News
Introducing Jen LaMaster and Patrick Gallagher
Jen LaMaster (above) and Patrick Gallagher (below) take on new roles at the Midwest Province.
The Midwest Jesuits are pleased to announce two new appointments in pre-secondary and secondary education: provincial assistant Jen LaMaster and associate provincial assistant Patrick Gallagher. They will work directly with Midwest Province Provincial Very Rev. Karl J. Kiser, SJ.
After 15 years in public education, LaMaster joined Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, where she held multiple positions over her 13-year tenure. She joined the province office in 2021 and served as associate provincial assistant for pre-secondary and secondary education before accepting her current role.
“I look forward to continuing to serve our 22 schools in faith, mission and solidarity as they bring to life the rich tradition of Jesuit education in the 21st century,” she says.
Gallagher, the assistant principal for faculty formation at Saint Ignatius High School (SIHS) in Cleveland, has been chosen to step into LaMaster’s previous position. A dedicated Ignatian educator, he joined SIHS as an alumni volunteer in 2009. In 2010, he was hired as an English teacher and later chaired the department.
LaMaster succeeds Matthew Couture, who joined the province office in 2011 and now works in a senior ministry role for Felician Services.
Xavier University Medical School Breaks Ground
Construction of Xavier University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is scheduled to be complete in 2026.
Shovels touched dirt in Cincinnati on Dec. 7, 2024, as Xavier University (XU) broke ground on its new College of Osteopathic Medicine facility.
The 130,000-square-foot building will include a state-of-the-art simulation hospital with 16 exam rooms and five flexible simulation rooms, a nearly 200-seat lecture hall, and a 5,600-square-foot meeting hall.
“As we break ground on what will become one of the region’s premier medical teaching facilities, we also recognize the life-changing outcomes our College of Osteopathic Medicine will produce for future students and communities,” says XU President Colleen Hanycz. “This project truly embodies our Jesuit Catholic mission and identity, building on Xavier’s spires of academic excellence, and enabling us to more fully contribute to the universal good while forming students for and with others.”
The college will become the first Jesuit osteopathic medical school in the world and Ohio’s first new medical school in 40 years.
Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2026, and the college will welcome its first class of aspiring physicians in the fall of 2027. The inaugural class of Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine will graduate in 2031, the same year Xavier will celebrate its bicentennial.
JFAN Comes to Toledo and Plans a Return in 2025!
The 2025 Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network (JFAN) event in Toledo will feature comedy by Fr. Jake Martin, SJ.
Following a successful first-ever Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network (JFAN) event in Toledo this past fall, a May of 2025 event is scheduled.
About two dozen attendees gathered at Maumee Bay Brewing Co. in November for fellowship and networking. They also enjoyed an entertaining presentation about the impact of a Jesuit education by Fr. Martin Connell, SJ, who is both the dean of Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago and a 1981 graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School and Academy in Toledo; and Karl Ertle, the new president of St. John’s Jesuit.
“The JFAN Toledo event was a great start in the region,” says Nora Dabrowski, the Midwest Jesuits’ regional advancement director in Michigan and northern Ohio. “People are excited for future opportunities to gather and network with their Jesuit friends at home in Toledo.”
On May 14, the JFAN Toledo event at Maumee Bay Brewing Co. will feature Fr. Jake Martin, SJ, and his comedic presentation, “A Jesuit Walks Into A Bar.”
Klugs Honored by Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland
Steve and Debbie Klug with Saint Ignatius High School President Fr. Raymond P. Guiao, SJ.
Steve and Debbie Klug have received the 2024 Magis Award from Saint Ignatius High School (SIHS) in Cleveland.
Since 1985, the award has recognized extraordinary individuals and families who are committed to SIHS and exemplify the magis, a Latin word meaning “more.” The Klugs’ award was presented in December 2024 at SIHS’s 40th Annual Christmas Concert featuring the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus at Severance Hall.
“Saint Paul reminds us, ‘God loves a cheerful giver,’ and Steve and Debbie Klug are the epitome of cheerful givers,” said SIHS president Fr. Raymond P. Guiao, SJ. “Their extraordinary generosity toward Saint Ignatius High School and the Welsh Academy is only surpassed by the grace with which they give. In sharing their blessings to uplift those with less, they find true joy. Their joyful giving surely delights the Lord, and it is fitting that we honor and celebrate their example.”
The Klugs grew up in Missouri, each from a family of seven kids. Steve attended the Jesuit-led St. Louis University High School, and Debbie attended the all-girls Incarnate Word Academy. Married for 51 years, they have three children: Kristin, Steve (SIHS ’96) and Timothy (SIHS ’01). Kristin attended the all-girls Beaumont School.
The Klugs’ support for SIHS has spanned decades, but their involvement took a new direction when they were approached to support The Welsh Academy, which was still in its feasibility study stages at the time. Father Dan Dixon, SJ, reached out to them at the request of Fr. Guiao to gauge their interest in helping establish a middle school for SIHS. They enthusiastically agreed, seeing it as a vital opportunity to strengthen the community and support young families.
Father Dixon emphasized that The Welsh Academy is about more than just academic preparation; it fosters a sense of belonging and community. The Klugs believed this was essential, knowing that the values of “Men for Others” deeply permeate SIHS, ensuring that students from The Welsh Academy would be embraced as integral members of the community.
“The Klugs are committed to social justice, which is a core part of our Grad at Grad philosophy,” Fr. Dixon says. “We encourage students to be open to growth, loving and religious. The Klugs recognize the struggles many face in our world and are dedicated to leveling the playing field.”
Lilly Awards Grant to Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies
Father Casey Beaumier, SJ, director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.
The Lilly Endowment’s National Youth and Young Adult Initiative on Faith and Service has awarded a $10 million grant to a new program of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies (IAJS) named AMDG, short for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” which means “For the Glory of God.”
“The AMDG program will draw from the depths of the Jesuit tradition and its vast national and global apostolic networks so that the beauty of the Catholic faith can be instilled in young people in a lasting way,” says IAJS Director Fr. Casey Beaumier, SJ, a Midwest Jesuit who is also a vice president and university secretary at Boston College, where IAJS is based. He will oversee the program along with IAJS associate director Matt Schweitzer.
AMDG is designed to promote the renewal and expansion of faith practices in high school students, college students and parishioners through a yearlong immersion in faith exploration and service through Jesuit spirituality.
The grant will enable the IAJS to conduct a two-year pilot program with the intention of energizing the personal and communal religious practices of young adults, ages 16 to 29. Launching in July, the program will involve 625 participants representing 15 high schools, five colleges and universities, and five parishes throughout the United States.
AMDG will draw on the success of IAJS’s Ever to Excel program, an initiative for high school students who spend a week at Boston College learning about how to create a more meaningful life through the lens of Jesuit spirituality.
Evans Scholarships Come to John Carroll University
The partnership between John Carroll University (JCU) and the Evans Scholars program was announced in January at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland. At the meeting were (left to right): JCU Board of Directors Member Jim Meathe (’79), JCU Director of Admissions Mike Andelbradt (’18, ‘24G), Western Golf Association (WGA) President and CEO John Kaczkowski, JCU Vice President for Enrollment & Marketing Carolyn Noll Sorg, JCU Board Chair Bill Donnelly (’83), Evans Scholars Foundation Trustees Chair Joe Desch, JCU Vice President for University Advancement Mike Scanlan (’06), and WGA Director Joe Murray.
John Carroll University (JCU) has been selected as a new national partner institution for the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF), the prestigious scholarship program overseen by the Western Golf Association (WGA).
Currently, 1,190 students nationwide attend 24 leading universities on the Evans Scholarship. The ESF’s selection makes JCU the second Jesuit university partner in the program. Marquette University (MU) has been a partner institution since 1955. JCU’s first cohort will enroll in the fall of 2026.
“We are honored to be chosen as an Evans Scholarship partner and look forward to helping these remarkable students achieve their academic and personal aspirations,” says JCU President Dr. Alan R. Miciak. “This program exemplifies our shared commitment to fostering leadership and service, and providing access to education.”
The ESF provides full housing and tuition scholarships to student golf caddies with limited financial means. Students must demonstrate strong academic achievement, leadership skills and exceptional character while also caddying regularly throughout high school.
An estimated 40% of Evans Scholars are first-generation college students, and 95% are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduating. Evans Scholars have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a 98% graduation rate.
“We are thrilled to establish this partnership with JCU,” says WGA President and CEO John Kaczkowski. “JCU provides an excellent option for students who are looking for a smaller institution, and its tradition of strong academic outcomes align well with the outstanding achievements of our Evans Scholars.”
Marquette University Names New President
Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, Marquette University’s 25th president.
After serving Marquette University (MU) in the dual roles of acting president and provost since June 10, 2024, Dr. Kimo Ah Yun (KEE-mo ah YOON) was unanimously elected the school’s 25th president by the MU Board of Trustees.
President Ah Yun joined MU as dean of the Diederich College of Communication in 2016. Prior to that, he served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at California State University, Sacramento, where he also served as chair of the department of communication studies, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and professor of communication studies.
During his 20-year tenure there, he co-chaired the President’s Committee to Build Campus Unity, which programmed and executed campuswide conversations on topics such as discrimination, identity and privilege.
President Ah Yun earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from California State University, Sacramento, his master’s degree in speech from Kansas State University, and his doctorate in communication from Michigan State University.
He replaces former MU President Dr. Michael R. Lovell, who died at age 57 on June 9, 2024, following a three-year battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
