College Welcomes Deacon Timothy Flanigan to Board of Directors
Deacon Timothy Flanigan, a doctor of infectious diseases, a long-time philanthropist for Catholic and educational causes, and a strong supporter of Wyoming Catholic College, has joined the College’s Board of Directors. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Flanigan to the Board,” says Dr. Glenn Arbery, the College’s president. “Tim’s generous involvement with many Catholic apostolates throughout the world gives him a depth of experience and expertise that will be of great benefit to the College. I and the College’s directors look forward to working with him.”
Dr. Flanigan is eager to become more involved, as well. “I first found the College through her outreach program, COR Expeditions,” he says. “The more I’ve learned, the more I’ve come to love her approach to Catholic higher education. Her students and graduates are impressive, as is her desire to collaborate with others in service to the Church. I’m anxious to help her grow and flourish!”
Dr. Flanigan is a Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals and Brown Medical School. He has spearheaded both clinical care and clinical research programs for improved HIV treatment among marginalized communities. He is recognized for his community-based work with HIV-infected men and women in prisons and jails and for providing educational support for children of incarcerated parents.
He was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, in 2011, and that event changed his life. “The job description is very open-ended,” he says. “You have to hang out, listen, discern, adapt, fit in. You become friends with folks you otherwise wouldn’t have taken the time to become friends with. It’s a kind of service not in the headlines. If it’s in the headlines, something’s wrong with it.”
In 2014, that same motivation led him to St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, on a two-month mission focused on training personnel to care for Ebola patients without contracting the virus. In addition to his university teaching and mentoring roles, he has worked on more than two dozen research grant projects, 260 original articles in peer-reviewed publications, 20 books and book chapters and has presented some 120 scholarly works around the world.
Dr. Flanigan earned his medical degree from Cornell University in 1983 and his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1979. In 2016, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Mount Saint Mary College for his humanitarian efforts around the world and contributions as a physician and a deacon. Dr. Flanigan and his wife, Luba, live in Rhode Island with their family.
