Numerous centennial celebrations headlined the 2014 Regis news cycle. But an impressive number of surprise news stories highlighted the fact that Regis at 100, along with its family of alumni and friends, is still going strong. As 2014 comes to a close, here is a quick overview of the headlines that grabbed our attention this centennial year. These stories showcase Regis's commitment to both academic excellence and fostering a spirit of generosity and service to those in need.

For complete coverage—including stories, photos, and videos—of these and other events from 2014, search through our headlines in the Regis News archives.

 

  Regis rang in the Centennial year with the closing bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange on January 17. By month's end, the Regis varsity track 4 x 800m relay team earned a spot to compete in the 2014 Millrose Games, the tenth time since 1980 that a Regis track team has earned that honor.

 

 

Fr. Andreassi's "Teach Me to Be Generous" book was published and the book release event became the first of many Centennial events hosted at 84th Street. Later that month, Regis hosted its first Centennial Film Night with a showing of The Searchers, written by famed graduate Frank S. Nugent '25.

 

John Clarke '14 finished in the Top 10 of the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition. Soon thereafter, a comeback win earned the Regis Varsity Basketball team the New York State CHSAA Championship. On March 17, Regians young and old marched in the 253rd New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. The month concluded with a group of all-star alumni headlining the Centennial year's Classroom Revisited.

 

On April 10th, students, faculty, and staff turned back the clock to 1964 in celebration of the 100th day of the 100th year of Regis High School. The 50 year throwback date was a tribute to the school’s Golden Jubilee, and offered a robust list of old traditions and customs for the school to implement for the day. Then, on April 15, the storied history of the Regis Hearn was honored at a highly entertaining Centennial Debate. Before month's end, the Regis Science Bowl Team secured third place in the 2014 National Science Bowl Competition.

 

In May, alumni joined students, parents, and friends in the Regis Auditorium to attend a Centennial year performance of Child's Play. The Tony Award winning play was chosen as this year’s production because it was written by Regis alumus and former Regis faculty member Robert Marasco '54.

 

June brought the retirement of Mr. John Connelly ’56 P’90’99, whose teaching career spanned more than half the life of Regis High School. With an astonishing 52 years of service, Mr. Connelly holds the record for the longest serving lay faculty member in Regis history. Also in June, the names of 131 young men became etched in the Regis history books as the members of the 97th graduating class. Wearing the traditional white graduation jackets, the class of 2014 gathered in the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola to receive their diplomas and celebrate their academic and extracurricular successes.

 

Quick recall, fast clicking on his signaling device, and sharp focus were on display as a crowded auditorium watched Joe Taglic '14 compete in the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament quarterfinals. Though he did not win the match, his second place total was enough to earn a wild card spot into semifinals.Following the event, which was covered and reported on by ABC-7, the crowd of alumni, parents, and friends competed in a fun but challenging Regis Centennial Trivia Night.

 

The historic Regis Owl statue returned to the Quadrangle for the sold-out Centennial Barbecue. Also that month, Regis High School's REACH Program Featured in The Wall Street Journal in an article titled, "Taking the Longer View of Diversity: New York’s Regis High School Recruits Promising Minority Fifth-Graders." Regis was also proud to congratulate Rob Manfred P'05 on his appointment as the next commissioner of Major League Baseball, a position he will assume next month.

 

Regis High School opened its doors to students for the first time on September 14, 1914. So it was fitting that early Monday morning, September 15, 2014—the first school day of Regis High School’s second century—the school community opened its doors with both a salute to the past and a celebration for its future. Federal, state, and local officials joined the Regis community to ring a ceremonial "first bell" for the school's second century, and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer praised "the next 100 years of great Jesuit education here in New York City."

 

In early October, Regis added "Nobel Prize" to the list of distinguished awards earned by alumni. John O'Keefe '57 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his efforts to identify the "inner GPS" that helps the brain navigate through the world.  Later that month marked the highlight of a year's worth of centennial celebrations. On Saturday, October 24 Regis hosted a black tie Centennial Gala at the Waldorf Astoria. Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. ’67, President of Fordham University, delivered the keynote address to a sold-out audience of Regis alumni, family, and friends.  Then on Sunday, October 25, His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, served as the Principal Celebrant at the Regis Centennial Mass at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano ’77, Bishop of Bridgeport, served as homilist.

 

On November 19, Phil Klay '01 won the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction for his short story collection titled Redeployment. Klay, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, says his stories were inspired by his time in service. Klay served in Iraq’s Anbar Province from January 2007 to February 2008 as a Public Affairs Officer. In a recent interview, President Obama was asked if he was currently reading any books, to which he replied, "I'm in the middle of a wonderful book that was recently released called Redeployment, by Phil Klay. He's an Iraq War veteran who's written a series of short stories. Really good. Really powerful."

 

 

 

Regis concluded its year-long centennial celebrations with one final event. The Centennial Athletics Homecoming attracted an overwhelming number of alumni, ranging from the class of 1948 to current students. The event featured a discussion and Q&A session with Mike Breen P’09’15 and Walt “Clyde” Frazier, the voices of the New York Knicks. Prior to the featured speakers, the evening began with a brief overview of 100 years of Regis athletics, presented by Mike Walczewski '73, the public address announcer for Madison Square Garden.  Students and their families helped conclude the Centennial year by the annual gathering for the 2014 Christmas Tree lighting, which served as a poignant salute to the Christmas season and an opportunity to give thanks for the blessed and joyful 2014 experienced by the Regis community.