Six months before its inaugural academic year begins, the board of directors of Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope (“Chesterton Academy”) has named Robert Duffy, Ph.D., as the school’s first headmaster. 

Duffy, 32, is a native Rhode Islander who graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School in 2009.  He received a B.A. in Philosophy and Humanities from Villanova University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University, and taught undergraduate courses at the same institutions.  His academic and scholarly career is marked by prestigious fellowships and honors.  Most recently, he served as the assistant headmaster of a classical charter school in Austin, Texas.

Duffy’s selection concludes a rigorous six-month search by the board of directors that drew candidates from across the country.

According to the president of Chesterton Academy, Michael Casey, the board received 20 applications for the position and interviewed at least five. Board members visited Duffy and met his family. Duffy is expected to start in July prior to the commencement of classes in late August.

Casey said the academy, located at 487 Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, would open with ninth and tenth grades and a projected enrollment of 15 to 20 students. Additional grades would start each following year with the first graduating class being in 2026. Tuition is $8,000.

“Students at Chesterton Academy will encounter the beauty and wonder of reality through a richly classical and Christ-centered education, one that fosters true friendship in the pursuit of wisdom and holiness,” said Duffy in a written statement.  “I am excited to return to my home state of Rhode Island to serve as the founding headmaster.”

“We are confident that we have found the right man for this important educational endeavor,” said Casey.  “He is a man of deep learning and strong moral character.  However, we were most impressed by Dr. Duffy’s love for the truth and sincere desire to bring the light of Jesus Christ to young minds.”

Duffy is married with two young children.  His hobbies include, as he noted in his statement, “reading and discussing poetry, philosophy, and theology, and spending time with friends and family.”

Chesterton Academy will host a ‘get to know you night’ with Duffy in the coming weeks.

Chesterton Academy is an independent classical Catholic high school in Warwick.  In November 2022, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin signed a canonical decree making it an official Catholic high school in the Diocese of Providence.

Chesterton seeks to form young men and women to be joyful saints by introducing them to great thinkers such as Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, and Dante, and by forming them in a distinctly Catholic culture, such that they freely choose the adventure of Christian discipleship.

Visit www.chestertonRI.org for more information.