Ken Gormley was installed as the 13th president of Duquesne University in July 2016. As president, he has emphasized the University's historic mission to foster ethical behavior and dialogue through a series of public events focused on civil discourse. Through his leadership, Duquesne has continued to rise as a top-tier national University. 

In 2022, Gormley launched the public phase of IGNITE: Forging the Future, the University's most ambitious — and already most successful — capital campaign. That same year, Gormley also announced the largest gift in University history from alumnus Thomas R. Kline, one of the nation's most influential and highly regarded trial lawyers, which provides transformational support to Duquesne's 111-year-old law school. Duquesne recognized the gift by naming its law school the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. 

Among his numerous, forward-thinking initiatives, Gormley has created academic centers that address pressing issues of our time. He created a new common learning experience for undergraduate students, and has raised a higher standard for inclusion — including naming Duquesne's first Chief Diversity Officer. He raised funds for and built a new fieldhouse for athletics and has launched the University's new College of Osteopathic Medicine — which opened its doors in 2024.  Gormley continues to bring major political figures, public officials, newsmakers and journalists to campus for special programs examining legal issues and commemorating key events in American history. These have included programs featuring U.S. Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Samuel Alito, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Gormley also organized the first "National Conference on the First Amendment," co-presented by the Pittsburgh Foundation in cooperation with the National Constitution Center.

Gormley previously served as professor of law before being named dean of the Duquesne University School of Law. He joined the faculty in 1994, after teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and engaging in private practice.

Gormley's work has earned him a national reputation as a highly respected constitutional scholar. He has testified in the United States Senate three times and has testified in the Pennsylvania Senate on state constitutional matters. A past president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, He was the first academic to hold that position in the organization's history. 

Ken Gormley

Media Kit

Featured News

Collage of Ken Gormley over the last 30 years.

Man on a Mission: Celebrating Ken Gormley’s 30 Years

With his long history at Duquesne, increasing national visibility and deep local and regional connections, Ken Gormley took on the task of defining a new era as 13th President of Duquesne University. Read all about his contributions and accomplishments in this 30-year retrospective.

Celebrating Ken Gormley’s 30 Years

New Medical College Opens its Doors

On Jan. 17, 2024, Duquesne opened its new College of Osteopathic Medicine building with a special ceremony. Prominent local officials, corporate and foundation leaders and community partners were in attendance.

New Medical College Opens its Doors

President Ken Gormley Announces Creation of $1 Million Endowed Chair to Honor Eugene P. Beard

On Oct. 4, 2024, President Ken Gormley announced the creation of a new $1 million endowed University chair to honor one of Duquesne's most generous benefactors, Eugene P. Beard.

$1 Million Endowed Chair to Honor Eugene P. Beard

Medical College Receives $1.5 Million Gift to Support Disability Education

In September 2024, Duquesne received a $1.5 million gift from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust to support disability and special needs education for the University’s College of Medicine.

$1.5 Million Gift to Support Disability Education

New $1.1 Million Endowment to Support Club Sports

President Ken Gormley announced a new initiative to create ongoing support for club sports at Duquesne.

$1.1 Million Endowment to Support Club Sports

News Highlights

  • President Ken Gormley speaks with Our Region’s Business host Bill Flanagan in this video, about Duquesne basketball and new Uptown development.
    April 2, 2024

  • President Gormley is quoted in this WTAE article about the March Madness excitement on campus and this TribLive article about the Dukes A-10 tournament championship win.
    March 21, 2024

  • This article details President Ken Gormley's election to the Pittsburgh Business Times 2024 Power 100 list as a “Catalyst” at the intersection of research, job training and economic development.
    February 14, 2024

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and numerous other media outlets covered the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Duquesne’s new College of Osteopathic Medicine. President Ken Gormley, Provost David Dausey and Dean John Kauffman are quoted.
    January 17, 2024

  • President Ken Gormley hosted The Saturday Night Massacre: A 50-Year Retrospective at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He wrote this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed and C-SPAN 2 American History TV recorded the Press Club event and broadcast it in November. 
    October 18, 2023

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Business Times covered President Ken Gormley announcing the creation of a new $1 million endowed University chair to honor one of the University's most generous benefactors Eugene P. Beard.
    October 5, 2023

  • Pittsburgh Business Times included this article about the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) receiving $1.5M from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust for disability education. President Ken Gormley and Dr. John Kauffman, dean of the COM, are quoted.
    September 13, 2023

  • Ken Gormley was interviewed for this New York Times article about a forthcoming memoir by former Secret Service Agent Paul Landis, in which he will give his perspective of what happened when he was just steps away from President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in November 1963. 
    September 9, 2023

    (Also published in The Seattle Times, Yahoo!, Canada News, US Today News, Armwood Editorial and Opinion, USA Times, The Irish Times, Planet Circulate and more.)
  • Pittsburgh Business-Times covered President Ken Gormley announcing a new initiative to create ongoing support for club sports at Duquesne.
    September 7, 2023

  • This Pittsburgh Business Times article highlights board member Matthew Costello, and his wife, Liselott, who recently made a major gift to support the first endowed chair in the newly-named School of Science and Engineering.
    August 23, 2023

  • This article from Erie Reader highlights that President Ken Gormley will lead a constitutional program at Erie’s Jefferson Educational Society. 
    May 22, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley offered constitutional law expertise in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed about the impact of former President Trump’s indictment. 
    April 23, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley is interviewed in this Pittsburgh Business Times piece about expanding engineering programs at the university.
    April 17, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley provided constitutional law expertise for this TIME article about the impact of former President Trump’s indictment.
    April 4, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher and Duquesne Board alumna and philanthropist Catharine M. Ryan receiving honorary degrees during a Spring Commencement ceremony.
    March 22, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this WPXI-TV article and this WTAE-TV article about Bill Cowher being the Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient at a Spring Commencement ceremony.
    March 22, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley was quoted in this KDKA-TV article discussing the announcement of former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher and Duquesne alumna Board member Catharine M. Ryan as recipients of honorary degrees during a Spring Commencement ceremony.
    March 22, 2023

  • In this article published by the New York Times, President Ken Gormley was mentioned in relation to his biography Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation. 
    February 15, 2023

  • This New York Times article about the 25-year anniversary of Monica Lewinsky’s affair with former President Clinton includes an interview with President Ken Gormley.
    January 21, 2023

  • President Ken Gormley was quoted in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about Debra Todd becoming the first female chief justice in the 300-year history of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court..
    January 19, 2023

  •  WTAE-TV included a quote from President Ken Gormley on the passing of Pope Benedict.
    January 1, 2023
  • President Ken Gormley was quoted in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, discussing how the legendary Franco Harris will be forever loved as an emblem of Pittsburgh.
    December 21, 2022

  • This AdWeek article spotlights President Ken Gormley and Duquesne’s 'Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism' honoring Yamiche Alcindor with the Institute’s inaugural award. 
    December 2, 2022

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published President Ken Gormley's piece, "Taking stock of the Trump presidency, through the blurry lens of history."
    November 20, 2022

  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this Pittsburgh Business Times article that discusses of University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher's new leadership role.
    November 3, 2022

  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this Before It's News article about the "Why the Negro Leagues Mattered, and Still Do" symposium hosted at Duquesne in 2021.
    October 29, 2022

  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article after announcing the $333 million goal for the largest fundraising campaign in the University's history.
    October 10, 2022

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published President Ken Gormley’s article about Max Baer, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court chief justice and Duquesne law school alumnus, who passed away Sept. 30.
    October 8, 2022
  • Harvard Law Today published this story about President Ken Gormley's new fiction novel entitled The Heiress of Pittsburgh.
    January 31, 2022
  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about a $3 million Henry L. Hillman Foundation grant to support the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine.
    January 26, 2022
  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about how Supreme Court Justice Tom Saylor will become the inaugural scholar-in-residence at the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education.
    January 1, 2022
  • President Ken Gormley wrote this op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about how Pittsburgh's churches are an integral part of traditions and family histories that bind us together during the holiday season.
    December 19, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about his role in the Eradicate Hate Global Summit and his recollection of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue.
    October 18, 2021
  • The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published this story about President Ken Gormley's recently published legal thriller, The Heiress of Pittsburgh.
    October 10, 2021

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote this article about President Ken Gormley's recently published fiction novel The Heiress of Pittsburgh.
    October 7, 2021

  • Media outlets report that Duquesne University’s Board extends President Ken Gormley’s contract through the 2026-2027 academic year, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review.
    September 25, 2021

  • This Pittsburgh Business Times article on Duquesne's new Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism includes a quote from President Ken Gormley.
    September 14, 2021

  • This Newsweek article refers to details that were included in President Ken Gormley's The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr.
    September 7, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed by WTAE-TV about Pittsburgh philanthropist John G. Rangos, Sr., who also was a longtime friend and benefactor of Duquesne University.
    July 22, 2021

  • Pittsburgh Quarterly asked President Ken Gormley and his fellow local college presidents to weigh in on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that have come to light compared to prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
    July 21, 2021

  • In this Tribune-Review article President Ken Gormley addresses a $2M gift R.K. Mellon Foundation gift to Duquesne's proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine.
    July 13, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed by WTAE-TV for this story about honoring May graduate Dylan Braun during a special post-graduation ceremony. 
    May 7, 2021

  • The Pittsburgh Business Times published this article about President Ken Gormley, who spoke at the Pittsburgh Business Times' VisionPittsburgh event. April 8, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this Pittsburgh Business Times article about COVID-19 disruptions to education and what schools are doing to stay on track. 
    February 25, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this article by The Times  about former President Donald Trump being acquitted for the second time when his impeachment trial concluded in the U.S. Senate. 
    February 14, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this New York Times article about former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial and the legacy he will leave.
    February 12, 2021
  • President Ken Gormley wrote this article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial and its impact on previous presidents.
    February 9, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley co-wrote this op-ed for the Washington Post about the Senate's power to try former President Donald Trump.
    February 4, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley wrote this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opinion piece about President Donald Trump's complicated legacy.
    January 24, 2021

  • President Ken Gormley was interviewed for this Tribune-Review article about hopes expressed by many for President Joe Biden's time in the White House. 
    January 23, 2021

  • Newsweek interviewed President Ken Gormley for this story about what could happen if President Donald Trump attempts to self-pardon.
    January 17, 2021
  • President Ken Gormley is interviewed by KDKA-TV about President Donald Trump's use of pardon power
    December 22, 2020
  • President Ken Gormley wrote this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the night of the first commercial radio broadcast by KDKA-Radio in Pittsburgh 100 years ago.
    November 1, 2020
  • Diverse reported that President Ken Gormley moderated a webinar regarding the impact of the NFL's Rooney Rule and its relevance today.
    October 22, 2020

  • President Ken Gormley is quoted in this Pittsburgh Business Times article about gifts totaling $7.5 million to support the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine.
    September 3, 2020

  • President Ken Gormley is interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about how America makes its biggest mistakes during times of crisis.
    April 5, 2020

  • President Ken Gormley is interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story about how local universities are offering on-campus housing options for medical professionals battling the spread of COVID-19.
    April 3, 2020

  • President Ken Gormley is interviewed for this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
    January 26, 2020

  • President Ken Gormley wrote this Politico opinion piece about an alternative to the impeachment trial: passing election-interference legislation.
    January 16, 2020

Publications

The Presidents and the Constitution, Volume Two: From World War I to the Trump Era (Gormley, ed.), NYU Press (2022).

The Heiress of Pittsburgh, Sunbury Press (2021).

Presidents and the Constitution (Gormley, ed.), NYU Press (2015).

"Impeachment and the Independent Counsel: Collision in the Capitol" in The Clinton Presidency and the Constitutional System (Roseanna Perotti, ed.) at 163 (Texas A&M University Press, 2012).

"Archibald Cox" in American National Biography (Oxford University Press) (2012).

The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, Crown Publishers/Random House (2010).

"Archibald Cox," in The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law (Roger K. Newman ed.) (Yale University Press 2009).

"Archibald Cox" (book chapter) in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, (2007).

Foreword to Chinese translation of The Court and the Constitution, "Archibald Cox" (Peking University Press 2006).

The Pennsylvania Constitution: A Treatise on Rights and Liberties (George T. Bisel Co., 2004), (Ken Gormley principal editor) (with Bauman, Fishman & Kozler) (supplement 2014).

Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia, (John R. Vile, ed.), ABC-CLIO (2003) (chapter on Judge Learned Hand).

Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia, (John R. Vile, ed.), ABC-CLIO (2001) (chapters on Archibald Cox and William M. Evarts).

Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation, hardback published by Addison-Wesley (1997), paperback published by Perseus Books (1999).

The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment of 1991 (1994, Commw. of Pa. Press).

"Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy: An Epilogue," 47 Duquesne L. Rev. 681 (2009).

"Carol Los Mansmann: Lawyer, Judge and Public Servant," 46 Duq. L. Rev. 5 (2007) (with an introduction by Supreme Court Justice Samuel J. Alito, Jr.)

"Judicial Review in the Americas: Comments on the United States and Mexico," 45 Duquesne L. Rev. 393 (2007).

"Education as a Fundamental Right: Building a New Paradigm," 2 Forum on Public Policy 207 (University of Illinois) (2006).

"The Forgotten Supreme Court Justices," 68 Albany L. Rev. 295 (2005).

"In Memoriam: Archibald Cox," 118 Harvard L. Rev. 8 (2004).

"The Lawyer as Artist" in "Symposium: The Lawyer as Poet Advocate: Bruce Springsteen and American Law," 14 Widener Law J. 753 (2005).

"Exploring a European Union Constitution: Unexpected Lessons from the American Experience," 35 Rutgers L.J. 69 (2003).

"Foreword: President Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: A Symposium,"41 Duquesne L. Rev. 667 (2003).

"The Silver Anniversary of New Judicial Federalism," 66 Albany L. Rev. 101 (2003).

"Racial Mind-Games and Reapportionment: When Can Race Be Considered (Legitimately) In Redistricting?" 4 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 735 (2002).

"Monica Lewinsky, Impeachment, and the Death of the Independent Counsel Law: What Congress Can Salvage From the Wreckage - a Minimalist View," 60 Maryland L. Rev. 97 (2001).

"Impeachment and the Independent Counsel: A Dysfunctional Union," 51 Stanford L. Rev. 309 (1999).

"An Original Model of the Independent Counsel Statute," 97 Michigan L. Rev. 601 (1998).

"The Short-Lived Burial of Miranda," 59 Albany L. Rev. 1725 (1996).

"The Pennsylvania Constitution After Edmunds," 3 Widener J. Pub. L. 55 (1993).

"One Hundred Years of Privacy," 1992 Wisconsin L. Rev. 1335 (1992).

"Privacy and the States," 65 Temple L.Q. 1279 (1992) (Gormley & Hartman).

"Foreword: A New Constitutional Vigor For The Nation's Oldest Court," 64 Temple L. Rev. 215 (1991).

"The Kentucky Bill of Rights, A Bicentennial Celebration," 80 Kentucky L. J. 1 (1991) (Gormley & Hartman).

"Significant Developments In State Constitutional Law, 1988," 2 Emerging Issues in State Constitutional Law 1 (1989).

"Project: State Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure: A Primer for the 21st Century," (Gormley ed.) 67 Oregon L. Rev. 689 (1988).

"Ten Adventures In State Constitutional Law," 1 Emerging Issues in State Constitutional Law 29 (Inaugural Issue, 1988).

"Private Conspiracies and the Constitution - A Modern Vision of 42 U.S.C. §1985(3)," 64 Texas L. Rev. 527 (1985).

Article, "Heading in the Right Direction," PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER, 31 (May/June 2014).

Book Review, "The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies: by Jonathan Alter," Washington Post (June 28, 2013).

Article, "The Saturday Night Massacre 40 Years Later: How our Constitution Trumped a Reckless President," Constitutional Daily, National Constitution Center (November 15, 2013).

Op-ed, "Wisdom from Watergate," POLITICO (October, 2013).

"Bush 41's later in life, in letters," review of "All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings," WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD, June 2, 2013.

"The New Pledge that Congress Should Take," POLITICO, Oct. 26, 2012.

"America's Unwritten Constitution: The Presidents and Principles We Live By, By Akhil Amar," WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD, Oct.6, 2012.

"A Response to ‘Dr. No:' The importance of saying ‘yes' to legal education in American," PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER Jan./Feb. 2012 at 22.

"Duquesne Law School 1911-2011," SPIRITAN HORIZONS, Issue 6, Fall 2011, pp.63-75.

"Secret Wiretaps: The Need for Legislative Reforms," JURIST (Legal News & Research) (March 20, 2006).

"Can the Independent Counsel Law Be Saved?" 21 Legal Times 28 (February 22, 1999).

"Should We Ditch the Independent Prosecutor Law?" (Dialogue with Professor Akhil Reed Amar), Slate Magazine, (February 16-19, 1999).

"Should Congress Reauthorize the Independent Counsel Law?" 78 Congressional Digest 144 (May, 1999).

"Reapportioning Election Districts: An Exercise in Self-Preservation," USA Today Magazine 22 (January, 1997).

Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, and the Civil Rights Movement," 78 A.B.A. J. 62 (June, 1992).

"Professionalism, Pittsburgh Style," 140 Pitt L.J. 39 (1992).

"The New Story of State Constitutions," Vol. 9, The Pennsylvania Lawyer (March, 1987), reprinted in the Idaho B.J. (August, 1987).

"The Nixon Pardon at 40: Ford Looks Better Than Ever," The Wall Street Journal, Ken Gormley (with David Shribman), September 5, 2014.

"The Lesson of Watergate & Nixon's resignation," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 2, 2014.

"Rename Pittsburgh's U.S. courthouse for Judge Joseph F. Weis, Jr.: Our grand federal court building should be named for one of its greatest jurists," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 15, 2014.

"American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, January 10, 2010; also published in Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, January 10, 2010.

Various Feature Articles, Book Reviews and Op-Ed Pieces, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant, Atlanta Constitution, Buffalo News, Albuquerque Journal, The Pittsburgh Press, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh Magazine.

Past Contributor, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Boston Real Paper, Rolling Stone Record Guide.