Monsignor John McGrath

Although his tenure as the President of Saint Mary's was short due to his untimely death in June of 1970, Monsignor McGrath led Saint Mary’s through a life changing time in our lives where we experienced civil unrest, protests to an unpopular war while seeing our family members, close friends and boyfriends/fiances being drafted and significant changes to the opportunities that were becoming open to women.  Monsignor McGrath certainly helped us find our "voices" by making our opinions and our social advocacy more important than a dress code or curfews.  He trusted our judgement to find ways we could make a difference! Saint Mary's Upward Bound Program was started under Monsignor McGrath's leadership and he made his residence open to the students to visit him.  Prior to his appointment as President of Saint Mary's, he was the first priest to be confirmed to practice law before the US Supreme Court as well as the courts in the state of Pennsylvania.  He brought a breath of fresh air to our campus and helped us make the transition to social relevance versus social mores. I was privileged to have him as both a friend and a mentor and will always value that opportunity!