June 22, 2021

 

U of D Jesuit Receives $6.2 Million For Transformative Campus Expansion Project

Latest donations bring six-year total to more than $38 million received

 

DETROIT – University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy has received $6.2 million towards its latest $7.5 million campus expansion project. The new 12.5-acre campus addition is located a few blocks from the school’s main campus in Detroit. The property, Joe Louis Park and Johnson Recreation Center, was purchased from the City of Detroit in February 2020. 

Three generous donors provided powerful momentum to the project with gifts of $1 million each. The million-dollar donations were received from Mark Blum, class of 1968; William Kovacic, class of 1970, and his wife, Kathryn Fenton; and the E.W. & France Kenyon Foundation. The late E. William Kenyon was a member of the class of 1945 at U of D Jesuit. Mr. Kenyon’s grandson, Thomas Stetser, graduated from the school in 2012 and serves on the foundation’s board.

“We are grateful to those who have committed to this historic project,” said the Rev. Theodore G. Munz, S.J., the school’s president. “This project more than doubles the size of our campus and will provide unrivaled athletic facilities and community service opportunities for our students. Additionally, our neighbors will have access to the fully renovated Johnson Recreation Center, which has been shuttered for 15 years.”

Major renovations are expected to be completed by the fall on the recreation center, which will include a new basketball court, indoor turf field, golf simulator, meeting rooms, and large multi-purpose rooms. Construction is underway on three fields at Joe Louis Park, to be used for soccer, lacrosse, and football.

Over the past six years U of D Jesuit has raised more than $38 million for capital projects and tuition assistance. In addition to the Johnson Recreation Center, the investment includes a four-story science and engineering center that opened in 2016. The school is on target to raise an additional $15 million over the next five years for the tuition assistance program, which serves 39-percent of its students.

The remaining $1.3 million for the campus expansion project enters its public phase of fundraising this month. Friends of the school who wish to be part of the visionary project can contact David Gumbel (david.gumbel@uofdjesuit.org) or Jennifer Miller (jennifer.miller@uofdjesuit.org) for information.

About U of D Jesuit

University of Detroit Jesuit is Detroit's second oldest high school. Founded in 1877 by the Jesuits, it has educated young men for 144 years to be “Men for Others” through academic excellence, faith formation, and community service. It remains Metro Detroit’s most ethnically, geographically, and culturally diverse high school.  Approximately 900 students are enrolled in grades seven through twelve from more than seventy-five communities in six counties. Nearly 39-percent of the students qualify for tuition assistance totaling more than $3 million annually.

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