Dr. Thomas Sheeran Elected President of New York State Magistrate’s Association

Dr. Thomas Sheeran, a longtime member of the faculty in Niagara University's College of Education, was elected to the position of president of the New York State Magistrate's Association at its annual conference in September.

In addition to his service to the university, Dr. Sheeran has served as the town justice in Lewiston, N.Y., since 1992 and was re-elected to his ninth consecutive four-year term in 2023.

Dr. Sheeran is the author of dozens of articles, books and monographs, and has presented papers and workshops across the U.S., Canada, and Asia. He is a member or fellow of many professional education and judicial societies and has served in various capacities in the New York State Magistrates Association. Additionally, Dr. Sheeran has served as a member of the senior faculty for the New York State Judicial Institute's continuing education program for town and village justices, presenting programs in various venues across the state. In 2008, he was appointed by the chief administrative judge to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, becoming the first non-attorney to serve on that committee.

The New York State Magistrates Association, comprising approximately 2,110 judges and representing over 1,200 town and village courts, is one of the largest judicial associations in the United States.

Dr. Sheeran is a native of New York City's borough of Queens and grew up in Katonah in Westchester County's Town of Bedford. A graduate of Ithaca College, Dr. Sheeran holds advanced degrees from Ithaca College and Niagara University, and a doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has been married to his wife, Maureen, for 54 years. They have two children, Meaghan and Brendan, and two grand-children, Jack and Rian.