Michael J. Deegan
Michael “Mike” Joseph Patrick Deegan (born June 8, 1953, Bronx, New York) is an American Catholic educator who is the founder and president of MJDEEGAN Educational Consultants. Previously, he served as the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York.
Biography
Deegan was born on June 8, 1953, in the Bronx, New York, to Thomas and Julia Deegan. He attended St. Philip Neri Elementary School in the Bronx, completing his studies there in 1967, and graduated from Rice High School in Harlem in 1971. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iona University in New Rochelle, New York, in 1975. In 1984, he completed a Master of Science in education at the College of New Rochelle. He later undertook postgraduate studies at Manhattan University in the Bronx and at Fordham University in New York City.
Deegan spent his fifty-year career in Catholic education, serving in teaching, administrative, and leadership roles within Catholic school systems in New York. His work focused on school governance, enrollment management, strategic planning, Catholic Identity and public engagement around the role of Catholic schools in education. By the late 2010s, he was a public spokesperson and strident advocate for Catholic education, religious liberty and freedom, addressing issues such as financial sustainability, school closures, and access for low- and middle-income families.
In April 2019, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, appointed Deegan as interim superintendent of Catholic schools. In September 2019, he was officially named Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, overseeing Catholic elementary and secondary schools across New York City and the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam, Ulster, and Dutchess. During his tenure, he appeared in regional and national media defending Catholic schools and outlining the archdiocese's responses to demographic shifts, fiscal pressures, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the Archdiocese announced that Deegan would retire from his position in 2023. Following his retirement, he founded MJDEEGAN Educational Consultant, where he has been serving as president and advising schools and educational organizations since.
Throughout his career, Deegan received several awards recognizing his service in Catholic education. These include the St. Elizabeth Seton Compassionate Educator Award in 2003; the Joseph A. Bruno Award in 2005, shared with Frank Siller of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation; and designation as a Brother Edmund Rice Centennial Honoree in 2006. He received the St. Dominic Legacy Award in 2019 and the Iona College Arthur A. Loftus Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2020. He served as an aide to the Grand Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2020 and again in 2022. In 2023, he received the Archbishop Stepinac Sequere Deum Award and the National Catholic Educational Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
Deegan is married to Angela Deegan and has a stepdaughter, Krista, a grandson, Anthony, and a great-granddaughter, Giavanna.