dougherty was elected president of duquesne university by its board of directors in may 2001. during dougherty's tenure, duquesne underwent $350 million in building construction, including the power center, a fitness facility which also houses the campus's bookstore and two restaurants, and des places hall, an upperclassman residence hall. in the fall of 2012, duquesne welcomed its largest freshman class in history, a record again topped the following year. duquesne was listed as one of the top twenty most efficient national universities by u.s. news; duquesne was the only pennsylvania school as well as the only catholic school on the list.