Xaverian Receives Historic $10 Million Gift Commitment

“As a relatively young school among many private New England institutions, Xaverian has only recently entered the era in which early graduates are considering planned giving,” according to Dr. Jacob Conca, Head of School. “That is why we are exceptionally excited to share that a Class of 1977 graduate and a member of our Board of Trustees, John J. Sullivan, recently made a $10 million planned gift commitment to Xaverian. This gift commitment is the largest on record for the school and represents a sea change for Xaverian’s philanthropic opportunities.”

 

Sullivan, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, former Deputy Secretary of State, partner at Mayer Brown, LLP, Distinguished Scholar at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University, and author of Midnight in Moscow, has had an incredibly successful career as a diplomat, statesman, attorney, and writer. After graduating from Xaverian, Sullivan attended Brown University followed by Columbia Law School, where he met his wife, Grace Rodriguez. They raised their family in Washington, D.C., where Grace had an equally successful career as a senior law partner at King & Spalding LLP. Sadly, after a brief illness, Grace passed away in 2022. According to Sullivan, it was in the aftermath of his wife’s passing that he began for the first time thinking about his estate plans.

 

“Grace and I had a will written before we had our first child,” Sullivan says. Its primary purpose was outlining who would care for their children if anything happened to them. Now, with three grown children, Sullivan’s considerations for his will are different than in the early days of his family. He realized he had the capacity to make an impact, and that prompted him to approach Xaverian’s advancement team about the possibility of a planned gift. “My wife and I were very fortunate,” Sullivan says, “and as I was thinking about my will, I thought, ‘I can make a bigger impact. I have the means to make a contribution that benefits an institution that I feel strongly about, and there’s only one—Xaverian.’”

 

Sullivan's enduring relationship with Xaverian began when he first visited campus on a rainy Saturday in the fall of 1972. He came for an admissions tour and knew the school was the place for him. “Once I enrolled, I was all in,” he says. “The school embraced me and I embraced the school. I spent all day, every day at Xaverian until I had to get home for dinner. I just loved being there. It had a huge impact on me academically and socially. When I think about the future and investing in institutions that will help our country and our society, it’s a place like Xaverian that appeals to me. It worked for me, and I can see the evidence that it’s continuing to work for others in the generations that followed me in Westwood.”

 

Sullivan’s connection to the school is intrinsically tied to his relationships with the Xaverian Brothers who worked and lived on campus. When his father died while Sullivan was in college, he says he was shocked to see Brother Joe Gerard, C.F.X. and Brother Paul Feeney, C.F.X. at the services. “I didn’t tell anybody at the school, and yet Brother Joe and Brother Paul came to the wake. That made a big impact on me. I stayed in touch with them through law school and my subsequent career. When my children were young, I’d bring them by and show them where their dad went to high school. Xaverian has given so much more to me—even after I had graduated—than what my family gave in tuition while I was a student. That’s what animates my giving. I want to make sure the school thrives in the future and continues to provide the education to boys that I was lucky enough to receive at Xaverian.”

 

Sullivan hopes his contributions to Xaverian will both honor the Brothers’ legacy and also support tuition assistance for deserving students. “He recognizes the value of what the Brothers contributed to our school for decades,” says Dr. Conca. “He also understands and appreciates the lay people who are carrying on the mission of Xaverian today. Mr. Sullivan’s bequest will help us ensure that the school continues to attract the brightest and best mission-driven faculty, staff, and administrators, while also ensuring that all qualified students are able to attend, regardless of family finances. For Mr. Sullivan, it’s about the people and the mission. We’re so grateful for his generous commitment which makes him a lead member of Xaverian’s planned giving group, the Brother Marcellus Society.”

 

In addition to the family’s $10 million commitment, Sullivan intends to continue supporting the Fund for Xaverian, the school’s annual fund, at $100,000 a year to help provide for immediate needs. “I’m making these commitments because I have confidence in Xaverian’s people and mission,” says Sullivan. “Since I was asked to join the Board of Trustees in 2023, I have seen firsthand that the school is as good if not better than it was 50 years ago. We’re taking Xaverian into the future in a state, a region, and a country that needs it now more than ever.”