Catholic returns to Phoenix to head tuition organization

By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun
August 2, 2007

Paul Mulligan, the new director of the Catholic Tuition Organization of the Diocese of Phoenix, wants to make Catholic education available to every household.

“You have the power to send underprivileged kids to Catholic school and it doesn’t cost you a thing,” Mulligan said at his Phoenix office July 10, his second day on the job.

MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of Catholic Schools, is already impressed with Mulligan’s vision.

“He is organized and very articulate,” she said. “He is ready to move the organization in a positive direction.”

The tuition organization, thanks to state tax credits, works to provide affordable tuition opportunities through grants and scholarships. The dollar-for-dollar tax credit is available for up to $500 per individual or $1,000 for a married couple filing a joint tax return.

A new law implemented last September allows corporations to make contributions to a school tuition organization like the Catholic Tuition Organization and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to the amount of its tax liability.

Mulligan and his wife Michelle are parishioners at St. Thomas the Apostle. The two met while representing Brophy College Preparatory and Xavier College Preparatory at the 1987 papal Mass at Arizona State University.

Their three children will be attending Catholic schools when classes resume this month.

Before taking on his new job in the diocese, Mulligan served for six years as director of the Gabriel Network in Maryland, a faith-based, non-profit organization that supports women and families facing crisis pregnancies.

The John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family graduate served the country for seven years in active duty in the U.S. Navy after graduating from Brophy in 1988.

Mulligan, challenged by his classmates’ apathy toward abortion, began a social justice group on campus in 1984 as a high school freshman. In the Navy, he led sailors in efforts to feed the poor in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan.

As the tuition organization’s director, Mulligan wants to make it easier for Catholics to give. But he feels most Catholics aren’t aware of the tax credit opportunity.

“It’s the closest thing to school choice we have in Arizona,” he said.

Mulligan’s enthusiasm is one reason why the tuition organization’s board of directors hired him.

“He’s the kind of person who looks at things from a lot of angles and then comes up with another question,” said Margaret A. Gillespie, president of the board of directors.

“The person who was going to fill this spot had to be a Catholic who lives his faith,” she added.

“He’s a man of deep faith,” said Holy Cross Father John J. Dougherty, a board member. “We’re looking forward to working with Paul. Our goal is to make Catholic education available to all.”

The Catholic Tuition Organization of the Diocese of Phoenix was established in 1998, thanks to the Arizona Tuition Tax Credit. It is a non-profit organization under the 501(c)(3) IRS tax code.