Former Faculty member establishes scholarship to support University that will ‘always have a great place in my heart’

When Ed Balotsky, Ph.D., retired in June 2020 after nearly two decades at Saint Joseph’s University, one thing was certain: The University had become much more than a workplace for him.

“So many of the really important events of my life occurred while I was at Saint Joseph’s, and many of them were challenging,” says Balotsky. “But it was the community that held me up and kept me going.”

Balotsky, who served as an assistant professor of management at the Haub School of Business before assuming the role of associate dean of undergraduate programs, believes that this community is a reflection of the University’s grounding principle of magis, and the broader Jesuit attitude for educating and caring for the whole person.

“As I started working at St. Joe’s, I really embraced that philosophy, and I wanted to integrate it into my life and support others,” he says.

As a faculty advisor, Balotsky saw firsthand the financial challenges so many students encountered. He established the Edward R. and Marjorie Meier Balotsky Memorial Scholarship in memory of his wife, Marjorie, to provide additional financial assistance for SJU management students and to leave a legacy for future students.

Initially he created the fund through an estate gift and then decided to provide additional funding to endow it so it could be awarded in perpetuity. His gifts enabled Balotsky to become a member of both the Magis Society, which recognizes leaders who commit to do “more” to advance the University’s mission, and the Ignatian Society, which recognizes leaders who include SJU in their estate plans and who are committed to the long-term future of the University.

“I’ve always been very student oriented, and my wife, she cared about helping people — whether it was our family, our church, even strangers,” he says. “It would please her to know this scholarship is going to students who really need it.”

To learn more about planning for an estate gift and becoming a member of the Ignatian Society, contact Janine Ehsani, director of gift planning, at  jehsani@sju.edu or 610-660-1968.