Couple with Ties to Loyola Creates New Scholarship Fund
John and Rosemary Croghan are well aware of the challenges facing medical students, with a son-in-law who is a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch) alumnus and a son who is a former Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) resident The Wilmette couple has made a five-year pledge totaling $500,000 to Stritch to fund the John W. and Rosemary Croghan Medical Student Scholarship Fund.
“John and I have a great respect for Stritch. As one of only four Catholic medical schools in the country, it provides a wonderful opportunity for students,” said Mrs. Croghan. “However, it’s also expensive for students, and we’d like to do what we can to help them out.”
Most of the Croghans’ gift ($375,000) will be used to establish an endowed scholarship fund. An endowment is a transfer of money or property to Stritch with the stipulation that it be invested and the principal remain intact and grow. The income earned by the fund will be used directly toward the stated gift purpose. The remainder of their gift ($125,000) will provide direct scholarships during the next five years.
The Croghans’ son-in-law, Philip H. Sheridan, MD, graduated from Stritch in 1987 and also completed his residency at LUMC. Dr. Sheridan is currently an internist and pulmonologist at Evanston Northwestern Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.
The Croghans’ son, John E. Croghan, MD, graduated from Rush Medical College in 1986 and completed his residency and internship at LUMC. He now practices internal medicine, gerontology and rheumatology at Evanston Northwestern Hospital.
The Croghan family connection to Loyola University Chicago (LUC) dates back to 1952, when Mr. Croghan graduated from LUC with a degree in political science.He currently is the chair of an investment management firm in Chicago, Rail-Splitter Capital Management. Mrs. Croghan, a retired registered nurse, is a member of the LUC Board of Trustees and also is a trustee at Loyola Academy, a Jesuit college preparatory high school in Wilmette.
In addition to their involvement with Loyola University Health System (Loyola) and LUC, the Croghans also serve at other Jesuit and Catholic institutions. Mrs. Croghan is highly involved with Cristo Rey, a Jesuit high school in Chicago’s Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood.
Students attending Cristo Rey participate in a program where three-quarters of their tuition is paid by the corporations that employ them part-time. Loyola is a leading participant in the program, with many Cristo Rey students working on the Loyola medical campus as patient transporters and in other entrylevel jobs. “About 40 of Cristo Rey’s students are working at Loyola now,” Mrs. Croghan said. “It’s a great opportunity for these young people, many who would like to go into health care and would not have had the opportunity to receive such a high-quality education without the Work Study Program.”
Mrs. Croghan is a member of the founding Board of Trustees of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and still serves on the board today. “I have gained more from the experience than I have given to it,” she said. “I believe when your life has been blessed and you are able to help others, it’s your obligation to do so. Both John and I believe we have been blessed.”
The couple serves on the advisory board of the Alliance for Catholic Education, a two-year service program offering college graduates the opportunity to work as full-time teachers in disadvantaged Catholic schools across the southern United States where financial resources are scarce. They participate in the Patrons Program, a fundraising group to help support St. Procopius, a church and school staffed by Jesuit priests that provides outreach to a predominately Mexican-American congregation in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Mr. Croghan serves on the finance council of the Archdiocese of Chicago and is a director for both the Catholic Church Extension Society, which works to sustain and extend the Catholic faith in poor and remote areas of the United States, and the Lumen Christi Institute, an organization involved with strengthening contemporary Catholic intellectual culture and expanding the Catholic presence in higher education.
Mr. Croghan said his belief in the need for a stronger Catholic presence in higher education is why he is so adamant about supporting Stritch. “Stritch is an integral part of LUC and is fulfilling an important goal in training future doctors who are concerned with moral and ethical health care,” he said.
“When you look at what the Jesuits have done for education in the United States, it’s apparent they are leaders at the high school and university levels,” said Mrs. Croghan. “That excellence follows through also at higher levels, such as graduate and medical schools like Stritch, and we’re proud to have a part in helping these higher-level students.”
Recipients of the John W. and Rosemary Croghan Scholarship for the 2007–2008 school year are: Tara Abraham, first year; Asghar Rizvi, third year; Robert Standring, third year; Danielle Suhajda, third year; and Daniel Tapia, second year. For more information on funding scholarships for Stritch students, contact Shawn Vogen, PhD, in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at svogen@lumc.edu or (708) 216-5642.