About Me

Rev. Dr. Michael McGowan received his Ph.D in canon law from the University of Ottawa and his JCD from Saint Paul University. Currently, he is pastor of two parishes and a retired Associate Professor of Human Rights, former Director of the Human Rights Programme and Director of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, N.B.  During his teaching career he taught numerous courses in both international and domestic human rights instruments. His research areas are law, human rights, health care, Catholic identity, and Holocaust Studies. He is a former member of the academic senate of St Thomas University and served on numerous university committees. He is also a former member of the Board of Governors of that university.  He has published numerous books and articles on law, human rights and health care. He has delivered workshops and conference papers in the area of human rights, health care and law throughout Canada and Europe. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Father McGowan served as an appeal judge of the Canadian Ecclesiastical  Tribunal in Ottawa. In addition, he served as a visiting professor in the Legal Education Leadership Programme at Saint Paul University, Ottawa. In January 2005, he was invited to become a Visiting Research Fellow in Human Rights at Roehampton University, London, England. While at St. Thomas University he conducted research on survivors of the Holocaust living in Atlantic Canada as well as former internees of the Ripples Interment Camp in New Brunswick. In 2006 and 2007, Father McGowan was a visiting scholar for the March of Remembrance and Hope, A Student Leadership Mission to Germany and Poland where he lectured on topics such as human rights, genocide and the Holocaust. One of his main academic contributions in the area of human rights was the production of a 30-minute documentary on the legacy of John Peters Humphrey (one of the principal drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). He served for many years as one of four vice-presidents of the International Human Rights Education Consortium based at Utica College, Utica, NY. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he serves as the Vice-Chair of the Council of Priests for the Diocese of Saint John and is a member of its personnel board.