Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 will cap his 11 years of service to the College this spring by delivering the commencement address to the graduating Class of 2025.
McNulty, who is retiring this summer, will speak at the College’s 145th Commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 10 on campus.
"Without question, my favorite part of this job is the joy of building relationships with students. The commencement address will be the last opportunity to impact a very special segment of our students at a unique moment in their lives, which is an enormous privilege. I'm praying that my thoughts will be of some benefit to them,” McNulty said.
He will be joined on the graduation weekend rostrum by Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies Dr. James Bibza, a longtime faculty member who had a profound impact on McNulty when he was a student. At McNulty’s request, Bibza will be the speaker at the Baccalaureate Service at 7 p.m. Friday, May 9.
“I consider it a great honor to be chosen to be the Baccalaureate speaker. I was frankly overwhelmed when President McNulty came to my office to ask me to be the speaker. It is a very humbling request, and I hope to do my best to show that he has made a wise choice,” Bibza said.
Bibza began teaching at the College in 1977 and McNulty, and his wife, Brenda (Millican ’80) McNulty, were among his earliest students, sitting beside each other while they studied the book of Romans. McNulty said he remembers the class fondly and still has his notes from Bibza’s lectures.
“Dr. Bibza has significantly impacted thousands of lives in his nearly 50 years of excellent service, and this is a well-deserved honor. He's also a faithful steward of the scriptures, a caring pastor, and a delightful communicator. I know the graduates will benefit greatly from his message. As one of my former professors, it will be especially fitting to share the stage with him in my last commencement ceremony,” McNulty said.
The admiration is mutual. Bibza said McNulty was a standout student. “I did see potential in him, but he has grown in ways of service to his country and his Lord that go well beyond anything that most anyone could have seen. Paul has taken the gifts God has given him and has used them in tremendous ways that he should be proud of,” Bibza said.
McNulty became the College’s ninth president in August 2014, returning to his alma mater after a 30-year career in Washington, D.C., as an attorney in public service and private practice.
In 2006, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed McNulty to the position of Deputy Attorney General, the second in command at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Chief Operating Officer of the department’s 100,000 employees. He also served from 2001 to 2005 as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and was a leader in our nation’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11.
McNulty also worked for more than 10 years as a senior attorney in the U.S. Congress, including as Chief Counsel and Director of Legislative Operations for the House Majority Leader and Chief Counsel for the House Subcommittee on Crime.
He received Grove City College’s Alumni Achievement Award in 1998 and an honorary doctorate in 2007.