Board must decide next steps in replacing incoming St. Joe’s president

    On May 18, Father Joseph O’Keefe was set to step into the role as president of St. Joseph’s University. But a physical he underwent as part of the hiring process revealed underlying heart ailments that will prevent him from taking the post. The university is considering its next steps.

     

    The executive committee of the university’s board of trustees will meet Monday to decide how best to proceed. Harriet Goodheart, assistant vice president for University Communications, told WHYY a lot of factors are up in the air.

    “All of that is still to be determined,” Goodheart said when asked who the university is considering as a replacement. O’Keefe was unanimously chosen after a nationwide search, and the university must now decide who will fill the spot and when.

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    O’Keefe was replacing Rev. Timothy Lannon, who is reportedly still pursuing plans to become president at Creighton University in Nebraska. O’Keefe will take leave from his position as dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College to seek medical attention, and is expected to return to a teaching role there in September 2012.

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