Message From the President

Dear Gonzaga Alumni, Friends, and Supporters:

I have always found that if you want to see a person’s “true colors,” just wait until a moment of crisis. Moments of difficulty and challenge have a unique ability to strip away the thin veneers that hide our most fundamental selves. Frequently, we are surprised by what we see, even sometimes in our own selves. The same is true for a community of people. Crisis has a way of laying us bare.

Since the coronavirus crisis began, it has been a tremendous blessing to see the true nature of the Gonzaga school community on full display. Our faculty and staff have worked heroically to ensure uninterrupted learning through our distance learning protocols. Creative, talented, and tireless are only a few of the adjectives which tell the story of our faculty, coaches, and administrators as we have navigated these uncharted waters. Not to be outdone, our students have shown unparalleled generosity of spirit and grit as their homes have been their classrooms and they have longed to be back on Eye Street. Yet, as true Eagles do, they have risen to the occasion and have met the challenges head on. As we come to the end of Gonzaga’s second century of service and embark on its third, the heart of the Gonzaga community beats stronger than ever, even in these uncertain times.

What I hope that you will see as you page through this magazine is the fact that Gonzaga has not missed a beat through all of these challenges. We have installed new, state-of-the-art technology that allows our boys to engage fully in their classes, whether online or in person. Our boys marched to the Capitol to show their support for each other in these times of racial tensions and unrest. Never forgetting those most in need, we ran an extensive, community-wide summer food drive to support the McKenna Center. We welcomed new faculty and finished the renovations to our beloved St. Aloysius Church, lest we forget our spiritual heart.

Lastly, this crisis has revealed just how much you, our beloved alumni and benefactors, continue to love Gonzaga when times are tough. Running a school in a time of crisis is not only logistically daunting, it is actually very expensive. Moreover, it is expensive at a time when many in our community are experiencing unanticipated financial hardships. However, thanks to your generosity and good will, we have been able to meet the educational, spiritual, emotional, and economic needs of our boys without missing a beat. The true colors of the Gonzaga community have indeed been laid bare by this time of crisis. And not surprisingly, the color is only one: purple.

May God continue to bless you and your family with health and happiness. Please know that you remain in my prayers and those of the entire Gonzaga Jesuit Community.

Sincerely,

Rev. Stephen W. Planning, S.J. President