Stephen D. Minnis

A native of St. Joseph, MO, Minnis graduated from Benedictine College in 1982. He obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Washburn University in 1985 and Master of Business Administration degree in 1993 from Baker University. He served as an Assistant District Attorney and as General Attorney, Director, regulatory policy at Spirit Corporation before becoming President of Benedictine College in 2004.

Since 2004, Benedictine College has seen unprecedented growth. The enrollment has increased from 1,000 students to over 2,000. Benedictine has built 11 new residence hall buildings; six academic buildings; has built new or renovated every dorm room, classroom and athletic facility on campus; a Marian Grotto; opened a campus in Florence, Italy; began a nursing program, an engineering program, and an architecture program making it one of few liberal arts schools and Catholic Schools in America with engineering and architecture.

During his presidency, Benedictine has for the first time been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s Best Colleges and recognized by the Cardinal Newman Society as one of the top 20 Catholic universities in America. Under his leadership, the college has launched the Thompson Center for Integrity in Finance and Economics, the John Paul II Fellows, the Center for Eco-Stewardship, and the Center for Beauty and Culture. Recently, Benedictine College announced a new vision to Transform Culture in America.

Minnis was a contributing author to Inside the Mind: Achieving Success as a CEO (2008 Thomson Reuters/Aspatore) and has given numerous talks on spirituality in the workplace and academic freedom to groups across America, including the Heritage Foundation, Legatus, and Catholic Charities. He was one of only five college presidents to be included on the Committee on Catholic Education Ex Corde Ecclesia Working Group in Baltimore in 2012 and he was invited by the Vatican to participate in the 2012 Pontificia Comisión Para América in Rome. In November of 2021, Caritas in Veritate (CiV) honored him as a distinguished leader in the internation