Dr. Brennan O’Donnell Named Manhattan College’s 19th President

Manhattan College has named Dr. Brennan O’Donnell as its 19th president, effective July 1, at which time Br. Thomas Scanlan, F.S.C., will step down from his position after nearly 22 years of leadership. O’Donnell will become the first layperson to serve as president in the 156-year history of the College. O’Donnell is currently dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham University’s oldest and largest school, a college of arts and sciences with more than 3,200 students and nearly 300 faculty. He brings to Riverdale the experience of running an academic unit close to the size of Manhattan College. Prior to assuming his current role in 2004, O’Donnell spent nearly two decades at Loyola College of Maryland, where he was professor in the department of English. He also served as director of the honors program (1999-2004), where he oversaw a university-wide interdisciplinary humanities program that enrolls about 200 students under the instruction of more than 20 faculty members from seven departments. His career began as a teaching assistant in the department of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1983-1986). Read.

 

Manhattan Will Honor Brother Scanlan at 2009 Commencement;
Ray Kelly ’63 To Deliver Keynote Address

 

 

 

 

Brother Thomas Scanlan, F.S.C., who will step down as president of Manhattan College later this year, will receive an honorary Doctor of Education at the 2009 Commencement on Sunday, May 17. During the ceremony, Ray Kelly ’63, commissioner of the New York City Police Department, will deliver the keynote address. Scanlan, the College’s longest-tenured president, was inaugurated on October 29, 1987. Under his leadership, Manhattan College has undergone a transformation that has it currently recognized as one of the premier Catholic institutions of higher education in the nation. Read. Kelly is the first person to hold the post of NYC police commissioner twice in his career. Read.