23 INDUCTIONS THE BASILIAN FATHERS Meritorious Service The Basilian Fathers first arrived at Aquinas in 1928, three years after the school opened on Dewey Avenue. Five Basilians served as teachers from 1928-1932. At that time, the school was owned by the Diocese of Rochester and the bishop served as Chair of the Board. Although the five Basilian teachers left Aquinas in 1932, Bishop Mooney invited the Basilians back in 1937 to assume responsibility for the administration of the school. Thus, Aquinas became a school where many Basilians were assigned in both administrative and teaching roles, while the bishop continued to serve on the board. Many Basilians also served as guidance counselors, campus ministers and coaches. For several decades, Basilians accepted no salaries from the school, making do on the stipends which came from weekend ministry at dozens of parishes in the diocese. Their sacrifice helped keep tuition low. In 1942, the Basilian Fathers attained the former Nazareth College from the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Rochester. The site at 402 Augustine Street, behind Aquinas, became the Basilian Fathers’ residence. In 1976, Bishop Hogan relinquished diocesan ownership of the school to a Board of Trustees which included both lay people and Basilians. In 1995, the school’s administration adopted the PresidentPrincipal model, and a layman was hired to serve as Aquinas’ first president. In 1997, Father Albert Gaelens served as Aquinas’ last Basilian principal. Three years later in 2000, the Basilians made the painful decision to end their ministry at Aquinas. The philosophy of Basilian Catholic education, guided by their motto from Psalm 119, “Teach me Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge” within an atmosphere of selfless concern for one another, continues to inspire the Aquinas experience today. Reflecting the Basilian vision of education, rather than merely preparing a student for future employment, an Aquinas education prepares young men and women for life, as Christians, as citizens, as spouses, mothers, and fathers. In the seventy years the Basilians were at Aquinas (1928-2000), more than 300 served as teachers, administrators, campus ministers, and coaches, and 62 Aquinas graduates were ordained Basilian Fathers. Today, two Basilian Fathers continue to serve on Aquinas’ Board of Trustees. JACQUELINE M. THOMAS, ESQ. ’85 Meritorious Service Upon graduating from Aquinas in 1985, Jackie went to St. John Fisher College, where she graduated in just three years with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. She then went to Union University’s Albany Law School, where she won numerous awards, including Who’s Who Among American Law Students, Albany Law School Trustee’s Scholarship, and West Publishing Company Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, to name a few. In 1991 she received her Juris Doctor Cum Laude and began her legal career in Albany at Bouck Holloway Kiernan and Casey. In 1994, Jackie returned to Rochester joining Lacy Katzen LLP, focusing her practice in Plaintiff’s personal injury law. She became a partner in 2001, and is currently the chair of the firm’s Personal Injury Litigation Department. A trial attorney for over 30 years, her practice is focused in personal injury and medical negligence civil litigation. Throughout her legal career, Jackie has been consistently honored for achieving a high level of professional achievement and peer recognition. Jacqueline has been recognized by Best Lawyers since 2018 for both Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Law and Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Litigation. She was recently recognized by Best Lawyers as the “2022 Lawyer of the Year for Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Law”; an award indicating recognition in the legal community for her legal abilities, professionalism and integrity. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine since 2017 as being in the top 5% of Upstate New York Lawyers for Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice and Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Law. Jackie has also achieved a “BV Distinguished Attorney” rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has received a “Superb” rating from AVVO. She is listed in the NY Daily Record’s Power 20 for Litigation for 2020-2023 and has been included in Who’s Who in American Law and Cambridge’s Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women, Honors Edition. She has achieved membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum; a distinction reserved for attorneys who have achieved high level verdicts or settlements. Despite her very busy professional career, Jackie has always been dedicated to her Alma Mater, serving for the past 25 years as a valued member of The Aquinas Institute Board of Trustees. She has passed down her love of Aquinas to both of her daughters, who are also graduates, Olivia Raetz ’20 and Sophia Raetz ’22.
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