The Jesuit priest who presided over President Joe Biden‘s inaugural Mass resigned from his post as president of Santa Clara University in California after an investigation uncovered he participated in unprofessional, alcohol-influenced conversations with graduate students.
Rev. Kevin O’Brien notified the Board of Trustees that he was resigning as of May 9, and the board accepted the resignation the next day, John Sobrato, the chairman of the board, announced in a statement on Wednesday. Lisa Kloppenberg is serving as acting president of Santa Clara University, a term she said will last while the board searches for a new president.
Two months ago, O’Brien had been placed on leave by the USA West Province, and an independent investigation was conducted on behalf of the Province, Sobrato said in a March 18 letter to the Santa Clara University community.
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That inquiry has been completed, Sobrato said Wednesday, noting that it found “Father O’Brien engaged in behaviors, consisting primarily of conversations, during a series of informal dinners with Jesuit graduate students that were inconsistent with established Jesuit protocols and boundaries. The Province also advised the Board that alcohol was involved and that no inappropriate behavior was found in any settings outside of these dinners.”
A group called the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called for the Jesuits to broaden the investigation into other locations O’Brien was previously employed, such as Georgetown University. “SNAP is alarmed with the limited amount of information that has been provided about the case and wants to see the probe expanded,” the group said in a statement to the Associated Press.
O’Brien had been president at the university since July 2019 and presided at Biden’s inaugural Mass in January. Rev. Scott Santarosa, head of the Jesuits West Province that conducted the investigation, said O’Brien decided to step down “with care for the faculty, staff, students and entire Santa Clara community.”
The Province directed O’Brien “to remain on leave and to enroll in a four- to six-month therapeutic outpatient program, which he has now begun, to address related personal issues, including alcohol and stress counseling,” Sobrato said.
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The Washington Examiner contacted SCU and SNAP but did not immediately receive a response.
