Lawrence Clifton Gorman

Background

Lawrence Clifton Gorman was born on September 28, 1898, in New York City to Lawrence P. Gorman and Anna Theresa Nagle Gorman. He attended Xavier High School in Manhattan, a Jesuit secondary school founded in 1847 that emphasized classical education, religious formation, and preparation for service to the Church and civic life.

After graduating from Xavier in 1916, Gorman entered Fordham University and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1920. On September 28, 1920, he entered the Society of Jesus, beginning the religious formation that accompanied his later work as a scientist, teacher, and university administrator.

Education

Gorman graduated from Xavier High School in New York in 1916. The school, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1847 as The College of St. Francis Xavier, belonged to the early tradition of American Jesuit secondary education and prepared students for religious, professional, and civic service.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University in 1920 and a Master of Arts from Boston College in 1926. Fordham, founded in 1841 as St. John's College, was one of the principal Jesuit universities in the United States, while Boston College, established by the Jesuits in 1863, developed as a Catholic institution combining liberal education with professional and graduate study.

Gorman pursued theological and scientific training at Woodstock College in Maryland, where he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1932 and received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1933. Woodstock was a major American Jesuit center for theological education and priestly formation. He later studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, an international Jesuit university founded in 1551, receiving a Doctor of Philosophy in 1938. Loyola College in Baltimore, later Loyola University Maryland, awarded him a Doctor of Laws degree in 1943.

Career

Gorman began his academic career at Georgetown University as an assistant professor of chemistry from 1926 to 1929. Georgetown, founded in 1789 by the Society of Jesus, was the oldest Catholic university in the United States and had developed strong programs in the liberal arts, sciences, medicine, and professional education. After completing theological formation and ordination, Gorman returned to Georgetown as director of the chemistry department from 1933 to 1935 and served as acting dean of Georgetown College from 1934 to 1936.

In 1936, Gorman became vice president and dean of studies at Loyola College in Baltimore, a Jesuit institution whose academic administration combined classical liberal education with the professional and scientific programs increasingly important in American higher education. He held those responsibilities until 1942, while completing his doctoral studies in Rome.

Gorman became president of Georgetown University in 1942 and served until 1949. His presidency coincided with the Second World War, when the departure of male students for military service led Georgetown to admit women to its Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; the first eleven women enrolled in 1943. The university also hosted an Army Specialized Training Program and developed wartime training arrangements involving its medical, dental, and nursing schools.

During Gorman's administration, Georgetown broke ground for a new 400-bed university hospital in 1944. He also led fundraising for McDonough Gymnasium, whose construction began after his presidency. In 1947, he instructed administrators to admit a Black undergraduate student, and during his administration Georgetown began admitting Black students to several graduate and professional schools. In 1948, he joined the presidents of Howard University and George Washington University in an agreement permitting Howard University College of Medicine students and faculty to practice at Gallinger Municipal Hospital on equal terms with the other institutions.

After leaving Georgetown, Gorman became vice president and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Scranton in 1950. The University of Scranton, founded in 1888 and administered by the Society of Jesus from 1942, was a Catholic institution serving northeastern Pennsylvania through liberal-arts and professional education. Gorman also served in the university's senior academic administration until his death in Scranton on December 28, 1953.

Achievements

• As president of Georgetown University during the Second World War, Gorman admitted women to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, with the first eleven women enrolling in 1943.

• Gorman directed Georgetown administrators toward the admission of Black undergraduate students and oversaw the beginning of Black enrollment in several graduate and professional schools during his presidency.

• Gorman oversaw the construction of the new Georgetown University Hospital, a major medical facility whose construction began during his presidency.

• Gorman led fundraising that supplied most of the funds needed for McDonough Gymnasium at Georgetown University.

• In 1948, Gorman joined the presidents of Howard University and George Washington University in an agreement granting Howard University College of Medicine students and faculty equal access to clinical practice at Gallinger Municipal Hospital.

Works

• journal article

  • Religion in Our Higher Education in Light of War Experience

    (An article by Gorman examining the relationship between r...)

    1945

Religion

Gorman was a Catholic priest and a Jesuit, belonging to the Society of Jesus, a religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 and dedicated to education, pastoral ministry, scholarship, and service. His priestly formation included study at Woodstock College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, reflecting the Jesuit emphasis on disciplined intellectual and spiritual training.

His academic and administrative career unfolded within Catholic higher education. At Georgetown University, Loyola College, and the University of Scranton, he worked in institutions that combined liberal education, professional training, religious formation, and service to the wider community. His public responsibilities during the Second World War also placed Catholic higher education in contact with questions of access, national service, race, and the changing composition of American universities.

Membership

Gorman belonged to the Society of Jesus from 1920 until his death and participated in professional and educational organizations connected with American higher education, science, Catholic education, and Jesuit academic administration. His listed affiliations included the American Council on Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Colleges, the Eastern Association of College Deans and Advisers of Men, the Catholic Educational Association, and the Jesuit Educational Association.

• Jesuit priest and university administrator.

  Society of Jesus , United States

  1920 - 1953

• American Council on Education , United States

• American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States

• American Association of Colleges , United States

• Eastern Association of College Deans and Advisers of Men , United States

• Catholic Educational Association , United States

• Jesuit Educational Association , United States

Connections

Gorman was the son of Lawrence P. Gorman and Anna Theresa (Nagle) Gorman. His religious and professional life was closely connected with the Society of Jesus, whose institutions provided his secondary, university, theological, and doctoral education and shaped his subsequent academic administration.

Father:

Lawrence P. Gorman

Mother:

Anna Theresa (Nagle) Gorman

References

• The Xavier Hall of Fame Xavier High School's Hall of Fame listing identifies Rev. Lawrence C. Gorman, S.J., a member of the class of 1916, and records his service as president of Georgetown University.
  2022
• Aquinas, September 22, 1950 A University of Scranton publication documenting Gorman's appointment as vice president and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
  1950
• Lawrence C. Gorman A biographical reference describing Gorman's Jesuit formation, academic career, presidency of Georgetown University, work at the University of Scranton, and burial at the Jesuit Community Cemetery.