Kevin Albert Ryan (born 7 October 1932) is the founder and director emeritus of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University.
It was toward the end of this period that he met his future wife, Marilyn Snydar, an English teacher from a nearby school.
Books Ryan has written or edited include Moral Education: It Comes with the Territory; Reclaiming Our Schools: A Handbook for Teaching Character, Academics, and Discipline (with Ed Wynne); and Building Character in Schools: Practical Ways to Bring Moral Instruction to Life (with Karen Bohlin).
Professor Ryan has worked overseas with educators in Portugal, Germany, Egypt, Finland, Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Spain.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed Ryan to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.