Biography  

Monsignor Joseph R. Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., began his tenure as the University’s 22nd president on July 1, 2024. He brings to the presidency a deep understanding of Seton Hall’s identity as a leading Catholic university and a robust vision to elevate its standing among the leading institutions in American higher education.

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 then served as a parochial vicar at St. Paul in Ramsey and St. Andrew in Bayonne.

In 1995, he joined the staff of Seton Hall Prep, where he served as a faculty member and chaplain. Seven years later, he returned to the University 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.

In this role, he worked to integrate the University’s Catholic mission into academics — particularly local and international initiatives, and academic programs that make Seton Hall an icon of Catholic higher education.

He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, Archdiocesan Vocations Board and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall.

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.

Monsignor Reilly has played key roles in multiple pontificates. St. John Paul II named him a chaplain to His Holiness in 2005 with the title of Reverend Monsignor, 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.

He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome; a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum in Rome; and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University.