On Thursday, Dec. 8, Br. William J. Dardis, S.J. ’58, Mr. Paul Frederick, and Mr. Frank Misuraca were inducted into Jesuit’s Hall of Honors, marking the first induction ceremony held since 2009. Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. introduced the inductees during a school-wide Mass celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was followed by an unveiling ceremony in the Hall of Honors and reception in St. Ignatius Hall. The Hall of Honors was established in 1974 to recognize those — from teachers to staff to clergy, and sometimes all three — who have made outstanding contributions to Jesuit High School.
Click to View Unveiling Ceremony and Reception
![bro_dardis_bw_crop]()
Brother William J. Dardis, S.J. ’58
Brother Billy Dardis has served Jesuit High School for 53 years, seemingly as a “man for all seasons.”
Homeroom teacher; maintenance department director; handyman; grounds keeper; phone repair man; bus driver; leader of alumni; moderator of the cheerleaders and other organizations; altar boy; recorder of our dearly deceased; custodian of institutional knowledge; fighter for the underdog; supporter, friend, and tutor of struggling students; promoter of Blue Jay Spirit; consummate chaperone; designated dancer; friend to all; loving colleague; caretaker of JHS — only begin to describe this member of the Class of 1958. His classroom is the yard, the cafeteria, the back field, the gym, the Student Commons, the maintenance shop, the school bus, and his teaching is the practical lessons of life. His learning project is the Mission and Thanksgiving drives, the Homecoming game, the dances, Open House, Celebration, Bazaar, and the Commencement Luncheon.
He is an active participant in the formation of students and colleagues alike. Simply put, Br. Dardis is the super glue that has helped hold Jesuit together for more than five decades.
In 1988, Br. Dardis was presented with The North American Martyrs Award by Jesuit’s Board of Directors in recognition of his unselfish service to the school.
His signature greeting of “Darlin” immediately welcomes us into the world of this proud New Orleanian, a world in which service to others defines his relationship with God. In 2010, he was awarded the school’s Profile Award, an annual recognition of faculty excellence.
During his 53 years of serving Jesuit High School, one iconic post-Katrina image of Br. Dardis adjacent to the newly lighted Jesuit sign atop the school captures the essence of this holy servant: he is indeed a source of comfort and security, a bright light in our midst, God in action in our lives.
![frederick_scan_bw_crop]()
Paul Frederick
Mr. Paul Frederick, who started at Jesuit in 1955, walked the halls of Jesuit for almost six decades, making it a better school every step of the way.
He was a teacher, the prefect of discipline, director of faculty, academic assistant principal, principal, and then teacher again. In his final years at Carrollton & Banks, he assisted the administration in the professional development of faculty, sharing his passion for instruction with those who followed in his enormous footsteps. For Mr. Frederick, it all started and ended in the classroom. He was a mainstay in the Modern Foreign Language department as a Spanish teacher, eventually serving as department chair.
The legacy he leaves includes the development of the rotating schedule, Jesuit’s grading system, curriculum enhancements, the student code of conduct, and the faculty handbook. Immeasurable is the multitude of students whom he helped prepare for college and life.
Former principal Mike Giambelluca described Frederick as “the absolute model of discipline, scholarship, hard work, and Christian charity.”
Another colleague, Mr. Gary Mannina, who became principal of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School after his days at Jesuit, remembers Frederick as an imposing presence. What Mannina respects most about Frederick is his “passion and enormous commitment not only to instruction but to the education – in the Latin sense educere, to bring forth, to raise young men.”
He was an outstanding listener, which assisted him greatly in his relationships with students and fellow faculty. Well before “Dancing With The Stars” became a hit television program,” Mr. Frederick and his wife Priscilla taught ballroom dancing to members of Jesuit’s Homecoming Court.
Mr. Paul Frederick will long be remembered and appreciated for his professionalism, dedication, and service to Jesuit High School.
![frank-misuraca-assorted_bw_crop]()
Frank Misuraca
Frank Misuraca’s home run career at Jesuit was of the tape measure variety.
Misuraca known to his friends and former teammates as “Mizzy,” was the head coach of Jesuit baseball from 1967-1981. During that span his teams tallied four district championships (1970, 1972, 1976, and 1979), two American Legion district titles (1975 and 1980), a pair of prep state championships (1979 and 1980), and three Legion state crowns (1975, 1979, and 1980). His 1980 Legion team won the Mid-South Regional in Memphis, Tennessee, before moving to the American Legion World Series.
Many of his players took the field collegiately, including a dozen members of his 1980 squad. The Times-Picayune called Misuraca’s 1980 group one of the city’s all-time top ten baseball teams. He coached a handful of players who went on to play professionally. Two of them, Will Clark’82 and Jim Gaudet’73 made it to the Majors.
As challenging as he could be to top players, Misuraca reserved a soft spot and respect for those blessed with less talent but equal drive and heart. When a reserve pinch runner fell just a few steps off of first base while attempting to steal second and was embarrassingly tagged out, Coach Misuraca consoled the player in his own affable way. “You just started your slide too early.”
Misuraca spent a short time as an assistant football coach at Jesuit and was the head coach of the school’s 1965 state championship gymnastics team.
After coaching, Misuraca served as assistant to the president at Jesuit before taking over as athletic director. He held the position twice: from 1978 to 1981 and from 1986-2007. In 1991 and 1996, he was voted Louisiana Athletic Director of the Year by the LHSAA. In 1996, he received the National Athletic Director of the Year Award.
In 1976, Misuraca was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he was a First Team NAIA All-American 3rd Baseman. In 1995, he was inducted into the Louisiana American Italian Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2001, he became a member of the LHSAA Hall of Fame. In 2012, Misuraca was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame and the New Orleans Prep Sports Hall of Fame.
During lunch on Tuesday, students sang Christmas carols and decorated a tree in the Student Commons. Over 500 candy canes were used on the tree and were only available for consumption by those brave few who sang along with the carolers.
On Thursday, Dec. 8, students, faculty, and staff gathered for Mass in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the school’s patroness. Students dressed in coat and tie to celebrate the occasion.
After communion, Fr. McGinn returned to the pulpit to recognize the three inductees to the Hall of Honors. “Jesuit’s great strength comes from many developments that have taken place over the years since it’s founding on this day in 1847, while still being true to the core values that remain,” began McGinn. “In its recent past (and by ‘recent,’ I mean the last 60 years), Br. Dardis, Paul Frederick, and Frank Misuraca have vitally important to that development, and I thank them for their tremendous contribution to Jesuit High School.”
