PC Degrees: B.A./Political Science
                  Honorary Doctor of Civil Law - 2006

Career Path: Judge Shea retired in 2005 after serving in the legal, legislative, and judicial fields for 50 years. Beginning his career as an attorney in 1955, he remained in private practice in Providence until 1968. During that time, he served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1960 to 1968 and was deputy majority leader in 1967-68.

In 1968, Shea was appointed executive assistant to then-R.I. Governor Frank Licht. Four years later, he was named associate justice of the Superior Court of Rhode Island. In 1982, Shea became associate justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. After retiring in 1995, he remained active on the bench for the next 10 years. He authored more than 500 opinions during his Supreme Court tenure, ranging from issues involving private citizens, industry, and criminal law to the media and municipal government. 

Among his other contributions, Shea served as a judicial member of the State Council on Substance Abuse, chair of a committee of judges that drafted a new "Code of Judicial Conduct for Rhode Island," and was a co-founder and first president of the St. Thomas More Society of Rhode Island.

Family: Wife Ursula; five children, two of whom are PC graduates; 11 grandchildren

Staying Involved: Shea is a member of the College's Providence President's Council, which he has served for more than a dozen years.

Memorable Quotes: "I have always been grateful to Providence College for the education I received there. The College offered a solid foundation not only in the arts and sciences but also in fields of philosophy, ethics, and morality. I was well prepared for the study of law at Georgetown University and for the practice of law, public service, and finally, to serve on the trial and appellate courts of my state."