Father Donohue is new president of Villanova University

Published: 2006-07-27

VILLANOVA, Pa. (CNS) -- Augustinian Father Peter M. Donohue is the new president of Villanova University, succeeding Augustinian Father Edmund J. Dobbin, who is returning to teaching at Villanova after 18 years in office. Father Donohue, who officially took the post June 1, was chairman of Villanova's theater department and an associate professor. Inaugural events are planned for early September. In 2002, Father Donohue became the first Augustinian priest to win a Barrymore-Harold Prince Award for best direction of a musical for "Chicago." He also directed the musical "Parade," which earned The Philadelphia Inquirer's 2004 Critics Award for theater productions as one of the 10 best plays of 2003-04; he won second-place honors for his direction of it. Father Donohue received his bachelor's degree in theater and communication arts from Villanova in 1975. He was ordained a priest four years later.

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