Charles J. Dougherty (born June 28, 1949) is an American
academic who served as the 12th president of
Duquesne University in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. An expert in the field of
health care ethics, Dougherty has published two books on the subject.
Academic career
The first member of his family to attend college, Dougherty received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure University is a private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,381 undergraduate and graduate students. The Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858.
In athletics, the St. Bonaventure Bonn ...
in 1971.
He went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in the same subject from the
University of Notre Dame in 1973 and 1975.
Academic Vice President of Creighton University
Dougherty joined the faculty of Creighton University in 1975, chairing the philosophy department there from 1981 to 1989. He served as the first director of the Creighton Center for Health Policy and Ethics from 1988 to 1995, a position which he left when he was appointed the university's academic vice president. He held that post from 1995 to 2001, during which time he was acting university president for a brief period in 2000.
President of Duquesne University
Dougherty was elected president of Duquesne University by its board of directors in May 2001.
During Dougherty's tenure, Duquesne underwent $350 million in building construction, including the
Power Center, a fitness facility which also houses the campus's bookstore and two restaurants, and
Des Places Hall, an upperclassman residence hall. In the fall of 2012, Duquesne welcomed its largest freshman class in history, a record again topped the following year. Duquesne was listed as one of the top twenty most efficient national universities by
U.S. News; Duquesne was the only Pennsylvania school as well as the only Catholic school on the list.
On February 13, 2015, just two days after the death of his predecessor
John E. Murray, Jr.
John Edward Murray Jr. (December 20, 1932 – February 11, 2015) was a chancellor and a professor of law at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He was a former dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and th ...
, Dougherty announced he would step down as President effective at the end of his third term. On November 4, 2015, Duquesne University named
Law School
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
Dean
Ken Gormley as Dougherty's successor, effective July 1, 2016.
Community involvement
Dougherty has worked with the Hospital Trustees Project at the
Hastings Center and the
New York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...
, as well as the National Coalition on Catholic Health Care.
He has served on the board of trustees of the Catholic Health Association and the Board of Editors at both Creighton University Press and ''Health Progress''. Dougherty has also served as a Commissioner for the State of Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, a government ethics panel.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of
Mercy Hospital; Mercy Health Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
The Allegheny Conference on Community Development is a nonprofit, private sector leadership organization dedicated to economic development and quality of life issues for a 10-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania, United States centered aro ...
; Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership;
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh; and the Urban League of Pittsburgh.
He serves on the board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and is the Chair of the President's Committee of the
Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education.
Personal life
Charles Dougherty was born in
Brooklyn,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and attended
St. Anthony's High School in
Smithtown, New York.
Dougherty and his wife, Sandra, who recently retired as a judge on the Nebraska District Court in Douglas County, have two children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, Charles J.
1949 births
Living people
Presidents of Duquesne University
Academics from Brooklyn
St. Bonaventure University alumni
Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni
Catholics from New York (state)