William Lane Keleher SJ (January 27, 1906 – October 27, 1975) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was the president of Boston College from 1945 to 1951.

During his tenure, the school oversaw rapid and significant growth in the number of students returning from World War II under the G.I.

[3] The start of his presidency coincided with the end of World War II, and Boston College saw a large increase in student enrollment under the G.I.

[6] To accommodate the enlarged student body, Boston College also hired new faculty members,[5] with an increase in the number of lay professors.

[8] In July 1946, the college acquired three army barracks from Fort Devens Air Base and erected them as dormitories on campus.

[11] In June 1947, construction began on Fulton Hall, which would house the School of Management, and was completed the following year.

[17] In 1948, Keleher oversaw the creation of the college's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program.

[19] In 1943, Leonard Feeney, a Jesuit, became the spiritual director of the St. Benedict Center, which drew many students from Harvard University and Radcliffe College and spurred many conversions to Catholicism.

[21] In 1948, the teachers were interrogated about their beliefs by the Boston College administration, as a former provincial superior hid behind a tapestry and recorded their answers with a notary public.

[21] In January 1949, they wrote a letter to Keleher stating that heresy was being taught at Boston College.

They then wrote letters to the Jesuit Superior General, Jean-Baptiste Janssens, and Pope Pius XII.

[20][23] Keleher stated that they had continued to advocate views "contrary to the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church", which led to "bigotry and intolerance".