University of Scranton president dies from ALS complications

Mar. 11—In one of his last messages to the University of Scranton community, the Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., encouraged students to find God in all things, even in troubling times.

"Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God," the university president wrote, quoting St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Throughout his life, including since his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis three years ago, Pilarz found God. He also found love for and from the Scranton community. Devoted to his faith and the university, Pilarz died Wednesday from complications of ALS. He was 61. His obituary appears on page B8.

Pilarz spent the last year away from members of the campus community, as the progressive nerve disease made him highly susceptible to COVID-19. Isolated in his apartment in a sophomore residence hall, he made decisions on how to bring students safely back to campus for in-person instruction. He called the last year the most challenging in his career — not because of the disease that robbed him of his mobility, but because of the obstacles the university and higher education faced.

"Father Pilarz guided us calmly and confidently through the pandemic's chaos, focused always on our students and on the sacred mission to provide them with a transformational Catholic and Jesuit education," James M. Slattery, chairman of the board of trustees, wrote in a letter to the campus community announcing Pilarz's death. "He met other challenges head-on as well, harnessing our strengths to serve the needs of the community and the wider world."

Pilarz first served as president from 2003 to 2011, leading the university through its largest capital campaign and campus expansion. The New Jersey native then served as president of Marquette University, and later, at Georgetown Preparatory School. He felt the call to come back "home" to Scranton. The expert on medieval and Renaissance literature announced his diagnosis of ALS just a few weeks before his second inauguration in 2018.

"Anyone who spent time with Father Pilarz experienced his humor, compassion and genuine humanity," Slattery wrote. "He was a person for others in every sense, devoted to a life of service that exemplifies what it means to be a Jesuit and a priest. Along the way, the depth of his vocation and of his love for all that makes us human inspired countless students, alumni, parents, friends and colleagues to see beyond themselves and to strive for something more."

Heartbroken students, staff and alumni shared memories on social media after the announcement late Wednesday afternoon. Forced to stay apart due to the coronavirus pandemic, members of the campus community mourned together virtually.

Alumni shared how Pilarz inspired them, and even married some graduates who met on campus. They shared photos of Pilarz with his bulldog, Jack, the former mascot of the Georgetown Hoyas. Students and faculty said he personified bravery and dignity and served as an "extraordinary model of Jesuit ideals," as one post said.

Returning to the university to serve a second term as president showed the tremendous love Pilarz had for the community, Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera said.

"Since first coming to know him personally in 2003, I have witnessed first-hand his commitment to Jesuit ideals, the mission of the University of Scranton and most especially to the students and faculty of the university," he said in a statement Wednesday. "His deep faith, humanity, insight and vision were blessings and gifts he shared freely with all of us. I will miss him as a friend and colleague in ministry."

Pilarz announced in August this would be his last year as president, and he hoped to serve as an advocate for ALS patients and research in his retirement. Jeff Gingerich, Ph.D., university provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, will serve as acting president. As previously announced, Joseph G. Marina, S.J., provost and vice president for academic affairs at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, begins his term as president in June.

During his first tenure as president, Pilarz requested a quote from 16th century Jesuit poet Robert Southwell be etched onto the new campus center. The words served as a daily reminder of the campus he shepherded and the great love he felt for it. Those words encouraged him to come home three years ago.

"Not where I breathe, but where I love, I live."

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.