Jesuit Fr. Scott R. Pilarz Jesuit Fr. Scott R. Pilarz, president of the University of Scranton, teacher and scholar, was named 23rd president of Marquette University Tuesday, Aug. 31, effective in the summer of 2011. He succeeds Jesuit Fr. Robert A. Wild who announced in March that he would retire as president after 15 years.

“Marquette enjoys a national reputation for its pursuit of academic excellence and for the way its students, faculty and alumni live out the principles of Catholic, Jesuit education,” Fr. Pilarz said in a press release issued Tuesday by Marquette. “I have tremendous respect for Father Wild and the remarkable momentum and promise is both exciting and humbling. As difficult as it will be to leave the community I have grown to love at Scranton, I am honored to have been chosen.”

The Board of Trustees unanimously selected Fr. Pilarz, who has served on the Marquette Board of Trustees since September 2009. As the 24th president of the University of Scranton since 2003, Fr. Pilarz saw the school through the implementation of “Pride, Passion, Promise – Shaping Our Jesuit Tradition,” a 2005-2010 strategic plan that included the largest capital campaign in Scranton’s history.

“Fr. Pilarz demonstrates enormous passion for the mission of Catholic, Jesuit education and boasts a record of accomplishment, both as an educator and as a leader, that speaks directly to Marquette’s commitment to excellence,” said Darren Jackson, board chair. “He is the right person to lead our continued growth as one of the nation’s top Catholic universities.”

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