Saint Ignatius College Prep is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or p ...

located in the Near West Side neighborhood of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The school was founded in Chicago in 1869 by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J., a Dutch missionary to the United States. Saint Ignatius College Prep is Chicago's flagship Jesuit high school and one of the preeminent Catholic college preparatory schools in the United States.

Campus

The campus of Saint Ignatius College Prep is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The school's main building was designed by Canadian architect Toussaint Menard in Second Empire style and opened in 1870. The original school building is one of only five existing Chicago structures to predate the Great Fire of 1871. The school began on two acres of land and now occupies a 26-acre campus. The campus includes the original building and modern facilities adjacent to the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is located 1.5 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop. Among the unique spaces is the 1887-88 Brunswick Room featuring elaborate cabinets and woodwork installed by the Brunswick Company for the school's natural history museum, the Foglia Library, the “Chicago gallery” of architectural artifacts in the Driehaus building, and Father Damen's office. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, St. Ignatius College Prep was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1987.

History

Inception

In 1836, the Dutch Jesuit Fr.

Arnold Damen Arnold Damen, S.J. (1815–1890) was a Dutch Jesuit missionary who is noted for bringing Jesuit education to Chicago. Biography Damen was born in Leur, North Brabant (The Netherlands) on March 20, 1815, and joined the Jesuit missions in North A ...

, S.J. (March 20, 1815, Leur, Netherlands – January 1, 1890,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

),In Chicago kent bijna iedereen pater Damen
(in Dutch) was recruited to work with Native Americans in the Dakotas by Fr. Peter De Smet, S.J. In 1844 he was ordained a priest in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. In 1857, Damen was first assigned to Chicago to start a parish for Irish immigrants on Chicago's near-West Side, then an area of the sprawling prairie. The construction of the Holy Family Church was completed in 1860. The culmination of Father Arnold J. Damen, S.J.'s work in Chicago, the St. Ignatius campus was opened in 1870 as St. Ignatius College. Loyola University originated from this institution but, since 1922, St. Ignatius has operated solely as a college preparatory school. The Second Empire-style edifice is among the oldest in the city, a rare and distinctive example of institutional designs pre-dating the Chicago Fire of 1871.

Admissions

Demographics

The demographic breakdown by race/ethnicity of the 1,373 students enrolled for the 2019–2020 school year was:

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Saint Ignatius competes in the

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some ...

(CCL) and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) and is a member of the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

(IHSA), which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. The school's teams are stylized as the "Wolfpack".

Notable alumni

* Chloe Bennet (2010), actress and singer * Charles Bidwill, owner of the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

(1933–47); inducted in 1967 into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

* Lawrence Biondi (1957), President of St. Louis University * Joseph A. Bracken (1948), Jesuit philosopher *

Andre Braugher Andre Keith Braugher ( ; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the ...

, (1980) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in the comedy-drama series ''

Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as thre ...

'' (2009–2011), and Captain Raymond Holt in the police comedy series ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' (2013–2021). * Tom Campbell (1969), California politician * John P. Daley (1965), Cook County Commissioner *

William M. Daley William Michael Daley (born August 9, 1948) is an American politician and former banker who served as the 24th White House Chief of Staff from January 2011 to January 2012 under President Barack Obama. Before this, he served as the 32nd U.S. ...

(1966), former

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

under

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1997–2000) * Richard Driehaus (1960), businessman and philanthropist; namesake of the Driehaus Prize given in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

* John Joseph Duda (1995), actor * Nnanna Egwu (2011), professional basketball player, former center for

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

* Kenard Gibbs (1982), Chief x Executive Officer of Soul Train Holdings and co-founder of MadVision Entertainment. * Mellody Hobson (1987), Co-CEO of Ariel Investments; also TV correspondent in the field of finance; married to filmmaker

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

* Joseph D. Kearney (1982), dean at

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Mil ...

Dan Lipinski Daniel William Lipinski (born July 15, 1966) is an American politician and political scientist who served eight terms as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2021. ...

(1984), former U.S. Representative representing Illinois's 3rd congressional district (2005–2021) *

Michael Madigan Michael Joseph Madigan (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician and convicted felon who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the longes ...

(1960), former

Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives The Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is seventh (behind the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, and President of the Senate, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of ...

* John J. McNichols, Illinois state representative and lawyer * Stanley Miarka, Negro league baseball second baseman * John Mulaney (2000), Emmy-winning standup comedian and former writer on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' *

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in ...

(1947), actor and comedian (''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respe ...

'', ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

'') *

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Globe Award f ...

(2002), Golden Globe winner, actor * Marty Russo, Former United States Representative. * Casey Siemaszko, actor best known for his starring roles in Three O'Clock High and Young Guns. * Michael Sorrell (1984), President of Paul Quinn College. *

Todd Stroger Todd H. Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the former president of the Cook County, Illinois Board and a former alderman for the 8th ward in Chicago. Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2001, he was appointed to the Chicago City C ...

(1981), former Cook County Board President * Ed Sweeney, (1905), starting catcher for New York Yankees * Robin Tunney (1990), actress * Michael Wilbon (1976), sports columnist for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and host, commentator, and analyst for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. * Jamila Woods (2007), singer, songwriter, and poet

Notable faculty

* David Abidor (born 1992), Men's Varsity assistant soccer coach (Jul 2021 - Jul 2022), and soccer player * Johnny Bach (2010–2011), Men's basketball volunteer assistant coach

Notes

References

*Directory of Private Schools (2005)
Directory of Private Schools: St. Ignatius College Prep
*Newbart, Dave. "University Dean Will Lead St. Ignatius," ''Chicago Tribune'', March 31, 1998.

External links

Official St. Ignatius College Prep websiteForgottenChicago.com's Excellent article about Architectural ornaments in the garden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ignatius College Prep Catholic schools in Chicago Educational institutions established in 1869 Jesuit high schools in the United States Chicago Landmarks School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Private high schools in Chicago Catholic secondary schools in Illinois 1869 establishments in Illinois School buildings completed in 1870 Society of Jesus in Illinois