Charles J. Dougherty

{{Short description|American academic}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Charles J. Dougherty | image = | image_size = | caption = | order = 12th | title = President of Duquesne University | term_start = May 2001 | term_end = July 1, 2016 | predecessor = John E. Murray, Jr. | successor = Ken Gormley | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|06|28}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York | death_date = | death_place = | profession = | website = | footnotes = | education = St. Bonaventure University (BA)<br />University of Notre Dame (MA, PhD) }}

'''Charles J. Dougherty''' (born June 28, 1949) is an American academic who served as the 12th president of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An expert in the field of health care ethics, Dougherty has published two books on the subject.<ref name="presbio"/>

==Academic career== The first member of his family to attend college, Dougherty received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Bonaventure University in 1971.<ref name="presbio"/> He went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in the same subject from the University of Notre Dame in 1973 and 1975.<ref name="presbio"/>

===Academic Vice President of Creighton University=== {{see also|Creighton University}} Dougherty joined the faculty of Creighton University in 1975, chairing the philosophy department there from 1981 to 1989. He served as the first director of the Creighton Center for Health Policy and Ethics from 1988 to 1995, a position which he left when he was appointed the university's academic vice president. He held that post from 1995 to 2001, during which time he was acting university president for a brief period in 2000.<ref name="presbio"/>

===President of Duquesne University=== {{see also|Duquesne University}} Dougherty was elected president of Duquesne University by its board of directors in May 2001.<ref name="presbio"/> During Dougherty's tenure, Duquesne underwent $350 million in building construction, including the Power Center, a fitness facility which also houses the campus's bookstore and two restaurants, and Des Places Hall, an upperclassman residence hall.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/02/13/Duquesne-University-President-Charles-Dougherty-announces-he-will-step-down/stories/201502130190| title = Duquesne University's presidential search just the latest in Pittsburgh academia {{!}} Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}</ref> In the fall of 2012, Duquesne welcomed its largest freshman class in history, a record again topped the following year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.duq.edu/news/duquesne-university-welcomes-record-breaking-incoming-class |title=Duquesne University Welcomes Record-Breaking Incoming Class {{!}} Duquesne University |website=www.duq.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828151107/http://www.duq.edu/news/duquesne-university-welcomes-record-breaking-incoming-class |archive-date=2013-08-28}}</ref> Duquesne was listed as one of the top twenty most efficient national universities by U.S. News; Duquesne was the only Pennsylvania school as well as the only Catholic school on the list.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.duq.edu/news/duquesne-called-one-of-the-most-efficient-national-universities-by-us-news |title=Duquesne Called One of the Most Efficient National Universities by U.S. News {{!}} Duquesne University |website=www.duq.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214211849/http://duq.edu/news/duquesne-called-one-of-the-most-efficient-national-universities-by-us-news |archive-date=2012-12-14}}</ref>

On February 13, 2015, just two days after the death of his predecessor John E. Murray, Jr., Dougherty announced he would step down as President effective at the end of his third term.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.duq.edu/news/duquesne-president-to-retire-in-2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215142850/http://www.duq.edu/news/duquesne-president-to-retire-in-2016 |archive-date=2015-02-15 |title=Duquesne President to Retire in 2016 {{!}} Duquesne University}}</ref> On November 4, 2015, Duquesne University named Law School Dean Ken Gormley as Dougherty's successor, effective July 1, 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=Duquesne University names Law School Dean Gormley as new president|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/11/04/Duquesne-University-names-Law-School-Dean-Gormley-as-new-president-pittsburgh/stories/201511040159|agency=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=November 4, 2015}}</ref>

==Community involvement== Dougherty has worked with the Hospital Trustees Project at the Hastings Center and the New York Academy of Medicine, as well as the National Coalition on Catholic Health Care.<ref name="presbio"/> He has served on the board of trustees of the Catholic Health Association and the Board of Editors at both Creighton University Press and ''Health Progress''. Dougherty has also served as a Commissioner for the State of Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, a government ethics panel.<ref name="presbio"/> He is a member of the Board of Directors of Mercy Hospital; Mercy Health Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership; World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh; and the Urban League of Pittsburgh.<ref name="presbio"/> He serves on the board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and is the Chair of the President's Committee of the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education.<ref name="presbio"/>

==Personal life== Charles Dougherty was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended St. Anthony's High School in Smithtown, New York.<ref name="presbio">{{cite web | url = http://duq.edu/about/administration/officers/charles-j-dougherty-phd | title = Charles J. Dougherty, Ph.D. | publisher = Duquesne University | access-date = October 1, 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131005002329/http://duq.edu/about/administration/officers/charles-j-dougherty-phd | archive-date = October 5, 2013 }}</ref> Dougherty and his wife, Sandra, who recently retired as a judge on the Nebraska District Court in Douglas County, have two children.<ref name="presbio"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{succession box | before=Dr. John E. Murray, Jr. | title=President of<br />Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit | years=2001–2016 | after=Ken Gormley }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, Charles J.}} Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Presidents of Duquesne University Category:Academics from Brooklyn Category:St. Bonaventure University alumni Category:Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni Category:Catholics from New York (state)