Deignan is Emerita Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College, and the founding director of the Kathleen Deignan, CND Institute for Earth and Spirit.. She received her master's degree in Spirituality Studies and her doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University in New York, where she was to later be awarded the university's Sapientia et Doctrina Award for her service to renewal of the church in 2009.
Deignan is a former professor of Religious Studies at Iona College and the founder of the Kathleen Deignan, CND Institute for Earth and Spirit. She completed her master's degree in Spirituality Studies and her doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University, where she was later awarded the Sapientia et Doctrina Award for her efforts to renew the church in 2009.