John P. Hittinger, PhD., a philosopher, scholar of St. John Paul II and founding director of the St. John Paul II Institute, will retire from the University of St. Thomas at the conclusion of the 2025–26 academic year, closing a nearly 50-year career in higher education and two decades of service to UST.
Dr. Hittinger’s academic vocation was shaped by a pivotal encounter in 1976, when he met Karol Cardinal Wojtyla at The Catholic University of America. The meeting sparked a lifelong dedication to the thought of the future pope, guiding Dr. Hittinger’s scholarship on culture, faith and reason, political philosophy, family life, and the relationship between Church and state.
During the course of his career, Dr. Hittinger has delivered more than 100 lectures on the philosophy and theology of St. John Paul II and has published extensively in political philosophy, ethics and anthropology, with a scholarly focus that includes Aristotle, John Locke, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jacques Maritain, Karol Wojtyła and Josef Tischner. He is co-editor of Wojtyla Studies (Krakow and Houston) and serves on the editorial board of Philosophy and Canon Law (Katowice).
Dr. Hittinger joined the University of St. Thomas (UST) in June 2006 as vice president for academic affairs, a role he assumed after being selected by a national search committee and affirmed by then-President Dr. Robert Ivany. His achievements include the academic coordination for the reopening of the nursing school, assisting Cameron Business School to get AACSB status, and the recognition by the Newman Society for the Catholic character of UST. In 2009, he returned to his tenured faculty position, where he spent the next 17 years teaching in the core curriculum, the seminary, the Honors Program and the Center for Thomistic Studies.
In 2019, at the request of then-President Dr. Richard Ludwick, Dr. Hittinger founded the St. John Paul II Institute, an interdisciplinary academic center dedicated to the study of the pope’s philosophical, theological and cultural legacy. He served as the Institute’s first director until 2024, when Dr. John Corrigan was recruited to assume leadership of the program. Dr. Hittinger continued to teach and advise students through the Institute and the Center for Thomistic Studies.
“I am in my 20th year at UST, and my current contract extends to May 31, 2026. So, my last day and retirement begins June 1, 2026!” Hittinger said.
Reflecting on his broader academic journey, Dr. Hittinger noted that he taught his first college philosophy course in the fall of 1975 at The Catholic University of America and accepted his first full-time faculty appointment at Benedictine College in 1978.
“I have had the honor of enjoying 48 years as a full-time professor of philosophy,” he said.
His academic appointments also include the College of St. Francis, the U.S. Air Force Academy, St. Mary’s College of Ave Maria University, Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and UST.
Recently, Hittinger was honored by Dr. Corrigan, director of the St. John Paul II Institute, with the approval of UST President Dr. Sinda Vanderpool, through a certificate of recognition and honorarium acknowledging his foundational leadership of the Institute and his scholarly contributions to Catholic intellectual life.
“It is nearly impossible to put into language or to quantify the contribution of an individual which has a profound impact on the soul of other persons,” Dr. Corrigan said. “How do we measure this? If you ask those affected, they will often tell you it is ‘priceless.’”
Dr. Corrigan highlighted Dr. Hittinger’s devotion to Poland and to the Blessed Virgin Mary as central to his work and teaching, noting that Dr. Hittinger’s love for Polish history and spirituality inspired generations of students to deepen their understanding of St. John Paul II’s homeland and faith.
“When he speaks of Poland, or Our Lady in Poland or the role of Poland in history and the modern world you have the impression you are talking to a young man who just met his first love,” Dr. Corrigan said. “The devotion and enthusiasm cannot be quantified.”
That passion ultimately shaped the academic identity of the St. John Paul II Institute. The Institute includes a collaborative partnership with the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow and supports Wojtyla Studies, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the early philosophical work of Karol Wojtyła. The Institute also offers an online master’s degree program engaging in an intense study of the 14 encyclicals of St. John Paul II, allowing students around the world to interact live with scholars and subject-matter experts.
“From designing the courses to finding and hiring the panorama of experts to bring students a comprehensive exposure to the thought of the pope in his encyclical phase, Dr. Hittinger was the one responsible for this unique contribution to the world of Catholic study,” Dr. Corrigan said.
As Dr. Hittinger prepares for retirement, colleagues and students alike reflect on a legacy defined not only by intellectual rigor, but by mentorship and faith. His influence continues through the programs he founded, the scholarship he produced and the countless students he taught to think critically, reason soundly and engage the world through the lens of Catholic truth.
Retirement for Dr. Hittinger marks the close of a long career in service to students and academia; but in retirement he will continue his devotion to philosophy, faith, and the pursuit of wisdom and truth.