Sacred Heart University President John J. Petillo

John J. Petillo was named president of Sacred Heart University in March 2011. He had served as interim president since October 2010 and dean of the University’s Jack Welch College of Business since March 2009.

During Dr. Petillo’s 12-year tenure as president, Sacred Heart University has experienced transformational growth. This has included tripling the student population, adding new programs and doubling the size of the University, including 22 new buildings. These buildings fill a variety of SHU needs and include—but are not limited to—The Frank and Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts, The Martire Family (Ice) Arena, the Center for Healthcare Education, the Valentine Health & Recreation Center and JP’s Diner—a traditional New Jersey-style diner that the students chose to name after Dr. Petillo. The University also purchased General Electric’s former worldwide headquarters and renovated it for educational purposes.

The University now owns and/or operates a golf club, a community theatre that was shuttered for 10 years before the University began delivering entertainment and educational programs to the surrounding communities, an NPR-affiliated radio station and a science museum and planetarium that provides learning opportunities for area elementary school students and teaching opportunities for students in the university’s Farrington College of Education & Human Development.

Of course, facilities are just facilities. The important things are the learning environment, campus culture and a dedicated, creative, knowledgeable and committed faculty. Under Dr. Petillo’s leadership, the University has continued to expand its program offerings. This has included the addition of a Ph.D. in social work, doctor of business administration in finance and our Ed.D. in educational leadership with more Ph.D. programs on the way. We constantly respond to the ever-changing needs of our students, the community and the business world and have also added dozens of new undergraduate and masters programs over the years.

Sacred Heart has grown to include eight colleges and schools. Today our students travel the path of the Pioneer Journey—a tradition that drives SHU to be a student-centered community rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts. The five pillars of the Pioneer journey—knowledge, faith, integrity, service and community—support every aspect of the SHU student experience: in class, on the field, on the amphitheater steps, around the quads, on the stage, studying abroad at SHU Dingle, learning through a group project, in the residence halls and everywhere. The Pioneer Journey, through intentional reflection and courageous civil discourse invites our students to realize that their time at Sacred Heart University is more than a waiting room for the “real world.”

Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Petillo leads from the University’s mission, which embraces a vision for social justice and educates students in mind, body and spirit to prepare them personally and professionally to make a difference in the global community. As a result, students, faculty and staff regularly give more than 115,000 hours to community service—many of those locally. Opportunities range from the on-campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity to overseas service trips.

Dr. Petillo’s other professional experience includes serving as president and chief executive officer of the Newark Alliance, a private-public partnership dedicated to enhancing Newark’s quality of life; regional president of First Union Insurance Services; chief executive officer of The Tribus Companies; chairman, president and chief executive officer of CareAdvantage, Inc.; and president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. He was also chancellor and chief executive officer of Seton Hall University and Immaculate Conception Seminary; chancellor for Administration for the Archdiocese of Newark; and deputy director of Catholic Community Services.

Dr. Petillo previously received honorary degrees from St. Peter’s College in New Jersey, Universidad APEC in the Dominican Republic and South Korea’s Kyonggi University.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in classical languages and a master’s in counseling from Seton Hall University, a professional diploma in counselor education from Fordham University, a master’s in public administration from Rutgers, a Master of Divinity degree in pastoral theology from the Darlington School of Theology and a Ph.D. in counseling and personnel services from Fordham.

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