Wheeling University to Name Center for Service in Honor of Father James A. O’Brien, S.J.

September 25, 2025

Wheeling University to Name Center for Service in Honor of Father James A. O'Brien, S.J.

WHEELING, W.Va., September 25 - Wheeling University will name its Center for Service in honor of Father James A. O'Brien, S.J., who spent more than 50 years at the University teaching and serving others.

Dr. Dianna Vargo, University President, said, "Naming the Center for Service in honor of Father O'Brien is most appropriate. Living the very essence of our Catholic mission, Father O'Brien inspired students to serve others."

The University will dedicate the Father James A. O'Brien, S.J. Center for Service during Homecoming and Family Weekend. The dedication will be held at noon on Sunday, October 5, on the First Floor of Swint Hall.

Father David Griffin, O.S.B., Director of Campus Ministry, will serve as the director of the Center for Service.

The Father James A. O'Brien Center for Service will develop and organize projects with campus partners to undertake service projects at the University, in the city of Wheeling, and in the state of West Virginia.

Father O'Brien's niece, Pat (O'Brien) Keys, class of 1980, said Father O'Brien's family is happy that the University will honor him in such a fitting way.

"We are all so proud of his quiet, humble accomplishments, his beautiful connections with everyone, his acceptance of all whose paths crossed his, and the life long lasting impact he had on all of us who were blessed to go to Wheeling College, Wheeling Jesuit College, Wheeling Jesuit University, and Wheeling University. The Father James A. O'Brien Center for Service is a wonderful way to honor his legacy of service to the University, the Wheeling community, and the state of West Virginia," Keys said.

Father O'Brien came to Wheeling in August 1962. Throughout his time at Wheeling University, Father O'Brien instilled in others what it meant to be a person for others, by organizing retreats and leading yearly trips to Big Laurel Learning Center in Kermit, West Virginia, where students and alumni cut firewood to heat the Center. In addition to his faculty position in the Philosophy Department, Father O'Brien was the moderator of the Alumni Council and he founded the student club, Justice and Peace in Our Time.

Even after his retirement, Father O'Brien remained involved at Wheeling University until his death in December 2023 at the age of 96.

In June 2023, Father O'Brien became just the second priest from the University to be inducted into the City of Wheeling Hall of Fame, joining Father Clifford Lewis, S.J. Father O'Brien was recognized by the City of Wheeling Hall of Fame for his contributions and service to Wheeling University and the city of Wheeling.Father O'Brien hoped people would remember him as a person of faith. He once said, "There is a line in an old verse that said one should 'live by the side of the road and be a friend to those who pass by.' That's what I have tried to do - be a faithful person to God and others."