Saint Joseph's University, 2007–08 - With Faith and Strength to Dare ...

campaigndonors | Marguerite and H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest
Student Financial Aid
The Lenfest Foundation had long supported education when H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest, chair of the
Lenfest Group, heard the renowned neurosurgeon Benjamin Carson talk about his rise from an
impoverished childhood to the heights of academic medicine.
“He said, ‘I think you should award scholarships to grade school students subject to their going
to college,’” Lenfest recalls. “‘You give them the motivation to think about pursuing higher education.’”
Leveraging his foundation’s support for the Gesu School, Lenfest has funded a program that
provides scholarships for talented students there who choose to attend Saint Joseph’s once they
reach college age.
“These kids at Gesu have a wonderful education there, but then it ends and they go to high
school, and then what happens?” he says. “We thought about using Ben Carson’s model — that we
would give them scholarships to Saint Joseph’s, subject to their getting through high school and
attending college.”
Lenfest Scholars, who are chosen based on academic merit, motivation to succeed, leadership
skills and financial need, are former participants in the Ignatian College Connection program.
The ICC provides rising high school juniors and seniors from Philadelphia parochial and public high
schools with opportunities to consider the possibility of college and prepare for the rigors of
higher education. The Lenfest Scholars program is a vital component in Saint Joseph’s efforts to
diversify its student body and to minister to the under-resourced.
When University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., invited Lenfest to campus to meet some of
the ICC students from the Gesu School who
may one day take advantage of his generosity, Lenfest was duly impressed by their intellectual gifts.
Saint Joseph’s ability to recognize and transform potential made the University a natural partner for
the Lenfest Scholars program.
“Saint Joseph’s is an excellent university... I believe very
strongly in the leadership of Fr. Lannon and in the Jesuit order.
18 president’s report
why we give“
H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest