[1] He attended Pennsylvania State University for a year before entering the Holy Ghost Fathers' St. Mary Seminary in Norwalk, Connecticut.
[1][2] He taught at Duquesne as a theology professor from 1970 to 1976, and has written two books and several articles on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
[1] Nesti was the first Duquesne president selected by a search committee rather than appointed directly by the provincial of the Holy Ghost Fathers.
While the Duke staff was chastised by the administration because of a "vulgar" and "tasteless" April Fools' Day edition of the paper,[4] the Tamburitzans were angered at the cancellation of a 1987 world tour and investigation into their institutional practices by Academic Vice President Rolando Bonachea.
[5] Nesti also met with objections by the faculty senate on his handling of academic affairs, as well as resistance by students on campus policies.
[9] At the time, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opined that "Donald Nesti pursued a commendable goal—a renewed commitment to excellence and accountability—in a clumsy and insensitive manner".