Goddard Chapel is host to a wide variety of events at Tufts, from Beelzebubs concerts to visiting Tibetan monks to religious discussion groups with students from every faith. For the past nine years, it has also played host to Rev. David O'Leary, a Catholic priest who is now the University's head chaplain.
O'Leary came to Tufts in 1998 when the Boston Catholic Church called on him to fill an open position at the Hill. In 2002, he became the head chaplain. Still, he says, it's a surprise that he ended up in his current position.
"I was teaching future priests and the next step for me, I thought, would be to go to Rome and teach at the graduate level," he said. "But I think it's God's will that I'm here, and it's exciting to see God's spirit at work. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be here, and I love it - sometimes the best jobs are never advertised."
Before his sojourn to Tufts, O'Leary lived in Baltimore, where he was a professor of medical ethics. The teaching experience was different there than it has been at Tufts, though.
"I was teaching in a seminary, where there isn't much leeway; it's very restrictive because I was training future priests," he said.
O'Leary seems to have found his home at Tufts. He enthusiastically describes his work here as "wonderful."
"It's the best job, and no day is typical," he said. "My good days are the ones I spend with students, and bad days are the ones when I go from committee to committee."
College students generally come to O'Leary for different reasons than seminary students might, and O'Leary smiles when asked what he likes about working with Jumbos.
"Working with students is wonderful. Tufts students are bright, and it's exciting to launch students on a spiritual path," he said.
Not only does O'Leary counsel students on an individual basis; he also works with student organizations: "I make sure that everyone plays nicely," he said with a grin.
O'Leary serves as a chaplain for Tufts faculty and staff, too.
"My job is a juggling act - some days I have to toss the balls higher in the air to make it work," he said. He has helped one staff member find the path to becoming a Franciscan monk, for example.
O'Leary began his career as a priest studying moral theology, and has since narrowed his field to medical ethics, especially in end-of-life care. His dissertation - which he described as a "cure for insomnia" - argued about the Roman Catholic position on life support, and he came to a possibly surprising conclusion.
"[My dissertation argues that] a person in a vegetative state receiving food and water is receiving what's considered extraordinary care," he said. "People think [they] have to be hooked up to every machine, but they don't - we're finite beings and the plan is for all of us to die. I think people are starting to find that we don't have to use extraordinary methods to keep people alive."
O'Leary's work in medical ethics has earned him a spot on Tufts' Institutional Review Board, which determines what kind of research on live subjects can be conducted at the university.
His on-campus role still does not end there, though. O'Leary also has participated on the Tufts team in the Boston Marathon. In 2003, he tried to run the marathon for the first time, but had to stop early: "I made it 4 hours and 13 miles before I started to hallucinate," he said.
"I've been running again, and I'm thinking about doing the president's marathon this year," he said. "But this isn't a marathon body yet," he laughed.
The multi-denominational character of Goddard Chapel seems to have influenced O'Leary's ideas. He is working on a book right now about the major world religions. The working title is "Play Nice, Pray Nice: What the World's Faiths Teach About Dignity and Respect."
"More people need to learn about what the world religions teach about dignity and respect so that the everyday person could call out the extremists," he said. "I think people need to know the basics about the world religions; most people are only exposed to the extremes, and no one [in media] wants to lead with the middle of the road," he added.
Students at Tufts have helped O'Leary with interviews with different faith groups, and they have done research about various religious texts, he explained.
When he's not writing, advising or running marathons, O'Leary works with The Giving Camp, a community service organization that pairs students with physically and mentally challenged adults.
"The whole point is inclusion," he said. "We do stuff together, like going into Boston or going to student shows. Students get an opportunity to help for a day or two days, so it's not a huge commitment if they can't make one."
