The Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J., who served as President of Creighton University from 2000 to 2011, died Nov. 15 in Omaha after a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72.
Schlegel first arrived at Creighton in 1969, when he began as a Jesuit scholastic and political science teacher. He spent the next several years at Creighton, becoming ordained into the Society of Jesus in 1973 and officially joining the Creighton political science faculty in 1976.
Upon leaving Omaha in 1982, Schlegel served throughout the national Jesuit community as an academic dean at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Executive and Academic Vice President of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, and eventually as President of the University of San Francisco.
He returned to Omaha in 2000 and was installed as the 23rd president of Creighton University.
Former Omaha mayor, Mike Fahey, described Schlegel to reporters at the Omaha World Herald as, “An extremely upbeat, visionary leader.”
This leadership was evidenced by the extensive development of the University that occurred during his presidency. In addition to overseeing substantial enrollment increases, Schlegel led what was, according to a tribute video released by Creighton earlier this evening, “The most ambitious capital campaign in the university’s history.” Entitled “Willing to Lead,” the campaign raised over $450 million to fund the expansion of academic and service programs at Creighton and provide for the addition of 40 acres to the campus with the construction of buildings such as the Ryan Athletic Center, the Harper Center, Davis Square, Opus Hall and the Michael G. Morrison, S.J. soccer stadium.
This past April, Creighton named the John P. Schlegel Center for Service and Justice in his honor.
Schlegel’s influence reached beyond Creighton’s campus too, into a wealth of community partners and connections.
Bill Fitzgerald, a friend of Schlegel’s and former chairman of the Creighton Board of Trustees expressed to the OWH Schlegel’s success in forming relationships with municipal and business leaders, describing him as a “driving force” for the development of downtown Omaha.
The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben named Schlegel their 2008 “Most Honored Citizen.” And in 2011, Schlegel was inducted into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame.
In January 2015, Schlegel was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He made the decision not to undergo chemotherapy treatment though, letting the disease run its natural course and eventually returning to Omaha from Gesu Parish in Milwaukee to spend his final weeks at the Josie Harper Hospice House.
In a May 2015 interview with Mike Leonard of The Telling Well, Schlegel expressed the “true freedom” he felt in his acceptance of his fate.
“This is reality, and we’re going to have to cope with it,” said Schlegel.
His further reflections highlighted his gratitude for a life well spent and his trust and hope in God for whatever the future held for him.
“I really do believe that I’ve spent a lifetime touching humanity in all its many forms,” said Schlegel. “And at the end of the day . . . it’s certainly gratifying.”
“I’m not afraid of death because I’ve had a life that has been just incredibly rich.”
As Creighton mourns and remembers Schlegel in the wake of this news, it reflects upon the lasting legacy he left, not only in the physical aspects of campus that materialized under his leadership, but within the hearts of so many members of this community.
“Fr. Schlegel was a passionate supporter of Catholic and Jesuit education, and a friend to Creighton students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters,” said University President the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J. “He loved Creighton and the Omaha community. He will be missed by many.”
A funeral Mass is being planned at St. John’s Church on Creighton’s campus.
The Rev. John Schlegel, S.J., speaks with a student on campus.