View From Above: Fr. Jim Joyce, S.J.

Fr. Jim Joyce, S.J. • President: 1990-94

Also: former trustee, faculty member, assistant football coach

I first arrived as a “regent,” a Jesuit “scholastic” or seminarian, to work at Saint Peter’s Prep in June of 1969. That was in the midst of exciting but often troubling times. During that summer Woodstock happened, as did the Chappaquiddick tragedy; astronauts walked on the moon and, a bit later, the long hapless Mets won the pennant and the world championship. And the war in Vietnam was continuing unabated.

Naturally, Prep was undergoing its own changes and developments during those following three years, as well. The 32nd general congregation proposed a change in the administration of Jesuit “works” that affected all our schools. The administration, and financial bookkeeping, was to gradually change all over the world, separating the operation of the various ministries from the Jesuit communities. The title of Rector included both ultimate school administrative responsibility and the spiritual and personal responsibility for the Jesuits living there.

The jobs were broken down and distinguished between the President of the school and the religious superior of the Jesuit community. Fr. John “Jake” Scully had been Rector. He became the President and Fr. Augustus “Augie” Meagher became the religious superior for the Jesuits stationed in the community. Fr. Edward Snyder was the Principal of the school and he was eventually replaced in a few years by Fr. Earle Markey, Prep’s legendary athlete.

More lay faculty were hired in teaching and in positions of responsibility. What were thought to be the first women in the classroom at Prep were hired. Ms. Maryanne Haggerty, Ms. Ana Garcia and Ms. Donna Derise. Of course, Ms. Catherine Collins had been librarian for many years prior to that.

Research later showed that actually, in the first decade of the 20th century, while the Jesuits taught religion for the young women at St. Aloysius’ Academy, Sisters of Charity occasionally taught subjects such as science and modern language at Prep when the Jesuits had no one available to teach those subjects. The Academy eventually moved and Prep acquired their building.

Other new developments at the time included the roots being established for a different type of retreat. What is now the signature Emmaus retreat was conceived by Mr. Ned Coughlin and Mr. John Mullin, scholastics at the time. It was the first such retreat and was eventually adopted by all the Jesuit high schools in the United States. Key insights included the involvement of parents and lay faculty.

As for my time, I taught American History to juniors and seniors. I was happy that they were well prepared for the Advanced Placement exams and all of my students who opted to take them scored high enough to save the tuition for college history courses. Also, it was a fine opportunity to train them in how to write term papers; all the skills to narrow down a topic, to gather and organize historical info, particularly references and quotations, set out a position then its opposite and draw a conclusion, and I even made them type it. A good number later thanked me for that as most helpful for college.

I also coached football and the weight events in track and field. We ended up very highly ranked for discus and shot put relays. It was a time of change in sports as longtime coach Bill Cochrane was replaced over the two years by alumnus coach Lou Rettino. Basketball did very well in one of those years under Coach Jerry Halligan, winning the Hudson County Championship, and going to the State Catholic school finals.

In my third year I also went to Seton Hall University to get my master’s degree in American Studies. I also worked with parish teens in the community which, at the time, was still quite poor and tough.

In 1990, I was asked by the Provincial to put my name in for the position of president of Prep. By that time there was a process in place for the Board of Trustees, composed of both Jesuits and lay people, mostly alumni, to decide on the hiring of the president. The previous president, Fr. Edward Salmon, had health problems and was quite worn out with some of the decisions, particularly regarding Development, or what many now call Advancement. When I was asked to apply by the Provincial, the intent was that it could be for just a few years during which time they would look for someone with more educational administrative experience than I had. I certainly committed to do my best. I loved the school and the students, but certain parts of the job I could have done without.

In most ways, though, Prep was really sound. Fr. Tom Denny was the principal, and academics, by any objective measuring process, continued to be outstanding. Its ranking as to average SAT scores was never less than third in the state, and the two other regular highly ranking schools in that regard, one Catholic and one suburban public, were much smaller than Prep. Advanced Placement offerings were broad and the success rate was high. Modern language achievements were great. And Prep would have a number of National Merit Semi-finalists and Commended Students each year. Acceptance at quality universities was very high. Almost all got into a college high on their list of choices.

One difficulty was that parents still had expectations of possible academic scholarships at good colleges, but these had already begun to disappear. Tuition assistance based on need was the main determinate. The Student Loan process (government guaranteed, or not) led to so many significant difficulties that are still being felt and are a serious matter of political contention to this day.

Latin was still required for a year, and many took the second year as well. Greek continued to be offered as an elective, with a small number of students taking it seminar style each year. Electives were really quite varied and top quality. A few departments had to be tweaked, including Math to an extent because of state curriculum changes, description of types of senior year offerings, and the like.

Science courses did not have all the up-to-date laboratory equipment that they would have liked. Computers for the classroom needed to be updated, as did the entire library computer system and its supports. These were all best handled as capital expenses, not just added to a yearly budget. They didn’t fall into a regular maintenance category, and this included a lot of serious safety improvements -- non-skid stairs, crash bar safety doors, and a number of other items besides a necessary provision of what was then described as ”handicapped accessed.”

So a serious campaign for much-needed capital improvements was begun. It was called the “Keys to the Future” after the keys Jesus gave to Saint Peter that is a part of the crest of the school. With the great contribution of trustees, alumni and the Development Office staff, as well as a very good consultant, it ended up being quite successful. It was finished off by the next president, Fr. Jim Keenan.

But the most recognizable change in the physical plant during that era arose purely by chance from just staring out the window at the four ugly bricked-up windows of the gym that overlooked the newly renovated outdoor rec area. Four windows, four letters in PREP! It was painted in silver letters on a maroon background and now appears in just about every brochure, photo or video showing the Prep campus.

The formula used to work out and adhere to for the annual budget remained absolutely firm. The equation of “number of students times the amount of tuition“ remained the set bottom line. In order to allow more students whose families would not otherwise be able to attend Prep, a vehicle was needed to add to the source for the total tuition bottom line. And this was handled by building up the endowment specifically dedicated to that purpose. Each year the interest, and only the interest from it, was to be dedicated to making up the difference between what families could afford and the calculated individual tuition.

It was a challenge to fund that endowment, and at the same time to honor the intent of the donors who were contributing. For a few examples, changes were made to a number of practices. The Jesuit community contribution, which was decreasing because of the declining number of Jesuit faculty members, would have a heavy implication for annual income, so rather it was decided to put the amount into that endowment. So, too, the decision was made to allocate any unpredictable result of will, trusts or annuities into it rather than try to estimate (read guess) what might be received from those sources each year when preparing the budget.

This meant an enormous amount of fundraising needed to continue to help meet the income needs for the actual yearly regular income and expense budget itself. An alumni telethon had been established well before this and was a major source of the annual income. The alumni Class Captains organized this with a special emphasis targeting the five-year anniversary reunions for significant contributions.

Parents organized at least half a dozen events each year that were handled with growing wisdom about their bottom lines. The students chipped in by seeking sponsors for the yearly walkathon and certain other fundraising initiatives, particularly for the extracurricular activities.

Communication and work with the Trustees improved greatly, particularly with new appointments and focused dedicated attention by the Board’s committees–all of them, but particularly finance. They also involved participation by staff and faculty. The faculty were encouraged to vote on unionization. Instead, they came up with the idea of a faculty-elected committee for negotiations. This resulted in a revision of the remuneration steps on the measuring ladder based on years of service and academic degrees. Inconsistency in whether raises had been determined one year by a percentage and the next by set flat amount had led to inequities. The faculty committee worked assiduously on this. The major suggestion that was made and accepted was a new policy on health and family benefits. These were set to be family-friendly, covering children’s health for example, in order to help retain really good teachers who were bringing up their own families.

Select expenses were also included in the finances of the operation of the school. It was very important to be on top of every line item in the budget. It was even more important to decide on and adhere to principles under which operations ought to be conducted. A significant distinction was between “merit” scholarships and tuition assistance, also known as financial aid.

Scholarships were to be part of the annual budget under public relations because they were considered to be a means for attracting those students whom the tests that we used assessed to be tops in academic achievement. The awarding of these ”presidential scholarships” had to be made scrupulously according to the scores of the three diocesan entrance exams. This was the fairest process, even if sometimes less than perfect.

But the endowment, intended exclusively for financial aid for needy families, had to be absolutely attended to separately. And the interest–and only the interest, not the principal–on that endowment had to be distributed solely according to very strict predetermined criteria.

Those proven to be most in need by the Princeton Financial Aid form (FAF) received assistance according to what they could afford to pay toward tuition. For the evaluation they had to submit information on income from W-2 tax forms and on expenses from mortgages, rent receipts, and the like.

The FAF could be customized to an extent, and we asked that the number of children, and the amount of other tuitions the family was paying to private schools at any level, be included in the determinations. We worked from the poorest, as evaluated according to the FAF, to those with real but somewhat less need.

Besides this scrupulous accounting, there were other important legal issues. For example, if an alumnus wanted to directly pay tuition for a student whom he himself selected, he could not claim a tax deduction. The school had to do the selections and determinations and then award the amount through that process to comply with the tax codes. Great care and oversight was needed. But, the results were worthwhile.

Basically, the more students this process helped attend Prep, the better the income equation in balancing the budget. With the build-up of the endowment in that era, almost 40% of students who otherwise may not have been able to attend, were receiving some amount of tuition assistance. This put more students in the seats and thus was financially beneficial to the bottom line (at least to a point where extra faculty might have to be added to retain the appropriate student/teacher ratios).

Demographically, the majority of the families receiving assistance were from among the white population. A fairly significant percentage of the widely mixed Asian and Latino population were from professional or business families and the FAF process determined that. Although the African-American population were fewer in number, their number reflected greater need in the amount of tuition assistance determined by that same process.

The trend toward greater diversity proved not only desirable but productive in all parts of the education of the whole person–academically, socially, physically and spiritually. The number of non-Catholic students grew greatly, both other-Christian and non-Christian. One bishop at the time was quoted: “We don’t educate these students because they’re Catholic, but because we’re Catholic.” The diversity, for the most part, opened minds and hearts, but it was not without bumps in the road.

A serious incident occurred at one point. One African-American student had a racial slur written on one of his textbooks. It was accompanied by some very ignorant symbols. His parents were outraged and reported the incident to the school authorities, along with their expectations of what should happen. When the incident was investigated, it was confirmed and the culprits were identified. Neither the victim nor the perpetrators could be publicly identified by the administration because of the very strict laws in this regard.

The parents of the offended student decided that they should go to the press over the matter. Since the rules and handbooks regarding behavior and the penalties in such situations were not covered, clearly the actions to be taken had to be considered carefully, while acknowledging the seriousness of the behavior. The legal remedies would be in accord with written policies.

But most of all it was important to face up to and denounce this type of behavior as absolutely wrong and not in accord with the values or the spirit of the Jesuit education upon which Saint Peter’s Prep was centered. It was a very difficult situation, but it had to be faced. Of great help was counsel from Rev. Ercel Webb, a great friend to Saint Peter’s and parent of a student.

Everything was done “according to the book.” Prep ended up ahead of the curve in looking at its handbook, which was, of course, public for students, parents, administration, faculty, staff and alumni. Policies were incorporated with well considered language about “hate speech” and unacceptable behaviors regarding the issue, keeping in mind that it wasn’t just a matter of theory, but something that affected the reality of peoples’ lives.

The unity in diversity was at no time more evident than in how the Prep family came together in face of the first attack on the World Trade Center, which originated from Jersey City. From Prep we could see the WTC from our windows, and we mobilized on behalf of students and families affected, in part because so many parents worked there or in that area.

Occasionally, an inquiry would come up about Prep going co-educational. Interested folks came up with certain rationales: on the one hand, an alumnus might say that he’d like his granddaughter to be able to receive the exact education that he had; on the other hand, some brought it up as a matter of justice for women. Our administration was aware of studies (U. of Chicago and Harvard U.) recent to those times that examined the benefits and drawbacks of single-gender education for various grades and social groupings. Concisely it was beneficial to both groups, but particularly notable for the educational achievement of young women.

In short, the benefits were most notable from 6th through 9th grades, still had an effect in 10th and then, almost counterintuitively, made less difference in 11th and12th grades. But if someone could develop a test for which students would thrive more in a single gender or co-educational setting, they would be doing a real service to the development of youth in U.S. society.

I would be able to explain all this when dealing with alumni or parents, but the most severe reason in my mind was that if Prep were ever to go in that direction, the principals, the Sisters at St. Aloysius Academy and St. Dominic Academy, would kill me. When, on one April Fool’s Day, the Prep newspaper printed an issue headlining “Prep to go Co-Ed,” the phone was ringing from the principal of St. Al’s a minute after I walked into the office to be assured that it was a joke. But, seriously, the Sisters had been dedicated to educating women for over a century, and who would we think we were if we Jesuits felt we could do a better job than they were doing at it.

By the way, another Harvard study that was reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education around that time evaluated non-public secondary educational institutions on the best value for the quality of education provided. Sometimes it was referred to as the “greatest bargains” study, and Saint Peter’s Prep was rated second among all of those secondary schools in the country.

Really employing all the assets of those who were willing to serve on the Board of Trustees was a major factor in the school continuing to thrive. Jesuits appointed by the Provincial remained the majority, as well as being on the Board of Members, but lay folks stepped up in their responsibilities. Don Moriarty, then Vince Butler, followed by Tom Sullivan were successive chairs of the Board and contributed greatly.

The personnel committee of the Trustees made suggestions to the executive committee that had been formed. This led to personnel changes in the Development Office as well as a change in the Treasurer’s Office where a Jesuit was replaced by a lay alumnus who had extensive experience in a community college situation. In practice, the new systems, though perhaps not absolutely perfect, functioned very well and became precedent for future decision making.

As to other such changes, for the first time in its history, a lay person was hired as principal. He was Jack Raslowsky, an alumnus, as well as a former teacher and coach, with all the advanced academic degrees in the field of education that were appropriate. In addition, he was very well versed in all things Jesuit, including having made a 30 Day Ignatian retreat in discerning life choices. We used to joke that he used to know and announce more Jesuit feast days than even we knew we had.

It took an effort to put time into explaining to alumni, students, parents, and even some Jesuits, that this was not just a choice dictated by a change in the numbers available, but a real step forward in framing a new way of implementing the values we professed. The Second Vatican Council, as well as the Jesuit Congregations dealing with these matters, absolutely encouraged the involvement of such very talented lay persons in ministry.

And so, St. Peter’s Prep “marches through” sub umbra Petri, under the shadow of its patron, St. Peter, in the place it was planted, the heart of downtown Jersey City.