BY KURT MARTONE, NEWS ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR.
In the closing month of this year’s spring semester, Fr. Greg Jakubowicz, then chaplain of St. Bonaventure University, was investigated for creating a hostile work environment for his staff and student volunteers associated with University Ministries.
On April 18, 2021, Jakubowicz, who made a note of attending each on-campus Mass, both the 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. offerings, was not present at either. It was later confirmed that Jakubowicz was off-campus for personal reasons.
On April 25, it was announced by Fr. Russel Murray, the then vice president for franciscan mission integration at St. Bonaventure University, to the congregation at Mass that Jakubowicz was home in Buffalo, taking care of his ailing parents. This was the last public announcement about Jakubowicz made by any school official.
The health of his parents notwithstanding, it was confirmed by an anonymous source that Jakubowicz was barred from campus while the investigation was ongoing. He was allowed to reside at the friary on campus, as that plot of land is owned by Holy Name Province.
“As much as I am happy to see him gone, I still do not want to throw him under the bus,” said an employee of St. Bonaventure, who asked to remain anonymous, “… but I saw what he was doing to the students.”
A source confirmed that as part of the investigation, a ten-page document was written, contributed to by students and employees, filled with words and actions by Jakubowicz that were deemed strange.
In one of the instances on this document, Jakubowicz brought up the topic of masturbation and different sex positions, alone with two other female students.
“He brought it up in a room, with the door closed. We did not really know him at all, this was the second week of classes [last fall semester],” a current student here at the university said, who also requested to be anonymous.
While Jakubowicz was in the hiring process at the university, he asked a staff member whether or not a former student suffered from a mental deficiency. This student was also a member of the student committee that approved Jakubowicz’s position.
A current alumni of St. Bonaventure was also a member of the student hiring committee, a process that is largely a formality. They were the only member present to vote no.
“He just did not have the right vibe,” said the alumnus, who requested anonymity. “He had all these plans to make Bonas great and the ideas were really good. But… it felt like it was hard to talk to him and as if he was listening to us but not hearing what we were saying.”
An employee at the university believes that the pandemic compounded Jakubowicz’s problems.
“He came here in a pandemic when nothing was normal. He did not walk into a functioning situation, he walked into a pandemic,” the anonymous source said, “It is easy to assume that things are broken when things are not running.”
The employee believes that Jakubowicz’s strong personality forced him to take charge, and in doing so, multiple people, including staff outside of University Ministries, had problems with him.
In the beginning of May, the investigation concluded and Jakubowicz was allowed to return to work for the rest of the semester.
In the wake of the investigation, Jakubowicz submitted his resignation. His last day as chaplain of the university was June 11.
Jakubowicz has since removed all posts about the university and his time here from his Facebook page.
Upon leaving the University, which he served at for less than a year, Jakubowicz was immediately re-hired at his old job, at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo, New York.
Jakubowicz did not respond to a request for comment.
Fr. Russell Murray, also resigned as of July 11, in the wake of this investigation.
Yvonne Peace was Murray’s executive assistant, she is now the administrative assistant for University Ministries.
“Fr. Russell was really instrumental in getting Fr. Jakubowicz, an alumni, to come to campus,” she said.
Murray now has a job teaching franciscan postulants at Holy Name College in Bethesda, Maryland.
“I am sad to see both of them go, they each had a lot of unfinished business here at the school,” said Peace.
Upon trying to receive confirmation from the University itself, Tom Missel, the chief communications officer for St. Bonaventure University said, “To protect the rights of both employee and employer, the university does not comment on personnel decisions.”
Missel also shared that the tenures of both of these friars will not change how the university views these positions in the future.
“Dr. Zimmer is leading a collaborative process with the administration, staff, Friars and Holy Name Province to meet the mission integration needs of the University. We are using this interim year to define the roles in the mission integration division and set a plan for filling those roles,” said Missel.
One of the first actions of the new University President could likely be filling both of these roles.
For this interim year, University Ministries is currently under Student Affairs, under the leadership of Fr. Ross Chamberland, who is serving as the interim-University Chaplain and Katie O’Brien.
Martonkd18@bonaventure.edu
LETTER FROM THE FRIARS IN RESPONSE TO THIS ARTICLE
The Franciscan Friars of St. Bonaventure University and Mount Irenaeus join with all the friars of Holy Name Province to affirm that Fr. Greg Jakubowicz, O.F.M. and Fr. Russel Murray, O.F.M. are friar-priests in good standing. We are proud to have them in our brotherhood.
This affirmation of them as people and as brothers is necessary since their good names and reputations have been unjustly tarnished in a recent BV article (9/24) based on negative assertions that rely only on hearsay without providing any corroborating evidence, using only anonymous sources. This goes against reputable journalistic standards, which we strive for here at St. Bonaventure University.
We pray for healing and reconciliation for them and for all members of St. Bonaventure community.
The Friars of St. Bonaventure Friary, St. Bonaventure University
The Friars of Holy Peace Friary, Mount Irenaeus
