Pledging “to continue the great traditions of Catholic University and to build her up,” Dr. Peter K. Kilpatrick addressed the CUA community March 29 just hours after he was named the 16th president of the university.

“I am deeply honored to be called to serve in this new role – I do not think I am worthy of it, but I am dedicated to the challenge,” he said after being introduced to The Catholic University of America community. He assumes his post July 1, 2022.

Donning a CUA Cardinals baseball cap, the newly named president said, he not only felt very welcome at the campus, but that he was “edified by the joy and virtue of the students I have met here.” He told the faculty and staff that “I am committed to being the very best servant of this university that I can be.”

Kilpatrick replaces John Garvey, who served as Catholic University’s president for the past 12 years. Garvey said that “it was with considerable delight” he learned of Kilpatrick’s appointment and noted that seven years ago he sought to hire Kilpatrick as CUA’s provost. “I am confident the board has found us the right person,” Garvey said of his successor.

Reflecting on his own tenure as CUA president, Garvey said, “Aside from family, leading this university is the biggest joy and undertaking of my life” and said that at the time of his own appointment, “I was in awe of the responsibility the Lord had entrusted in me.”

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington and chancellor of The Catholic University of America, in a video greeting to the new president told Kilpatrick that “you have my support and prayers as you take up this new opportunity.”

Earlier, the cardinal released a statement praising Kilpatrick’s appointment, saying, “His wealth of experience, pursuit of academic excellence, and commitment to the Catholic identity of the university make him well qualified to guide the university into its next era.”

In his remarks, Kilpatrick praised CUA, saying the university “has so much to say to the world of higher education,” and that it was his goal for the university “to be an example to the world of an institution that places its emphasis on the human person as the supreme value of society.”

“I am never happier than when I am communicating to people the deep and lasting values of a Catholic education,” he said. “Faith should never be divorced from our lives ... they must be integrated. So, all learning at our university is integrated and placed at the service of our society.”

Kilpatrick is a scholar who has been widely published and holds or shares 12 patents in chemical engineering. He is also an experienced higher education leader and administrator. He began his career at North Carolina State University. In 2008 he was recruited by the University of Notre Dame to be dean of engineering there. Combining research and faith is important to Kilpatrick, who became Catholic as an adult.

Since 2018, he has been provost and vice president for academic affairs for the Illinois Institute of Technology, an institution dedicated to lifting up people of all backgrounds.

William Conway Jr., vice chairman of CUA’s Board of Trustees, called Kilpatrick “a serious scholar and accomplished academic leader” who was “dedicated to advancing the dialogue between faith and reason.”

“It speaks a lot about your experience and your character that we chose you,” Conway said in introducing Kilpatrick to the CUA community.

CUA student Abby Anger, who is president of CUA’s student government, welcomed Kilpatrick to the campus and told the new president he will discover “a university dedicated to scholarship … (and) a community that works every day to embody what it means to be a holy Catholic person.”

“Truly CUA has the most kind, faith-filled students you will ever know,” she said. “You will be amazed by their kindness, their scholarship and their faith.”

Kilpatrick received his undergraduate degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He spent the next 24 years at North Carolina State University, advancing from assistant professor to department head of chemical and bio molecular engineering and then founding director of the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center. 

From 2008 to 2018, he was the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. During that time, the number of faculty rose by more than 70 percent, Ph.D. enrollment by 50 percent, and undergraduate enrollment by 60 percent. Faculty research expenditures increased by more than 150 percent and endowments by $100 million.

He co-developed a cross-program master’s in engineering, science and technology entrepreneurship and launched Notre Dame’s first joint Ph.D. program with the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Notre Dame now has nine joint Ph.D. programs with three universities, the others are located in Hungary and Brazil.

At Illinois Tech, he developed the university’s five-year strategic plan, put in place new leadership, and drove development of an online master of applied science that diversified programs and increased revenue.

Kilpatrick took steps to focus on student experience by bringing together several student-focused functions, including enrollment, student affairs, academic affairs, housing, and campus life. He also worked to bring together different program areas through themes such as technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, and design.

Illinois Tech reports it is the top institution of higher education in Illinois for lifting students from the bottom 20 percent of income to the top 20 percent.

CUA’s next president has published more than 100 refereed academic articles, and delivered more than 150 invited lectures. He came to his Catholic faith through his wife of nearly 44 years, Nancy. During marriage preparation, Kilpatrick agreed to raise their children Catholic. When their first child was born, he not only fulfilled that commitment but also became Catholic, with his commitment to the dignity and priority of the person at the heart of his life and work.

Kilpatrick and his wife Nancy have been married for nearly 44 years. He called her “my greatest cheerleader, soul mate, sounding board and love of my life.” The couple has four adult children and three grandchildren. 

“I have so many people to thank … Our lives are so intimately intertwined with the people with whom we interact,” Kilpatrick said in reference to his now deceased parents and to the mentors he has had over the years.

Noting that “universities exist first and foremost for our students, to help them mature, learn … and be brought to completion,” Kilpatrick said that he looks forward to his new job: “It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I think there is a tremendous amount of momentum on this campus.”

The Catholic University of America is the national university of the Catholic Church and is the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904.

(This article contains information provided to the Catholic Standard from The Catholic University of America.)