Scranton Preparatory School is a co-educational

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

high school located in

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States.

History

Scranton Prep opened its doors in 1944. At the request of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. The seat of the bishop is St. Peter's Cathedral in the ...

and of Catholic families in the area, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who had recently assumed ownership of the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took t ...

began preparations to open a college preparatory school in the Scranton area. Led by the university's president,

W. Coleman Nevils William Coleman Nevils (May 29, 1878October 12, 1955) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic priest and Society of Jesus, Jesuit educator who became the head of numerous Jesuit institutions throughout the northeastern United States, includ ...

, the Jesuits renovated a building known as the “Annex” on the corner of Mulberry Street and Wyoming Avenue for the high school. The Annex, formerly the Dr. Charles E. Thomson Scranton Private Hospital, was acquired by William Hafey in 1941. Although he had intended for it to be used by the university to expand its facilities, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Europe had caused the college’s enrollment to decline precipitously and made such expansions unnecessary. After renovations were completed, the high school was opened in 1944 for young Catholic men. The Annex served as the high school’s home until 1961 when the construction of an expressway necessitated a move to a new location. After making the Old Main Building of the University of Scranton its temporary home for two years, Prep moved to its permanent location, the former Women’s Institute Building of the International Correspondence Schools, at 1000 Wyoming Avenue. Although founded as a boys' school, Scranton Prep became

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

in 1971 when a fire destroyed Marywood Seminary, a local girls’ academy conducted by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. Although the Prep's staff and operation were for the most part distinct from the university, it was owned by the university and under its corporate control from 1944 until 1977, when it received its official charter of separate incorporation in 1977.

Notable alumni

Bob Casey, Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Pe ...

– United States Senator from Pennsylvania,

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

* Robert P. Casey – former Governor of

P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster, having worked with ESPN, '' Th ...

– NBA coach *

Christopher Doherty Christopher Doherty is an American politician and former mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Political career He was first elected mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2001. Doherty served as a speaker and panelist for the Brookings Institution Amer ...

– former

Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania The Mayor of Scranton is the chief executive of the government of Scranton, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Scranton. The current Mayor of Scranton is Democrat Paige Cognetti. From 1866, mayors were elected by popular ...

Glynn Lunney Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic event ...

– NASA engineer * Malachy E. Mannion – Judge of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...

* Joseph M. McDade – United States Congressman from Pennsylvania * John A. Walsh – Executive Editor for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Robert C. Morlino Robert Charles Morlino S.J. (December 31, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin from 2003 until his death. He was the bishop of Diocese of Helena ...

– Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison The Diocese of Madison ( la, Diœcesis Madisonensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk counties. The are ...

Terrence Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of Pegula Sports and Entertainment which owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with his wife Ki ...

– billionaire natural gas investor and professional sports franchise owner *

Brian Stann Brian Michael Stann (born September 24, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist and U.S. Marine who competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also a col ...

–

Mixed Martial Artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

* Steve Vacendak, basketball player and coach. *

James Donald Walsh James Donald Walsh (born August 9, 1946) is an American diplomat and foreign service officer. Walsh served as the United States Ambassador to Argentina from his appointment on June 14, 2000, until he left the post on May 21, 2003. Walsh was bor ...

–

United States Ambassador to Argentina The United States ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Argentina. Argentina had declared its independence from Spain in 1816 and there followed a series of revolution ...

Marty Flynn Martin Bradshaw Flynn Jr. (born September 18, 1975) is an American politician. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and he previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Flynn is a member of the Democratic Party (Unit ...

– member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 113th District.

Marywood Seminary

Jean Kerr Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins, July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an Irish-American author and playwright born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who authored the 1957 bestseller ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hea ...

– Author and playwright *

Lizabeth Scott Lizabeth Virginia Scott (born Emma Matzo; September 29, 1921 – January 31, 2015) was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir during ...

– Film actress

References

External links

Scranton Prep Official Site
{{authority control Catholic secondary schools in Pennsylvania Jesuit high schools in the United States Scranton, Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1944 Schools in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania 1944 establishments in Pennsylvania