| | | | | Dear Friends,
Greetings! Sunday, August 14 will be my last day as interim president of Regis. I write to thank you for your support during a really terrific year. It was a good year to be interim, as it came on the heels of a number of significant milestones in our school history: the conclusion of a fantastic Centennial celebration, the finishing of the Strong to Endure capital campaign, the completion of our New York State Association of Independent Schools accreditation, and the hiring of a great new president.
With those major events behind us, we had time for substantive conversations at the board level about our mission as a school. With the faculty and staff, we initiated an in-depth look at the future of learning and teaching at Regis. Building on the strong momentum generated these past few years, we were able to focus our attention on the fundamentals which will continue to support our "Second Century, Second Founding" efforts.
The Regis Centennial was the culmination of Fr. Phil Judge, SJ '80's ten years of leadership, and this past year was built on the foundation he put in place. Regis will long remain indebted to Fr. Judge and I express my deep gratitude to him for making things that much easier for me. I thank the Board of Trustees, in particular our board chair Mr. Peter Labbat '83, for inviting me to serve as interim president. We are blessed with outstanding Board leadership. Regis is also blessed with an extraordinary faculty and staff and I will always be profoundly grateful to you all for your support throughout the year, and for welcoming me back into the ranks as I return to my position at Director of Ignatian Identity and Faculty Chaplain. A real highlight of the year has been getting to know and work with so many devoted parents and alumni parents. Thank you so much for all you do!
As I finish this year I am acutely conscious of the fact that we could not move forward with the confidence we do without the deeply generous support of our alumni. I started with two strikes against me: I am an alum of St. Peter's Prep and I live in the Xavier Jesuit community. But you very graciously overlooked those shortcomings. I thank you for the many terrific conversations I had with so many of you. Your love for your alma mater is unparalleled, and your support is second to none.
Finally, I offer a word of thanks to Fr. Dan Lahart, SJ for his taking on the role of president of Regis. Again I thank the Board for an outstanding search process (and the Provincial of the Maryland Province for making him available to us) which resulted in Fr. Lahart's coming to Regis. Fr. Lahart's leadership is a key reason why I really do believe that our best days are ahead of us. Welcome, Fr. Lahart! It is a very exciting time to be a member of the Regis community. Ad multos annos! | | | With great gratitude,
James P. Croghan, SJ | | | | | | | | |
