Thank You, Rick

By Tracy Edwards

Former Loyola Board Chairman Rick Caruso welcomes new Loyola Board Chariman Robert Foster as President Fr. Greg Goethals, SJ ’73 looks on.

AS RICK CARUSO LEAVES his post as Chairman of Loyola’s Board of Directors in the capable hands of his successor, Robert Foster, his legacy of leadership and accomplishment will leave an honored imprint on Loyola High School. “Rick is an enormously gifted and talented person,” says Mr. Foster. “Besides that, he is a deeply good and generous man. His gift is trying to make the world a better place.” This past June, Mr. Caruso received Loyola’s highest honor, the President’s Award, for his dedication and governance throughout his nine years on the Board of Directors, six as Chairman.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Caruso has continually graced the Loyola community with his decisive direction and benevolence. His guidance, support and financial generosity have propelled progress of the 1901 Venice Boulevard Project, a major capital expansion plan for the Loyola campus, which includes the recently completed state-of-the-art Caruso Hall. In 2020, he established the Caruso Scholar endowment, which provides Loyola scholarships to high-performing students from low-income households. His philanthropic spirit extends well beyond the Loyola boardroom to many organizations he actively supports throughout Los Angeles. As founder and Chief Executive Officer of Caruso Affiliated, one of the largest, privately held real estate companies in the United States, Mr. Caruso has always prioritized supporting underserved communities.

Fr. Gregory M. Goethals, SJ ’73 says of his longtime friend, “Rick’s contributions to Loyola as Chairman, parent, supporter and friend are countless. We have been so blessed by his involvement in our school as well as his motivation and commitment to help us further our goals. The best way to thank him is to continue the momentum he has created. I can’t wait to see what he does next.”

Steve Tolbert: A Year at the Helm of Loyola’s Business Office

IT’S BEEN A LITTLE OVER

a year since Steve Tolbert took over the reins of the Business Office at Loyola as the Vice President of Finance and Administration.

But Mr. Tolbert is not a newcomer to Jesuit education. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and his sons attended Loyola six years ago. “I was delighted to have my twin sons, David and Daniel ’16 attend Loyola High School. In fact, I had such a great experience as a parent during their four years here as student-athletes, that it led me to say if I ever have a chance to join Loyola, I would welcome the opportunity to give back,” explained Mr. Tolbert. “Fortunately, the opportunity became a reality when Loyola offered me the position of Vice President of Finance and Administration in the spring of 2021.” Mr. Tolbert reports directly to the President and provides strategic, financial and operational leadership as well as direction for non-academic and business support functions of Loyola. In addition, Mr. Tolbert manages relationships with banks, financial advisors, audit firms and outside counsel. Under the general direction of the President, he works closely with the Board of Directors, Finance, Audit and Investment Committees. He is a member of the President’s Cabinet, Loyola’s senior leadership team. Mr. Tolbert most recently served as Chief Financial & Operations Officer at Los Angeles’ Brentwood School. During his tenure, he led various strategic initiatives that resulted in earnings growth and annual cost savings as well as being instrumental in its $100 million campus construction program. Prior to his position at Brentwood, Mr. Tolbert was the CFO at Turning Point School, Campbell Hall and the ICEF (Inner City Education Foundation) Public Schools. In addition to his career in education, Mr. Tolbert has a deep background in finance as a co-founder of two private equity firms. “Steve brought with him to Loyola a stellar background as a senior finance and operations officer within the K-12 educational sector as well as two decades in corporate and project finance,” said Fr. Gregory M. Goethals, SJ ’73, President of Loyola High School. “He not only offers Loyola his business acumen but he deeply understands our Jesuit heritage and mission. We welcome Steve back to 1901 Venice Boulevard as a partner in this important position.”