Interview of Margaret McGuinness, Ph.D.

Dr. Margaret McGuinness was born in 1953, in Providence, Rhode Island. She went to an all-girls Catholic high school called St. Mary’s Academy Bayview in Providence where she graduated in 1971. McGuinness went on to major in American Studies and Civilization as an undergraduate at Boston University graduating with a B.A in 1975. She continued her work at Boston University where McGuinness earned a master’s of theological studies (M.T.S) focusing on Biblical and Historical Studies in 1979. She would move to New York to work on her dissertation at Union Theological Seminary finishing with her Ph.D. in 1985 concentrating on American Church History. Her dissertation was titled “Response to Reform: The History of the Catholic Social Settlement Movement, 1897-1915.” Dr. McGuinness would go on to teach at Cabrini College located in Radnor, PA from 1985 to 2006 and in 1993 became chair of their religion department. In 2006 she moved from Cabrini College and served as the chair of La Salle\u27s Religion Department from 2006 until 2011. Her two most well-known books are Neighbors and Missionaries: A History of the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine (Fordham Press 2012) and Called to Serve: A History of American Nuns (New York University Press, 2013). She has also published numerous articles and is currently doing work on the life of the Philadelphia religious sister Katharine Drexel. Dr. McGuinness is also the first woman to be Vice President for Mission Integration where she served from 2010 to 2014. She is married to her husband Bill and has two children William and Erin. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family