dougherty joined the faculty of creighton university in 1975, chairing the philosophy department there from 1981 to 1989. he served as the first director of the creighton center for health policy and ethics from 1988 to 1995, a position which he left when he was appointed the university's academic vice president. he held that post from 1995 to 2001, during which time he was acting university president for a brief period in 2000.