Santa Clara University

S.J.: 1914 - 1998

In 1981, as Fr. Bannan Approached his 50th Anniversary as a Jesuit, his family told him they wanted to something for the university in his honor, and asked for suggestions.

Said Fr. Bannan: “So many universities drift away into secularism, and it seemed to me that it would be very important to bolster Santa Clara in every way we could to maintain and increase…spirituality….” He said SCU should always stress moral and spiritual values, as well as intellectual and aesthetic values.

“Education,” Fr. Bannan said, “involves seeking answers for not only ‘what is’ but ‘what should be,’ and it means encouraging the search for faith that promotes justice.”

And so, through the generous contributions of 55 members of his family, the Louis I Bannan, S.J. Foundation for Christian Values was established in 1982 with the intent to enhance the Catholic and Jesuit character of the university.

Born in San Francisco one of 10 children, Fr. Bannan entered the Jesuit order in 1931 and was ordained a priest in 1944.

He attended SCU as a student from 1933 to 1935, when he transferred to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he earned both his A.B. and M.A. degrees. He went on to study theology at Alma College, then located in Lost Gatos, followed by another four years of graduate studies in education at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Before coming to Santa Clara to teach in 1953, he taught at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco and Loyola University in Los Angeles.

Since 1953, when the 39-year old Bannan came to Santa Clara to teach philosophy and educational psychology, he went far beyond the role of professor and became a mentor and friend to generations of students. In 1957 he began a career with the Alumni Office, and he served as assistant to the president for alumni affairs from 1972 until the time of his death. He spent more than 40years as a prefect advisor and chaplain in various student residence halls around campus.

Colleagues agree that nobody knew more alumni that “Father Lou.”

“He probably built more bridges and strong, lifetime relationships than anybody else had the opportunity to do,” said Jerry Kerr, executive director of SCU’s alumni association, “It was very common for him to work 16 hours a day.”