Above: Michael Tierney ’69 with his daughter, Maggie Tierney, and Xavier President
Jack Raslowsky at The Epiphany School Hall of Fame induction on November 7.
(Photo Credit: Mollie O'Mara Photography)

Epiphany School Honors Michael Tierney '69

Over cocktails at the storied Yale Club, Michael Tierney ’69—a loyal Son of Xavier and dedicated former trustee—was inducted into The Epiphany School Hall of Fame last Saturday.

Alongside fellow honorees Mary Jane Maher Higgins (sister of Tom Maher ’80, a steadfast supporter of Xavier), vice principal of Epiphany, and Philip McManus, an Epiphany parent and supporter, Mr. Tierney was lauded for his work founding The Epiphany School Foundation, which is committed to enriching the experience of every Epiphany student.

“I’m not sure the Foundation has any replication anywhere in the Archdiocese. It is a critical part of the Epiphany story,” said Mr. Tierney, who continues to serve on Xavier's finance committee. “While any number of Catholic schools have had to close, Epiphany, in the midst of all of that, is very much an incredible success story. The Foundation provides substantial resources.”

For Mr. Tierney, contributing to Epiphany—Xavier’s largest feeder school, with long, deep ties to 16th Street—has been a labor of love. He and his five siblings all attended the school (“It was just a wonderful place to grow up,” he said), and he later sent his own three children, Maggie, Danny, and Michael, to Epiphany. He chaired the school’s Board of Trustees and served as president of The Epiphany School Foundation while simultaneously serving on the Xavier High School Board of Trustees, all while holding down his day job at Goldman Sachs.

“Epiphany has been a focus of mine for many years and for very good reason. Our parents sent six of us to Epiphany, and nine of their grandchildren are graduates of The Epiphany School,” he told the crowd in his remarks, shortly after Xavier President Jack Raslowsky introduced him. “As it is for so many others, Epiphany is very much a family affair to us.”

Mr. Tierney’s late wife, Helen, was also a dedicated supporter of Epiphany; the school’s impressive art room now bears her name. “It’s impossible for me not to acknowledge Helen’s absence here tonight. All who knew her know what a special person she was,” Mr. Tierney said in his remarks. He then quoted from his son Michael’s 2011 graduation program, which bore this dedication: “Her smile was infectious, her humor unparalleled, and her commitment to the students of The Epiphany School without limits.”

The Xavier community—represented by Mr. Raslowsky, Rev. Jim Keenan, S.J., Rev. Jack Replogle, S.J., Dan Dougherty, Ken Sidlowski '71, Mark Mongelluzzo, Joseph and Betsy Gorski, and Helene and Matt Strong—was proud to celebrate the contributions of Mr. Tierney and the entire Tierney family to Epiphany. That work endures as Epiphany continues to thrive.

“Epiphany has always been a special place. That started with the dedication of the people who built it 127 years ago and continued with the selflessness of the nuns who served as its principal faculty for so many decades,” he said. “And now, years later, it really has become a model for how first-rate, affordable, value-centered, Catholic education cannot only sustain but thrive.”