James N. Loughran, S.J., FCRH ’64, GSAS ‘75, Fordham University trustee and president of Saint Peter’s College, died on Dec. 24 at his residence on the college’s Jersey City, N.J., campus. He was 66. Father Loughran served in multiple posts at Fordham; as president of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif.; as acting president of Brooklyn College, City University of New York; and as interim president of Mount Saint Mary’s College in Emmittsburg, Md.
“A graduate of both Fordham College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Father Loughran loved Fordham and was deeply devoted to it and its mission,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “An exemplary Jesuit, he brought a pastoral touch to all that he did as a member of the faculty, as the dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, as the interim vice president for academic affairs and as a member of the Board of Trustees. Therefore, he was admired by his colleagues and cherished by his students. The entire University family mourns his loss. At the same time, however, we are consoled by the realization that he is with the Lord whom he served so joyfully and effectively throughout his Jesuit life.”
A wake was held at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, N.J., on Friday, Dec. 29. Father Loughran’s funeral Mass was held at Saint Aedan’s Church in Jersey City on Saturday, Dec. 30, and he was buried at the Jesuit Cemetery in Auriesville, N.Y.
Father Loughran was named president of St. Peter’s College, the Jesuit College of New Jersey, in 1995. He entered the Society of Jesus in July of 1958, was ordained in June 1970, and took his final vows in December 1978. He attended the College of the Holy Cross and Fordham, earning a bachelor’s degree in history, summa cum laude, from the latter. Father Loughran also earned a master’s degree and doctorate in philosophy from Fordham.
“Throughout his life, Father Loughran put into practice the words of Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, to serve as a man for others,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Peter’s College. “Father Loughran led our institution with grace, dignity and a profound enthusiasm for all associated with Saint Peter’s.”
