Bishop Paprocki joins QU Faculty

QUINCY – Quincy University has announced that Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Springfield Diocese will be joining the QU faculty as a graduate faculty member in the Master of Business Administration Program.

Paprocki will be Adjunct Professor of Law, Business, and Bioethics at Quincy University.

“Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will bring significant leadership experience to inspire students for higher-level management roles in business,” said Cynthia Haliemun, Ph.D. dean, Oakley School of Business. “He is also an expert in healthcare law. Students will learn about legal issues related to increasing benefits and lowering costs for consumers, bolstering our health care and public health workforce and infrastructure, and fostering innovation and quality in our health systems. We are grateful that he will join us in Fall 2022 as a faculty colleague in our MBA program.”

As a member of the adjunct faculty of the Law School at the University of Notre Dame since 2016, Paprocki has taught Introduction to Canon Law and Healthcare issues in Canon Law. He taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law from 1999 to 2015 before joining the Adjunct Faculty of Notre Dame Law School in 2016.

At QU, Paprocki will teach two MBA courses in consecutive fall semesters. In the 2022 fall semester, he will teach Leadership in Organizations, an in-depth study of the impact of behavioral psychology and sociology within organizations and upon individuals. In the Fall 2023 semester, he will teach Health Care Law. This course will be an in-depth discussion of case-setting precedents in Health Care Law, including the canon law relevant to Catholic healthcare organizations.

“We have always been grateful for Bishop Paprocki’s steadfast support of Quincy University and have benefitted from his exceptional understanding of and experience with Catholic higher education,” said QU President Brian McGee. “It is an honor and privilege for QU to have the Bishop join our faculty, given his extraordinary academic credentials and professional experience. His presence on campus will also be a special blessing and a historic first for Quincy University, as Bishop Paprocki will be the first bishop ever to teach a course at the university.”

“Leadership in organizations and especially in the healthcare industry is highly challenging and demanding, given the increasing complexities both on the medical and administrative side,” Paprocki said. “For those who work behind the scenes at our hospitals, clinics, and other medical offices, acquiring good leadership skills and a clear understanding of the legalities of the industry and bioethical issues is imperative to having a robust and ethical healthcare system in our communities. The students taking these courses in law, leadership, and bioethics will one day be faced with difficult questions, and it’s my hope these classes provide them a foundation to make prudent and morally wise decisions.”

Paprocki was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978. He cofounded the South Chicago Legal Clinic, now called the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic, to provide legal service for the poor and served as president from 1981-86 and 1991-2014. He served as Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor to the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1985- 2000 and pastor of St. Constance Parish from 2001-2003. Pope John Paul II appointed him to serve as Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago on January 24, 2003, and he was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in 2010.