RYAN DEDICATES CLOISTER TO HONOR FR. PAT CONNOR

(Nashville, Tenn., December 4, 2006)—
The Cloister building at Father Ryan High School was dedicated as the Fr. Pat Connor Cloister on Saturday, December 9 as the school honors one of its former principals and long-time campus supporter, according to Jim McIntyre, principal.

Fr. Connor, a 1953 graduate of Father Ryan, served as the school’s principal from 1974-78 and served as administrator of the Father Ryan Relocation Project in the 1980s that led to the location of the school at its current campus on Norwood Drive.  A supporter of Catholic education throughout his career, he was assistant principal of Bishop Byrne High School in Memphis and principal of Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga prior to becoming principal at Ryan.

“Father Ryan is blessed with countless loyal alumni who have made their marks on this school and their communities for years,” McIntyre stated.  “Fr. Pat Connor has left his mark in countless indelible ways on Ryan, through his leadership as principal, his support of the new campus and his presence, ministry and service to Catholic families throughout the Diocese for over 45 years.  We are thrilled to honor his service with this dedication.  The Cloister serves as a key center of student life and development on the campus and it is fitting that it will now be known for an individual who continues to have an impact on the students and campus of Father Ryan.”

Fr. Connor was ordained at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in 1961 and served in various parishes throughout the Diocese.  After his tenure at Ryan he returned to parish and diocesan responsibilities, serving as pastor of the Cathedral, and later was named the Vicar General of the Diocese of Nashville.  He became pastor of St. Catherine Parish in Columbia in 1995 and served their till his retirement in 2005.

Father Ryan has a distinguished record of academic and extracurricular achievement.  It was the first private high school in the city to receive dual accreditation from both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), and is a member of the Cum Laude Academic Honor Society.  The school recently announced that eight of its students were honored by the National Merit Scholarship Program, bringing to 75 the total number of Ryan students honored by this organization in the past 10 years.

Father Ryan High School was established in 1925 and today provides a premier, Catholic, college preparatory education along with spiritual and community service experiences to over 900 students in grades 9-12.  Last year Ryan’s graduating class received over $ 11 million in scholarship offers from 109 colleges and universities in 29 states, England and Italy.  More information is available on the website at www.fatherryan.org.