(/prɪˈvɛt/ priv-ET; born 1942 San Francisco, California) is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus.
Born in San Francisco, California, Father Privett joined the Society of Jesus in 1960 and was ordained a priest in 1972.
He has served as an instructor and principal at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California and associate professor at Santa Clara University.
[4][5] Orthodox Catholic leaders around the world expressed support for Galten; they included former U.S. Secretary of Education, William J. Bennett, and Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute, in a full-page ad published in the San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere.
[6] In a memo published nationally, Privett responded to criticism of his decision, stating that the replacement of the SII's leadership would promote "synergies between St. Ignatius Institute and other university programs" and create "efficiencies by consolidating resources.
In January 2007, Privett offered the Invocation at the opening of the 110th Congress and the swearing in of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
He chairs the California Campus Compact and serves on the boards of the Commonwealth Club, the Fromm Institute, Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins and The Beijing Center.