Brother Crescentius Richard, F.S.C., was an American De La Salle Brother who was instrumental in the transformation of

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

in the Philippines into a pillar of Philippine education.De La Salle University-Manila. (2005). ''Conferment''. Manila: DLSU Press. He was President of De La Salle University from 1961 to 1966 and was named its President Emeritus in 1981.

Early life

He was born Richard Henry Duerr in 1922 in Brooklyn,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the third of four children. He studied at St. James Diocesan High School in Loughlin and St. Joseph's Normal Institute in Barrytown, New York, graduating valedictorian from both schools. In 1935, at the age of 13, he entered the junior

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Christian Brothers in New York and began his postulancy on June 26, 1936. On September 7, 1936, he received the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

and was given the

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Crescentius Richard. In 1941, Brother Duerr earned a Bachelor of Science, with major in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and a minor in Biology, from The Catholic University of America and in 1948, he received his Master's degree from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

Early career

Upon Duerr's graduation from the Catholic University of America, he began a career of teaching. He spent the first 12 years of that career in New York City and Washington, D.C., handling a variety of students, from fifth graders at Saint Mary's Parochial School in New York to the college students of the Manhattan College or La Salle College, teaching General Chemistry,

Qualitative Qualitative descriptions or distinctions are based on some quality or characteristic rather than on some quantity or measured value. Qualitative may also refer to: *Qualitative property, a property that can be observed but not measured numericall ...

and

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, College Mathematics, and the General Science, among others.

Assignment to the Philippines

In 1953 Duerr volunteered for mission service and was assigned to the Philippines, being first posted to De La Salle College. He was assigned to La Salle Academy-Iligan in 1958, the

University of St. La Salle The University of St. La Salle (USLS) is a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic private university, private research university run by the De La Salle Brothers Philippines, De La Salle Brothers, located in La Salle Avenue, Bacolod, Negros Occidental, ...

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

in 1969, and La Salle Green Hills in 1980.

Presidency of De La Salle College

In 1961, Duerr was appointed President of De La Salle College. During his term, he was instrumental in accomplishing the College's post- World War II growth including the conferment of academic accreditations upon the College. He also institutionalized the use of modern management techniques such as educational planning and

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to promote efficiency and initiated the formation of a

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and the incorporation of the school as a non-stock, non-profit corporation. During his term, he also oversaw the construction of De La Salle University's William Hall. On July 17, 1981, in recognition of his contributions to the growth of the Lasallian schools in the Philippines, Br. Richard was conferred the title of ''President Emeritus'' by De La Salle University.

Return to the United States

In 1984, after his stint at La Salle Green Hills, Duerr chose to settle down to Lincroft, New Jersey. He was thus assigned to the Christian Brothers Provincialate in Lincroft in 1984 to De La Salle Hall in 1987 and to the Christian Brothers Academy in 1992. In 2001, he was again posted at De La Salle Hall, where he stayed until his death on June 18, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duerr, Richard Henry 1922 births 2005 deaths People from Brooklyn Roman Catholic religious brothers Catholic University of America alumni Fordham University alumni Manhattan College faculty American Roman Catholic missionaries American expatriates in the Philippines De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines Academic staff of De La Salle University Presidents of De La Salle University Burials in New Jersey Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Catholics from New York (state)