Secondary and Pre-secondary Education

Joseph F. O’Connell, S.J.
Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education
Maryland Province

Father Joseph F. O’Connell, S.J is the Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Jesuit Conference of the United States, serving since August 2006. 

Having spent almost five decades with the Society, Father O’Connell has focused much of his work toward the advancement of various educational initiatives. Early in his Jesuit career, O’Connell served on the faculty of Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton, Pennsylvania in numerous roles. He later worked as an organizational consultant in Cincinnati for fifteen years, assisting religious congregations working toward religious renewal, with emphasis in leadership formation, strategic planning and institutional change. 

Additionally, Father O’Connell worked extensively with private and public school systems on issues of educational reform. In 1986, O’Connell joined the Commission on Research and Development of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (JSEA) in New York City. The following year Father O’Connell became the Director of the Commission, a position he held for nine years. In 1995, he moved to Washington, DC to join the JSEA staff and subsequently served as President of JSEA for nine years. 

Father O’Connell entered the Society of Jesus in 1960, after which he went on to earn a BA in philosophy, and later an MA in English, both from Loyola University in Chicago. O’Connell continued his education by completing a Masters of Divinity from Woodstock College in New York City and a Ed.D. in education focusing on curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University.

As the Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of Jesuit Conference, Father O’Connell assists the Jesuit Conference’s Committee on Secondary Education. He is a member of the Provincial Assistants for Secondary Education (PASE) and serves as liaison with the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (JSEA). Father O’Connell works to maintain a national perspective on Jesuit secondary & pre-secondary education and seeks to be supportive of Jesuit schools and province assistants responsible for secondary and pre-secondary education.