Social worker’s legacy to benefit students
In the early 1950s, Ray Ganey (MSW ’55) and his wife, Helen, were starting their family in Chicago. During those years, as he was working for Catholic Charities, Ganey decided to go back to school for a social work degree. Though it was going to be a financial struggle, he chose Loyola because his peers spoke so highly of the school.
At the same time, the Carson Pirie Scott department store was offering a $3,000 scholarship to a deserving student—to be chosen by the school’s faculty—to celebrate the store’s 100th anniversary. Ganey was chosen as Loyola’s recipient.
“That scholarship changed my life,” says Ganey, who is retired and lives near three of his five children in North Mankato, Minnesota. “If it weren’t for Dean Matthew Schoenbaum and his faculty selecting me, I might not have been able to finish school.”
This fortunate turn of events changed not only Ganey’s life, but also the lives of the countless people he has served throughout his more than 40 years as a social worker.
After completing his degree at Loyola, Ganey worked for the Illinois Institute of Juvenile Research and later at the Psychiatric Institute of the Municipal Courts of Chicago as its assistant director of social work. His career then led him to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston where he worked for the next 30 years in the Adult and Child Guidance Center. While there, he developed programs and prepared grants to offer mental health services to those who couldn’t afford private care. He also had a private practice for 12 years.
Now, current Loyola students are still benefiting from Ganey’s scholarship experience. Remembering how instrumental it was to his education, Ganey recently made contributions totaling $52,000 to establish the Ray and Helen Ganey Endowed Scholarship to support students interested in mental health or child welfare.
“It is my way of saying thanks for the impact this scholarship and Loyola has had on my life,” says Ganey. “I wanted to help people with mental illness recover and lead normal lives,” he adds, “and my time at Loyola provided a good foundation for my career.”
Ganey also fondly remembers psychiatrist Dr. Robert Zirpoli, a faculty member while he was in school who was also a founder and medical director of the Guidance Center. “While there, I treated mentally ill patients—people needing help with their marriage or with their children’s problems. I eventually administered programs for the homeless and those with alcohol and drug addictions. It was very gratifying.”
“Ray’s amazing gift will forever touch the lives of our students and the people they serve,” says Jack C. Wall, dean of the School of Social Work.
Because of the University’s commitment to enhancing scholarship opportunities, President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., has agreed to match the Ganeys’ gift, ensuring that even more of the University’s general endowment funds go specifically to social work students and programs.
Raymond (MSW ‘55) and Helen Ganey