Jeanne Colleran, Ph.D., named interim president of John Carroll University

Dr. Colleran is a JCU alumna who previously served as the University's Provost and Academic Vice President

University Heights, OH (06/05/2017) — John Carroll University has appointed Jeanne Colleran, Ph.D., as interim president, effective June 1, 2017. The University's Board of Directors recently made the announcement following the retirement of Rev. Robert L. Niehoff, S.J., who served as president of John Carroll for 12 years.

Michael J. Merriman, Chair of the Board, noted Dr. Colleran's administrative and academic tenure, saying, "Her extensive knowledge of John Carroll will enable us to strategically advance the university." He added, "Dr. Colleran has led several key initiatives, including the creation and implementation of the University's Strategic Plan: Promise and Prominence; the new integrative core curriculum; and the launch of several new academic programs." Colleran most recently served as John Carroll's Provost and Academic Vice President, a position she had held since 2014.

Dr. Colleran, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a summa cum laude graduate of John Carroll University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English. She earned a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University, and was awarded her doctorate from The Ohio State University. She served as dean of the University's College of Arts and Sciences from August 2010 until 2014, and has been a member of John Carroll's Department of English since 1987, where she served as chair. As dean, Dr. Colleran established partnerships with medical and law schools and strengthened the Pre-Health Professions Program advisory committee, developing the biomedical humanities teaching partnership with the Lerner College of Medicine. She was the principal author of the McGregor Grant, a $250,000 grant that strengthened programs in the areas of globalization and humanitarian crisis. Dr. Colleran established the University's program in Sports Studies, and helped build the Exercise Science and Counseling Programs. She assisted in developing the Post Doctoral Minority Teaching Fellowships Program, which was recently awarded a grant from the Cleveland Foundation. She also worked with the Mayo Society to establish scholarships for JCU students to study in Galway, Ireland.

In 2011, Dr. Colleran was honored as one of the prominent Irish educators in the United States by the Irish Voice newspaper's "Irish Education 100." She serves on the Board of Directors for Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital, and on the board of Saint Joseph Academy (Cleveland, Ohio).

Dr. Colleran is committed to fostering undergraduate experiential learning; she and her husband, Richard Weaver, a 1978 John Carroll graduate, established the Colleran-Weaver Endowment to support undergraduate internships and research opportunities for the College of Arts and Sciences. The couple has two children, James and Julia.

(Note: photo of Dr. Colleran, courtesy of John Carroll University)

John Carroll University, founded in 1886 as Saint Ignatius College, is located in University Heights, Ohio, in suburban Cleveland. Its Jesuit Catholic mission inspires individuals to excel in learning, leadership, and service in the region and the world. John Carroll University is recognized nationally for an exceptional four-year graduation rate, teaching excellence, and a commitment to living a faith that does justice as central to its mission. John Carroll is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States.

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