Father Keller Returning to Scranton Prep in 2022

Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., vice president for Mission and Ministry, accepts position at Scranton Preparatory School for summer of 2022.
Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., vice president for Mission and Ministry at The University of Scranton, has accepted a position in the Theology Department at Scranton Preparatory School, effective in the summer of 2022.
Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., vice president for Mission and Ministry at The University of Scranton, has accepted a position in the Theology Department at Scranton Preparatory School, effective in the summer of 2022.

Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., vice president for Mission and Ministry at The University of Scranton, has accepted a position in the Theology Department at Scranton Preparatory School, effective in the summer of 2022. In his position at Scranton Prep, Father Keller will return to the classroom and will also provide pastoral support for students, including involvement with the school’s Kairos retreat program.

Father Keller will step down as vice president for Mission and Ministry at the end of the 2021-22 academic year. The division he leads includes Campus Ministries, the Center for Service and Social Justice, and The Jesuit Center. He has held the role since 2019, having previously served as the University’s interim president for the 2017-2018 academic year and as special assistant to the president.

“On behalf of the University, I am deeply grateful for the many ways in which he has helped advance our Catholic and Jesuit mission, from his leadership of Mission and Ministry to his generous service as interim president,” said Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., president of The University of Scranton. “The University community, especially our students, benefit from Father Keller’s deep devotion to personal and spiritual development, and we are fortunate to have his continued service this coming year both in mission and ministries and as a member of the President’s Cabinet.”

“We wish him every grace and blessing as he prepares for this next chapter of his distinguished service to the Society of Jesus,” he added.

“I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to have worked at The University of Scranton for these past years and am especially honored to have served as interim president. In turn, I am grateful to Scranton Preparatory School for the invitation to join the school full time as a teacher and pastoral minister.” Father Keller said. “After 37 years as a high school and college administrator, I greatly look forward to this new opportunity and this new mission that I have received from my Jesuit Provincial.”

Father Keller has served as the rector of the Scranton Jesuit Community since September 2015. Prior to that, he served for 18 years as president of Scranton Preparatory School and is the longest-serving president in the Jesuit school’s history.

He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Wernersville in 1969. In 1975, he received a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Fordham University. He earned a master’s degree with distinction from Weston School of Theology in Boston and a professional diploma in secondary school administration from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education.

He was ordained a priest in 1981 and has served in Jesuit secondary education for 35 years. Father Keller was named principal of Scranton Prep in 1983 and served in that capacity for eight years. From 1991 to 1997, he was named principal of his alma mater, Saint Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, and also served as rector of the Jesuit Community.

In 2016, Father Keller served as a delegate from the Maryland Province for the Society of Jesus' General Congregation 36. In addition to servicing 17 years on The University of Scranton’s board across several terms, he is a past trustee of Fairfield University and Saint Joseph’s University, as well as Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School and Gonzaga College High School.  In 2006, Father Keller received an honorary doctoral degree from The University of Scranton.

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