Bishop Paprocki Joins Quincy University Faculty
Quincy University has announced that the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, will be joining the QU faculty as a graduate faculty member in the Master of Business Administration Program. Bishop Paprocki will be Adjunct Professor of Law, Business, and Bioethics at Quincy University.
“Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will bring significant leadership experience to inspire students for higher-level management roles in business,” said Cynthia Haliemun, Ph.D. dean, Oakley School of Business. “He is also an expert in healthcare law. Students will learn about legal issues related to increasing benefits and lowering costs for consumers, bolstering our health care and public health workforce and infrastructure, and fostering innovation and quality in our health systems. We are grateful that he will join us in Fall 2022 as a faculty colleague in our MBA program.”
Bishop Paprocki is an accomplished faculty member and will bring many years of teaching experience to Quincy University. As a member of the adjunct faculty of the Law School at the University of Notre Dame since 2016, he has taught Introduction to Canon Law and Healthcare issues in Canon Law. He taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law from 1999 to 2015 before joining the Adjunct Faculty of Notre Dame Law School in 2016.
At Quincy University, Bishop Paprocki will teach two MBA courses in consecutive fall semesters. This coming fall, he will teach Leadership in Organizations, an in-depth study of the impact of behavioral psychology and sociology within organizations and upon individuals. In the following fall semester, he will teach Health Care Law. This course will be an in-depth discussion of case-setting precedents in Health Care Law, including the canon law relevant to Catholic healthcare organizations.
“We have always been grateful for Bishop Paprocki’s steadfast support of Quincy University and have benefitted from his exceptional understanding of and experience with Catholic higher education,” said Brian McGee, Ph.D., QU president. “It is an honor and privilege for QU to have the Bishop join our faculty, given his extraordinary academic credentials and professional experience. His presence on campus will also be a special blessing and a historic first for Quincy University, as Bishop Paprocki will be the first bishop ever to teach a course at the university.”
“Leadership in organizations and especially in the healthcare industry is highly challenging and demanding, given the increasing complexities both on the medical and administrative side,” Bishop Paprocki said. “For those who work behind the scenes at our hospitals, clinics, and other medical offices, acquiring good leadership skills and a clear understanding of the legalities of the industry and bioethical issues is imperative to having a robust and ethical healthcare system in our communities. The students taking these courses in law, leadership, and bioethics will one day be faced with difficult questions, and it’s my hope these classes provide them a foundation to make prudent and morally wise decisions. I am grateful to Dr. McGee for the invitation to teach in the MBA program at Quincy University’s Oakley School of Business, and I look forward to my time on campus.”
Bishop Paprocki was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978. He co-founded the South Chicago Legal Clinic, now called the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic, to provide legal service for the poor and served as president from 1981-86 and 1991-2014. He served as Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor to the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1985- 2000 and pastor of St. Constance Parish from 2001-2003. Pope John Paul II appointed him to serve as Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago on January 24, 2003, and he was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in 2010. Bishop Paprocki serves as Vice-President of the Illinois Catholic Health Association. He is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, the Committee on Budget and Finance, and the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
Bishop Paprocki earned his bachelor’s degree from Niles College of Loyola University in Chicago and his master’s of divinity from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill. He studied law at DePaul University College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1981. He completed his doctoral degree in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1991, studied Polish language and culture at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, in 2000 and earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2013.
Founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, Quincy University is a small Catholic university emphasizing the sciences, liberal arts and the professions. Quincy University offers undergraduate, graduate and adult education programs integrating practical experience and Franciscan values. Faculty and advisors work with students to design customized success plans to help them graduate on time, find their passion and prepare them for life. QU is a member of NCAA Division II for intercollegiate athletics. For more information, please visit www.quincy.edu or contact the Office of Community Relations at (217) 228-5275 or communityrelations@quincy.edu. Quincy University. Success by Design.