Mission Executive Council
No stranger to Catholic education, Dr. Margaret McGuinness spent her 
elementary and secondary school years being taught by the Sisters of Mercy in Providence, Rhode Island. Maggie continued her education at Boston University, receiving her A.B. in American History and Civilization. Maggie later obtained her Master of Theological Studies from the University’s School of Theology. Bringing her ambition to an even higher level, Maggie received her Doctorate in Church History at New York’s Union Theological Seminary, in 1985.
Dr. McGuinness began teaching students as a Professor of Religion at Cabrini College in 1986. For the next twenty years in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Maggie shared her wealth of theological knowledge with her many students. In 2006, Maggie joined the staff of Philadelphia’s La Salle University as the Professor and Chair of the school’s Religion department. In 2011, she was named the Executive Director for the Office of Mission Integration at La Salle.
Additionally, Maggie is a seasoned author. Her most recent publication, Neighbors and Missionaries: A History of the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine, was published by Fordham University Press earlier this year. Neighbors and Missionaries “tells an engaging story of a unique community of women religious and their ministry of service to the poor,” (- Amazon.com). Along with being an author, Maggie is also co-editor of The Catholic Studies Reader (Fordham), and American Catholic Studies (a quarterly journal). Be on the look-out for Maggie’s next work; Called to Serve: A History of Nuns in America, slated to be published by NYU Press in February 2013.
This Mission Executive Council Member is married to William Shipley, and is the proud mother of two children: William (26) and Erin (23).