Ryan served as the dean and executive vice president of Saint Peter's College in New Jersey, and then as provost and executive vice president of Georgetown University.[1] Ryan did not get along with the president of Georgetown, Robert J. Henle, who accused Ryan of trying to undermine him. Relations between the two deteriorated significantly and Ryan refused to meet in his office with Henle, who he believed to be bugging the office. In April 1974, Henle fired Ryan.[2] Two months later, Ryan was admitted to the psychiatric ward of Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York City for treatment of a nervous breakdown.[3]
Ryan became the president of Seattle University on June 6, 1975. He was the first president of the university who was not from the Oregon province of the Society of Jesus.[4] His administration saw significant student protest and financial difficulty,[5] and his term lasted only 133 days before he resigned for medical and personal reasons on March 8, 1976.[4] William J. Sullivan, whom Ryan had recruited to the university in 1975 as the provost for academic development, became the acting president on February 27 and officially succeeded Ryan as president on May 3.[5]
After leaving Seattle University, Ryan became the director of planning and research at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and in 1978, became the executive vice president for academic affairs. He oversaw the renovation of several campus buildings and the expansion of the Bouwhuis Library. During this time, he was also a member of the boards of directors of several high schools in Buffalo. He left Canisius in 1992 and spent a year on sabbatical in California. Ryan then became the special assistant for mission and planning to the president of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.[1]
Ryan died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on January 26, 2001.[1]
