“We realized we could reimagine the 89th Street Campus from scratch
and it would be the first time in the school’s history that program would
be the driver of allocation and use of space.”
for regular communication with our neighbors through
e-blast updates and outreach by the administrative team.
We also had to plan the logistical impact to its smallest unit,
in order to maintain and sustain the integrity of our program,
enabling us to keep the school open throughout the duration
of the project.
Q: How will the expansion be financed?
We will have raised $40 million through our capital
campaign –$35 million in the quiet phase and $5 million in
the public phase. We also made sure to be debt-free before
embarking on the campaign, so that we could comfortably
finance $35 million. Half of that debt will be serviced through
non-tuition revenue, including leases of the 94th Street
Campus and Baby Cottons.
As we enter the public phase of the campaign, seeking to
raise the last $5 million, I would ask that all in our community
to the extent that they are able, make Saint David’s a
philanthropic priority this year.
Q: What has the early participation been like from leaders
in the school community during the Quiet Phase of the
Campaign?
The participation and support has been tremendous. As
part of our first campaign, we reached out to a broad cross-
section of families about the strategic thinking, and solicited
their thoughts on all aspects of the school’s operation. The
feedback indicated a tremendous interest in our third strategic
goal, but we thought it more important to first address the
other two goals.
When we first pitched the concept of our third strategic
goal, we received $10 million from initial outreach to a few
families. None of these families’ boys would benefit from the
finished facility, as they would have graduated; and yet, these
remarkable people were excited to support us.
We formed a formal campaign committee, led by Jenny
Price and Greg Hoogkamp, and any family who expressed
an interest was invited to participate. Rather than ask
for specific funds, we requested that families make Saint
David’s their philanthropic priority. Trustees Craig Wood’s
and John Menz’s expertise on the complexity of expansion
logistics has been invaluable; as has been the participation
of Alex Carey ’82, Frankie Campione, and Kevin Hayden.
Jeanine and Louis Salvatore, Ursula and Kevin Corgan,
and Kimberly and Sean Klimczak have been incredible as
the annual vice-chairs on the campaign.
The Board has been extremely high functioning and
committed to the school and all of her pillars. My first Board
Chair, Gene Williams, was deeply committed to helping
develop the strategic plan; Marc Robert ’74, our first alumnus
Board Chair, brought Goals One and Two to a close, and
began on the third. Current Chair Dan Connolly ’77 has
been instrumental in helping us close it out.
Architectural rendering of two of the STE(A)M labs.
Winter 2018 • 7