Rev. Jerry Wade, S.J., Bellarmine chancellor and Honorary Doctor of Education degree recipient (center), with Rev. Richard Cobb, S.J., Bellarmine colleague and friend (left) and Rev. Michael Engh, S.J., president of Santa Clara University. (photo courtesy Santa Clara University).
San Jose, CA – Reverend Gerald T. Wade, S.J., chancellor of Bellarmine College Preparatory, its former president, and an alumnus of the all-boys Jesuit high school, is the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree from Santa Clara University (SCU), given to him at SCU’s 168th Commencement held on June 15, 2019. Friend and Bellarmine colleague, Rev. Richard Cobb, S.J., introduced the honor, with the degree conferred by Rev. Michael Engh, S.J., president of SCU.
Reverend Wade received the degree of Doctor of Education, honoris causa, for his work as a dedicated member of the Society of Jesus and in recognition of his decades of service at Bellarmine College Prep. Among the many achievements referenced on the honorary degree is his being “beloved for your ministry to alumni and friends of Bellarmine and other members of the local community. Your presence at significant periods in their lives has filled them with grace and peace.”
Reverend Wade is grateful to be receiving such an honor. “My thoughts have been centering on my terrific parents, Clara and Walter Wade,” he noted recently. “My dad, Walter, was a long-time pharmacist and about one block from the SCU campus, they owned and operated Wade’s Mission Pharmacy, where they so enjoyed serving he people of the town of Santa Clara, including the Jesuit and lay professors, staff members, and students of Santa Clara University. My dad was always so proud and pleased that part of the label on all the prescriptions sold at the pharmacy included the image of Mission Santa Clara, which is still an important center of the campus. And so, yes, I feel so strongly that I am receiving and accepting this honor from this great Jesuit university in honor of and in thanksgiving for my mom and dad, Clara (Gorman) and Walter Wade.”
This year marks Rev. Wade’s 64th anniversary as a member of the Society of Jesus, which he entered upon graduating from Bellarmine in 1955. He is also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from University of San Francisco (USF) that was conferred in 2015.
“At the age now of 81, I am pleased that I chose Jesuit secondary education for my life,” Rev. Wade reflected recently.