In a monumental way, Chaifetz pays back SLU for education

In late February 2007, Saint Louis University announced that alumnus Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz (A&S ‘75) made a $12 million gift to SLU and that the new Arena would be named in his honor. But what motivated the namesake of the Chaifetz Arena to give back to his alma mater in such a big way? In his own words, Chaifetz shares an encounter with the SLU president at the time, Paul Reinert, S.J., that changed his life forever.

Obviously, my education at Saint Louis University had a very profound effect on me. It taught me the importance of a well-rounded, liberal education and allowed me to solidify my career goals. But most importantly, it taught me to give back.

At the time I attended the University, my parents were divorced, and my father ostensibly was going to be paying my tuition. In the second semester of my freshman year, I got a call from the bursar’s office to come down because there was an issue. Unbeknownst to me my tuition hadn’t been paid, and they were asking me to leave the school.

I said, “I can’t leave school. This is all I have going for me, and it’s very important to me. What can I do?” They told me that short of seeing Father Reinert there was nothing they could do other than tell me that I would no longer be an eligible student.

So I went immediately to see Father Reinert. For a young freshman, a Jesuit priest at that level was very intimidating. I told him what the circumstances were, and he just stared at me and didn’t say anything for awhile. After a few minutes, I told him again how important my education was and no matter what happened, if he would give me some grace period, I would eventually pay the tuition.

I also told him that I was going to be a success in life and that my education at SLU was going to be big part of it. I told him that I would not only make sure that I made good on my tuition commitment, but also that I would pay back Saint Louis University in some way once I was able to get my career going and be as successful as I hoped and thought I would be.

He looked at me, and after a few minutes he said, “Rich, I believe in you, and I’m going to give you as much time as you need to pay your tuition because you’re the kind of student we want at Saint Louis University.” That was the first and only time I met with Father Reinert. I eventually did pay the tuition, a combination of my own earnings and working something out with my divorced parents.

But why did I choose the Arena? I’m a big sports fan, and basketball was a very big part of my social life at school. Not having much money, it was a relatively low-cost way to entertain, both with dates and friends. I attended almost all the games. It just was a very, very important part of my experience there and something I look back at with a lot of joy. And when this opportunity came up to be involved with the Arena and more importantly, to actually name the Arena, I jumped on it.

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