A little background: As the decade of the 60’s came to a close,
the Jesuit population of the school was diminishing. Priests were leaving and
the number of men entering the order was decreasing. More and more laymen were
needed to fill the gap. Economically, laymen, who frequently had families to
support, were more expensive than Jesuits (priests, brothers and scholastics)
who took a vow of poverty. As a result, sometime around 1970, the tuition passed
the $1000/year mark, and that seemed to be a magic number. The number of
students who were applying for admittance began to diminish. Of course, it could
also have been that parents began to feel, if there were fewer Jesuits, how was
this a Jesuit school.
I don't refute Fisher’s assertion for a moment, ...but I believe that,
were it not for Bob Hope's "HOPE FOR IGNATIUS" benefit in
1976, we wouldn't have lasted long enough to go co-ed. My assessment is based on
what I perceived as the rise in spirit and confidence around the school
community that was generated by his appearance. Perhaps it is a good time to
mention, for those of you under 35 years old, the magnitude of Bob Hope’s
stature in the world of entertainment. It’s difficult to compare Hope with
today’s comedic personalities, but I dare say that it would be like having Leno
or Lettermen or John Stewart suddenly appear to do a benefit. From the
mid-1920’s into the ‘80’s, Hope was as popular an entertainer as there was. How
Fr. Joe Bowen was able to procure Hope's appearance is worthy of a whole blog in
itself. It seems to have been a combination of Fr. Bowen’s persistence combined
with a fair helping of good fortune. Sometime during the rough financial times
prior to '76, I had expressed my concern about the school's future to Fr. Link,
and he assured me that God would provide, so let's not discount Divine
intervention.
Suddenly, there was a vibrancy that had been missing. The student body increased in size right after that first benefit. The "logician" in me says, "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (After which, therefore because of which), the logical error implying that if one event follows another, there is a cause-effect relationship between them. There were, no doubt, many factors that went into play that brought about a resurgence of energy and enthusiasm, but I contend that Hope’s appearance was a major catalyst.
Hope donated his performance, but he did make some reasonable demands of the school...travel, lodging, a full orchestra and, of course, rental of the Auditorium Theater for the night. However, he also brought Andy Williams and Diane Cannon along. Additionally, Williams made a commitment to perform a benefit at a later time. For those of you who might not be familiar with those names, Andy Williams was a very popular singer and variety show TV host of the '60's and '70's. Diane Cannon was most well-known as an actress, but she was also a singer/songwriter.
Thanks to Don Hoffman for providing me with the names of the stars who appeared, over the next five years. They included Glen Campbell in ’77, Andy Williams in ’78, Ella Fitzgerald in ’79*, Sergio Franchi in ’80 and Victor Borge and Della Reese in ’81.
Sometime after that 1981 benefit, Fr. Rowe made the decision to change the format of the benefits to something with greater “elegance” in keeping with the stature of Saint Ignatius, so the Chicago Symphony Orchestra became the attraction for several years, complete with a orchestral rendition of “Hail Ignatius”. The piece was a big hit.
While the benefits, which eventually included concerts by Natalie Cole, and stage presentations like "Jersey Boys" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" were wonderful, the benefit to the school was out-weighed by the cost and effort to produce them. Keep in mind, the goal of St. Ignatius College Prep is to present the best possible educational opportunities and environment...and that doesn't come cheap.
(*Ella did appear, but I’m relying on my memory for the year.)
Suddenly, there was a vibrancy that had been missing. The student body increased in size right after that first benefit. The "logician" in me says, "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (After which, therefore because of which), the logical error implying that if one event follows another, there is a cause-effect relationship between them. There were, no doubt, many factors that went into play that brought about a resurgence of energy and enthusiasm, but I contend that Hope’s appearance was a major catalyst.
Hope donated his performance, but he did make some reasonable demands of the school...travel, lodging, a full orchestra and, of course, rental of the Auditorium Theater for the night. However, he also brought Andy Williams and Diane Cannon along. Additionally, Williams made a commitment to perform a benefit at a later time. For those of you who might not be familiar with those names, Andy Williams was a very popular singer and variety show TV host of the '60's and '70's. Diane Cannon was most well-known as an actress, but she was also a singer/songwriter.
Thanks to Don Hoffman for providing me with the names of the stars who appeared, over the next five years. They included Glen Campbell in ’77, Andy Williams in ’78, Ella Fitzgerald in ’79*, Sergio Franchi in ’80 and Victor Borge and Della Reese in ’81.
Sometime after that 1981 benefit, Fr. Rowe made the decision to change the format of the benefits to something with greater “elegance” in keeping with the stature of Saint Ignatius, so the Chicago Symphony Orchestra became the attraction for several years, complete with a orchestral rendition of “Hail Ignatius”. The piece was a big hit.
While the benefits, which eventually included concerts by Natalie Cole, and stage presentations like "Jersey Boys" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" were wonderful, the benefit to the school was out-weighed by the cost and effort to produce them. Keep in mind, the goal of St. Ignatius College Prep is to present the best possible educational opportunities and environment...and that doesn't come cheap.
(*Ella did appear, but I’m relying on my memory for the year.)
It's Dyan (not Dianne) Cannon. best known for being married to Cary Grant.
ReplyDeleteSICP Tuition 1969-70: $500
1970-71: $650
1971-72: $780
1972-73: $800 or $820 ?
Enrollment bottoms out around this time, but incoming classes started to grow in the succeeding years as the tuition stabilized with several years of only modest increases.