John B. Creeden

The Reverend John B. Creeden SJ
Creeden in 1922
37thPresident of Georgetown University
In office 1918–1924
Preceded by	Alphonsus J. Donlon
Succeeded by	Charles W. Lyons
Personal details
Born	(1871-09-12)September 12, 1871 Arlington, Massachusetts,U.S.
Died	February 26, 1948(1948-02-26)(aged 76) Boston, Massachusetts,U.S.
Alma mater	Boston College Woodstock College
Orders
Ordination	1905 byJames Gibbons

John Berchmans CreedenSJ(September 12, 1871 – February 26, 1948) was an AmericanCatholicpriest andJesuit,who served in many senior positions atJesuit universitiesin the United States. Born inMassachusetts,he attendedBoston College,and studied for the priesthood inMarylandandAustria.He taught atFordham Universityand then atGeorgetown University,where he became the dean ofGeorgetown Collegein 1909, and simultaneously served as the principal ofGeorgetown Preparatory School.

Creeden becamepresident of Georgetown Universityin 1918, in the aftermath of theFirst World War.During his presidency, theSchool of Foreign Servicewas founded, for which he was awarded the Medal of Public Instruction from thepresident of Venezuela.In order to support the post-war enrollment boom, he expanded the size of the campus and established the university's firstendowment.Creeden also significantly reformed the university's organization, including relocating Georgetown Preparatory School to a new campus, installing Jesuitregentsto oversee each of the professional schools, and improving theLaw School's curriculum and admissions standards.

In 1924, Creeden returned to Boston College as the dean of theGraduate School of Arts & Sciences,before foundingBoston College Law Schoolin 1926 and serving as its first regent until 1939 and simultaneously as the regent ofGeorgetown Law Schoolfrom 1929 to 1939. In his final years, he was a spiritual counselor at Jesuit schools inWestern Massachusetts,and then became the dean of Boston College's Evening Division, which later became theWoods College of Advancing Studies.

Early life

John Berchmans Creedenwas born on September 12, 1871, inArlington, Massachusetts,to Irish immigrant parents.He attendedBoston College,before entering thenovitiateof theSociety of JesusinFrederick, Maryland,on August 14, 1890.Creeden taught atGeorgetown Universityfrom 1897 to 1902,and then returned toWoodstock Collegeto study philosophy andtheology;he also spent time studying inLinz,Austria.At Woodstock, he wasordainedapriestby CardinalJames Gibbonsin 1905.

He then spent two years teaching atFordham UniversityinNew York City.In 1909, he was made athletic director and prefect of studies at Georgetown, before being appointed as the dean ofGeorgetown Collegelater that year.During part of his tenure as dean, he also served as principal ofGeorgetown Preparatory School.On February 2, 1910, he was conferred the rank ofgradusin the Society of Jesus.Upon being named president of the university, he was succeeded as dean byEdmund A. Walsh.

President of Georgetown University

Creeden in 1920

Creeden was namedpresident of Georgetown Universityin May 1918,succeedingAlphonsus J. Donlon.In 1918, with theSpanish flumaking its way towardWashington,Creeden resurrected the St. Joseph's Lamp Association, which had become defunct by the early 1890s. On June 10, 1872, a statue ofSt. Josephwas erected in the garden of the university infirmary, between Gervase Hall, Mulledy Hall, and Old South. At the ceremony,John McElroyprayed that the university and its infirmary, in particular, be protected by St. Joseph. During 1872 and 1873, Washington, D.C. was afflicted by ameaslesepidemic. Patients lit a lamp beneath the statue to invoke the saint's intercession. Only a small number of university members contracted the disease, and all survived. In thanks to St. Joseph, students formed the association on February 9, 1874, to keep the lamp burning throughout the year.

On November 20, 1921, Creeden awardedFerdinand Foch,aFrench marshaland theCommander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies,an honoraryDoctor of Civil and Canon Lawsdegree, as well as a golden sword on behalf of the American Jesuits.

Creeden voiced his opposition in 1921 to the Smith–Towner Bill, which was an unsuccessful attempt to create theU.S. Department of Education,because he believed it was both unconstitutional and unwise for the federal government to assert control over education.In the summer of 1923, Creeden developedphlebitis,which severely impacted his ability to discharge the office. By early 1924, he felt that he was no longer able to fulfill his duties, andCharles W. Lyonswas named as his successor in late October 1924.

Campus improvements

Following the end of theFirst World War,enrollment in all of Georgetown's schools increased greatly, especially in theMedical,Dental,andLaw Schools.This put the capacity of existing facilities under significant strain.Creeden responded by buying up property bounded by 35th, 37th, P, and N Streets, adjacent to the main campus. He also sought to enhance the national reputation of the university by creating a Georgetown Publicity Bureau.Creeden established anendowmentassociation, whose goal was to raise $5 million in two years,equivalent to $101 million in 2023.This represented the first time in Georgetown's history that an endowment was sought.

The most ambitious of Creeden's visions was a vast expansion of the built campus known as the "Greater Georgetown Plan". This would have involved constructing a newneo-Gothicquadrangle composed of several buildings on the site of the existing athletic field next toHealy Hall.This quadrangle would have been a new home for the Medical and Dental Schools, a dormitory, a classroom building, and a science building. Creeden also planned to build a stadium nearby that could hold twenty thousand spectators. This grand plan never came to fruition because theDepression in 1921made funding unavailable.

Separation of Georgetown Preparatory School

At the commencement ceremony of 1919, Creeden announced that Georgetown Preparatory School would move to a separate campus at the start of the following academic year.Construction of theNorth Bethesda, Maryland,campus was begun under his predecessor, Donlon.The purpose of this relocation was to remove the younger students from what the Jesuits viewed as the indecent temptations of the city. It was also part of the larger movement among Jesuit institutions in the United States, facing pressure from theAssociation of American Universities,to create separate four-year high school programs and four-year college programs, instead of combined seven-year programs.Despite the school moving away from Georgetown's collegiate campus, Creeden continued to take an active interest in the administration of the preparatory school, frequently visiting and meeting with the headmaster to set policies.

School of Foreign Service established

PresidentCalvin Coolidgeaddressing Georgetown graduates atHealy Hall,with Creeden (center-right) seated with other dignitaries

Following the renaming of Georgetown'sSchool of Foreign Servicefor Edmund A. Walsh in 1958,Henri J. Wiesel,a Jesuit contemporary and acquaintance of both Creeden and Walsh, wrote to the archivist of Georgetown University; Wiesel stated that although Walsh was instrumental in the creation of the school, the true founder of the School of Foreign Service was Creeden. He said that Creeden envisioned the establishment of such a school and frequently discussed the subject, at a time when Walsh was still studying theology as part of hisJesuit formation.His motivation for creating the school was to bring the Society of Jesus into contact with prominent men in government and finance.

Creeden sought to establish the school at the start of his presidency, but this goal was delayed by the First World War.Another Jesuit contemporary verified that Creeden worked closely with Constantine McGuire, another Jesuit, to present the plan for the School of Foreign Service to the board of regents in June 1918.Opening in 1919, the school quickly became well received in government circles in Washington, and Creeden sought to establish an endowment for it. He recruited Walsh,appointing him as the school's firstregent.Creeden believed Walsh's personality was more suited to public life, and put him in charge of recruiting faculty and students and to be the face of the school.In recognition of Creeden's role in the founding of the School of Foreign Service, the president of Venezuela,Victorino Márquez Bustillos,awarded him the Medal of Public Instruction in 1920, Venezuela's highest educational honor bestowed on foreign citizens. He was presented with the award during the VenezuelanMinister of Public Education's visit to Washington.

Law School reform

At this time,Georgetown Law Schoolwas located inJudiciary Squarein downtown Washington.

TheAssociation of American Law Schools(AALS) gave Georgetown Law School a quality rating of B, prompting Creeden to undertake a major reorganization of the governance of the school. In the spring of 1920, he obtained the consent of the board of regents to effectively terminate the semi-autonomous status of the law school, bringing it under closer control of the university leadership. This involved appointing a Jesuit regent to ensure the school was conforming to the tradition and mission of the university (a reform Creeden and a later president,Coleman Nevils,implemented at all of the university'sprofessional schools), and creating an executive faculty that consisted of the president, the dean of the law school, and six professors chosen by the president.

In order to improve the quality of the school, he also had new bylaws adopted, which significantly raised the standards for admission to the law school. Applicants were required to have at least completed four years of high school.By 1925, this standard was raised to require at least two years of college, with courses in history, economics, political science, ethics, logic, and rhetoric. In October 1921, with the support of dean George E. Hamilton, day classes were offered for the first time. Until then, the school offered only evening classes designed for part-time students. Several full-time professors were hired to supplement the part-time faculty that maintained active law practices. Evening students were required to study for four years, instead of the previous three. These reforms resulted in the AALS upgrading Georgetown's rating to an A in 1925. Creeden and other administrators anticipated a decrease in enrollment due to these heightened standards, but this decrease was smaller than expected, and returned to previous levels within several years.

Later years

After leaving Georgetown, Creeden went to Boston College, where he taught philosophy from 1924 to 1926. In 1926, he was appointed to succeed James F. Mellyn as the second dean of theGraduate School of Arts & Sciences,which had been created the previous year.On September 15, 1926, a variety of Boston College's graduate programs, along with itsfaculty of education,were placed under the purview of the new school. The Graduate School was open to both men and women, was located onBoston College High School's campus, and educated manyreligiousteachers in theArchdiocese of Boston's schools.Creeden remained dean of the Graduate School until 1930, when he was succeeded by John F. Doherty.

Creeden then founded theBoston College Law School,and served as its first regent from 1926 to 1939.At the same time, he became the regent of Georgetown Law School in 1929, and held this position for ten years.Following his law school deanships, he served as spiritual counselor from 1939 to 1942 at Cranwell Preparatory School inLenox, Massachusetts,and from 1942 to 1947 at Shadowbrook,the Jesuit novitiate inStockbridge, Massachusetts.He also became the first dean of the Boston College Evening Division, which later became theWoods College of Advancing Studies.On February 26, 1948, Creeden died inBoston.

References

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