Board of Directors

President
Kenneth L. Parker, PhD
Duquesne University

Kenneth L. Parker pursued his graduate and post-doctoral studies at Cambridge University (1979-1984) and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland (1987-1990). After testing a monastic vocation at Saint Andrew's Abbey (1985-1990), he pursued an academic career at Saint Louis University (1992-2016), where he served as a graduate professor of historical theology, director for undergraduate theological studies (1994-1997), and founding director of the SLU Prison Education Program (2007-2014). After a year as interim executive director of the National Institute for Newman Studies (2016-2017), Dr. Parker was invited to take up the Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies at Duquesne University (2017 to present). In 2020 he became the founding chair of the Catholic Studies Department at Duquesne. Professor Parker has facilitated the emergence of the Catholic Studies in Rome Program (2020 to present), and the Catholic Studies Consortium (2021 to present). He currently serves as president of these two independent non-profits. Professor Parker is the author or editor of seven volumes and numerous articles and book chapters, and is Editor of the Newman Studies Journal. He enjoys teaching, particularly freshmen, and finds satisfaction in projects that enable the young to thrive.


Vice President
Michael P. Murphy, PhD
Loyola University Chicago

Michael P. Murphy is Director of Loyola’s Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage.  His research interests are in Catholic Studies, Theology and Literature, Sacramental Theology, Systematic Theology, and the literary and political cultures of Catholicism—but he also writes about issues in eco-theology, media ecologies, and social ethics. Dr. Murphy, a Senior Lecturer in the Theology Department, is a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow. His first book, A Theology of Criticism: Balthasar, Postmodernism, and the Catholic Imagination (Oxford), was named a "Distinguished Publication" in 2008 by the American Academy of Religion. Mike has written for America, First Things, Church Life Journal, NCR, among other outlets, and has interviewed with ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, NPR, and the BBC among other outlets. Mike's current scholarly project is a monograph, The Incarnational Realists: Catholic Fiction, Poetry, and Film 1965 - 2025.


Treasurer
Michelle Loris, PhD, PsyD
Sacred Heart University

Michelle Loris obtained a Ph.D. in American Literature from Fordham University and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University New England. She published two books, one on the fiction of Joan Didion, and the other, a collected edition of works on the fiction of Gloria Naylor. She has also published articles on various authors in American literature. In psychology, she has published several papers dealing with her area of expertise in post-traumatic stress. Loris is a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is also completing a Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology.

She founded and chaired the department of Catholic Studies, Sacred Heart University’s academic signature core seminars—the Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. She founded the Human Journey Colloquia series, and she founded and directs the Center for Catholic Studies. She originated Pioneer Journey: A Transformative Education which is an initiative to extend the ethos of the University’s mission and core values across the University.

She was the founding director of the University’s first tutoring and writing center (now known as the Jandrisevits Learning Center) and she received an NEH Grant to develop and direct the University’s first writing across the curriculum program. She has served as director of the freshman writing program, the University’s honors program, as interim chair of the department of languages and literature. She is a Professor in the Department of Languages and Literature, and she is an associate dean in the College of Arts & Sciences. She was a founding member of the University’s Academic Governance structure, and she served on and chaired the University’s Rank and Tenure Committee.

She teaches the CIT Seminars and courses in American Literature.

Secretary
Patrick Manning, PhD
Seton Hall University

Patrick R. Manning, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Notre Dame (M.Ed., M.T.S.) and Boston College (Ph.D. in Theology and Education). With a background in parish catechesis and Catholic schools, Dr. Manning specializes in the area of practical theology with a particular interest in religious education, catechesis, and contemplative pedagogy. His work frequently integrates research in theology, spirituality, education, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles in addition to two books, Converting the Imagination: Teaching to Recover Jesus' Vision for Fullness of Life (2020) and Be Still and Know: Contemplative Practices for Christian Schools and Educators (2025). Among his awards and distinctions are recognition as Teacher of the Year for the Seminary School of Theology in 2022 and the Michael Pressley Award for a Promising Scholar in the Education Field awarded by the Alliance for Catholic Education in 2021.

Raymond Hain, PhD
Providence College

Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Professor of Humanities at Providence College in Providence, RI. He is the Associate Director of the Providence College Humanities Program, a board member of Catholic Studies in Rome, Inc., and a board member of the Catholic Studies Consortium, Inc. His scholarly work focuses on St. Thomas Aquinas, Alexis de Tocqueville, applied ethics, and philosophy and literature.


Dr. Erika Kidd is Associate Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas (MN). She studied philosophy, Latin, and Great Texts at Augustine College and Baylor University and received her PhD in philosophy from Villanova University. Kidd writes and speaks on Augustine and the Augustinian tradition, and teaches courses on happiness, conversion, and taking the Incarnation seriously.

Brent Little, PhD
Sacred Heart University

Brent Little is an Associate Professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University. His book, Acts of Faith and Imagination: Theological Patterns in Catholic Fiction, was published in 2023 by Catholic University of America Press. He is also the co-editor of Revelation and Convergence: Flannery O’Connor and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CUA Press, 2017). He holds a Ph.D. in theology from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s degree from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Michael Naughton, PhD
University of St. Thomas

Dr. Michael Naughton is the director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota, US) where he holds the Koch Chair in Catholic Studies and is a full professor in the department of Catholic Studies. He also taught in the College of Business for over 20 years. Author, co-author and co-editor of 12 books and monographs and over 70 articles, his two most recent books are Getting Work Right: Labor and Leisure in a Fragmented World (2019) and What We Hold in Trust: Rediscovering the Purpose of Catholic Higher Education (2021, coauthors Don Briel and Ken Goodpaster). He serves on multiple boards including as board chair for Reell Precision Manufacturing, which has plants and offices in the US, Europe and Asia and the board of trustees at the University of Mary and Catholic Eldercare.

Naomi Fisher, PhD
Loyola University Chicago

James F. Keating, PhD
Providence College