Michael S. Brophy

Dr. Michael S. Brophy currently serves as the president of Hilbert College in Buffalo, New York. Previously, he served as the president of Benedictine University (Chicago and Phoenix) and Marymount California University (Los Angeles).

He became president of Marymount in 2006 when it was a small Catholic liberal arts college in Southern California. He led the transformation of the private two-year college to a multi-site university with undergraduate and graduate degree offerings, doubling enrollment, leading successful fundraising campaigns, and spearheading facilities improvements that built new living and learning environments.

In 2015, Dr. Brophy was appointed president at Benedictine and led the University as it implemented its new strategic plan by increasing fundraising, opening a new college of business, implementing new programs, leading a program prioritization process, and growing its graduate, online, Arizona campus, and community college partnership enrollments. This strengthening of the University lead to an increased Standard & Poor’s financial rating and a reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. At both institutions, Dr. Brophy championed access and increased Hispanic student enrollment.

Prior to his presidencies, Dr. Brophy served as a campus dean within the University of Wisconsin system and as an enrollment management leader at Long Island University (New York), the State University of New York, and The Sage Colleges (New York). Dr. Brophy also served as an enrollment consultant to the Kentucky, Indiana, and Louisiana community college systems.

President with studentsDr. Brophy earned a BA in music and a MA in English from The College of Saint Rose, an MFA in writing from Long Island University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A Fulbright award recipient, Dr. Brophy has taught and conducted research in Europe and Cuba. As a filmmaker he has written, directed and edited three films that screened at film festivals, theaters, museums, universities, and foundations throughout the United States, Cuba and Europe, and has had screenplays selected to the Independent Feature Project Market in New York. As a musician, he has accompanied gospel choirs and performed with students and faculty in classical, pop, and jazz settings.