Emmett J. McGroarty

Emmett J. McGroarty came to Belmont Abbey College in 2023 from the Catholic University of America’s Institute for Human Ecology. Emmett’s academic work examines the application of personalism to political theory and practice. In that regard, one of the peer-reviewers of his first academic journal article (“Privacy, Property, and Third-Party Esteem in Arendt’s Constitutionalism” Laws 12, no. 5:75 (2023), https://doi.org/10.3390/laws12050075)
commented, “It is rare to come across new contributions to the literature of justificatory theories for property. This article makes such a contribution. It is, simply, an outstanding piece of scholarship.”

Previously, Emmett directed the federalism and education programs at the American Principles Project, which ignited the nationwide movement to defeat the Common Core initiative and which was among the first policy groups to raise concern about student privacy and social-emotional learning. He was one of the founders of the nationwide networking group Truth in American Education, which existed from 2011 through 2017 and which had associated coalition groups in twenty states.

Emmett’s prior work includes service in the government, non-profit, and for-profit sectors. He served on the Trump Transition Team from August 2016 through January 21, 2017. During the administration of George W. Bush, he served at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office for Community and Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, where he worked on regulatory reform. Then, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he served in the Trafficking in Persons Office, with responsibilities for service delivery to victims and the design of the U.S. Government’s public awareness campaign for the identification of victims; the program and its public awareness campaign won numerous awards including the Assistant Secretary’s Program Recognition Award, the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil, and PRWeek’s Silver SABRE. His past experience also includes working as a litigator in two national law firms, serving as general counsel to Phil Gramm for President, and serving as deputy political director of Bauer for President.

He has testified before federal and state bodies on over a dozen occasions. He is a graduate of Georgetown University (AB, Philosophy) and the Fordham University School of Law.