Timothy S. Healy

Who was Timothy S. Healy?

Rev. Timothy S. Healy, S.J. was a Jesuit priest who straddled the religious and secular life in a career that included the presidency of Georgetown University and finally leadership of the New York Public Library. In a career that spanned almost 50 years, Healy had also been Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the City University of New York.

Healy was born in New York City on April 25, 1923. He joined the Society of Jesus after graduating from Regis High School, a Jesuit school in Manhattan, in 1940. He earned degrees in English literature and philosophy from Woodstock College and studied theology at the University of Louvain in Belgium and at the University of Valencia in Spain.

Healy taught English for several years at Fordham Preparatory School and was ordained a priest in 1953. He earned a master's degree in English literature at Fordham University in 1959 and his doctorate from Oxford in 1965.

It was at Fordham that Healy first impressed his superiors as a potential administrator. He rose through the ranks, becoming Fordham University’s executive vice president before he was tapped for the job as vice chancellor of CUNY.