Brian F. Linnane

Brian F. Linnane, (born August 25, 1955) is the president of Loyola University Maryland. He formerly served at a sister Jesuit institution, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, as assistant dean and associate professor of Religious Studies.

Early life

Born August 25, 1955, 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 at Berkeley, where he received a master’s degree in 1986 and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1988. He earned master’s degrees from the Yale University department of Religious Studies in 1990 and 1991, and a Ph.D. in religious studies concentrating in religious ethics in 1994. In 2015 he received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Loyola University Maryland.

Fr. Linnane joined the Religious Studies department at Holy Cross in 1994. He has written several scholarly articles in the disciplines of fundamental moral theology, health care ethics, and virtue ethics. He served as assistant dean at Holy Cross from 2003–05 and was named a Loyola College Trustee in 2000.

In July 2005, Fr. Linnane became the 24th President of Loyola University Maryland. As president of Loyola University Maryland, Fr. Linnane has overseen the opening of the Ridley Athletic Complex as well as renovation and expansion of Donnelly Science Center and the building of Flannery O’Connor Residence Hall. He steered the University through its current strategic plan, Grounded in Tradition, Educating for the Future and led Loyola through its designation change from Loyola College in Maryland to Loyola University Maryland in 2009. He launched Loyola’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, Bright Minds, Bold Hearts, and he provided and inspired the vision for Messina, Loyola’s distinctive living learning program.

Fr. Linnane currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. He is a trustee of Maryland Independent College and University Association. In April 2010, he was elected to the Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust Board.