A St. Michael's family donated $500,000 over five years for the express purpose of inviting compelling, contemporary leaders and visionaries to the St. Michael’s campus to address students in a series of stimulating talks. The series is titled EDIFY.
In accordance with EDIFY’s mission, presentations will be directed to “unleash and enlighten the intellectual curiosity of St. Michael’s students so that they may form the habits of mind and heart that will enable them to courageously contribute to the common good.”
The donor, who prefers to remain anonymous, proposed the idea based on his experience of a similar program at his boarding school. Decades later, he recalls how many of the speakers he encountered made a profound impression on him, and said he believes such a program has tremendous value.
“I am primarily interested in practical, non-academic subjects to expand the students' critical-thinking skills and their view of the world. They already receive academic information in school, and improved critical thinking is a skill they can and will use throughout their lives,” he said.