New President

November 3, 2017

Dear Faculty, Staff, Families, Alumni, and Friends of SLUH:

I am very pleased to inform you that the Board of Trustees of St. Louis University High School has unanimously voted to approve Mr. Alan R. Carruthers as the school’s next president. Alan will become the 17^th president of SLUH since it moved to its current location on Oakland Avenue and he will succeed David J. Laughlin on July 1, 2018. The Provincial of the USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, V. Rev. Ronald A. Mercier, SJ, has also approved Alan’s appointment.

Alan is currently the principal of the boys’ division of Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, Colorado. He has 22 years of experience in Jesuit education at three high schools. Alan has been a teacher at Rockhurst Jesuit High School in Kansas City, MO, a teacher and vice principal of students at St. Paul’s Jesuit High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and since 2012, principal at Regis Jesuit. He has a Masters in Jesuit Administration from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Political Studies and History also from the University of Manitoba.

Under Alan's leadership, Regis Jesuit has increased enrollment and test scores, redesigned the curriculum, upgraded the school’s technology and established a dedicated college counseling program. Throughout his career, he has coached several sports, assisted in theater productions and led retreats. Alan has a very strong commitment to Jesuit Catholic Identity and Mission.

Following David Laughlin’s announcement in January that he would be completing 13 years of service at SLUH and assuming the presidency at Rockhurst Jesuit High School, we formed a search committee made up of trustees, faculty, and representatives of the Jesuit Central and Southern Province to find his successor. The names of the committee members are below. In selecting SLUH’s next president, the committee tried to identify applicants with the following qualities:

Active Roman Catholic committed to Jesuit Identity and Mission
Effective, experienced school leader, communicator and listener who can work with a variety of people and situations
Strong fundraising ability and aptitude
Someone who appreciates SLUH’s traditions yet can maintain the school’s excellence as a leadership school in the present and future.

The committee conducted a comprehensive, nation-wide search and identified a number of candidates with deep experience in Jesuit secondary education. The search committee believes Alan fully embodies the above attributes of a successful president and unanimously recommended his hiring to the Board of Trustees, which also gave its full approval last week.

I want to extend my gratitude to the search committee members for their months of tireless work on this important effort. I also want to thank David Laughlin, not only for his 13 years of outstanding service to St. Louis U. High, but also for the many hours he spent both helping our search committee understand the various facets of the president’s duties and in meeting with candidates to tell them about SLUH. We are also grateful that David gave us 18 months’ notice of his departure, allowing us time to conduct a thorough search and to have an orderly leadership transition.

Thank you for your support of St. Louis U. High and please join me in welcoming Alan Carruthers, his wife Lucia and his sons John Paul and Archie to St. Louis and the SLUH community.

Sincerely,

Tom Santel ‘76
Chair, Board of Trustees

Search Committee Members:

Sean Agniel ‘96
SLUH Advancement Office and former Provincial Assistant for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education, Jesuits of the Central and Southern Province

Jim Burshek, SJ ‘63
Trustee and Superior, St. Jean de Brebeuf Jesuit Community

Tim Curdt ‘90
English Department

Tim Fogerty
Trustee

Darryl Jones ‘73
Trustee

Geoff Miller ‘95
Provincial Assistant for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education, Jesuits of the Central and Southern Province

Mary Reedy
Trustee

Mary Russo
Science Department

Tom Santel ‘76
Chair, Board of Trustees

Mark Wilhelm ‘72
Trustee

John Wunderlich ‘66
Trustee

Media Inquiries, Contact:

Ben DuMont '92
Director of Communications
St. Louis University High School
4970 Oakland Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 269-2198

View Press Release

View Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Louis University High School Appoints New President,
Alan R. Carruthers, Effective July 1, 2018

November 3, 2017 (St. Louis, MO)—Mr. Tom Santel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis University High School (SLUH), has announced the Board's unanimous approval to appoint Alan R. Carruthers as President of SLUH. This concluded a national search for the successor of David J. Laughlin, who announced this January he will complete his 13-year term as President on June 30, 2018 to assume the role of President at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo.

"It is with utmost humility, excitement and sense of shared mission that my family and I have accepted the offer to serve as the next President of SLUH," said Carruthers. "SLUH has a long and storied tradition of academic excellence focused on forming socially aware, critical thinkers who engage in leadership for justice and service of the Church. I am confident that our lay and Jesuit collaborative partnership will continue this heritage into the future."

Carruthers is an established leader in Jesuit secondary education. He brings to SLUH 22 years of Jesuit secondary education experience, first as a social studies teacher, head lacrosse coach and assistant football coach at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. (1995-2000), then as Vice Principal and teacher at St. Paul’s Jesuit High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba (2000-12), and most recently as Principal at Regis Jesuit High School – Boys Division in Aurora, Co. (2012-present).

After graduating from St. Paul’s Jesuit High School in Winnipeg, Carruthers earned a B.A. from the University of Manitoba/St. Paul’s Jesuit College and a B.Ed. from the University of Manitoba. In addition, he has completed the Jesuit Schools Network’s Seminars in Ignatian Leadership, and a Masters in Jesuit Administration from St. Joseph’s University, the Jesuit university in Philadelphia.

V. Rev. Ronald Mercier, S.J., Provincial Superior of the Jesuits of the USA Central and Southern Province, enthusiastically endorsed Carruthers’ candidacy and selection as SLUH’s next President.

“Alan Carruthers has had a distinguished career as an educator in Jesuit schools,” Fr. Mercier said. “He has a strong commitment to educational excellence shaped by his devotion to Catholic and Jesuit tradition. He will build on the strong foundation already in place and help implement the school's forward-looking vision so ably crafted under the leadership of David Laughlin and SLUH's Board of Trustees.”

Santel characterized Carruthers as a man of deep faith whose entire life has been dedicated to Jesuit education, first as a student and then through a series of progressively responsible positions in Jesuit secondary institutions.

"St. Louis U. High is fortunate to have found in Alan Carruthers a person with a record of proven leadership, dedication and innovation,” says Santel. “We are confident Alan can help SLUH meet the challenges of the 21st century so that it remains a leader in academic achievement and faith formation. We look forward to welcoming Alan and his family to the SLUH community next summer."

Carruthers begins his service at SLUH on July 1, 2018.

###

St. Louis University High School, founded in 1818, is a private, Jesuit secondary educational institution located in the City of St. Louis. The school provides a premier education infused with the five-century-old tradition and philosophy of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus. SLUH’s student body mirrors the geographic and socio-economic diversity of the entire metropolitan area, on both sides of the river.

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