Inauguration of the 24th President of the University
“We, on this campus, insist that a Scranton education, a Jesuit education, is a priceless, ineluctable mystery and, ultimately, the work of God's good grace. The interaction between a student and a professor is a rare and precious commodity. It partakes of the sacred, and its worth is impossible to measure.”
Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
First Inauguration Address, September 26, 2003
The Inauguration Ceremony of Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., as The University of Scranton’s twenty-fourth president took place on Friday, September 26, 2003, in the William J. Byron, S.J., Recreation Complex. Award-winning author Suzanne Strempek Shea gave the inauguration keynote address, and she received an honorary degree in humane letters at the ceremony. There were a series of celebratory Inauguration events including: a Community Welcome for invited guests at the Estate on September 18; an Inauguration 5K Run/Walk on September 21, at Nay Aug Park; and an Inauguration Ball for students on September 19, at the Byron Recreation Complex
Fr. Pilarz served as principal celebrant at the Inauguration Eucharist on September 25, in the Byron Recreation Complex. Dean P. Bechard, S.J., assistant professor at Fordham University, served as Homilist. The University of Scranton community, participants and guests who attended the Inauguration Ceremony were invited to an informal lunch served on the University Commons following the ceremony.
The University of Scranton symphonic bands and choirs performed an original composition by Lawrence Wolfe, of The Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Boston Pops, at the Inauguration Concert on Saturday, September 27, in the Houlihan McLean Center. The composition, entitled “All in Every Part,” was based on a poem by Robert Southwell, S.J., called “Of the Blessed Sacrament of the Aulter.”
Inaugural Address by Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., on September 26, 2003, in the Byron Recreation Complex.
