Through the generosity of Boston College benefactors Robert '60 and Judy Winston, an endowment fund, named in honor of longtime member and former chair of the Saint Columbkille Partnership School Board of Trustees Peter McLaughlin '59, has been established to supplement existing financial aid for families whose children seek to attend the pre-K-8 Catholic school in Brighton.
Founded in 1901, Saint Columbkille has partnered with BC, Saint Columbkille Parish, and the Boston Archdiocese since 2006 to provide additional resources for a new national model of excellence in Catholic early childhood, elementary, and middle school education. Last March, the Lynch School of Education designated Saint Columbkille Partnership School a laboratory school to enhance opportunities for student-teacher training, educational research, and professional development.
Left to right: STCPS Board Chair Pat Casey, STCPS Head of School William Gartside, Boston College President William P. Leahy, S.J., and BC alumnus Peter McLaughlin, STCPS chair emeritus. (Rose Lincoln)
“We are very grateful to the Winstons for their most generous donation in Peter’s name,” said STCPS Head of School William Gartside. “Bob and Judy, who were initial donors to our school, are passionate about Catholic education in our community, and we sincerely thank them for significantly advancing our mission.”
For the past eight years, McLaughlin, now STCPS chair emeritus, a fellow in the Office of the President at BC, and former interim executive director of the BC Alumni Association, was instrumental in generating funds to support families in need of tuition assistance. Each year, STCPS raises more than $600,000 for student financial aid to remain true to the school’s mission to provide high quality Catholic education to all, regardless of their economic status.
“No students are denied admission to STCPS due to an inability to pay,” noted Gartside. “Peter’s fundraising skill and deep commitment were essential to the school’s growth and development. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish during the past 12 years, including increasing enrollment from 175 to more than 400, and our students consistently performing well above the national average on all testing measures.”
Robert Winston is a retired senior vice president and director of Capital Group subsidiary American Funds Distributors LLC, a Los Angeles-based mutual fund family. A Dedham native, he served as a BC trustee for three years and received BC’s most prestigious alumni honor, the William V. McKenney Award, and the James F. Cleary Master Fund Raising Award. Judy Winston is a graduate of Merrimack College and taught in high schools in Massachusetts and California. In the spring of 2006, the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, housed within BC’s Carroll School of Management, was founded through the Winstons’ largesse. The center engages students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the intellectual exploration of leadership and ethics in business and society.
Said Winston, “My wife Judy and I wanted to honor Peter and create a permanent tribute to him for his outstanding commitment to and energy on behalf of the school, and for quarterbacking the campaign to fulfill the vision of [Boston College President] William Leahy, S.J., for Saint Columbkille as a highly respected and acclaimed model of Catholic K-8 education. We challenged the BC community to match our dollars, and we’re very happy that they’ve achieved it.”
“I can’t thank Bob and Judy Winston enough for their generosity and initiative in establishing an endowment in my name for financial aid at St. Columbkille School,” said McLaughlin. “This endowment will further the mission of our school to provide a top-notch Catholic education in a caring and supportive environment for needy students.”
-- Phil Gloudemans, University Communications | January 2019