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LITTLE ITALY — A $15 million anonymous donation will provide scholarships for minority students at St. Ignatius College Prep.
Leaders of the prestigious Jesuit Catholic high school announced the donation Tuesday, the “largest single gift” in the school’s history. The donation will be used to fund scholarships for students from “Austin and the more challenged neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and West sides,” the school said in a press release.
The gift comes as the school, located at 1076 W. Roosevelt Road, celebrates its 150th anniversary.
The Fr. Donald F. Rowe, S.J. Scholarship Endowment will cover four years of tuition, “transportation, books, retreats, lunch and whatever else students may need to normalize the years at St. Ignatius,” according to a release.
In an email, spokesman Ryan Bergin said the scholarship would strength the school’s mission of admitting “young men and women who have a God-given talent but lack the resources for a Catholic Jesuit education.”
“It will continue our school’s history of casting a wide umbrella for admission of students to Saint Ignatius,” he added.
At least 20 students will be awarded the scholarship every year, Bergin said. Tuition at the school is $19,500 annually.
Eighth-grade students must meet St. Ignatius’ academic requirements and financial aid income guidelines to be considered for the scholarship, Bergin said.
The donation was given in recognition of Rowe, the 27th president of the preparatory school. Rowe was president from 1981 to 1998.
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