Name Thomas Curran Role University president | Education Georgetown University | |
The Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., began his tenure as the 14th president of Rockhurst University on June 1, 2006. Fr. Curran was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in 1984. In late 2011, he entered a three-year transitional period as part of the process to become a member of the "least society" – the Jesuits. In May 2015, Fr. Curran made his final vows to complete the process and was fully incorporated into the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).
Fr. Curran is well grounded in the philosophy of Jesuit higher education. In addition to earning degrees from two Jesuit universities, he previously served as associate vice president for university relations and assistant to the president at Regis University in Denver. There, he headed major gifts and corporate relations staff, directed the annual fund and had daily oversight of the university's capital campaign. In addition to his fund-raising responsibilities and work for the president, Fr. Curran was a religious studies faculty member and a university ministry team member and retreat leader.
Before joining Regis, Fr. Curran served as president of Salesianum School in Wilmington, Del., a Catholic high school operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. While in that role, he founded Nativity Preparatory School, a middle school for low-income boys, where he also served as executive director. Fr. Curran's wide variety of interests is apparent in his own educational background.
He attended La Salle University and earned a B.A. in politics from DeSales University, an M.A. in theology from DeSales School of Theology, an M.A. in Liberal Studies, public policy and government from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the Catholic University of America and an M.B.A. from Saint Joseph's University. Among Fr. Curran's many honors and awards are the Monsignor Thomas J. Reese Award for Outstanding Community Service from Catholic Charities Inc. of the Diocese of Wilmington; the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Law Society, Wilmington, Del.; a City Council Commendation and a Mayor's Service Award, both from Wilmington; and the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.