A Liberal Arts Foundation for Public Leadership

For Tom Foley ’13 MA, the path to public service didn’t begin with a campaign or a policy memo, but with the big questions asked in classrooms at Villanova University while he was pursuing a graduate degree in history.

Those questions, and the perspective gained from their answers, have followed Foley into a life of public leadership and he still draws upon them today.

“I could rattle off every course,” Foley said when asked about his most impactful Villanova experiences. Without hesitation, he recalls Judith Giesberg, PhD, Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities and professor of History, teaching a course on the Civil War and the Reconstruction; sitting in a classroom analyzing Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace with Adele Lindenmeyer, PhD, William and Julia Moulden Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and considering the broad, global impacts of Russia in the 20th Century with Lynne Hartnett, PhD, chair and professor in the Department of History.

“My time at Villanova, while brief, was really formative in developing my mindset about how to translate the work of a historian into the work of a citizen,” Foley said. “It helped develop and refine my view of the world and to find my place in it as someone who wanted to improve it and build community. It helped me discover my own leadership style.”

Foley has served in policy roles for former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and current Governor Josh Shapiro, most recently as one of Shapiro’s deputy secretaries of policy and planning. Foley led Shapiro’s policy and regulatory agenda on workforce and education, including the development of budget initiatives like universal school breakfast and expanding the certification pathways for Pennsylvania educators.

But now, he is building upon that strong Villanova foundation to empower current college students. Foley is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Office of Fellowship, Strategy, and Impact, where he creates new opportunities in public service for recent college graduates, graduate students and other individuals. He also directs the Governor’s two-year William and Hannah Penn Fellows Program and the one-year Science and Technology Fellows Program.

“One thing that inspires me day to day is knowing that there are so many important questions being asked and answered in academia by graduate students, faculty and undergraduates, and that the answers to those questions have present-day and future implications,” Foley said.

“There is so much brain power in higher education and there is such profound value in the liberal arts, particularly today,” he said. “Despite the advent of new technologies, it is critical thinking—developed and fostered in places like Falvey Library—that helps us make sense of the world.”

Foley said he feels fortunate to have received strong support from mentors who have listened carefully and realized his potential, something he’s paying forward in his own career.

“That’s what I try to do in my position now: recognize that someone who wrote a dissertation on 19th century romantic poetry or pioneered new techniques in a chemistry lab can analyze problems and produce policies that help millions of people,” he said.

When asked what advice he’d give to current students, he thinks back to his days as a graduate student.

“You don’t have to be fully formed before you start building your professional identity, your career, or your academic work,” Foley said. “You don’t have to know the ending before you start writing your first chapter.”

In October 2025, Villanova’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored Foley with the Graduate Alumni Medallion, which recognizes an alumna or alumnus of the College’s master’s or doctorate programs.

Foley called it a tremendous honor and a reminder of how much he gained from his time at Villanova.

“It’s a call to action to make sure that the ladder Villanova helped me grab onto has rungs built down, so others have the chance to climb up and climb over me,” he said. “I’m standing on the shoulders of others, and if I’m successful, others will be standing on my shoulders too.”