John Lahey was appointed president of Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Connecticut, in 1987, after previously working at Marist College in New York. In the past ten years, Lahey has been an integral part of Quinnipiac’s growth and expansion, overseeing a 450 percent increase in its resources and a 74 percent increase in student enrollment.

Lahey was chosen as the 1997 Grand Marshal of the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a parade with which he has been involved for more than 20 years as a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Lahey grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York, and went to St. Margaret’s School, where his mother, Caroline, taught for 40 years. He received his undergraduate and masters degrees in philosophy from the University of Dayton and a masters degree in higher education administration from Columbia University.

His maternal grandmother came from County Clare and his paternal great-grandparents from County Cork. He lives in Cheshire, Connecticut, with his wife, Judith, and their two sons.