Queens campus. Apartment-style living
accommodations are also available in buildings adjacent to the
Staten Island campus.
Strategic planning has also been a focus of Father Harrington’s
presidency. The 2008-2013 plan, the University’s third, focuses on
Mission, Student Engagement and Global Education. Among the goals
are fostering study abroad among both graduate and undergraduate
students by developing new sites and programs in countries
throughout the globe as well as increasing the numbers of students
who participate; providing students with opportunities for
experiential education, through programs such as internships and
service-learning; and establishing the Vincentian Institute for
Social Action (VISA), which, among other purposes, fosters
collaboration between students and faculty to explore the causes of
poverty and social injustice throughout the globe and develop
solutions. In 2011, cognizant of external challenges to higher
education, particularly society’s perception of an increasing gap
between the cost of higher education and its perceived value, the
University developed a Strategic Repositioning Plan focused on
articulating, measuring and marketing the value of a St. John’s
education.
Shortly after his ordination as a Vincentian priest in 1973,
Father Harrington was assigned to Niagara University, which, like
St. John’s, is sponsored by the Vincentians. He served as
Instructor in Religious Studies, Director of Student Activities and
Executive Vice President before being named the institution’s 22nd
President – at 38 years of age, the youngest ever appointed.
Father Harrington has amassed a striking record of community and
professional activity. He served as a trustee of DePaul
University, completed three terms as a trustee of Niagara
University, two terms on the Board of Directors of the Association
of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and six years on the
Board of Trustees of Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington,
NY. He recently completed two terms on the Board of Directors of
the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU)
within the State of New York. He was recently elected to the Board
of Directors of Fidelis Care, the New York State Catholic Health
Plan and will assume the chairmanship of that Board in 2012.
Born in Brooklyn, Father Harrington attended Our Lady Help of
Christians Elementary School in that borough, where he was educated
by the Sisters of Charity (Halifax). He was graduated from
Manhattan’s Regis High School in 1963. He then entered the junior
college seminary of the Vincentian Fathers in Princeton, NJ, before
completing his studies for the priesthood at Mary Immaculate
Seminary in Northampton, PA. He pursued graduate studies at The
Catholic University of America and the University of Toronto.
Father Harrington holds honorary doctorates from several
colleges and universities in the United States, including Niagara
University, St. Thomas Aquinas College and The Catholic University
of America. He has also been honored by such international
institutions as Fu Jen University in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of
China; the American University in Rome, Italy; and Kokushikan
University in Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded the honor Pro
Ecclesia et Pontifice by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in
1989 and was named a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in 1999. He
received the Order of Merit (Cavalieri) of the Republic of Italy in
June 2003 and the Grand Ufficiale in October 2003.