John L. Lahey was born and raised in the Riverdale Section of the Bronx, St. Margaret’s Parish, attended and graduated from St. Margaret’s School and completed his high school studies at Fordham Preparatory School. He received both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in philosophy from the University of Dayton; his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Miami; and a second master’s degree in higher education administration from Columbia University.

 

 

President of Quinnipiac University** for the past 22 years, John Lahey has distinguished himself as an innovative and dynamic leader who has spearheaded Quinnipiac University’s emergence as one of the leading institutions in the Northeast. With a national reputation for administration and fund raising, Dr. Lahey has increased Quinnipiac’s endowment from $5 million to $175 million, guided a comprehensive building program and directed a more than 300 percent increase in student enrollment, from 1,902 students in 1986 to more than 7,600 students today.  He has directed the acquisition and development of two additional campuses, the 250-acre York Hill Campus to meet the needs of its undergraduates, and the 104-acre North Haven campus to house its graduate and health professions programs. U.S. News and World Report recognizes Quinnipiac as one of the top schools in the northern region and Quinnipiac is now listed among The Princeton Review’s “Best 361 Colleges”. 

 

Dr. Lahey also is a leader in the community, serving as a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 4, New York County; Director and Vice Chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc.; member of the Knights of St. Patrick; and on the Board of Directors for Yale-New Haven Hospital, United Illuminating Company, the Aristotle Corporation, Independence Holding Company and the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy.

 

A member of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for more than 20 years, 1997's Grand Marshal of the Parade, and in 2000 named one of the 10 outstanding Grand Marshals of the 20th century, Dr. Lahey has devoted much of his time to educating the public about the historic implications of Ireland’s Great Hunger. He has been at the forefront of a movement to require schools to include the Irish Famine in school curricula as a human rights violation. Dr. Lahey believes that understanding this history will help put in perspective the current struggles in Northeastern Ireland and advance the process that he hopes will eventually result in peace and justice. 

 

Under President Lahey’s leadership, Quinnipiac University has developed the largest collection of books, educational materials and art on Ireland’s Great Hunger in its Lender Family Special Collection Room, An Gorta Mór, located in its Arnold Bernhard Library. The collection is the largest of its kind in the world, devoted solely to Ireland’s Great Hunger. Under Dr. Lahey’s leadership Quinnipiac also has developed a summer program for its law students through Trinity College Dublin, and a semester-abroad program for its undergraduate students through University College, Cork.

 

**Quinnipiac University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 5,700 full-time undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students in 52 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac ranks among the top 10 universities with master’s programs in the Northern region in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges. The 2009 issue of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the North. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges. For more information, please visit: www.quinnipiac.edu