On March 5, a retirement dinner for Dr. Joseph Hollowell, president of Roncalli High School, will be held at The Atrium. All are welcome to attend. He has held many positions during his 41-year tenure, including chemistry teacher, football and baseball coach, dean of students, principal (five years) and president. He has served as the first and only president of the school for the past 25 years.
Hollowell announced his retirement in September 2019 that he would retire at the end of the school year in unison with the 50th birthday celebration of Roncalli.
“The steadfast leadership of Dr. Hollowell has positively impacted tens of thousands of lives,” said Gina Kuntz Fleming, 1989 Roncalli High School graduate and current superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. “His deep desire to serve God and his people is evident in all he does. We are most grateful for Dr. Hollowell’s service and leadership and thank him for growing Roncalli High School into such a wonderful home where students are educated and formed in the Catholic faith.”
Under Hollowell’s leadership, Roncalli’s campus expanded from 14 to 45 acres to meet the school’s growing enrollment. Roncalli is now the largest private school in the state.
Hollowell also led to the charge to raise over $35 million, primarily for capital improvement additions to the school and campus, including a chapel, administrative wing, Fine Arts Center, auxiliary gym and the addition of 30 classrooms. Renovations to the Media Center, classrooms, stadium, all athletic fields and courts, blockhouse, wrestling room and weight room were also hallmarks during his leadership. As well, a new 25,000-square-foot gymnasium will open soon.
Doors open to The Atrium, located at 3143 Thompson Road, Indianapolis, IN 46227, at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. RSVP and purchase tickets online at roncalli.org/hollowell-retirement for $25 per person for dinner and cash bar, or guests may contact Tina Hayes at thayes@roncalli.org or (317) 787-8277, ext. 239. A portion of each ticket creates a scholarship in Joe and Diane Hollowell’s honor.
