Peter K. Kilpatrick is the 16th and current president of

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Personal life

Kilpatrick was born in Alabama. His father was a founding member of the US Air Force and so his family moved often including to Guam and Turkey. He was not raised Catholic but, at the age of 10, experienced a personal

Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...

and asked his parents to purchase him a 10 volume set of books knows as the ''Bible Series''. A childhood friend was the son of a Methodist minister, and the minister baptized Kilpatrick that year. He later fell away from the faith. Kilpatrick attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

and it was there, during their freshman year, that he met his wife, Nancy. They we’re assigned to the same chemistry research project during the summer after their junior year. They had their first date on July 8, 1977 and were engaged the following month. Nancy was Catholic and, while preparing to marry, the couple met with a priest. After Kilpatrick originally demurred, saying he wanted his children to make up their own minds, the priest persuaded him to agree to raise any future children in the Catholic faith "under a little duress." The Kilpatricks have four children, Elisabeth, Zachary, Charlie, and Alexandra, and three grandchildren. Their third child was named after a priest, Father Charlie Mulholland. When their first child, Elisabeth, was born, they visited their local parish in Minneapolis to have her baptized but, because they were not practicing Catholics, the priest refused. The couple then began attending Mass and Kilpatrick was so moved by the priest's pro-life homily that he "almost immediately converted." He went through the

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), or ''Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum'', is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts to the Catholic faith above the age of infant bap ...

(RCIA) and has been a practicing Catholic ever since. He later taught RCIA and Family Intergenerational Religious Education (FIRE) classes at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...

, his home parish. The Kilpatricks are still parishioners there, even though they no longer live in Cary.

Career

Kilpatrick earned his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota. He began his teaching career at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

in 1983. He rose from an assistant to associate and then full professor of chemical engineering. He served as the associate head of the department from 1996 to 1999 and then head of the chemistry and biomolecular engineering department from 1999 to 2007. During the years of 2004 to 2007, Kilpatrick was the founding director of the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center. In 2008, Kilpatrick became the dean of the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and served in this position until 2018. While there, he launched a joint Ph.D. program with the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

. He also built a chapel in the engineering building where masses were said, in part to build a community of believers in the engineering program. During this time Kilpatrick also started a lecture series on the intersection of faith and science and helped sponsor many trips of 1,000 people to the

March for Life March for Life may refer to: * March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C. * March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion * March for Life (Prague), an annual ...

in Washington, D.C. During this time, enrollment in the engineering school grew by 60%. Kilpatrick then moved to the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

where he was the provost and vice president for academic affairs from 2018 to 2022. During this time, he developed an online master's program geared towards students in China. The program is expected to bring in $10 million in net tutition revenue by 2025. He also hired four new deans and seven department chairs. He was planning to retire and return to North Carolina, but received a phone call from a friend asking him to consider applying for the president's position at The Catholic University of America. He originally said no, citing his plans to retire to the home in

he built in 2018 and to earn a Ph.D. in theology. As a chemical engineer, Kilpatrick owns or co-owns 12 patents. He has published more than 100 journal articles.

Political views

Kilpatrick describes himself as "apolitical." He is pro-immigration and describes climate change as a "very, very serious." He is also strongly pro-life.

Awards

Kilpatrick won the

American Society for Engineering Education The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education. The purpose of ASEE is the advancement of education ...

Regional Teaching Award and a pro-life award from Notre Dame, among others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilpatrick, Peter Living people American Roman Catholics North Carolina State University faculty Occidental College alumni University of Notre Dame people Presidents of the Catholic University of America People from Cary, North Carolina Illinois Institute of Technology people 1956 births