BY MATT PALMER
As thousands of attendees made their way across the exhibit hall of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress this past summer in Indianapolis, Rob Neal worked his way through the University’s booth and shook hands with staff members, introducing himself. There was a palpable joy in his greetings. He was a proud Cardinal.
Neal, 65, the new chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, had no connection with the University until relatively recently. A conversation with former University President John Garvey proved life-changing.
“I didn’t understand its special relationship to the Bishops Conference, and to the church in North America,” he said. “When I heard all of that, I said, I want to be a part of that. I want that.”
Faith and education are vital to Neal and his wife of four decades, Berni. They serve as stewards of the Papal Foundation.
Professionally, Neal is a managing partner at Hager Pacific Properties and oversees the firm’s acquisitions and dispositions. He also holds or has held board positions with many Catholic nonprofits, including Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Leadership Institute, Magis Institute, the Orange County Chapter of Legatus International, and the Christ Catholic Cathedral Corporation.
Once Neal visited campus after Garvey’s invitation, he was a fan for life. In his free time, Neal races his 488 EVO in Ferrari challenges and has adorned his car’s door with a sticker of the University’s logo.
“They’re hard to read at about 150 miles an hour, but they’re there,” Neal jokes.
Off the track, Neal has been a faithful donor to the University’s Impact Scholarships initiative, which bridges the gap between tuition costs and what a student can afford. Students receive the gift of a University education and merit-based formation as a person who will give back — to the Church, the nation, and the world.
“It’s an amazing program,” Neal said. “These are great, talented kids, and they have a passion for Christ. They have a passion for the mission of the University. But they just can’t make the ends meet. And it’s not easy today, a lot of people are having problems. College is expensive.”
Neal said being in the nation’s capital affords University students with unparalleled opportunities to connect with church, business, and political leadership. Thinking back to his first visit to campus, Neal was cognizant of the opportunities possible for generations to come.
“I was blown away,” Neal said of visiting campus. “First, to be in, frankly, the most powerful city in the world, Washington, D.C., and yet to have a campus that is a refuge, a beautiful, spiritual, holy refuge from all of the anxiety of the city. I think that’s what struck me most is how peaceful it was. And, obviously, God-centered and full of the Holy Spirit.”
Neal is involved because he sees the challenges facing many young people around the country. In the wake of the pandemic and economic uncertainty, some young people have deferred their time in higher education. Throughout the country, Catholic schools of all levels have struggled with enrollment numbers.
“Catholic education must lead the way in higher education,” he said. “For two millennia, the Church has led in education and art, in architecture and science. And it must not surrender those leads. We’ve been tasked with this. This is our mission. We were given this mission by Christ to go forth to evangelize and to catechize. There’s no better sure way to do that than through education — rigorous, mission-centric education.”
Neal is diving head-first into his leadership of the Board of Trustees, bringing his executive, church, and secular experience together. He has a vision for the board and the University.
“It’s an awesome responsibility and one that I am humbly flattered to accept,” Neal said. “Our greatest responsibility is to ensure that all the work that’s been done before is built upon, not dissipated, but added to. We must be very shrewd, yet we must look over the horizon. What could be, what should it be, as it leads the United States in its great Catholic intellectual tradition?”
Although Neal has engaged with the University later in his life, he’s finding deep inspiration in its mission. And he wants others around the country to experience it as well.
“Oh, my goodness…come and see,” is his message for his West Coast brethren. “This University, located in one of the most remarkable cities in the world, is a haven — a haven for grace, a haven for religious freedom, a haven for intellectual freedom — all the while held to the standards of the Magisterium, fiercely devoted to the Magisterium, and engaged in Christ’s great mission and directive: to go forth and catechize.
“That’s what awaits you if you come and visit in Washington, D.C.”
