Leahy's memberships include the American Catholic Historical Association

American Catholic Historical Association

The American Catholic Historical Association was founded by Peter Guilday in Cleveland, Ohio, in December, 1919 as a national society that would bring together scholars interested in the history of the Catholic Church or in Catholic aspects of secular history...

, the American Historical Association

American Historical Association

The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...

, the History of Education Society, and the Organization of American Historians

Organization of American Historians

The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...

.

During his time off, he can be found dangling around Conte Forum and going top shelf on the backhand in the Jesuit Semi-Pro Hockey League.

Controversy

Fr. Leahy's presidency has not been without controversy. His Dean of Students declined to permit a dance sponsored by the BC gay and lesbian group, an event sponsored by the Boston College Woman's Health Initiative (pro-choice organization that is currently unrecognized by the university), and he has remained stalwart in his resistance to substantive changes to the university's policy toward groups that are contrary to Catholic teachings. The move from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 resulted in a lawsuit and editorializing by some Boston sports writers, though eventually BC won the lawsuits and membership in the ACC resulted in greater financial reward and national exposure for the athletic department. (ACC schools received an average of US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

10.85 million for the tax year ending June 30, 2006, Big East full members averaged a little more than half that at US$5,842,599.) The invitation of U.S. Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...

 to receive an honorary degree and deliver the 2006 Commencement Address evoked protest from a small number of the faculty members. While Dr. Rice received a standing ovation accompanied by extended applause at the 2006 Commencement Exercises, a small subset of faculty did turn their backs toward the stage as she was presented an honorary degree.

Books

• Adapting to America: Catholics, Jesuits and Higher Education in the Twentieth Century (Georgetown University Press, 1991)

Articles

Leahy has written a number of articles on Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

in the United States, including, among others:

• "The Rise of Laity in American Catholic Higher Education," Records of the American Catholic Historical Society (1991)
• "Academic Professionalism and American Catholic Higher Education," Assembly 1989: Jesuit Ministry in Higher Education (1990)

In addition, Leahy has authored numerous articles in the Dictionary of Christianity in America and book reviews in History, Journal of American History and History of Education Quarterly.