Steven F. McGuire, PhD, Appointed Director of Villanova University’s Matthew J. Ryan Center

A photo of Dr. McGuire from the shoulders up. He is a white man with short brown hair and wears black-framed glasses and a blue checkered shirt, red tie and gray suit jacket.

Villanova, PA—Steven F. McGuire, PhD, assistant teaching professor in Villanova University’s Augustine and Culture Seminar Program, has been appointed director of the Matthew J. Ryan Center for the Study of Free Institutions and the Public Good.

Housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Ryan Center promotes inquiry into the principles and processes of free government and seeks to advance understanding of the responsibilities of statesmen and stateswomen and citizens of constitutional democratic societies.

In conjunction with his appointment, Dr. McGuire has launched and is hosting a new Ryan Center podcast, "Political Animals," which covers politics and political philosophy. The podcast is supported by a recent grant of $10,000 from the Jack Miller Center, a nonprofit organization which supports the scholarship, teaching and study of the central ideas and themes of American history and the broader traditions of Western Civilization.

The Ryan Center is one of nine Centers of Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Centers represent the College’s deep commitment to research, intellectual curiosity, academic rigor and the teacher-scholar model in disciplines across the liberal arts and sciences. The Ryan Center sponsors public lectures and major conferences and collaborates with other institutions, organizations and centers to address issues of civic responsibility. It offers a Ryan Fellows program, which supports Villanova students who are interested in thoughtful civic engagement.

A scholar of intellectual history and political thought, Dr. McGuire has served as the Ryan Center’s acting director since June 2019. He first joined the Ryan Center in 2016 as the Thomas W. Smith Postdoctoral Fellow. He is co-author of Concepts of Nature: Ancient and Modern (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016); Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern (Lexington Books 2016) and Eric Voegelin and the Continental Tradition: Explorations in Modern Political Thought (University of Missouri, 2011).

“Dr. McGuire has contributed his many intellectual and administrative talents to the Ryan Center for the past four years. I am very pleased and excited to have a scholar of his caliber in this leadership role, and I am confident the Center will continue to thrive under his direction,” said Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean, Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dr. McGuire received his PhD in Politics from the Catholic University of America.

About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.