St. John’s University President Engages with Students at Vincentian Chair Lecture and Luncheon

This year’s Vincentian Chair of Social Justice lecture series was launched by St. John’s University President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., with a talk, “Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the University: God, Philosophy, and Catholic Universities.” Before his lecture, Fr. Shanley enjoyed a luncheon with a group of Catholic and Ozanam Scholars whom he invited to engage him on any topic of their choosing.

The lecture and luncheon were held on September 10 in St. Thomas More Church on the Queens, NY campus. “The Vincentian Chair of Social Justice theme for this coming academic year is, Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the University, noted Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M. ’13HON, Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society. “Fr. Shanley emphasized the way in which our tradition defines our foundation, our history, and our development in the conversation that pursues the truth as it engages faith and reason.”

Of Fr. Shanley’s time with the students, Fr. Griffin added, “His welcoming engagement with these young women and men set the tone which should characterize our development as a Catholic University. It emphasized who and what is most important.” 

At lunch, Fr. Shanley asked each student for a brief biography as he shared a capsulized version of his personal story, stressing that many of them might find themselves in vastly different places than they currently aspire to. “I thought I was going to be a lawyer and ended up as a Dominican priest,” he said, smiling.

Fr. Shanley noted that when it came to the most consequential moments in his life, he was reminded of his priestly vow of obedience and entrusted himself to the guidance of those who knew him best. He spent the first 15 years of professional life as an academic and then—with no prior administrative experience—he was appointed President of Providence College.

“In all those years I spent in school, the most important thing I learned was not any particular topic, but I learned how to learn. That’s the most important thing. Whatever you think you’re going to do with the rest of your lives, you’re probably not going to. Life is full of surprises, switches, and changes. At least my life has been that way. Whatever it is that you do, you’ll always be learning. You might find something else more rich and rewarding, so be open to the prospect of change.”

“None of my plans in life have worked out,” he laughed.

When Fr. Shanley entered religious life, he was not certain it was his true path, but over time he realized it was where he belonged. “It happens differently in everyone’s life. A new possibility arises that you hadn’t thought about before.”

He continued, “I love working with young people. Teachers have been the biggest influence on my life, and I thought this is my way of giving back. So, I knew I wanted to be a college professor before I knew I wanted to be a Dominican.”

Fr. Shanley grew to love his role as President at Providence. Eventually, his community decided he needed a new challenge, which he found when he was named President of St. John’s.

“When I kicked the tires of St. John’s, I realized this is a huge challenge and very different. I also believed that with what I learned at Providence, I could help St. John’s get where it needed to go. The diversity of Queens is mind-blowing for me. It’s one of the things I love about being here. I wanted something different—and I got it.”

History major Leyla Turcios, an Ozanam Scholar, enjoyed opportunity speaking directly with Fr. Shanley and learning more about his journey. “It was really great getting to see on a personal level what the president is like and building a connection.”

She hoped for more opportunities in the future. “I also feel like it’s important for us to get used to speaking to people who can make a real difference in our lives,” she said. “We’re going to be going on interviews soon. It’s so nice to feel like I could talk to him and make a difference in my own way. He seemed very open.”

“The opportunity to speak to Fr. Shanley offered us his invaluable insight into the idea of remaining open-minded and versatile in our college and professional lives, while maintaining our core values and faith in God’s plan for us,” offered Dylan Conry, a Risk Management and Insurance major and Catholic Scholar. “Fr. Shanley’s commitment to furthering St. John’s is apparent. I am grateful I had the chance to speak with him.”

Sport Management major Peyton Frisby, an Ozanam Scholar, observed, “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to interact face-to-face with Fr. Shanley. It was great to casually discuss topics important to us as scholars and hear the same from him. I think it’s beneficial and purposeful to keep students visible to leadership, aiming to foster opportunities for growth, development, and connection.”

During his lecture, Fr. Shanley, quoting St. John Henry Newman, stressed that the aim of university education is not to prepare students for a particular profession or career. The goal, he said, “is to transform their minds so that the student becomes a different kind of individual, one able to engage truthfully in conversation or debate, who has a capacity for exercising judgment and for bringing insights and arguments from a variety of disciplines to bear on particular complex issues,” he said.

Fr. Shanley added, “There is a strong tendency these days to turn education into another commodity to be bought and sold to consumers who expect the return on investment to be a well-paying job. Of course, we want our students to be meaningfully employed when they graduate, but there is more to a flourishing human life than work.”

As a Catholic University, “We require ethics classes so that our students learn to think reflectively about what constitutes a good life and how to give reasons for the choices we make,” Fr. Shanley explained.

As he concluded, Fr. Shanley stressed that he believes St. John’s continues to heed the call to be a God-centered University. “I like to think we put our flag in the ground when we revised our core curriculum. The core is where we require all our students to explore the broader meaning of their lives beyond the specialized knowledge that they pursue in their majors.” Philosophy and theology, along with the humanities, “help our students begin to formulate answers to the deep questions that all persons face in their lives.”