GIFTS
T
hough Joe Ronan didn’t
graduate from Loyola
University Chicago School of
Law, he credits it with launching him
in the legal profession—and he and
his wife, Colleen Davies Ronan, are
showing their thanks with a generous
scholarship gift of $50,000.
“Loyola gave me a shot. Without
it, I wouldn’t be where I am today,
and I’ve always been grateful for
that,” says Joe, who transferred to the
University of Denver Sturm College of
Law after completing two and a half
years at Loyola.
Though it’s been 40 years since
Joe studied at Loyola, he’s stayed part
of the Loyola community, regularly
supporting the School of Law. The
family’s Jesuit connections include
Colleen’s alma mater, Santa Clara
University School of Law, and Loyola’s
John Felice Rome Center, which their
daughter Katie, a Boston College
student, will attend next spring.
Like the students who will
benefit from the Joe and Colleen
Ronan Endowed Scholarship
Fund, Joe was a part-time student,
attending law school four nights a
week while working full time for the
State of Illinois.
“I don’t know how I did it—I sure
couldn’t do it today,” he jokes. “But I
had a good experience all around at
Loyola, with great professors such as
Richard Michael, Charles Purcell, Nina
Appel, andWilliam Cunningham, S.J.”
Some of his fellow students, he says,
have been lifelong friends. In fact,
Joe’s roommates while in law school
were J. Phil Gilbert (JD ’74), now a
judge in the United States District
Court’s Southern District of Illinois,
and John Cullerton (JD ’74), currently
Illinois State Senate president.
The Ronans, including son
Patrick, a junior in high school, live
in Northern California. Joe is senior
vice president of government
and regulatory affairs at Calpine
Corporation, the second-largest
independent power company in
the country. He joined Calpine in
1992 as general counsel. Colleen
is an attorney for the international
law firm Reed Smith, and is the first
woman to serve on the firm’s senior
management team as well as a
member of Reed Smith’s Life Sciences
Health Industry Group.
Says Dean David Yellen, “We’re
glad Joe maintains such a close
connection with Loyola and the
larger Jesuit community, and
are grateful that he and Colleen
chose to honor that continuing
relationship with this scholarship gift.
Their support will be invaluable to
students who are studying law part
time just as Joe did.”
■
Joe and Colleen Davies Ronan have endowed a new scholarship to support part-time students.
Part-time studies,
longtime loyalty
to Loyola
Joe Ronan and wife share success
by endowing a new scholarship
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT
»
T
he Parrillo family is full of
public school fans—and
of lawyers.
Robert Parrillo is an attorney.
So were his father and the father
of his wife, Elizabeth Ackerman.
Parrillo’s and Ackerman’s daughter
is now a law student. She and her
brother both attended schools in the
Chicago Public Schools system (CPS):
first Ogden Elementary, then the
international baccalaureate program
at Lincoln Park High School.
Parrillo and his wife are passionate
about the value of their hometown
public education.“We love the public
schools in Chicago and wish more
people supported them,”says Parrillo,
whose family has a long tradition
of giving back to CPS through
fundraising and volunteering.
Through a generous gift
endowing a new scholarship at the
School of Law, the Parrillo family
is honoring its commitment to
public education in Chicago while
expanding CPS students’ access
to a quality legal education. The
Parrillo CPS Scholarship Fund gives
preference to a Loyola law student
who has attended a Chicago public
school for at least four cumulative
years. When matched through the
University’s scholarship campaign,
this fund will provide for a Parrillo
CPS Scholar in each of the 1L, 2L, and
3L classes.
“Many people are deterred
from the dream of law school
because of tuition debt and the
difficult job market,” Parrillo says,
“so the ability to finance a legal
education becomes almost as
important as academic talent.
The public schools can be a rich
recruiting ground for law school,
but many students can’t afford it on
their own. We’re trying to help ease
that burden.”
Ackerman earned a degree
from Northwestern University, and
Parrillo is a Northwestern law alum.
Their son, Bobby, is currently an
abstract math major in his junior
year at Northwestern.
An admirer of Loyola’s
advocacy tradition, Parrillo is a
founder and managing partner
of Parrillo, Weiss & O’Halloran, a
Chicago-based law firm specializing
in personal injury and insurance
cases. He was named a 2005 Illinois
Super Lawyer by the Thomson
Reuters rating service.
“Bob is a leading lawyer who
is committed to giving back to the
profession and keeping it accessible,”
says Dean David Yellen. “We’re
honored and grateful that he and
Elizabeth have made this significant
gift. Establishing this fund, even while
their daughter continues the tradition
within their own family, only expands
their legacy to both Loyola law and
the public school system.”
■
A passion for public schools
Parrillo family
gi bene ts
CPS alums
The Parrillo CPS Scholarship gives preference to Loyola law students who have attended a Chicago public school.
Jamel Greer, 3L
Norman Amaker Scholarship
“As the recipient of a Loyola law
scholarship named a er the late
Professor Norman Amaker, I
am grateful and humbled to be
associated with such a dynamic
lawyer, educator, and civil rights
activist. In addition to helping with
the costs of tuition, this scholarship
reinforces my dream of becoming an
attorney for social justice.”
››
Help students fulfill their
dreams. Make your gift online
at
LUC.edu/law/give.
To read
more about Jamel and other
scholarship recipients, visit
LUC.edu/law/scholarship.
Your Gift.
Their Opportunity.
Our Future.
SCHOOL
of
LAW
FALL 2013
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LOYOLA LAW
