The Reverend Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., J.D., Ph.D., began his service as the twenty-fifth President of The University of Scranton on July 1, 2011.

An accomplished administrator, distinguished law professor and recognized scholar with a deep commitment to Catholic and Jesuit higher education, Father Quinn served as the executive director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and as a professor of law at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif., prior to becoming president at Scranton.

As executive director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, a position he held since 2006, Father Quinn reported to the president of Santa Clara University. He was responsible for developing and overseeing programs that engage faculty, staff, students and the broader community. He also sought private and grant contributions to sustain the work of the Center, which supports and enhances the school’s Catholic and Jesuit mission and identity. Each year, the Center connected 1,200 students enrolled in 83 courses with more than 50 community-based learning partners, and coordinated immersion programs for more than 300 students at regional, national and international sites. The Center also sponsored the Sustainability Initiative at Santa Clara.

At Santa Clara University, Father Quinn served on a number of committees, including co-chairing the Experiential Learning Faculty Core Committee, and serving on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Self Study Steering Committee and the University Planning Council.

As a professor of law, he offered a seminar on Bioethics and the Law at Santa Clara University since 2007, and taught at Georgetown University Law Center from 1994 to 2006, first as associate professor before being promoted to full professor in 2000. At Georgetown University, he also served as a senior research fellow/faculty affiliate at the Kennedy Institute for Ethics; chaplain-in-residence in the Office of Campus Ministry; and as a consult advisor for the Ethical Consult Service at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Father Quinn’s legal scholarship is primarily in health care ethics and includes book chapters and journal pieces on issues of end-of-life decision-making, stem cell research and justice in health care. He has written book reviews for America and Theological Studies, as well as articles about Jesuit and Catholic education for publications such as Conversations in Jesuit Higher Education and explore, a journal published by the Ignatian Center that examines Catholic identity and Ignatian character in Jesuit higher education.

Earlier in his career, Father Quinn taught at Regis High School in New York City and served as its athletic director. 

Father Quinn currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Loyola University New Orleans and on the Board of Directors of Crispaz (Cristianos Por La Paz en El Salvador). Previously, he served on the boards at Le Moyne College, Canisius College, Loyola Marymount University, Bon Secours Health System Inc. and Saint Luke Institute. He was a member of the New York Province Review Board and the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education. He is a member of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics, and the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.

Father Quinn earned a doctorate of philosophy in jurisprudence and social policy and juris doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, where he served on the Board of Editors of the California Law Review. After law school, he served as law clerk for Judge Joseph M. McLaughlin, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City. He was admitted to the Bar of New York and the District of Columbia. Father Quinn earned an S.T.L. with a concentration in moral theology and a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (now the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University). He is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Fordham University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and history.  

He entered the Society of Jesus in 1973 and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1985.