by Dennis Dalman
St. John’s Prep School recently announced it has received the largest single donation since its founding 168 years ago.
The gift was given by Ann Marie Stock and her husband, David Campagna. Stock graduated from SJP in 1978. They specified the money should be dedicated for student scholarships. Although those two donors prefer the exact amount they gave not be revealed, it is certain the amount is more than $2-million because the biggest donation previously had been $2-million.
In April 2024, SJP announced a campaign dubbed “Prep Forward: Our Time is Now” to raise money for three school priorities – faculty, facilities, financial aid. So far, the campaign has raised $12.5 million.
In a SJP news release, Stock stated this: “I am a first-generation college student born and raised in St. Joseph who benefited from scholarships at Prep. I want to give back, making that possible for other students from central Minnesota.”
Stock
Stock praised SJP for making possible the beginnings of her successful career. She is a senior academic leader at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She earned her doctorate degree at the University of Minnesota. She is widely admired for her expertise on the culture of Cuba after taking 60 trips to that island nation over a 30-year period. Stock has written and/or edited a variety of publications, many of them about Cuban history and culture, especially its cinema. She has appeared as a guest on national television news programs and has been featured in the New York Times newspaper.
A highly innovative teacher, she inspires her students to co-create exhibitions, publications, translations, filmed interviews, videos and other enriching cultural programs – many of them about the history and culture of Cuba.
Campana
Stock’s’ husband, David Campana, is a leader of international asset evaluations. He works with people internationally in countries that include the United States, China, Colombia, Australia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, India and Mozambique.
SJP
St. John’s Preparatory School is a co-educational day and boarding college-prep school founded in 1857 by St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville. Nearly 300 students from 15 nations, six states and 26 Minnesota cities are enrolled at the school. SJP has a middle school for grades 6-8 and an upper school for grades 9-12. The school is listed among the top 20 among the 307 boarding schools in the nation, and its students consistently score high in testing. SJP is administered by the monks of St. John’s Abbey and is led by headmaster Jon McGee, who was selected as the first lay leader of the school in 2019.
