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Since 2017, Dr. Dennis Patrick McCann has quietly but decisively extended his lifelong commitment to ethical reflection, education, and social responsibility through a series of donated funds that continue to shape institutional programs and people. The donated funds of �Ǹ����’s First Gentleman have supported institutional initiatives that advance environmental advocacy, values and whole-person education, and national, regional, and global academic networking.

These investments are not isolated acts of philanthropy. They are the continuation of a lifelong commitment to ethical realism, social responsibility, and the transformative power of education.

Formed in turbulent times

McCann’s moral and intellectual foundations were shaped during his undergraduate years in a Catholic seminary in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1967 and graduated as class valedictorian. The period coincided with the height of the civil rights movement and the escalation of the Vietnam War, contexts that drew him beyond the classroom and into direct social engagement.

Guided by Father Duffy, a priest serving an inner-city parish, McCann worked closely with the Congress of Racial Equality in Columbus and participated in organizing efforts aimed at Black empowerment and community development.

“It was a time of turmoil,” McCann recalls. “We were working with people directly—building neighborhood clubs and organizations for Black empowerment—long before these struggles were widely acknowledged.”

As the Vietnam War intensified, his activism expanded to anti-war protests, grounded in a conviction that American involvement was unjustified. These experiences embedded in him a lasting concern for how religious faith could sustain moral courage without collapsing into disillusionment.

“I kept asking,” he explains, “‘How do we develop a spirituality that grows through struggle rather than fades because of it?’”

A career of teaching and leadership

After graduate studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy, where he earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL), McCann pursued doctoral studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. There, he became the first Catholic scholar to complete a PhD dissertation on Reinhold Niebuhr, the influential Protestant figure of the 1940s to 1960s in the United States.

“I didn’t see that as a departure from Catholicism,” McCann notes about his study on Niebuhr. “I saw it as an enhancement. If we were ever going to address the issues facing the American people, we had to learn from Protestant thinkers who were deeply engaged in social justice.”

This ecumenical vision culminated in his landmark 1981 book, Christian Realism and Liberation Theology: Practical Theologies in Creative Conflict, which remains influential for its balanced critique of idealism and its insistence on ethical engagement grounded in human agency, institutional complexity, and moral accountability.

McCann’s academic career spanned more than four decades, including teaching appointments in Oregon, 18 years at DePaul University in Chicago, and later his tenure as Wallace M. Alston Professor of Bible and Religion at Agnes Scott College in Georgia. From 1996 to 2001, he served as Executive Director of the Society of Christian Ethics, strengthening its role as the primary professional association for scholars of religious ethics in the United States. He also taught at �Ǹ����.

Throughout these roles, his teaching and leadership emphasized the integration of ethical theory with real-world application, particularly in social, political, and organizational contexts.

The allocation of The Dennis P. McCann Educational Fund

Since 2017, McCann’s donated funds have been intentionally structured to support three interconnected areas of educational and advocacy work:

1. 30% – Environmental Advocacy: This portion of the fund supports initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and ecological awareness. Resources are directed toward educational workshops, sustainability programs, and partnerships with environmental organizations. These efforts aim to deepen understanding of climate change, foster eco-friendly practices, and encourage responsible stewardship among students, faculty, the Silliman community, and partner communities.
2. 35% – Values Education, Whole-Person, and Transformative Education: This significant allocation underscores McCann’s belief that education must shape character as well as intellect. Funds support programs that emphasize ethical decision-making, empathy, critical reflection, and community service. Through workshops, seminars, and interactive learning experiences, these initiatives seek to form educators and students who are morally grounded and socially responsive.
3. 35% – National, Regional, and Global Networking with Professional Associations: This allocation enables faculty participation in conferences, workshops, and collaborative research with professional associations and partner institutions. By strengthening academic networks at multiple levels, the fund enhances professional development, encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, and helps institutions remain relevant in a rapidly changing global educational landscape.

A continuing vocation of service

A concrete expression of the fund’s impact is seen in Ms. Ethel R. Burgos, the first recipient, who is pursuing her Doctor of Education in Religious and Values Education at De La Salle University. Her studies reflect the fund’s core intent: to invest in individuals whose work advances ethical leadership and transformative education.

McCann remains deeply convinced of the potential of Filipino educators and students.

“The only thing Filipinos need is opportunity,” he says. “They can meet or exceed any standard you set, as long as you’re clear about what you expect and provide the resources for them to succeed.”

Now officially retired, McCann continues to teach, write, and support faculty development through his annual contributions, channeled in part through the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. His giving is sustained by a clear sense of vocation rather than obligation.

“It’s a privilege,” McCann reflects. “A privilege to be here, to be part of this, and to know that the people you help are doing work that truly matters.”

Through a lifetime of ethical scholarship, activism, teaching, and purposeful generosity, Dr. Dennis Patrick McCann continues to affirm education as a moral practice, one that forms the whole person, strengthens institutions, and responds faithfully to the enduring demands of justice and faith.

The Dr. Dennis P. McCann Educational Fund was also established in honor of his wife, Dr. Betty Cernol McCann, 13th president of �Ǹ���� and the first woman president in the university’s history. To learn more about The Dr. Dennis P. McCann Educational Fund, you may reach Glynnis Jean C. Casiño, Strategic Partnership and Enterprise Development officer-in-charge, at (035) 420 1901 loc 450 or [email protected].