Meet the President - Rockhurst University

Most people call him Father,but this day the Rev.Thomas B. Curran, O.S.F.S.,spoke as a son. On Saturday, March18, 2006, Fr. Curran gave the homilyat the funeral Mass for his father,Joseph J. Curran.Just two weeks before the Mass,Fr. Curran had been appointed the14th president of Rockhurst University.He was able to share the newswith his father, who then proceededto provide detailed informationabout Rockhurst athletics.“My father was the only person Iknow who subscribed to newslettersabout Division II and III schools,”said Fr. Curran. “Sports were a bigpart of our family and he followedthem until the day he died.”Fr. Curran was the fifth of six childrenborn to Joseph and Ann Curran.Their home was in Philadelphia,where life centered on family, thechurch and sports, especially NotreDame football. As with most families,the years brought a mix of pain andjoy. A drunk driver killed the family’sonly daughter at the age of 18, anda son died of kidney disease at theage of 33.Thomas B. Curran, age 5Named after his uncle, a HolyCross priest from Notre Dame,Fr. Curran became a professed memberof the Oblates of St. Francis deSales in 1977 and was ordained as aRoman Catholic priest in 1984.A wide range of interests shapedFr. Curran’s career goals. He said healways wanted to be a teacher, goto law school and go into politics.Educational administration was noton the list. His dream was to opena storefront legal clinic, but after hecompleted his J.D. at the CatholicUniversity of America and a clerkshipwith a Pennsylvania superior courtjudge, his religious order had differentplans for him.Next up was the presidency of thestruggling Northeast Catholic HighSchool for Boys, located in his hometownof Philadelphia. His desire tolearn more about the financial side ofrunning the school led him to earna master of business administrationdegree from Saint Joseph’s University,a Jesuit institution in Philadelphia.“I didn’t know a balance sheetfrom a bed sheet,” said Fr. Curran.By the time he left Northeast, theschool’s financial situation had greatlyimproved. He then was asked toassume the presidency of SalesianumSchool in Wilmington, Del., and tocreate a strategic plan for the school’s100 th anniversary, which would happensix years later.Fr. Curran visits the Basilica of St. Annede Beaupré in Quebec City.Joining Fr. Curran on the day of his ordination are his father, Joe,his mother, Ann, and his brother Ed.Rather than confine the centennialcelebration to campus improvementsor parties for alumni, Fr. Curran crafteda plan that would bring togetherthe school’s supporters in a way thatwould leave a lasting impact on thecity of Wilmington and the lives ofsome of its most economically disadvantagedresidents.“I approached the provincial aboutcelebrating beyond the buildings,”Fr. Curran said.Under Fr. Curran’s leadership, theschool sponsored the opening of atuition-free middle school for boys,Nativity Preparatory School. Servingas Nativity’s executive director, hefound someone to donate a parcel ofland and he worked to secure moreRockhurst4spring 2006