In Memoriam: Rev. Eugene Nolan, S.J.

 

When Gene Nolan came to Gonzaga as a newly ordained Jesuit in 1971, it was at a time of unease in Washington, as the city was still struggling in the aftermath of the civil unrest of the late 1960’s. It was a time of dissent within the Catholic Church, and a time when Gonzaga, affected by both those factors and by its own severely outdated facilities, was experiencing plummeting enrollment. Even some of the school’s traditional families were looking elsewhere to educate their sons in hopes finding something better.  

He arrived on Eye Street as a member of what you might call a cavalry of young Jesuits, sent by The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus to save a school that had been a cornerstone of its secondary education mission since 1821. They were a talented group, these young Jesuits. Each brought with him unique gifts that would inspire young minds, open young hearts and help boys to discover their own talents. 

Gene Nolan was a lover of books—and would become a torch bearer of a Jesuit education tradition that emphasized the humanities. Teaching Gonzaga’s first-ever class in Advanced Placement English, he set the high bar for the teaching of literature by bringing to the classroom the likes of Joyce, Cheever, Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. As English Department Chair, he introduced to the curriculum the Independent Tutorial in English, a class in which talented students and their teachers team together for special projects. The Independent Tutorial in English remains a key component of Gonzaga’s English curriculum to this day. And yet, while he loved his subject matter, it was apparent to all that he loved teaching even more. He believed that to be an effective teacher, one should not just teach the best and the brightest, but rather to several levels of students. It is said that most of all he enjoyed teaching sophomores – precisely because they were alive and bursting with adolescent imperfections. For him, teaching meant finding the good in each student. In the parlance of Jesuit education, this is referred to as Cura Personalis—care of the individual.  

All of this, of course, was being observed and absorbed by his faculty colleagues, who would themselves strive to emulate a professionalism that, while cloaked in subtlety, was as obvious in its joy and humor and confidence-building as it was in scholarship. Yes, something very good was happening on Eye Street—a new renaissance for Jesuit education was underway and the classrooms were filling once again. 

In 1978, Father Gene Nolan would take his final vows as a Jesuit at Gonzaga. And in that same year, he was awarded the Cornelius A. Herlihy, S.J. Award, which is presented annually to a faculty member, chosen by his/her peers, who embodies in some way the legendary Gonzaga Jesuit’s qualities of excellence as an educator and demonstrating loyalty, devotion and a spirit of service to Gonzaga. The broader community of secondary education was also aware of his talents and called on Father Nolan to be a Reader for the National A.P. English Exams and to serve on several Middle States Association on-site evaluations. In 1979, he took on the new role of Assistant Academic Headmaster and would serve in that capacity for two years.

By 1980, he had become somewhat of a legendary Gonzaga Jesuit himself when the seemingly unimaginable happened - the Jesuit Provincial called him away from Eye Street to go north to Towson, MD. At Loyola Blakefield he would serve for five years as Headmaster and English teacher and initiate the expansion of the school to include a 7th and 8th grade lower school program. After a year of teaching English at Loyola College in Baltimore, he returned to Secondary Education and his hometown of Scranton, PA to serve as President and English teacher at Scranton Prep. While there, he was also Moderator of the Parents Club and Alumni Association. He spearheaded a successful capital campaign and led Scranton Prep in the celebration of its 50th Anniversary. 

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Had F. Scott had the fortune to have been educated by the Jesuits, he would probably have thought differently. 

In 1997, Gonzaga became twice blessed when Father Nolan answered a call from Gonzaga’s Headmaster, Dr. Joe Ciancaglini to return to Gonzaga. But what would he do as a second act? After all, he’d already held all the pinnacle jobs in Jesuit Secondary Education, had been a Trustee at the University of Scranton and sat on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Scranton, PA. What he would do is put aside a well-earned sabbatical for the opportunity to return to Gonzaga and once again teach those imperfect sophomores. His second act on Eye Street would last eleven years and included once again becoming English Department Chair. He would also chair a Headmaster Search Committee and Middle-States Self Study. As a sign of the school’s gratitude, the Gonzaga English Department established the Nolan/Free Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in Independent Tutorial English. The award is named for Father Nolan and another longtime member of the Gonzaga English faculty, Mr. Douglas Free, a graduate of the Class of 1972, who had been a student in Father’s very first class.

In 2007, came another call from the Provincial, who asked Father to become Administrator-Minister of the Georgetown University Jesuit Community—the largest Jesuit Community on the east coast. The job of Jesuit Minister is quite literally 24-7, as he manages the community finances, tends to the needs of the sick and elderly Jesuits, arranges for guest accommodation, in short everything that comes with managing the Jesuits’ home. He held that position until February of 2016, when he moved on to serve in the same capacity at the Scranton Jesuit Community. As minister, he has earned the gratitude and admiration of his Jesuit brothers, for whom he has been an inspiration. For it is they more than anyone who have witnessed a Jesuits journey of  more than fifty years during which he served the Society in capacities large and small and bringing to each genuine kindness, humility and generosity. 

Yes, when the Jesuits set out to rebuild Gonzaga in the early 1970’s, they certainly got it right. They did it, not by assembling brick and mortar—those days would come later—rather they rebuilt Gonzaga by infusing it heart and soul with the gift of their own Ignatian presence. Father Nolan, Gonzaga has been so very fortunate to have been among the beneficiaries of your vocation and tonight a grateful school community salutes you, and honors you with its St. Aloysius Medal for Service to School and Community.