Rev. Brian Linnane, S.J., Assistant Dean and Associate Professor at Holy Cross, Elected President of Loyola College

WORCESTER, Mass. – Rev. Brian Linnane, S.J., an accomplished scholar currently serving as Assistant Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, has been elected the 24th President of Loyola College in Maryland by the College’s Trustees.

Fr. Linnane succeeds The Reverend Harold Ridley, S.J., who died in office on January 18 after serving as Loyola’s president since 1994.

"We wish Brian Linnane all the best as he takes on this very important position," said Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of Holy Cross. "Loyola is very fortunate to have him. He brings many gifts to the position and a strong sense of the Jesuit mission. I am sure he will bring outstanding leadership to a fine institution. Brian will be missed at Holy Cross where he has made extraordinary contributions in many areas as a scholar, teacher, pastoral leader and class dean."

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. from Georgetown University’s Department of Government in 1981 before undertaking divinity studies at the Jesuit School of Theology, where he earned a master’s degree in 1986. He earned master’s degrees from the Yale Department of Religious Studies in 1990 and 1991, and the Ph.D. in 1994. He earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley the same year.

Fr. Linnane joined the Religious Studies Department at Holy Cross in 1994. He has served as Assistant Dean at Holy Cross since 2003 and has been a Loyola College Trustee since 2000.

He has taught courses in Christian ethics at Holy Cross, and has also offered advanced courses in morality, medical ethics, and virtue theory. His scholarly publications are extensive, and include the areas of fundamental moral theology, health care ethics, and virtue ethics.

Fr. Linnane has served as National Vice President of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society, and as a member of the Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education. He was a Chair of the Catholic Theological Society of America’s Committee on Admissions.

Fr. Linnane will assume his new position at Loyola in July.