John O’Keefe has been hired as the new Director of the Brueggeman Center

By Briana Dunn, Staff Writer

The Brueggeman Center welcomed Dr. John O’Keefe as its new director on July 1, 2023.

O’Keefe earned a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Weston Jesuit School of Theology and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Early Christian Studies from The Catholic University of America. 

Prior to Xavier, O’Keefe worked at Creighton University for 31 years as a faculty member where he served as the chair of the Theology Department.

“I got to a point where I was feeling that I didn’t want to be a full-time teacher anymore. I wanted a different set of challenges, and this opportunity really seemed to line up with my background and skills and things like that,” O’Keefe said.

As the Brueggeman Center director, O’Keefe is tasked with allocating and investing in initiatives, activities and programs consistent with the center’s mission. O’Keefe noted that he focuses on the three main sectors of the center’s work.

Community outreach is especially focused on the interfaith community, but O’Keefe noted their focus on other areas of historical engagement, such as the sustainability community, as well. O’Keefe is not only focused on getting to know the different leaders in the Cincinnati faith community and visiting interfaith centers but also working with organizations.

“I’ve been working with the organization Green Umbrella. They do an annual conference called the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit,” O’Keefe mentioned. “I’m on the planning committee for that event.”

Another task is sponsoring events, conversations and dialogue internal to the university. O’Keefe notes this can include speaker events and film events but plans to expand the Center’s reach by incorporating book reading groups next year followed by small group discussions within the university.

“That piece of the job is probably the least developed at this point,” O’Keefe noted. “I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to people, and hopefully they’re going to be rolling things out in that area this semester.”

O’Keefe also has a background in filmmaking and documentary work and is interested in partnering with the Digital Innovation, Film and Television (DIFT) program to produce video projects. The Center has partnered with other campus organizations in the past, such as Bellarmine Chapel, and O’Keefe wants to do more partnerships and collaborations, such as with the Theology Department and  Undergraduate Research.

“I’m open to conversations with anybody on campus about partnerships that make sense with the Mission Center,” O’Keefe stated.

The last point of emphasis is the Brueggeman Fellows program, which sponsors up to eight graduate or undergraduate students to do a year of independent research culminating in some type of immersion experience abroad. O’Keefe’s role involves meeting with these students once a month over the course of the year.

“We’ve been really wanting to get the word out to students that this is really to empower students to follow their own intellectual passions,” O’Keefe said. “It’s not limited to any one major as far as I’m concerned. Any student who has an intellectual passion that they’d like to explore should consider applying for the fellowship.”

The Brueggeman Fellows program is one of the primary student facing initiatives of the center, but O’Keefe hopes to expand their offered activities. O’Keefe hopes to meet with student organizations, like Xavier Student Sustainability, in the future.

O’Keefe doesn’t find any of the three main sectors more exciting than the rest, but he has big aspirations for the Center.

“My hope is to raise more funds for the endowment so that the financial funding of the Center is even stronger than it was when I came in here,” O’Keefe said. “The founding director, James Buchanan, left the thing in pretty good shape, so I want to make sure I leave it in good shape as well.”