president’s letter Dear BNI Family members, As we concluded our 102nd school year in June with an inspirational commencement address from Damien Harmon ’96 and news of a record $23.2 million in college scholarship offers for our graduates, we had much to celebrate. And we did. After 102 years of academic excellence at Catholic Central and Bishop Noll, it would be easy to rest on our laurels. But we refuse to do that. Days after we celebrated the Class of 2023 in a proper and well-deserved send-off, it was back to focusing on the future and continuing to raise the bar. Our principal, Lorenza Jara Pastrick ’01, and her team worked to implement the finishing touches and enhancements on a 2023–24 school year that would bring BNI its largest enrollment in 22 years. In late June, Bishop McClory, staff, students and donors were present as we broke ground for the highly anticipated renovation of our outdoor athletic complex. Bishop Noll alumni in central Indiana coordinated the inaugural event of our newest Alumni Association chapter. With more than 500 alums in the Indianapolis Metro area, we may refer to them from time to time as BNI’s Indy 500. If you extend that radius an hour’s drive beyond the I-465 bypass, that number is closer to 700. The Class of 1973 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its graduation with a full weekend of activities, including a Saturday reunion dinner offsite that drew more than 150 attendees, and a Sunday morning Mass, brunch and tour of BNI that drew more than 70. A generous monetary class gift was also made to Bishop Noll. BNI was asked by the Diocese of Gary to host a “Eucharistic Encounter” in August—as part of the U.S. bishops’ Eucharistic Revival campaign—that would bring nationally renowned speakers and hundreds of faithful to BNI as Pope Francis calls on Catholics to place the Eucharist at the center of their lives. This summer, we’ve seen senior alumni mentoring recent alumni, and we’ve fielded inquiries and answered responses from alumni to discuss ways they can share some of their professional wisdom with our students. The bottom line: As Mrs. Pastrick and her dedicated team continue to work on providing the best possible 21st-century educational experiences, with increased curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for achievement, our alumni and other stakeholders continue to engage BNI and support the academic efforts in so many ways, offering their time, talents and treasure to provide and ensure student success. It’s all part of fulfilling our mission of forming our students in mind, body and soul to be ready for the post-BNI world that awaits them…and to ensure that the opportunity for a BNI education remains an option for Region families for decades to follow. If you want to help our BNI efforts with support of any kind, please email me at pmullaney@bishopnoll.org. If we keep our momentum going, those future commencement exercises will be celebrations to behold! God bless you, and God bless Bishop Noll Institute.
Paul B. Mullaney ’77 President OUR MISSION Bishop Noll Institute, a Catholic high school, forms disciples as we set the standard for academic excellence in college preparatory education, embracing students of all faiths and cultures in a safe and welcoming environment.
