When she wasn’t courtside on one of Loyola University Chicago’s several runs to the NCAA Tournament in the last few years, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt would watch over the school’s students from her office in the Damen Student Center, often keeping her door open so they could visit.
On Friday, which would have been her 107th birthday, the school honored her legacy by unveiling a statue just southeast of the Joseph J. Gentile Center and the athletic center.
The sculpture was created by Omaha-artist Littleton Alston to “honor Sister Jean’s enduring legacy as an educator and mentor to all Ramblers,” reads a plaque next to the statue.
“It reminds us all that faith, learning, service and sport can unite a community and lift a human spirit,” it continues.
Janet Sisler, who knew the famed nun and former Loyola dean of students for more than 50 years, described her as “student-centered.” Sisler said no matter what role Sister Jean took on, she was always dedicated to pushing students to be better.
She met Sister Jean as a student at Mundelein College, the Catholic women’s college that was later absorbed into Loyola. When Sisler returned as the director of Loyola’s Gannon Center for Women and Leadership years later, she almost immediately received a two-page report on priorities she should have the role to best help the students. It was signed off by Sister Jean, of course.
“She did scouting reports for everybody,” Sisler said shortly after the ceremony. “[And] she followed all of her students throughout their professional lives. … She was very kind but very challenging.”
Sister Jean’s nieces Jeannie Tidwell and Janet Schmidt said she had always been an icon to the family, but the last few years had solidified what she meant to the school’s community. The former Mundelein students, who also had her as an advisor, reminisced at the ceremony on her love for life’s simple pleasures, like basketball and a Potbelly ham sandwich.
“She was an icon and a role model for me, I always wanted to be like her,” Schmidt said. “She always felt a part of the Loyola family anyways. … She’ll never be forgotten.”
The unveiling — which the two joked was Sister Jean’s second after her habit came off — also lined up with the first day for the university’s incoming freshman class. They said it was one of her favorite times of year as she got to meet the next group of students who would come through the university.
“It’s a tremendous tribute to her life,” Tidwell said. “And it’s really special that the Loyola community continues to embrace her. … This is the perfect day for it. This was her week.”