Real Estate Mogul Caruso Donates $5 million To Loyola High School

LOS ANGELES, CA — Loyola High School announced Wednesday that real estate mogul and philanthropist Rick J. Caruso and his wife are donating $5 million to the Los Angeles-based Jesuit preparatory school.

The couple earmarked $4.5 million for the school's building project and $500,000 to endow a four-year scholarship for a high-performing, low-income student from a Los Angeles neighborhood.

"Tina and Rick's gift is a historic investment in our school, in our students and in our endowment," said the Rev. Gregory M. Goethals, the school's president. "Their generosity to Loyola will affect generations of Cubs to come. To inspire our students to become future leaders, we must be able to provide them with state-of-the-art facilities that contribute to a thriving educational and spiritual community. Once completed, the 1901 Venice Boulevard Project will transform our campus."

The 1901 Venice Boulevard Project includes the building of Caruso Hall, formerly known as Xavier Center, from the ground up. The 26,188-square- foot hall will be used for more than 200 events a year. It will have a dedicated sacristy to service liturgies; hidden operable walls that transform the Grand Hall into three separate rooms with multi-area capacity for AP testing and/or events; state-of-the art integrated communications and AV equipment; a full-service banquet kitchen capable of serving 800 guests; a multi-purpose student kitchen; and ADA-compliant restrooms.

The project will also enhance Hayden Circle with a new front entrance gate and eco-friendly landscaping, as well as a Graduate-at-Graduation Walkway showcasing the attributes Loyola students aspire to have once they graduate. In addition, a Veterans' Memorial will be erected in tribute to Cubs who have served in the armed forces.

"Through my work on Loyola's board and as the parent of a Cub graduate, not only have I witnessed firsthand the academic excellence this institution instills in all its students, but equally as important -- the spiritual growth that is integral to turning young men into positive contributors to society," Caruso said in a statement.

Caruso, who is president of the USC Board of Trustees, said he and his wife "are proud to be part of the re-imagining of the southwestern part of Loyola's 21-acre campus as well as supporting promising students from low- income neighborhoods in their pursuit of a quality high school education."

Loyola is celebrating its 154th anniversary as the oldest continually operated educational institution in Southern California.

City News Service