Office of the President
On April 2, 2024, Monsignor Joseph R. Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., was announced as the
22nd president of Seton Hall, effective July 1.
Monsignor Reilly’s life has been profoundly shaped by Seton Hall as a student, alumnus, faculty member and administrator. Through his decades of high-level University service, he has set countless other lives on paths to fulfillment and success.
“There is no one better suited to leading the University at this moment,” said Hank D’Alessandro ’85, chair of the Board of Regents and Presidential Search Committee. “Monsignor Reilly brings an unprecedented understanding of our past, present and future to the presidency. He possesses a deep faith in God and a demonstrable commitment to nurturing our students to greatness as we advance among the nation’s foremost Catholic universities.”
His appointment marks the return of a priest-president to Seton Hall, which has been a hallmark of the University for 146 years of its 168-year history.
A Mountainside, N.J. native, Monsignor Reilly attended Seton Hall Prep and graduated from the University in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1991 and returned to his alma mater in 2002 as Rector of the College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall.
In 2012, he was named Rector/Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, where he served until 2022. During this period, he helped strengthen the University’s Catholic foundation as a member of the Board of Trustees. After a year’s sabbatical, he undertook his most recent post as Vice Provost of Academics and Catholic Identity.
“From the day I arrived on the South Orange campus in the fall of 1979 to the present, now decades later, the privilege and responsibility that comes with leading our University call forth both humility and its companion in faith: service, following the example of Jesus Christ,” Monsignor Reilly said.
He has played key roles in multiple pontificates. St. John Paul II named him a chaplain to His Holiness in 2005 and Pope Francis appointed him a Missionary of Mercy in 2015.
In addition, he has served the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a member of the Faithful Citizenship Strategy Committee and the Catholic Social Teaching Task Force.
“I am confident you share my excitement about the future of our great University with Monsignor Reilly at the helm,” D’Alessandro said. “A hopeful new day has arrived for everyone in the Seton Hall family.”