University Names Athletics Campus in Honor of President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.
The University of Scranton’s Board of Trustees has named Scranton’s south side athletics campus in honor of the Jesuit school’s 25th president, Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., who will leave that position at the end of the 2016-17 academic year.
“Naming the sports complex now under construction The Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus reflects the Board’s desire to recognize Father Quinn for his leadership and service to the University as his six-year tenure as president comes to an end,” said Lawrence R. Lynch, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. “Father Quinn has taken a special interest in the promotion of University athletics and support of our student athletes. Furthermore, he strongly advocated for the development of the athletics campus and spearheaded efforts to raise the funds needed to begin construction.”
The development of the athletics campus received substantial support from University alumni and friends, including a $1 million gift from University Trustee Robert Weiss ’68 and his wife Marilyn.
The $14 million Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus, located along Broadway Street in Scranton, will be home for the University’s soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball and softball Division III NCAA teams. When construction is complete, the 11-acre athletics campus will include NCAA regulation baseball and softball fields and a multipurpose field that meets NCAA standards for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. The campus also includes bleacher seating, a field house with team locker rooms and a training room, parking for nearly 90 cars, a community basketball court and a children’s play area.
“I am humbled and profoundly grateful to the trustees for this honor,” said Father Quinn. “It has been my privilege to serve as president and to have been able to work with so many others to advance together our shared vision of a Jesuit and Catholic university of the 21st century – a vision that is uniquely centered on our students. Having an athletics campus bear my name is more than I could have imagined or expected. I am deeply honored.”
Under Father Quinn’s tenure as president, Scranton has enjoyed national recognition for the value and quality of the education it provides to students. The University has seen its applicants grow to record numbers and has enrolled some of the largest classes in its history. Academic programs have expanded to include new five-year bachelor’s and master’s programs and the University added its second and third doctoral programs: the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Doctor of Business Administration. In addition to the athletics campus under construction, campus improvements include the acquisition and renovation of Louis Stanley Brown Hall, the expanded Commons area and creation of the flag pole terrace, the completion of the Loyola Science Center and the construction of the 117,420-square-foot, eight-story Leahy Hall. The University also completed – through a unique collaboration with outside partners – the renovation of the historic Madison School into an early childhood learning center and graduate housing. Father Quinn also oversaw the development and adoption of the University’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan: Engaged, Integrated and Global.
A passionate advocate for Jesuit education, who has written nationally on the topic, Father Quinn spearheaded the creation of The Jesuit Center at the University to help faculty and staff live out Scranton’s Catholic and Jesuit mission. He has strongly advocated for expanded community-based learning and living-learning communities for students. The University established its first study abroad service site in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where Father Quinn once studied Spanish.
In addition, Father Quinn led several social justice initiatives at Scranton, such as the Living Wage Report for Northeastern Pennsylvania, and has sought support for refugees internationally and regionally.