Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., Returns to University of Scranton Board of Trustees

The University of Scranton’s next president, Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J. ’H15, has joined Scranton’s Board of Trustees as of June 1.

Father Pilarz, who served as Scranton’s 24^th president from 2003 to 2011, will return to Scranton after completing his term as president of Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., at the end of the 2017-18 academic year. At Georgetown Prep, Father Pilarz led the community in a celebration of the 225th anniversary of its founding, guiding the development of a comprehensive strategic plan and working to secure the largest gift in the school’s history – a $20 million commitment to support building restorations and other strategic plan projects.

During his service as president of Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 2011 to 2013, he spearheaded a strategic planning process and also guided the school into the newly configured Big East conference.

Father Pilarz was the fifth longest-serving president at Scranton and third longest-serving Jesuit president. During his previous tenure at Scranton, the University earned national recognition for academic quality, community engagement and student success, achieving then record admissions and undertaking the largest construction projects in its history. He also expanded international mission and service opportunities and programs to enhance its Catholic and Jesuit identity. Transformational capital projects during his tenure included: the Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Center; Christopher and Margaret Condron Hall; the John and Jacquelyn Dionne Campus Green; the expansion of the Retreat Center at Chapman Lake, the apartment and fitness complex on Mulberry Street; and the Loyola Science Center. The University’s progress was supported by the Pride, Passion, Promise Campaign, the most ambitious capital campaign in the University’s history, which surpassed its $125 million fundraising goal. Other accomplishments included dedicated support for research by new faculty and five endowed chairs to attract top scholars. He was among the 38 successful leaders profiled by Ronald Shapiro in The New York Times bestseller “Dare to Prepare: How to Win Before You Begin.”

As a scholar, Father Pilarz has delivered numerous papers at scholarly conferences on various aspects of medieval and Renaissance literature. He has also lectured and published on topics related to Jesuit education. His book, Robert Southwell, S.J., and the Mission of Literature 1561-1595: Writing Reconciliation, was published by Ashgate Press.

He has received numerous awards for teaching, service and scholarship, including the John Carroll Award from Georgetown University for lifetime achievement, the highest honor bestowed by the Georgetown University Alumni Association. He received the Ignatian Award from Scranton Preparatory School and was awarded honorary degrees from King’s College, Wilkes University, Marywood University and The University of Scranton.

Father Pilarz earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University; a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University; and a master’s degree in divinity from the Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the City University of New York. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1981 and was ordained a priest in 1992.