The Reverend William J. Byron, S.J., is pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, DC. From 1992-2000, he taught "Social Responsibilities of Business" in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, where he held an appointment as Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Ethics and served as rector of the Georgetown Jesuit Community. From 1982-1992, he was president of The Catholic University of America. Prior assignments include service as president of the University of Scranton (1975-82), dean of arts and sciences at Loyola University of New Orleans (1973-75), and various teaching positions in his field of economics and social ethics.

Father Byron, who writes a syndicated bi-weekly column for the Catholic News Service, is the author of Toward Stewardship (Paulist, 1975), Quadrangle Considerations [Loyola, 1989 (winner of the Catholic Press Association's 1990 Best Book Award in Education)], Take Your Diploma and Run! (Paulist, 1992), Finding Work without Losing Heart (Adams, 1995), The 365 Days of Christmas (Paulist, 1996), Answers from Within: Spiritual Guidelines for Managing Setbacks in Work and Life (Macmillan, 1998), Jesuit Saturdays: Sharing the Ignatian Spirit with Lay Colleagues and Friends (Loyola, 2000); he also edited The Causes of World Hunger (Paulist, 1982) and Take Courage: Psalms of Support and Encouragement (Sheed & Ward, 1995).

He is a trustee of CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Washington Jesuit Academy, and Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. He was a founding director and past chairman of Bread for the World, a public member of the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and an original member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Commission on National and Community Service (now the Corporation for National Service).

He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Maryland, two theology degrees from Woodstock College, and a bachelor's degree in philosophy and master's in economics from Saint Louis University. He was the 1999 recipient of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities' Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for his contributions over the years to the advancement of Catholic higher education. In that same year he received the Council of Independent Colleges’ Academic Leadership Award. He is the recipient of 25 honorary degrees.

A native of Pittsburgh, Father Byron grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School. After service in the army's 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in 1945-46, he attended Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia for three years before entering the Jesuit order in 1950. He was ordained a priest in 1961.