The Rev. Sean Hogan from behind his desk in Old Main. Photo by Jillian Power
Duquesne University will see the end of an era in June; the Rev. Sean Hogan will step down from his position as executive vice president of student life on June 30.
Hogan will remain on campus as the newly appointed executive president of the Duquesne University Scholarship Fund. His primary duty will be to aid the university in raising money for the various scholarships awarded to Duquesne students.
“The situation at Duquesne was not great financially…I can remember when we only had a quarter of a million dollars to give to students,” said Hogan from behind his expansive but cluttered desk. He is referring to Duquesne’s financial situation upon his arrival in 1980. This was due in part to the “demise of steel,” which refers to Pittsburgh’s history as a steel mining city. Fewer and fewer students were applying to the University because they did not have the money to attend. Duquesne, in turn, was in need of some divine intervention.
Hogan arrived at Duquesne to aid the university in its “Strategies for a Second Century” campaign, which would provide scholarships to students on an as-needed basis. The university intended to raise $20 million; with help from Hogan, the total donated amount reached $24 million, or $58 million by the current dollar value.
Today, there is $96 million available for scholarships to students, and the “discount rate” for freshman can be up to 40 percent off of the average tuition price, according to Hogan.
“(Hogan) has been the voice of the mission: ensuring that we provide access and choice to a diverse group of academically talented and motivated students independent of their ability to pay,” said Paul-James Cukanna, the associate provost for Enrollment Management. According to Cukanna, Duquesne has been able to enroll larger and larger freshman classes thanks to the Rev. Hogan’s fundraising efforts.
“It’s a lot of money, but it’s not enough,” said Hogan. Although he feels that Duquesne is serving its students well financially, he said, “colleges are not going to get cheaper. We have to do more and more, now.”
Doing more is second nature to Hogan. He currently sponsors his own scholarships for students, with one being in the name of his parents. His Christmas gifts, he told me, often end up as donations to either the university or to his own scholarship funds. He anticipates a surge in donations and gifts this year as he prepares to leave his current position. One benefactor has already pledged to donate $20,000 to his personal scholarship.
Although many students already benefit from various Duquesne scholarships, there are still students who need additional assistance. Hogan, who maintains an “open-door” policy for students wishing to speak with him, works tirelessly with students who may not be receiving the financial support to remain at Duquesne. The morning he and I spoke, he had already spoken with two students about their financial situations and what could be done to keep them in school.
“It’s a problem for me, mentally, because I come from a country where all college education is free.” Hogan was born and raised in Limerick, Ireland, a fact that is unsurprising to anyone who has heard his warm Irish accent. Indeed, Hogan, or “Father,” as he is more likely to be called, is a fixture on campus due to both his memorable personality and the lore that tends to surround those who stick around an institution for long enough.
Rev. Sean Hogan is featured in a 1987 issue of the Duquesne Duke. Photo by Jillian Power
Hogan, who, in his 28 years at Duquesne, has acquired both his own Twitter parody account and is the subject of a particular rumor involving a flask, is without a doubt a fixture in students’ lives. He has shaped the Duquesne residence life into what it is known as today.
“Father made things happen,” said Sharon Oelschlager, director of Residence Life. Oelschlager has been the director of Residence Life for as long as Hogan has been vice president of Student Life.“From the very beginning it was about making sure the students had a good place to live,” said Oleschlager about Hogan’s influence on residence life as it is today.
According to Oleschlager, Duquesne’s perception when she and Hogan entered their current positions was not ideal. “The university was going through some trying times; they’d be in the news every day for something…When (Hogan and I) started, there were no resources; there wasn’t money for us. Our closets didn’t have doors on them, dressers didn’t have drawers in them.”
Oleschlager, who has seen first hand how involved Hogan can become in helping the university, believes that he will excel in his new position as executive president of the Duquesne Scholarship Fund. “(Hogan) will role up his sleeves and shovel snow just like anybody else if that’s what needs to happen, and I think that’s why it’s easy to work with and meet his high expectations, because he would do the same.”
Hogan arrived on campus following what some may consider an act of god. On July 3, 1975, a raging fire consumed the roof of “Old Main”, home to the administration offices as well as the Duquesne Chapel. According to Susan Parker and Mark Kholos in an article for The Duquesne Duke, the wooden roof was struck by lightening during a rainstorm. The damages caused by the storm were as much as $1.4 million.
More information about the Old Main fire can be found in The Duquesne Duke archives. Photo by Jillian Power
“I walked up that hill from the William Penn and the first thing I noticed was this building, the administration building, burnt. When I look at that, at that image of that burned building in my mind, and the image of the university today…It’s amazing the change,” said Hogan. When Hogan arrived at Duquesne, the university looked completely different from how it looks today. Fixtures such as Vickroy Hall, The Power Center, and the Palumbo Center did not exist. Academic Walk, said Hogan, was “a parking lot.”
After 28 years, filled with both joys and sorrows, successes and failures, Hogan will be making the transition into his new role as Executive President of the Duquesne Scholarship Fund, as well as into a state of semi-retirement. He is, after all, 73-years-old.
“He deserves a break. He deserves to have a quiet, peaceful and enjoyable retirement,” said Oleschlager, after tearfully relating a memory of the Rev. Hogan praying with students after the death of their floor mate. “He has that wonderful ability to be able to bring that sensitivity home. Those are the times where I think “I don’t know how you can find somebody to do that.”” According to Oleschlager, the university has posted the position for applicants, and the deadline for applications is some time in mid-January.
Hogan, however, is not yet ready to leave the Duquesne community entirely. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said. For that, Duquesne can breathe a sigh of relief.
Jillian Power 