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Salesianum News
Salesianum School Announces Historic $20 Million Gift For A New Arts & Innovation Center
Salesianum School is honored to announce a historic $20 million gift from the estate of James V. Tigani, Jr., Class of 1954. The largest gift in Salesianum’s history—and among the most significant ever made to a Catholic high school in the United States—this extraordinary investment will serve as the cornerstone of a renovation and construction project to reimagine the Spragg Auditorium and add classroom, studio, and performance spaces.
With this gift, Salesianum will embrace its mission of whole-person education, providing greater pathways and opportunities for students to create and consume art. The renovation and construction will ensure that every student has access to a vibrant arts education encompassing music, visual arts, design, digital media, and performance, with a focus on fostering authentic expression, not just in arts-related classes, but across the curriculum. Once renovated, the new James V. Tigani, Jr. Theater will serve as the centerpiece and artistic home for Salesianum’s artists while also expanding opportunities for ongoing relationships with area arts organizations. Providing a state-of-the-art venue allows Salesianum to offer even more to regional organizations like Opera Delaware and Delaware Shakespeare, who already work closely with the Salesianum community of artists on shared initiatives. Serving these partners more effectively allows them to better serve not just Wilmington, but the state at large.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Tigani Muse Foundation for this extraordinary investment in our students and in our mission,” said Thomas A. Kardish, President of Salesianum. “For generations, the arts—especially the performing arts—have been a vital part of the Salesianum experience, shaping the creativity, confidence, and the very voices of our young men. With yet another historic gift, we can build upon that rich tradition, creating new spaces where not only the arts will flourish, but also our call to be who we are, and be that well.”
Lori Porter, Director of the Tigani Muse Foundation, added, “Jimmy Tigani believed deeply in the power of education, and Salesianum played a defining role in his own journey. This gift reflects his conviction that the arts inspire creativity, discipline, and joy, and it will create opportunities for future students–and the community at large–to explore and express their gifts in meaningful ways at Salesianum.”
This historic gift will serve as the foundation of the broader James V. Tigani, Jr. Arts & Innovation Center, including a $35 million renovation and expansion that will reimagine the existing Spragg Auditorium’s footprint for today’s learners. The redesigned space will give every student—from musicians and performers to designers and artists—the tools and platforms to explore their passions and share their talents. Once completed, the new Arts and Innovation Center will feature more than just a new theater; it is planned to include a black box performance space, modern music and art studios, digital production suites, rehearsal rooms, and dedicated classrooms for design and innovation. The plans reflect our patron’s exhortation to be who you are, and be that perfectly well. With the advent of these new spaces, Salesian Gentlemen will have more opportunities to discover exactly who God has called them to be.
The Tigani gift builds on a decade of a series of transformative gifts totaling nearly $70 million that have bolstered the endowment, arts, academics, and athletics—investments that reflect the school’s position as a regional leader in secondary education, preparing young men from Wilmington, Philadelphia, and across our region for success in college and beyond.
- 2014 – $10 million from Anthony N. Fusco Sr. to strengthen the endowment.
- 2018 – $16 million from the Rocco A. & Mary Abessinio Foundation to rebuild Baynard Stadium and grow the endowment.
- 2021 – $12 million from Jacklyn and Miguel (“Mike”) Bezos ’63 to endow 24 scholarships and match additional gifts.
- 2023 – $10 million from Anthony N. Fusco Sr. to create the Fusco Fields athletics complex.
- 2025 – $20 million from the estate of James V. Tigani, Jr. ’54, the largest in school history.
Salesianum School
Salesianum School educates and develops the whole person based on the teaching of Saint Francis de Sales, whose spirituality can be summarized in “Live Jesus.” As an independent Catholic secondary school founded by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in 1903, Salesianum challenges young men through dynamic college preparatory and extracurricular programs to live as Salesian Gentlemen devoted to faith, community, and service.