Brian F. Linnane

Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J. (born August 25, 1955) is the former president of Loyola University Maryland.^[1] Before assuming the presidency, he served as an assistant dean and associate professor at College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit institution in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Early life and education[]

Born August 25, 1955, Fr. Linnane entered the Society of Jesus in 1977 and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 14, 1986. He earned an A.B. degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College in 1977 and an M.A. in government from Georgetown University in 1981 before undertaking divinity studies at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, where he received an M.Div. in 1986 and an S.T.L. in 1988. He earned an M.A. in 1990, an M.Phil. in 1991, and a Ph.D. in 1994 in religious studies from Yale University. He received an honorary doctorate from Loyola University Maryland in 2015.

College of the Holy Cross[]

Fr. Linnane joined the Religious Studies department at Holy Cross in 1994. He has written several scholarly articles in the disciplines of fundamental moral theology, health care ethics, and virtue ethics. He served as assistant dean at Holy Cross from 2003–05 and was named a Loyola College Trustee in 2000.

Loyola University[]

In July 2005, Fr. Linnane became the 24th President of Loyola University Maryland. As president of Loyola University Maryland, Fr. Linnane has overseen the opening of the Ridley Athletic Complex as well as renovation and expansion of Donnelly Science Center and the building of Flannery O’Connor Residence Hall. He steered the University through its current strategic plan, Grounded in Tradition, Educating for the Future and led Loyola through its designation change from Loyola College in Maryland to Loyola University Maryland in 2009. He launched Loyola's first comprehensive fundraising campaign, Bright Minds, Bold Hearts, and he provided and inspired the vision for Messina, Loyola's distinctive living learning program.^[2] He was also known for the saying "Squeeze the Sponge", referring to trying to not limit your learning, to get everything out of the subject that you are learning. However, during his tenure he was known to censor conservative values and information.

Fr. Linnane currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Marquette University; University of Detroit Mercy; and the Institute of Christian and Jewish Studies; and on the Board of Directors of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. He is a trustee of . Fr. Linnane announced his plan to retire from presidency at Loyola Maryland after the completion of the 2021-2022 academic year back in February 2021; this was followed by an announcement that he would retire on June 30, 2021, in order to pursue new academic opportunities at Georgetown University.

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