Peter M. Donohue

Who is Peter M. Donohue?

Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A. is a Roman Catholic priest who was inaugurated as Villanova University's 32nd President on September 8, 2006. He had served as the Chair of the Theater Department for that institution since 1992.

Fr. Donohue received his bachelor's degree from Villanova University in 1975. Ordained in the Order of Saint Augustine in 1979, Fr. Donohue received his M.A. in Theater from The Catholic University of America in 1983 and a Master of Divinity from Washington Theological Union in 1985. He was conferred a Ph.D. in Theater from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1990, while also managing the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

His early years as an educator were spent serving the St. Augustine Parish in Andover, Mass, and at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, DC. From 1985 through 1990, he was an instructor in Villanova's Theater Department.

While at Villanova, he designed The Augustinian Connection, a history of the Augustinian Friars and their involvement with Villanova University, which is shown to all incoming Freshmen during New Student Orientation. He has served as a resident hall minister and as chaplain of Villanova's renowned Naval ROTC program, and presides over their annual commissioning Mass.