Paul J. McNulty, whose tenure as Grove City College president has seen campus growth on multiple fronts, will retire after the 2024-25 academic year, school officials announced Tuesday.
McNulty, a 1980 graduate of the Christian liberal arts and sciences college, returned to his alma mater after a 30-year law career in Washington D.C., including high-level positions in the U.S. Justice Department and in private practice.
Serving as Grove City’s ninth president was “the most professionally fulfilling experience” of my life,” he said in a statement.
“When I took on this challenge in 2014, I didn’t anticipate the amount of joy I would experience from the day-to-day engagement with students,” McNulty said. “After losing my son to cancer in late 2012, the Lord knew exactly what I needed. Shepherding our tremendous flock of Grovers is the best part of this job, and, frankly, the hardest to give up.”
He will have served 11 years by the time he steps down. Those years included a pandemic, as well as a downward trend in high school graduate numbers felt across campuses in Western Pennsylvania.
Grove City enrolled 2,300 students in fall 2022, according to the most current U.S. Department of Education data.
Trustee Chair Edward D. Breen expressed thanks for McNulty’s service and his contributions to “a time of great forward momentum” for the college.
Breen said McNulty’s years in office saw applications reach a 20-year high; a doubling of the college’s endowment and fundraising records. Last year, the college founded in 1876 announced its “Impact 150” campaign to raise $185 million for scholarships, capital improvements and student service enhancements. The college’s endowment is $200 million.
McNulty is credited with expanding academic offerings – including establishing schools of nursing and business and a new graduate studies program, among other initiatives.
Initiatives he started focused on such areas as rural ministry and faith and public life; revitalized worship and discipleship opportunities with a revised Chapel program.
He revamped its varsity athletics programs.
“Paul’s leadership has made the past decade a historic era of success for Grove City College. His innovative, energetic, and winsome style has truly been transformative,” Breen said.
Before returning to Grove City, McNulty served as U.S. Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, senior attorney in the U.S. Congress.
McNulty said it was a good time for Grove City to begin a search for its 10th president, while he and his wife spend more time to their children and grandchildren.
Bill Schackner is a TribLive reporter covering higher education. Raised in New England, he joined the Trib in 2022 after 29 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. Previously, he has written for newspapers in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. He can be reached at bschackner@triblive.com.