Matthew Manion Appointed Faculty Director of VSB’s Center for Church Management

Villanova, Pa., August 14, 2017 - The Villanova School of Business (VSB) is proud to announce that Matthew Manion will serve as the faculty director of the Center for Church Management (CCM) and a professor of practice in the Management & Operations department effective July 31.

"I am honored to return to my alma mater to advance the already remarkable Center for Church Management,” Manion said. “The Center's endeavors in research, programming and educational opportunities provide tremendous support for those engaged in creating a stronger Church and I feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

Manion is the former president and CEO of the Catholic Leadership Institute, an organization that provides world-class leadership training and consulting to the Catholic Church. During his 18-year tenure, the organization grew its annual revenue from $15,000 to $6.1 million and its staff from one to 26 full-time and 22 part-time employees. While at the Catholic Leadership Institute, Manion envisioned and developed the Disciple Maker Index to provide relevant metrics for parishes and dioceses. In the last four years, he collected and analyzed data from over 81,000 Catholics in 336 parishes across 21 dioceses in North America. He also led the design and launch of Good Leaders and Good Shepherds curriculum for priests, and oversaw

its implementation in 92 cities for over 2,500 priests. Manion holds his B.S. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, and earned his MS in Church Management from VSB in 2011.

“On behalf of VSB, I am excited to welcome Matt as the new faculty director of CCM,” said Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of VSB. “We all look forward to the experience, connections and vision he brings to this role as we continue to expand the reach of our programs and serve as a resource for church leaders around the globe.”

Manion, who will work in partnership with Jim Gallo, director, CCM, comes into this role succeeding Charles Zech, PhD, professor, Economics, who founded the Center for Church Management in 2004. Dr. Zech's many accomplishments have elevated the center and VSB, including his groundbreaking research on church administration, his development of the pioneering MSCM program and his internationally recognized expertise on the Catholic Church. Dr. Zech will remain on faculty in the coming academic year to continue his research and support the center’s leadership transition.

"Dr. Zech’s impact on the Center for Church Management and VSB as a whole cannot be overstated,” said Dean Russell. “His dedication and leadership have grown the center and its program to the heights they enjoy today. We look forward to his guidance during Matt’s transition into the role so we can continue to advance the center."

The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to five Centers of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights and the Center for Church Management) with each designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.