St. John’s University: Father Donald J. Harrington
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.

Coming up soon on 15 years as the 15th president of St. John’s University, Father Donald J. Harrington, C.M. [Congregatio Missionis] actually traces his service back to the 17th century when St. Vincent De Paul, concerned about the impoverished physical and spiritual condition of the poor in France, inspired the founding of the Vincentian community. Though four centuries removed from the French countryside where the Vincentian priests and brothers first established their retreats, the Queens campus, the site of St. John’s since the rural days of 1870, has remained the flagship school, with a prestigious graduate center in Rome, an interdisciplinary Management School in Manhattan and colleges on Staten Island and Oakdale, L.I. In true Vincentian tradition, Fr. Harrington regularly visits all the campuses, ensuring that no matter how wide the sweep of the university’s beacon light, the mission remains focused on the founders’ commitment.

Though appearances might argue to the contrary, because of the university’s extraordinary growth in the last few years—more than 20,000 students, brand new facilities, and a recently instituted innovative policy to provide all incoming freshmen with IBM ThinkPad notebooks for a wireless community—the demographic facts bear out the Vincentian mission, which the Rev. Father cites as the number one accomplishment for which he would like to be remembered. He smiles broadly, an athletically trim, savvy, energetic man who not only enjoys his position, but talking about it as well. The conversation is direct, animated, interspersed with humor and anecdotes. He notes his leadership during St. John’s transition period from commuter school to multi-university campus, with approximately 25% of students now living in residences. He also cites as significant his having instituted a “planning culture” at the university. Repeatedly, however, he returns to the Vincentian theme of helping the poor.

He notes, for example, that St. John’s is “the most diverse” institution in the Metropolitan area, with well over 110 countries (not counting non-citizens) and all ethnicities represented (whites constitute a little over 50%), with approximately 40% of all students classified by federal guidelines as in the highest need category. Although financial aid now meets only 35% of those in need, the president says nothing essential has been sacrificed. The university still boasts an 18–1 student /faculty ratioý a top-notch curriculum, a relatively high graduation rate of 68-69%, and diversity, even more important now in the global marketplace. Acknowledging that many urban colleges and universities make similar claims about whom they serve and how, the Rev. Father, with a twinkle in his eye, cannot resist mentioning that a former CUNY Chancellor once referred to St. John’s as “City University with theology.” Well, yes, as far as “access” goes, but not “values,” which Fr. Harrington puts at the center of the St. John’s experience.

It was students, he points out, who argued for strengthening the honor code, and he speaks of wanting values to permeate the “entire atmosphere.” The core curriculum, for example, requires all students, regardless of religious affiliation, to take “Introduction to Christiani-ty” and then two more courses, which can be in other denominations or in ethics or philosophy. He recalls an incident several years ago when athletes were accused of improprieties but found not guilty. He nonetheless had them expelled because the transcript showed that they admitted to unacceptable acts, behavior contrary to the spirit of the university. This emphasis on values is particularly remarkable given the president’s wider professional activities. In addition to the numerous academic and community boards on which he serves, Fr. Harrington also sits on the Board of Trustees at Bear Stearns, the first Catholic priest to serve at a major Wall Street firm. The experience has made him more aware that higher education is a business (“one must be faithful to the trust”) but not only a business (“we’re not making widgets”). The future? “More collaboration with other colleges, not competition,” and of course the continuation of values in the etymological and theological sense of being “catholic.”#

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