The Backer Award
Pictured: SLUH President David Laughlin honors Carl Reis '57 with the Backer Award in April 2007.
The highest honor that St. Louis University High School bestows upon its alumni is the Backer Award. Named for George and Anna Backer, whose generosity brought about the creation of our campus, the award is presented to an alumnus of the school.
Purpose of the Award
For nearly 200 years, SLUH has dedicated itself to a tradition of creating Catholic leaders. Outstanding alumni from the Backer Memorial have fulfilled this mission by serving as leaders in their communities, their professions and their church. In 1983, the Board of Trustees, the officers of the Alumni Board and the administration of the school established the Backer Award to honor those distinguished alumni who best embody the principles and traditions of a Catholic, Jesuit education.
These principals were articulated in a document that the Jesuits published in the mid 1980s about the goals of Jesuit education. In this document, the Jesuits declared that a graduate of a Jesuit high school should ideally be a person who is “open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving and committed to doing justice." This also describes appropriate criteria when considering nominations for the Backer Award.
Qualifications
The Backer Award is presented at the discretion of the SLUH President. It is awarded to a deserving SLUH alumnus, either living or deceased.
The award is presented to those who embody, in outstanding fashion, the mission of SLUH. The mission at SLUH is derived from the Jesuit idea that man is a free son of God who develops and utilizes his talents so that he has more to give to others. In short, striving to do more (St. Ignatius used the Latin term “Magis") in every endeavor, and doing it all for the greater glory of God.
Backer Award nominees shall have achieved outstanding success in one or more of the following areas:
- Service to their family, their church and their fellow man
- Contributions to their business or profession
- Leadership in civic or social work
- Promotion of intellectual or cultural pursuits
Any alumnus may recommend his fellow alumni for the Backer Award. Recommendations should be very specific, and include as much detail as possible about the accomplishments and leadership of the nominee. Use the following link to download a printable form that you can use to recommend an alumnus for the Backer Award:
(Adobe Acrobat Reader req.)
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to alumni@sluh.org.
