Father Bob’s six-year tenure as the superior of the Jesuit community at Spring Hill College comes to an end as he will be moved to Strake Jesuit High School in Houston this June.

The Jesuit Religious Order is different from the parish priests and the archdiocese found here. In Mobile, Father Bob’s main obligation is to his provincial. Since he came to Spring Hill, he has served on the president’s cabinet as Admission Vice President. 

Father Bob Poirier has been with the college since the summer of 2018, when he agreed with his provincial leader to assign him to Mobile, Alabama. Throughout his life, he has spent 25 years in high school and 13 years in higher education. Before he came to The Hill, Father Bob was involved with St. Louis University and their high school. During his time there he worked as a psychologist for the university. 

Dr. Puto commented, “When Father Bob became admission VP, he inherited quite a set of challenges. We were in the process of redoing our mission priorities.” 

This examination takes place every 5 years and is a document that evaluates Spring Hill’s Jesuit values. It was sent to the Jesuit hierarchy in Rome. 

Puto continued, “Father Bob made it happen in a totally professional and thorough way. We passed our mission examination with flying colors, and we owe that to him. He is without a doubt the best and most effective admission officer we’ve ever had.” 

Father Bob reflected, “I love it here. I love the atmosphere where students have been mentored by faculty and they take a lot of initiative and they go on their own and do things that usually someone doesn’t do until they’re in their second or third year of their career. I’ve seen juniors and seniors here do things that were pretty amazing and I would match the graduates of our school, of Spring Hill College with any Jesuit university, whether it’s Georgetown or Boston College or Marquette. I think the men and women here by the time they graduate have as strong education as any of our other Jesuit universities”

Having worked closely with Father Bob, Dr. Puto commented, “Father Bob is a warm, caring, collaborative person that really lives his faith. His Homilies are always extremely thoughtful and very inclusive in terms of how the scriptures relate to us in modern times and our everyday lives.”

The replacement for Father Bob Poirier will be Father Phil Steele, who is familiar with the college as he was the mission officer at the college from 2015 to 2017. Dr. Puto commented, “We’re very lucky that Father Steele is coming back to Spring Hill. It’s his first role as admission VP, but he’s been on our board of trustees since 2015 and he knows the college very well.”

Dr. Puto added, “We welcome Father Steele’s arrival, but Father Bob will be deeply missed by all whom he touched. He will continue his mission of making a positive difference throughout the rest of his assignment.”

For more information concerning the transition, contact campus ministry at [email protected].