Tufts announced yesterday that Father David O'Leary would be the next University Chaplain, succeeding outgoing Interim Chaplain Patricia Budd Kepler. O'Leary is believed to the first Roman Catholic priest named as chaplain of a private university.
Calling O'Leary a "catholic with a small 'c'," Provost Sol Gittleman said Tufts could not have asked for a "more qualified and committed" spiritual leader.
When former University Chaplain Scotty McLennan announced he would depart in 2001, Kepler was brought on to serve temporarily. Last year's presidential search and questions as to the future of the office delayed the University's naming of a successor until now.
O'Leary has served as Tufts' Catholic Chaplain since 1998, and will be replaced when he assumes the Chaplaincy on July 1. His successor in that capacity will be designated by the archdiocese but must be approved by Tufts.
In addition to directing the Catholic Community at Tufts (CCT), O'Leary leads Sunday masses and assists other area churches. He will continue to teach courses in the Department of Comparative Religion.
"We decided we had a strong internal candidate," Gittleman said. The Provost added that O'Leary expressed interest in the position within days of McLennan's departure.
Gittleman said Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Jeffrey Summit was uninterested in the position. Summit was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The controversy surrounding the Catholic Church in Boston did not factor into the decision to hire O'Leary, Gittleman said. "David O'Leary does not have to be judged by problems of the Catholic Church today," he said.
CCT president Susan Murphy has worked with O'Leary for four years and said his appointment was a "great step" for the University. O'Leary was a large part of the driving force that has worked to rebuild the Catholic community, she said.
"I feel that he's very open and works very well with all the different chaplains, she said. "His background is diverse; I feel like he'll be a great asset."
Junior Erika Robbins, current treasurer and president-elect of Hillel, said she congratulated O'Leary and wished him luck in his new office.
O'Leary received his doctorate degree in philosophy from Oxford University. He attended St. John's Seminary College and School of Theology for both his undergraduate and graduate degree. He also served as a chaplain in the US Air Force Reserve, and taught ethics at the Air Force Academy in Denver and at Air University in Alabama.
