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Notes from Scranton Hall: A Message from the President
November 22, 2011
Dear Members of the University Community,

Before we begin a well-deserved Thanksgiving break, I wanted to share two important developments for our University community.

First, I wish to announce the establishment of The Jesuit Center at The University of Scranton, a new resource within our community that will engage faculty and staff in our mission and will help to keep our Catholic and Jesuit identity at the core of our work together. The Center will foster faculty and staff participation in the Jesuit higher educational mission, support faculty teaching and scholarship that advances the University's Catholic and Jesuit character, and promote Ignatian spirituality within an interreligious context. Through its work, the Center will help to realize one of the key strategies of the Cura Personalis theme of our Strategic Plan which calls us to "… provide faculty and staff, especially those who are new to community, with opportunities to help them understand and appreciate the sacred and centuries-old work of Catholic and Jesuit education."

I have so many hopes for the role that the Center will play in the life of our community. For this reason, I am delighted to announce that Ryan J. Maher, S.J., an accomplished professor and administrator at Georgetown University, has agreed to serve as the founding Executive Director of The Jesuit Center, effective July 1, 2012. A dear friend and colleague, Father Maher is already familiar with the University, having served on our Board of Trustees. He is an articulate champion for the importance of Jesuit-lay collaboration and the role that faculty and staff must play in maintaining the vitality of our mission.

Father Maher and The Jesuit Center will report to Rick Malloy, S.J., who will have the new title of Vice President for University Mission & Ministry. Father Maher will also serve on the President's Cabinet. As part of this change, the University Ministries division will be renamed University Mission & Ministry, reflecting the broader scope that follows the establishment of The Jesuit Center. The division will consist of the following elements: Campus Ministry, Community Outreach Office, International Service Program and The Jesuit Center.



Ryan J. Maher, S.J.
Father Maher currently serves as associate dean of Georgetown College, the undergraduate school of arts and sciences at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. He is also a professorial lecturer in theology and Catholic studies at Georgetown. He previously served as the director of Catholic Studies and was the founding faculty member of Georgetown's School of Foreign Service campus in Doha, Qatar. In the Middle East, he taught theology to the school's predominantly Muslim student body.

He previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and as a teacher at Gonzaga College High School, Washington, D.C., and St. Joseph's Preparatory School, Philadelphia.

Father Maher entered The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1986 and was ordained a priest in 1997. He earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics from Georgetown University. He holds a master's degree in philosophy from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo., and a master's degree in divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif. He earned his doctorate from the University of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif., where he was awarded Best Dissertation of the Year for the School of Education.



As the Church prepares for Advent, a season of promise, I hope that you will share my enthusiasm at the establishment of The Jesuit Center and join me in praying for Father Maher's success as he begins his work next July.

May you and your families have a blessed Thanksgiving.


Sincerely,
Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.
President