BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI (May 3, 2007) – In a traditional Founder’s Day ceremony, Brother Rice High School inducted two new members to its Hall of Fame today. Mr. Pat McDunn and Mr. Tony Sincic, longtime and well-known teachers at the school, were honored in front of their families and closest friends in a mass and luncheon ceremony.
Induction into the Brother Rice Hall of Fame is the top honor bestowed by Brother Rice High School. McDunn and Sincic were nominated and elected because voters felt they fit perfectly the Hall of Fame mission, which is to “honor those people who have epitomized the ‘Brother Rice Spirit’ … [and] who have shown extraordinary dedication, love, concern, leadership, and enthusiasm for Brother Rice.” They bring the total number of inductees to 19.
McDunn, a current English teacher who has been at Brother Rice since 1981, and Sincic, who taught in the school’s Math Department from 1968-98, are famous among alumni and families for the impact they’ve had on so many of the school’s 8,000-plus alumni. They are the 8th and 9th faculty members to make the Hall of Fame.
“I love the Brother Rice community – and it really is that, a community,” said McDunn, 73, who lives in Clarkston with his wife, Rosemary. “The faculty here is a great bunch of people. We are all very good friends.”
Renowned as a demanding English teacher, particularly for the Literature and Writing courses he teaches to Seniors, McDunn came to Brother Rice after 14 years of teaching at St. Ignatius High School in Chicago and U of D Jesuit in Detroit, as well as a few years of private business. He served as English Chair at Brother Rice, and is well known as a local performer of Irish music.
“I have been lucky to stay in touch with so many Brother Rice alumni,” said McDunn, 73, who graduated from John Carroll University in 1955 and, before that, Cleveland St. Ignatius High ’51. “These guys have been coming out to hear our music for many years. It has been a great way to stay in touch.”
Sincic, 63, graduated from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit in 1962, and earned a degree in Political Science from University of Detroit in 1966. After working for a year at a local bank, Sincic came to Brother Rice. He may be best known as a Math teacher but wore many hats, including Math Chair, Director of Computer Studies, Curriculum Committee member, and Moderator for student newspaper, band, and computer club.
“Tony was very influential in advancing the use of technology in the school,” said Principal David Kozlowski, who worked alongside Sincic for most of his career. “He started the Computer Science Department at our school. It also was Tony who suggested the current administrative database program that we now use.”
McDunn has two sons who came through Brother Rice: Kevin, who graduated in 2001 and Michael ’03. Two of Sincic’s sons also are Brother Rice grads – Matthew ’89 and Andrew ’92.
McDunn and Sincic were presented crystal Celtic crosses at the school mass for Founder’s Day, in celebration of Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers of Ireland, which is the religious order under which Brother Rice was founded in 1960. Each of the honorees shared the event with a large contingent of guests, primarily family and close friends. A celebratory luncheon at the Birmingham Athletic Club followed the mass, with the honorees, Hall of Fame members, Brother Rice Directors and Administrators in attendance.
“We spend a lot of time talking about our facility and the things we need to do to update it for the next generation of students,” said President John Birney ’76, who presented the crosses to McDunn and Sincic. “But Brother Rice is – and always has been – about the people, not the bricks and mortar.
“Pat and Tony are perfect examples of this. As I talk to alumni, I rarely get questions about this classroom or that corridor. Instead, what I get is, ‘How’s Mr. McDunn?’ and ‘What is Mr. Sincic doing now?’ These two men represent everything that Brother Rice is about, and I am happy that they are being recognized so appropriately for their contributions.”
Nominations and elections for the Brother Rice High School Hall of Fame are handled confidentially by the Office of Advancement at Brother Rice. Nominators and Electors are selected from a group that includes faculty, staff, administration, alumni, Board of Directors, current Hall of Fame members, and current and past officers of Brother Rice parent and alumni organizations.
Brother Rice High School is a private, fully accredited, four-year Catholic College Preparatory school for 701 young men. Brother Rice was founded in 1960 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers of Ireland. Visit www.brrice.edu for more information or contact the Office of Advancement at (248) 647-2526, x. 152, or e-mail advancement@brrice.edu.
