Dennis Dease
The Rev. Dennis Dease is a Roman Catholic priest, and served as the 14th president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota from his election in 1991 to 2013. Biography Father Dease earned a B.A. degree in Latin and philosophy from The Saint Paul Seminary in 1965, an M.A. degree in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas in 1972, a M.Div. degree from The Saint Paul Seminary in 1973, and a Ph.D. degree in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America in 1978. He was ordained a priest in 1969. He was associate pastor at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Hopkins, Minnesota, taught theology at the University of St. Thomas and served as spiritual director and dean of formation at The Saint Paul Seminary. From 1985 to 1991, he was rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. He is a tenured faculty member at The Saint Paul Seminary. Father Dease, who is a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, was one of 54 applicants for the University of St. Thomas presidency. Of the four finalists, two were not from the local archdiocese. During Father Dease's presidency, St. Thomas