William L. Keleher | |
|---|---|
 Keleherc. 1951 | |
| 20th President of Boston College | |
| In office 1945–1951 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Joseph R. N. Maxwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Lane Keleher (1906-01-27)January 27, 1906 Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | October 27, 1975(1975-10-27) (aged 69) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 1937 |
William Lane KeleherSJ (January 27, 1906 – October 27, 1975) was an AmericanCatholic priest andJesuit who was thepresident of Boston College from 1945 to 1951. During his tenure, the school oversaw rapid and significant growth in the number of students returning fromWorld War II under theG.I. Bill. In the span of five years, enrollment increased from approximately 200 students to over 7,500.
To accommodate this growth, Keleher oversaw construction of three permanent buildings, includingFulton Hall, for theSchool of Management, and Lyons Hall. He also relocated several military structures onto the campus for use as student housing. While meant to be temporary, the structures remained for almost 20 years. In 1946,Boston College's School of Nursing was established, and in 1948, the college'sROTC program was created.
Keleher was born on January 27, 1906, inWoburn, Massachusetts. He studied atBoston College High School and then at theCollege of the Holy Cross. Keleher entered theSociety of Jesus in 1926.[1]
He wasordained apriest in June 1937. He then became the assistant to the Jesuitprovincinal superior.[1] On November 1, 1942, he was made the province'smaster of novices.[2]
On August 19, 1945, Keleher succeededWilliam J. Murphy as the 20thpresident ofBoston College.[3] The start of his presidency coincided with the end ofWorld War II, and Boston College saw a large increase in student enrollment under theG.I. Bill. While only 236 students were enrolled in April 1944, in September 1945, 453 students enrolled. In the fall of 1946, enrollment had increased further to 2,811 in the just theCollege of Arts & Sciences and theSchool of Business Administration, setting a new record for Boston College. By 1947, those two schools enrolled 4,572 students.[4] Similarly, theLaw School, which graduated only 6 students in 1945, enrolled 250 students in the fall of that year.[5] The total number of students reached 7,526 in 1949.[4]
In order to transitionveterans into academia, courses were created to allow returning students to review coursework they studied before the war, a special advisor was appointed to attend to the veterans, and credit was given for courses taken while in the military.[6] To accommodate the enlarged student body, Boston College also hired new faculty members,[5] with an increase in the number oflay professors. Faculty salaries increased and aretirement plan was established.[7]
In light of this rapidly growing student body, the physical facilities of the school became overcrowded.[5] During this time, theFederal Public Housing Authority was permitted to donatesurplus federal structures to colleges to accommodate the returning veterans.[8] In July 1946, the college acquired three armybarracks fromFort Devens Air Base and erected them as dormitories on campus. It also relocated one building from theSouth Boston Navy Yard to use as classroom space, and a second building fromGallups Island inBoston Harbor to use as a multipurpose building, authorized by Keleher the following spring.[9] In 1948, Boston College sought to take ownership of the barracks under a new federal law. The city ofNewton opposed this plan because the structures did not comply with the municipal building code. Keleher wrote a letter to the city's aldermen, assuring them that the college intended to replace the barracks with permanent dormitories as soon as possible, and the city eventually approved the plan. However, the temporary structures remained on campus for almost 20 years.[10]
In January 1946, Keleher began a fundraising campaign to build three new permanent buildings.[11] In June 1947, construction began onFulton Hall, which would house the School of Management, and was completed the following year.[12] A service building was also constructed from 1947 to 1948. From May 1950 to July 1951, Lyons Hall was constructed, which housed a cafeteria and classrooms.[13]
In 1946, theSchool of Nursing was established,[14] which enrolled Boston College's first female undergraduate students.[15] In 1947, thedrama program was enlarged into the new School of Dramatic and Expressional Arts. The college'sfootball,basketball, andice hockey teams also resumedintercollegiate competition.[16] Keleher was also involved in early discussions to create theSchool of Education.[17] In 1948, Keleher oversaw the creation of the college'sReserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program.[18]
On June 29, 1951, Keleher was succeeded byJoseph R. N. Maxwell as president of the college.[19]
In 1943,Leonard Feeney, a Jesuit, became the spiritual director of theSt. Benedict Center, which drew many students fromHarvard University andRadcliffe College and spurred manyconversions to Catholicism.[20] There, Feeney preached a strict interpretation of the Catholic doctrineextra Ecclesiam nulla salus: that there is nosalvation outside the Catholic Church. In 1948, the Jesuitprovincial superior transferred Feeney to the College of the Holy Cross, but Feeney refused to go.[20] Three teachers of philosophy and physics at Boston College and one teacher at Boston College High School were adherents of Feeney's view and advocated it in their classes and outside of class.[21]
In 1948, the teachers were interrogated about their beliefs by the Boston College administration, as a former provincial superior hid behind atapestry and recorded their answers with anotary public.[22] The college administration ordered the three teachers not to teach Feeney's view.[21] In January 1949, they wrote a letter to Keleher stating thatheresy was being taught at Boston College. They then wrote letters to theJesuit Superior General,Jean-Baptiste Janssens, andPope Pius XII.[23] Keleher fired the three teachers, and the high school teacher was also fired.[20][23] Keleher stated that they had continued to advocate views "contrary to the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church", which led to "bigotry and intolerance".[23] Feeney publicly and strongly came to the defense of the teachers, leading to thearchbishop of Boston, CardinalRichard Cushing, removing Feeney's priestly faculties and prohibiting Catholics from visiting the St. Benedict Center. Eventually, Feeney was expelled from the Society of Jesus and he wasexcommunicated byPope Pius XII. Feeney's excommunication was lifted in 1974.[20]
After his presidency of Boston College, Keleher was a professor, administrator, and trustee at the College of the Holy Cross. He also worked atCampion Hall, the Jesuitretreat center inNorth Andover, Massachusetts. Keleher died on October 27, 1975, atSt. Elizabeth's Hospital in Boston. Three brothers and one sister were alive at the time of his death.[24]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 20thPresident of Boston College 1945–1951 | Succeeded by |
