Fordham Preparatory School - Ramview Ramview Spring 2019 | Page 10

Tomorrow
When I returned to teach at the Prep in the late 1960s,
Hughes Hall was falling into disrepair. Soon it became
apparent we needed to chart our own course with our
own Board of Trustees, rather than continue as a school
First Prep building
(Pre-Hughes hall) 2nd Division Wing
of the University.
After our separation from the University, we opened the
new Prep in 1972 on the site of the former Prep baseball
field. The new building provided students and staff with
a beautiful and comfortable environment. Decades later,
the decision was made to build the Leonard Theatre to
accommodate assemblies, and more importantly, the
productions of the Dramatic Society.
As time passed, an improved athletic field and track were
added behind the school. Because our science facilities
had gradually become inadequate for our expanding
Science Department, the fourth floor’s Boller Science
Center was added in 2010.
1800s
Shea Hall
More recently, a brand new lobby was fashioned to make
our entrance more welcoming. And the third floor now
holds our new chapel, an inviting sacred space. In
addition, the Commons which underwent a facelift over
20 years ago, now has a sliding glass wall separating it
from the lobby, new lighting and video screens.
This spring will see the final pieces of an ambitious
expansion. The East Wing Project will create larger
classrooms for the Religious Studies and Social Studies
Departments and a new counseling center. The project
includes a new admissions complex off the lobby on the
first floor.
2014
All this has occurred in the fifty or so years I’ve been at
the Prep! What has not changed in all these years has
been the enthusiasm of our students, the dedication of
our faculty and staff, the leadership of our administrators
and Board members, and the generosity of our alumni
and benefactors. The Jesuit identity of the school has not
changed – it is as much at the core of what makes the
school great as it ever was.
Jack Foley ’63
2018
2018
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