Thomas Foley '71

“His contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland outmatches the contribution to humanity of any person I’ve personally known.”

So wrote one of our next honoree’s nominators, 1971 classmate and 2023 Hall of Famer Brian Flannery.  Aye, Aye, Commander.

Named for an uncle he never knew, who gave his life for the cause of freedom during World War II, Thomas P. Foley has lived a life of service to others that shines as an ongoing tribute to his Uncle Tom.  And he and his wife Michelle have ensured that Uncle Tom’s name and legacy live on in the next generation, as well.

Tom was a bit of a Renaissance Man throughout his McDevitt career.  Nominator and classmate Chuck Boyle writes that, as a 150-pound guard on our football team, there was nobody tougher than Tom, who was also at the top of his class academically and served as President of our Key Club.

Perhaps best remembered as a member of Mr. Horn’s Forensics Team, Tom and his partner Bob Frank won city and state titles and finished fifth in the country at the national championships—the highest finish ever by a Philadelphia team.  And, in his senior year spare time, he tripped a bit of the light fantastic in the production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying that capped fellow honoree Robert Yacko’s Royal Masque career and began my own.  It’s doubtful that the words “without really trying” ever characterized Tom in any other setting. 

At Dartmouth College, Tom again excelled in academics and debate.  He earned a post -graduate grant to University College, Dublin.  While in Ireland, Tom became involved in the Irish Peace Movement and took a two year leave of absence from law school and went to Belfast at great risk to help the peace process.  He was an important adviser to the cause, crafting position papers on key issues, setting up programs and sports for both Catholic and Protestant youths and serving as the Executive Member for Justice Issues for the leading on the ground peace group.  During that period, his friends were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Upon his return to the USA, Tom graduated near the top of his class from Yale Law School where he also played on their nationally ranked rugby team, a sport he took up while living in Ireland.  He turned down numerous high paying law firms that recruited him and decided to dedicate his life to the common good.  He again became involved in the peace process and became a trusted adviser to Congressman Thomas (Tip) O'Neil, Speaker of the US House of Representatives and to other key players in the peace process. Numerous lives would have been lost if Tom and those with whom he was associated had not worked so diligently to promote the peace process there.

Tom then became chief speech writer for Senator Joseph Biden and was subsequently recruited by Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey to serve Pennsylvania as PA’s youngest ever Secretary of Labor and Industry. He was later a Candidate for Lieutenant Governor and an endorsed Democratic candidate for both Auditor General and U.S. Senator. Tom has since served as head of the United Way of Pennsylvania and the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, responding to numerous regional, national, and international disasters, and as President of Mt Aloysius College.  He presently serves as President of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, skillfully helping our institutions of higher education weather these challenging times. With thanks to his nominators, teammates, 1971 classmates, and lifelong friends Chuck Boyle and Hall of Famer Brian Flannery, please join our Alumni Hall of Fame as we welcome the Class of 1971’s Thomas P. Foley.