During the past few months St. John’s University President Rev.
Donald J. Harrington, C.M. announced the appointments of Rev. James
J. Maher, C.M. ’84C, Dr. Kathryn Hutchinson ’92G and Dr. Jerrold
Ross to new positions within the University administration.
Fr. Maher was named to the position of Executive Vice President
for Mission. He succeeds Rev. Patrick Griffin, C.M. who has been
appointed as Director General of the Daughters of Charity with
assignment to Paris.
Fr. Maher
most recently served as Vice President for Student Affairs and
Executive Director of the Vincentian Institute for Social Action
(VISA). He will continue to have responsibility for VISA in his new
position.
“I am extremely excited and grateful for this new opportunity,”
said Fr. Maher. “I look forward to continuing the great work of my
two predecessors, Fr. Michael Carroll, C.M. and Fr. Patrick
Griffin, C.M. Our Catholic and Vincentian mission is among St.
John’s greatest treasures, and our office will continue to focus
efforts toward developing our shared mission with our faculty,
administrators, staff and students.”
Fr. Maher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from St.
John’s University, and two master's degrees earned at Mary
Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, PA. He received the Doctor of
Ministry Degree from Immaculate Conception Seminary and Graduate
School of Theology. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Niagara
University and DePaul University.
Dr. Hutchinson succeeds Fr. Maher as Vice President for Student
Affairs. She previously served as Senior Associate Vice President
in the Division of Student Affairs.
“I am honored to be entrusted with the position of Vice
President for Student Affairs,” said Dr. Hutchinson. “We are so
fortunate to be able to serve a wonderful student community at St.
John’s, filled with diversity and hard-working young adults. I am
excited about the Division of Student Affairs’ commitment to
excellence as we work to engage our students in career development,
leadership development and community service, as well as
educational, cultural and social activities of all types. I look
forward to collaborating with the units across campus to make the
St. John’s experience the best it can possibly be.”
Dr. Hutchinson received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major
in Psychology from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN
and earned her M.S. in School Psychology at St. John’s University.
She holds a Ph.D. in School Psychology from Teachers College of
Columbia University and is professionally certified by New York
State both as a psychologist and a school psychologist.
Prior to coming to St. John’s, she served for 10 years as
Executive Director for Counseling and Psychological Services at St.
Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY.
Dr. Ross is now Academic Vice President for the Staten Island
campus, which includes the recently established Notre Dame Division
of St. John’s University, comprised of all faculty, administrative
and support staff based on Staten Island.
In his new role, he will centralize the academic leadership for
the University community on the Staten Island campus and will be
charged with shaping and leading the Notre Dame Division.
Ultimately, he will be responsible for providing the leadership
that will enable the Staten Island campus to become an ever
stronger and more vibrant unit of what has come to be known as “the
new St. John’s”.
“The Staten Island campus provides marvelous opportunities for
many exciting projects,” noted Dr. Ross. “We’ve already undertaken
a number of initiatives to increase enrollment and recruit a highly
qualified student body. We’ve introduced a three-year undergraduate
program that saves students both time and money, expanded the ROTC
program that was based in Queens and housed in The Peter J. Tobin
College of Business to Staten Island and re-introduced the Liberal
Studies program in the College of Professional Studies to provide
an opportunity for students to acquire the academic skills and
knowledge that will prepare them for the jobs of the 21st
century.
”Dr. Ross has been Dean of St. John’s School of Education since
1995. During those years, he has been instrumental in developing a
number of creative research and training projects, many of them in
partnership with both elementary and secondary public and private
schools within the New York metropolitan area, and in securing
external funding for them. He will continue to serve as Dean while
assuming this new position.
He holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from New York University and
a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Emerson College in
Boston. He previously served as President of the New York College
of Music as well as Director of the renowned Town Hall in New York
City.