Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., worldwide head of the Jesuit Order, has appointed Rev. Gregory J. O’Meara, S.J., as the next rector of the Jesuit Community at Marquette University effective July 1. He succeeds Rev. Joseph G. Mueller, S.J., who was recently named dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University.
Father O’Meara previously served as an associate professor of law at Marquette University Law School where he was a three-time recipient of the James D. Ghiardi Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence. He left Marquette in 2013 to serve as the rector of the Jesuit community at Creighton University until 2019, where he also served as a professor of law at Creighton University Law School. He is currently finishing a sabbatical at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in the Center for the Study of Law and Society, where he has been researching law and sociology and questions of legal ethics.
Father O’Meara has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and holds law degrees from the University of Wisconsin and New York University. He studied theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His prior legal experience includes working as an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County, where he second-chaired the prosecution of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer; captained the Misdemeanor Team and Drug Enforcement Team; and coordinated appellate briefings. His area of research includes criminal procedure and questions of legal interpretation.
