Monahan, Edward J.

Edward Monahan received a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of St. Michaels College in 1949. He continued at St. Michaels College and graduated with an M.A in 1950, and a PhD in 1953, both also in Philosophy. He also received a Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in 1953.

Monahan’s career was filled with academic professing and university administration. His teaching appointments include Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University from 1953-1956; Associate Professor of Philosophy at Xavier University from 1956-1957; and Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Francis Xavier University from 1957-1964.

Monahan acted as the Associate Executive Secretary of the Canadian Association of University Teachers from 1965-1970, where he co-chaired The Commission of Inquiry on Forty Catholic Related Colleges and Universities. He published the results of this Inquiry as A Commitment to Higher Education in 1970. Monahan later acted as the Executive Assistant to the Principal of Queens University from 1971-1972; the President of Laurentian University from 1972-1977; and the Executive Director/President of the Council of Ontario Universities from 1977-1991. Monahan was awarded an honourary doctorate from Lakehead University in 1981. Monahan also served on the Collegium of the University of St. Michaels College and in 1981-82 chaired a committee to study the function of the Collegium, and published the results in what became known as “The Monahan Report.” In the 1990s Monahan reviewed funding, accountability, and governance in colleges and universities across the Commonwealth, and published the results in several scholarly journals.

During his retirement, Monahan wrote Collective Autonomy: A History of the Council of Ontario Universities, 1962-2000, which was published in 2004. The following year he began researching the history of St. Michaels College, and published Teach me Goodness, Truth and Knowledge: A History of St. Michaels College in 2017.

In 2008, Monahan was awarded an honorary doctorate, the Doctor of Sacred Letters, from the University of St. Michaels College in recognition of his service to higher education in Ontario.

Edward Monahan died in Toronto, Ontario, on July 6, 2021.

Added by L McAusland, 24 October 2019.