During his 34 years at Xavier University, John Kucia, EdD, has served as the principle assistant to four presidents—or as he puts it “three Jesuits and one Marine.” Kucia retires from the University on June 30 and will receive the Paul L. O’Connor, S.J., Leadership Award at Xavier University’s 180th annual Commencement Ceremony on May 12. The award recognizes an individual who has served Xavier in extraordinary ways, and whose life and work exemplify the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola, as lived by Paul O'Connor, Xavier’s president from 1955 to 1972.
Kucia earned a bachelor’s degree from Xavier in 1969 and a master’s in 1972.