Kenneth Gerald Gormley (born March 19, 1955) is an American legal academic who is the 13th president of

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

. He is a former dean and a professor of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

at Duquesne University School of Law. He is also a legal counsel for the Appellate Practice Group at the law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP. His scholarly work focuses particularly on the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

and special prosecutors.

Career

Kenneth Gerald Gormley was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

on March 19, 1955, and grew up in nearby Swissvale and Edgewood. He earned a B.A. in political science and philosophy from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 1977 and a J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1980. Gormley joined the Duquesne Law faculty in 1994 after clerking for U.S. District Judge Donald E. Ziegler, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, engaging in private practice, serving as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission, and serving as special clerk to Justice Ralph J. Cappy of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

. Gormley was named dean of the law school in December 2008. He has written articles for publications ranging from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' to the ''

ABA Journal The ''ABA Journal'' (since 1984, formerly ''American Bar Association Journal'', 1915–1983, evolved from '' Annual Bulletin'', 1908–1914) is a monthly legal trade magazine and the flagship publication of the American Bar Association. It is n ...

'' and is author of the book ''

Archibald Cox Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American legal scholar who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During ...

: The Conscience of a Nation''. An expert on the constitutional crisis presented by

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

, he has also published legal commentary on

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

issues. In 2006, he testified before the U.S. Senate regarding warrantless surveillance. His most recent book, ''The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr'', was released on February 16, 2010. Gormley was nominated by Pennsylvania Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

to one of two vacancies on the

in February 2015. The

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

opted not to fill the vacancies, instead allowing the seats to be filled in the November election. On November 4, 2015, Duquesne University announced that Gormley would be the 13th President of Duquesne University, following the retirement of Charles J. Dougherty, effective July 1, 2016. In October 2021, Gormley published his first novel, a legal thriller entitled ''The Heiress of Pittsburgh''. He has described the novel as a "love story to Pittsburgh". In March 2025, Gormley announced that on July 1, 2026, he would step down from his presidency and assume the role of university chancellor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gormley, Ken Duquesne University faculty Living people Harvard Law School alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni American legal scholars 1955 births Presidents of Duquesne University Lawyers from Pittsburgh People from Swissvale, Pennsylvania