Rev. Joseph Allan Panuska, S.J. (July 3, 1927 – February 28, 2017) was an American priest of the Society of Jesus. Panuska served as the president of the University of Scranton from 1982 to 1998, as academic vice president and dean of faculties at Boston College from 1979 to 1982, as provincial of the seven-state Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus from 1973 to 1979, after serving as a biology professor and director of the Jesuit community at Georgetown University from 1963 to 1973.
Early life and education Joseph Allen Panuska was born on July 3, 1927, in Baltimore, Maryland. He is of Bohemian ancestry.
He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a public high school of 2,300 students, and graduated in 1945 as the valedictorian of his class.
He received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Loyola College in 1948. In 1954 he was awarded a licentiate in philosophy and in 1958 he earned a doctorate in biology, both from St. Louis University. Panuska received a licentiate in sacred theology from Woodstock College in 1961. In 1974, Father Panuska was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Scranton.
Career
Early career In 1960, he was ordained as a Jesuit priest at Woodstock. He completed his Jesuit tertianship at Münster, Germany, in 1962. He then served as an instructor and NIH postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1962 until 1963. After serving as an assistant professor of biology at Georgetown University from 1963 to 1966, he was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1966 and finally to the rank of full professor in 1972 at Georgetown University. From 1969 to 1970, Panuska was on sabbatical as a visiting scientist and fellow at the Department of Pathology of Cambridge University. He then returned to Georgetown where he continued to serve as a professor of biology and also became the rector of the Jesuit community from 1970 until 1973. From 1970 until 1973, Panuska served as a trustee of the University of Scranton and as a member of the Academic Affairs Committee. Father Panuska held the post of Provincial of the Jesuit community of the seven-state Maryland Province from 1973 until 1979. He then served as the academic vice president, dean of faculties, and professor of biology at Boston College from 1979 to 1982. In this position, he was responsible for overall planning and financial decisions concerning the academic area of the college, comprising the admissions, university libraries, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the Schools of Education, Law, Management, Nursing, and Social Work at the 14,000 student institution.
Time as president at the University of Scranton In 1982, Father Panuska became the president of the University of Scranton, succeeding Father Byron. He served in this position until resigning in 1998. During his sixteen-year tenure as the president of the University of Scranton, Panuska led the university through a period of great growth and expansion, including physical improvements to the campus; a significant increase in the number of faculty members; and increasing the academic excellence and standing of the university. When he became president, the university had not built any new buildings for about fifteen years. Panuska led the university in a construction campaign, beginning with Redington Hall, a student residence, and culminating in the construction of 15 new buildings and renovation of existing facilities, at the cost of around 110 million dollars. In order to fund these ambitious and visionary building projects, he led the university through two successful fundraising campaigns, the Second Cornerstone and the Campaign for Scranton: Shaping the Future of a Jesuit University. The expansion of the physical plant was accompanied by an equally significant growth in the university's academic quality. During Pansuka's tenure as president of the University of Scranton, the student body expanded, its faculty increased, and more academic programs were put into place. Panuska also oversaw the creation of a new undergraduate school, the College of Health, Education, and Human Resources, which grew into a very successful component of the university. After Panuska's retirement, the university renamed this college in his honor as the Panuska College of Professional Studies. Admission standards and selectivity increased, allowing more rigorous academic programs. Additionally, the university began to draw more heavily from outside the area. While the emphasis had previously been on teaching alone, Panuska emphasized scholarly research with the faculty, feeling that this made teachers more inspiring from their grasp of the future. Finally, under him the university grew in stature and reputation, gaining national recognition for the first time and becoming more widely known in academic circles. Since 1983 the university has been ranked consistently as one of the top small universities of the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states. After his resignation, in recognition of his exceptional service to the university, the board of trustees conferred upon him the title of President Emeritus, making him the first former president to receive such an honor.
When news of Father Panuska's appointment was announced, he outlined his hopes and goals for the University of Scranton, stating that his ultimate goal was "an excellent educational environment which is filled with a faith that does justice to all." Noting the great contributions of former Presidents Father William Byron and Father Dexter Hanley, Panuska stated that he hoped to "make significant strides towards even greater academic quality and service." He stressed the importance of "working with the students, faculty, and staff at the university" as well as "relating to the city," an important part of the university community, in order to allow the university to live up to its full potential. Panuska wanted to help "the young people who come to us to learn, … achieve their best by supporting an educational situation and campus life that helps them be integrated in their life-value."
College of Health, Education, and Human Resources In 1987, under Fr. Panuska, the university created a new college, named the College of Health, Education, and Human Resources which took four of its departments, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Education, and Human Resources, from the College of Arts and Sciences and combined them into a new academic college. Dr. Richard Passon, the university's former provost and academic vice-president, stated that "We determined that, because of their specialized nature, our programs in these fields should be organized within a separate division." Each of these fields involves the preparation of students for a professional field, requires internships or apprenticeships, is subject to frequent evaluation by various external agencies, and necessitates the licensing or certification of the student in order to allow them to practice the profession. Thus, the university decided that "administering these programs through a distinct academic unit [would] enhance [its] ability to respond to these needs."
At the time of the college's creation, nearly 15 percent of the university's undergraduate students majored in these programs. Additionally, "there is a growing interest among students in the health care and human resources fields, and in fact a revival of interest in education, ... a need for professionals in these fields," requiring the greater focus of a separate academic division.
While retaining the university's traditional emphasis on a broad, liberal arts education through required general education courses, the College of Health, Education, and Human Resources incorporated a service-learning component. Committed to the Ignatian mission of creating "women and men for others," the College of Health, Education, and Human Resources requires that students perform community service through coursework and projects as a requirement for graduation. In this way they come to understand the service aspects of their prospective careers in personal and comprehensible terms.
Since its founding, the College of Health, Education, and Human Resources, later renamed as the Panuska College of Professional Studies, has greatly expanded to include both graduate and undergraduate programs in the fields of Community Health Education, Counseling and Human Services, Education, Exercise Science and Sport, Health Administration, Human Resources, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy.
Campus improvements and new buildings
During Panuska's tenure as president of the University of Scranton, he oversaw a period of considerable improvement and construction on the physical plant of the campus. In addition to renovations to many existing structures, 15 new buildings were built on campus at a cost of over 110 million dollars paid for with the help of two large and highly successful capital campaigns, the Second Cornerstone and the Campaign for Scranton: Shaping the Future of a Jesuit University.
Microsurgery Lab In 1983, the university constructed a microsurgery lab, a collaborative effort between Mercy Hospital and the university. Microsurgery, conducted underneath a microscope, permits surgeons to perform sensitive and delicate procedures which could not be done otherwise in areas such as ophthalmology, gynecology, urology, neurosurgery, cardiac and general vascular surgery, plastic surgery, and orthopedic surgery. The lab gives local surgeons the opportunity to develop their abilities to perform such procedures while also allowing students to conduct research and gain invaluable experience.
Rev. John J. Fitzpatrick, S.J. Field In 1984, the university completed construction on its very first athletic field in the school's ninety-six history, which began in 1982 after the university acquired the land from the Scranton Redevelopment Authority. The land had previously been used as a rail yard for the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad. The facility was designed as a multi-sports complex, complete with a regulation-size field for men's and women's soccer along with other sports and intramurals. It has bleachers seating 350, indoor facilities, and a parking lot. Panuska saw the field as fostering "the development of a total learning environment, an environment which supports a balanced life."
The university's board of trustees named the field in honor of Rev. John J. Fitzpatrick, S.J., a long-time booster of the university's athletic programs and dedicated member of the university community for twenty-two years. Fitzpatrick founded the club football team (which played between 1967 and 1978) and offered pre-game prayers at many of the Royals' sporting events. A dedication plaque on the field reads: "Because he is an exemplary priest, long dedicated to the students of the University, and especially to its student athletes, this first athletic field of the University of Scranton is lovingly dedicated to a living proof that 'Reaching for the rising sun is surely worth the cost.'"
In 1997, a re-dedication ceremony celebrated the installation of new artificial turf and improved lighting for the field. Fitzpatrick Field remains the university's primary outdoor athletic facility and is used for the Royal's varsity soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse teams. The field is also used for intramural flag football, ultimate frisbee, soccer, and field hockey.
Gonzaga House