DONOR PROFILE JOHN ‘MAC’ REGAN III ’68 P’07 For Mac Regan, philanthropy in the name of education is an inherited trait. “My parents were very focused on education, and they passed that interest on to my siblings and me,” he explains. And while Regan and his wife, Tracy, have long supported several educational institutions, none are dearer than Portsmouth Abbey.
The Corvus Society is a recognition and appreciation society that is comprised of individuals who, because of their belief in our mission of helping young men and women grow in knowledge and grace, have created a legacy at Portsmouth Abbey School through a lifetime of giving of their resources of time, talent, and treasure. Their gifts have totaled at least $1M and have positively impacted Portsmouth Abbey School and its ability to remain the world’s premier Catholic, Benedictine, coeducational boarding and day school. The society’s title holds special meaning for the Portsmouth Abbey community as Corvus is the Latin word for Raven. To offer some perspective on how he became one of the many members of this society, we have asked John “Mac” Regan ’68 P’07 to share his deep history with the School.
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Portsmouth, says Regan, is an intrinsic part of the family’s story. His father, John M. Regan, Jr., attended Yale University with Thomas Van Winkle, who later became Father Leo and served as the Abbey’s headmaster in the late 1950s and again in the late 1980s. John, Jr. sent his namesake to the School in 1965. “My parents had six kids at home and my dad decided they needed a break,” says Regan with a chuckle. “I was the first to attend the Abbey, and my brothers Peter ’71 and Chris ’73 followed.” The tradition continued with Mac’s daughter Caroline who graduated from the Abbey in 2007. The Regans were drawn to Portsmouth by the School’s stellar academic reputation, notes Mac, and the School did not disappoint. “The Abbey was a hard adjustment for all three Regan boys,” he confesses. “It was much more rigorous than our public school had been. We were scheduled every minute of the day, and the monks ran the School like a monastery – we received a basic, traditional education.” Although the experience was challenging, it gave Regan a solid foundation on which to build; after graduating from the Abbey, he earned his B.A. at Boston College, his M.B.A. at Babson College and his M.A. in international business from The Fletcher School at Tuft’s University. And as he continued his academic pursuits, Regan also maintained his connection to the Abbey. “Initially, I stayed involved with the School through the Annual Fund, then that connection evolved into board work, including two terms as chair.”
