Vice President of Mission and Ministry

Raymond F. Dlugos, OSA, Ph.D., C.Psych.

Father Ray Dlugos, OSA was appointed Vice-President for Mission and Ministry at Merrimack College in August of 2008.  From this position, he is responsible for facilitating and supporting efforts to ensure that the values of the Roman Catholic intellectual and spiritual traditions as expressed through the Augustinian ideals of unity, truth, and love are seamlessly integrated into all curricular and co-curricular activities of Merrimack College.  He will call all members of the College community to be a “scholarly fellowship of friends dedicated to the pursuit of truth and to journey through knowledge to wisdom.”

Father Ray is an Augustinian Friar from the Villanova Province (Eastern United States).  Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, he was ordained a priest in 1983.  He served as a high school teacher and as a parish priest before becoming the Director of Vocations for his community in 1990.  He began studies in Psychology in 1994 and received a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York in 1999.  He is a member of the College of Psychologists of Ontario and a licensed psychologist in the State of New York.

Father Ray joined the staff of the Southdown Institute in September of 1999 as a Psychologist responsible for group therapy, individual psychotherapy, and psychological assessments.  He was appointed Vice President of the Southdown Institute in August of 2002 and assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer in June of 2003. 

Father Ray has presented workshops to clergy and religious throughout the world on themes such as Maintaining Passionate Commitment to Ministry, Integrating Sexuality and Celibacy, Developing Honest Self-Awareness, Power, Authority, Leadership and Mission, Finding Hope in the Midst of Disillusionment, and Facing the Future of Religious Life with Faith, Hope, and Love.  Most recently, he has given workshops on Affective Maturity in Ministry in Sydney, Australia and Manila, the Philippines.

In addition, Father Ray participates in the ministry of Retrouvaille International, a lay based, peer ministry to couples struggling through difficulties in marriage.  He is a founder of a similar ministry to priests known as Earthen Vessels.  He has given retreats and parish missions primarily on the theme of “Our Call to Be Human as Jesus was Human” in which principles of good psychological and emotional health are integrated with the teachings of the Gospel.  He has served as a consultant to the Board of the National Organization for the Continuing Education of the Roman Catholic Clergy.  He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Villanova University.