Tom Holloran (1929-2024) was a giant in the Twin Cities. With his death on February 15, 2024, he leaves behind a legacy in the business, legal, religious, public service, and academic spheres.

Holloran, a humble and service-oriented leader, fostered trust and confidence in everyone he worked with. He was instrumental in the founding of the University of St. Thomas School of Law and the namesake Holloran Center.

The Holloran Center would like to share the below articles and obituaries about Tom Holloran so that our national community can learn more about the man who inspired our mission and our work.

Obituaries

“The School of Law that we know today would not exist without Tom Holloran”: Read the story in the University of St. Thomas Newsroom here.

“He is someone who was truly a servant leader”: Read the Star Tribune memorial here.

“Servant-leader and mentor”: Read the University of Minnesota Law News article here.

Tom Holloran in his own words

“It’s only when you have the opportunity to look back over your life, that you may realize some of your greatest opportunities came because of adversity”: Read a 2011 profile and interview with Tom Holloran here.

“I owe my very existence to the generosity of a welcoming country”: Read a short reflection by Tom Holloran on his family’s experience with immigration here.

We write to share the sad news that the namesake of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, Thomas Holloran, passed away yesterday at the age of 94, according to his wife, Patty, who was his partner in life for more than sixty years.

Neil Hamilton, Co-Director of the Holloran Center, remembers Tom Holloran as a wonderful example of the deep sense of stewardship and moral courage that we hope to foster in our students.

All of us here at St. Thomas Law have been touched by Tom Holloran’s generous spirit and servant leadership that helped animate the founding of the School of Law over 20 years ago and the creation of the Holloran Center in 2006.

We will offer a fuller tribute in the coming days. For today, we just wanted to share the sad news that Tom Holloran, a shining light of goodness and grace, is no longer with us.