New holder of Heider Chair named
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Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, has announced that the Rev. Patrick Kelly, SJ, PhD, from the University of Detroit Mercy will be joining Creighton in the 2025-2026 academic year as the newest holder of the Charles and Mary Heider Endowed Jesuit Faculty Chair.
The largest donor in Creighton’s history, the Heider family has been closely tied to the University ever since Charles (Charlie) Heider, BS’49, HON’10, earned his Creighton degree. Charlie and his wife, Mary, HON’10, established the Heider Jesuit Faculty Chair in 1994, the first donor-funded faculty chair in Creighton’s history.
The Rev. Don Doll, SJ, professor emeritus of journalism, served as the chairholder for the first 26 years, until 2020. The Rev. Roy Pereira, SJ, PhD, served as the Heider Chair until 2021, but it has remained unfilled since.
Fr. Kelly will officially become the third chairholder on July 1 and join Creighton as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Theology. He will regularly teach courses in his areas of expertise, including the history of Ignatian spirituality, discernment, Jesuits in a global context, faith and cultures, sport and spiritual traditions, and religion and sport in a global context.
I have always experienced research and writing as central to my Jesuit vocation.
— Rev. Patrick Kelly, SJ, PhD
Fr. Kelly has spoken internationally on the social and spiritual benefits of sport. He says that play helps individuals develop interpersonal skills and understand how their gifts can serve a larger whole. He spoke on that topic on campus in June 2024 for the Vatican’s Sport at the Service of Humanity Conference.
“Fr. Kelly’s insights will help Creighton take the learnings from the panelists and guests [from the Sport at the Service of Humanity Conference] so we may actualize them in our curriculum as well as out in the community,” Fr. Hendrickson says.
As the Heider Chair, Fr. Kelly will focus on scholarly research, writing and other initiatives, in addition to his teaching duties. He also will continue to serve as a guest lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome for one semester every other year.
“I have always experienced research and writing as central to my Jesuit vocation,” Fr. Kelly says. “I look forward to having more time to devote to this as the Heider Chair than I have at other times in my Jesuit life.”
Fr. Kelly is the author of two books, Catholic Perspectives on Sports: From Medieval to Modern Times (2012) and Play, Sport, and Spirit (2023). He also edited Youth Sport and Spirituality: Catholic Perspectives (2015) and collaborated with the Vatican in 2018 to revise its first booklength document on sports, “Giving the Best of Yourself.”
