SALEM — John D. Keenan had a fascinating year.
As president of Salem State University, Keenan had to take on the ever-changing landscape of modern higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the life-changing journey of donating a kidney.
For his personal and professional accomplishments, Keenan has been named Essex Media Group’s “Person of the Year” for Salem.
“We’ve really transformed ourselves overnight,” Keenan said about Salem State. “Traditionally, most of our classes were in person — in the classroom. In a matter of weeks, we had to transform to become primarily, almost 100 percent online, at least in the initial part of COVID.”
“Last year, (we) transitioned to a sort of hybrid/remote version,” he added. “That opportunity for us to adapt and come out and be even stronger again is something that has been incredible to experience on our campus.”
Keenan also mentioned that COVID-19 has had a horrible impact on multiple gateway communities, including Lynn, Salem, and Revere. He called the experience of seeing what frontline workers had to do during the pandemic “eye opening.”
Besides his work at the university, Keenan had another transformational experience this year: He donated a kidney to a friend from his days at Harvard University, Joe Oehlers.
At the beginning of 2021, Oehlers’ brother reached out to Keenan — as well as Jim Higgins, Mike O’Connell, Tim Sweeney and Ted Kane — to ask if anyone would be willing to be tested to see if they could be a potential donor match. Keenan agreed, and found out in the summer that he was a match with Oehlers, and started the extensive process to see if he qualified.
“Again, it was just an incredible opportunity for me to do something very special for a close friend,” he said.
The procedure took place on Oct. 14.
“I will remember that date for a long time,” Keenan said.
Once Keenan’s procedure ended at around 10:30 a.m., his kidney was flown to Ohio where Oehlers received it. Keenan received a text about 10 hours later from his friend saying that the procedure was a success.
“One of the things that they want you to do is get up and walk as fast as you can, so I was literally out doing a lap around the (Mass General) Brigham floor when I got a text from him that everything went well,” said Keenan. “The fact that the kidney was working ― I literally started to cry. It was a pretty moving experience.”
Keenan ended up leaving the hospital in fewer than 48 hours. This is attributed partly to COVID-19 and hospitals wanting to get patients in and out as quickly as possible, he said.
The Salem State University president also hopes that by making his donation public, he can encourage others to think about the opportunity of making a kidney donation as he did. Keenan actually reached out to a former congressional candidate, Jesse Mermell, who helped to calm Keenan’s nerves regarding the procedure.
“If there’s any way I can be helpful to anybody in that regard, I’m happy to do it,” said Keenan.
With the new year comes time to celebrate. Keenan said that he, along with his other college roommates, will be seeing Oehlers to celebrate the momentous occasion sometime in late January.
