At the end of this year, Father Wally Sidney will conclude his final year of service at De Smet Jesuit.

Fr. Sidney’s first experience at De Smet was long before he became president; he had worked at De Smet on two previous occasions. The first was from 1973 to 1975 as the Academic Assistant Principal and scholastic.

He returned in 1979 to guide the Campus Ministry Office in addition to teaching. He aided in revamping and advancing the Campus Ministry program. He continued to work at De Smet until 1984.

He returned in 2006 to become the president of the school. As President, Fr. Sidney addressed declining enrollment and a wave of new teachers.

He acknowledges that enrollment has gone down because the pool of students has gotten smaller. Fr. Sidney explained the plan for more aggressive recruiting strategies: “We put in a lot of effort first with Mr. [Anthony] Fior and now with Mr. [Tim] Sullivan in the admissions office. What we do in terms of recruiting students, that’s completely different then what we did nine years ago when I was here,” Fr. Sidney said.

The next big change at De Smet during his time as president was a wave of new teachers. “It is kind of a rebirth of De Smet with new faculty and new leadership,” Fr. Sidney said. Through the staffing change, De Smet has maintained its identity. De Smet still prides itself on being “Men for Others” and striving to follow the Grad at Grad model.

After the end of this school year, Fr. Sidney will take some time off before he departs to Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in January. Fr. Sidney has relaxing summer plans. “I want to spend some time reading. I have not had a whole lot of time to read,” he said. He also plans on meeting with his graduating class from the Jesuits in Colorado.

In his new position at Jesuit College Preparatory School, he will be the superior of the Jesuit community there, teach theology and assist in campus ministry. “One big project is coordinating the move of the Jesuits out of their current residence in the school into a couple of houses right behind the school,” Fr. Sidney said.

Some will remember Fr. Sidney for his tangible accomplishments at De Smet, but he will be remembered most for his character. “One of the things that is certainly characteristic of [Fr. Sidney] is that he cares very deeply about people,” Dr. Greg Densberger said. “The decisions that he makes and the things that he does are really motivated by the people that make up De Smet, whether it is students or faculty.”

During the awards assembly held on April 24, Mr. Ken Lueke recognized Fr. Sidney’s contributions to the school. In an emotional and heartfelt speech, Mr. Lueke addressed Fr. Sidney. “Fr. Sidney, you have built the kingdom of God on earth by ministering to students in hallways, in the classrooms and on retreats. To the faculty, you have been a constant supporter of building a prayer community during morning Masses, Ignatian evenings and faculty retreats, always leading us in prayer.”