Joseph Parkes , SJ
In 1996 , Fr . Joe Parkes left the Provincial Office of the New York Province and became the 33rd president of Fordham Prep . For Fr . Parkes , serving as president of an institution was a bit old hat – before joining the New York Province Office he had been the president of St . Peter ’ s Prep from 1979 to 1986 . “ I was the Provincial during Fr . Ed Maloney ’ s last year as president ,” states Fr . Parkes . “ The school was looking for a Jesuit who had experience as president at another high school . I had also had board experiences from serving other schools , which helped out quite a bit .”
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When he arrived , Fr . Parkes saw a school that was strong academically with an experienced faculty , coupled with solid enrollment , but other issues were bubbling below the surface . “ As an institution , there were several areas and issues where we needed to improve and quickly correct ,” said Fr . Parkes . “ In 1996 , the school still needed to pay off the construction of Leonard Theatre , update and renovate facilities , and needed to address the school ’ s endowment to secure the financial future of the school .” When Fr . Parkes took over , the school ’ s endowment was valued at only $ 1.5 million , well below the levels of peer schools . know how the Prep was doing . We wanted to raise the level of engagement . John Bradley ( then the Director of Development ) and I did the majority of the trips , and if I was going out of town , I made sure I set up meetings with alumni .”
The Prep also had some trouble locating alumni . “ When I first came to the school , we could not locate about 1,500 alumni . For whatever reason , we had lost touch with them as the years went on .” Fr . Parkes made it his goal to find as many alumni as he could . “ Instead of doing The New York Times crossword on the weekends , I would come to my office and spend hours trying to search for lost alumni .” Fr . Parkes ’ efforts paid off in the long run . “ Overall , we were able to locate 1,300 alumni from the lost list . The number was astonishing .” The hunting paid off : during his last two years as Fordham Prep ’ s president , formerly lost alumni contributed a total of over $ 100,000 to their alma mater .
Fr . Parkes did not just stay in the metropolitan area to connect with alumni . “ We were on the road a lot to meet alumni – we wanted to meet with alumni and let them
As Fr . Parkes ’ tenure progressed , the school ’ s overall situation gradually improved . The endowment grew from $ 1.5 million to approximately $ 7 million in 2001 , to $ 10 million in 2004 . The school also underwent a $ 1.5 million renovation , which included the McNamara Library , and started the campaign to install field turf on the back field .
After seven short years though , Fr . Parkes knew he had to move on . “ By the start of the 2003-2004 school year , I felt it was time to finish my tenure as president . Fordham Prep was a great experience for me – to work with people who were so committed to the mission ; who put in their blood , sweat and tears . The board chairs ( Kevin Hackett ’ 67 , William Mulrow ’ 74 , James Murray ’ 63 ) and the Board of Trustees did a phenomenal job in leading the school and helping us push for excellence . Fordham Prep is a special place .”
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