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Loyola University New Orleans Presents 2021 Integritas Vitae Award

By Loyola University on Mon, 02/28/2022 - 19:53

High honor goes to Edgar “Dooky” Chase, retired educator, lawyer and CPA 

(New Orleans, La. – March 2, 2022) One of New Orleans’ top business leaders and restaurateurs will receive the 2021 Integritas Vitae Award from Loyola University New Orleans. Longtime Loyola trustee Edgar “Dooky” Chase III will receive the high honor, literally translated as “a life of integrity.” 

"For more than 50 years, Dooky has been a tireless champion of Loyola, helping to create access to higher education, and showing us what it truly means to live in service to others," said Interim President-Select the Rev. Justin Daffron, S.J. 

"From his days as a student government leader to his long service on the Board of Trustees, he has made a critical difference in our community.”

Chase is a 1971 business alumnus and 1983 Law alumnus of Loyola, where he served as the university’s first Black Student Government President at a pivotal time in history. A 1967 graduate of Jesuit High School New Orleans, Chase was named Jesuit’s 55th Alumnus of the Year in 2012-2013.

Following his college graduation, Chase served in the United States Marine Corps, earning the rank of Captain before being honorably discharged in 1976. He joined Price Waterhouse & Company as an audit senior, auditing Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Exxon, and Bristol-Myers.

In 1979, Chase began his law studies at Loyola University’s School of Law, earning his juris doctor degree in 1983. Over the next six years, Chase worked primarily for two companies — first, Louisiana Land & Exploration Company (LL&E), and Cox Communication. Then he joined the field of higher education as a longtime university administrator at Dillard University, where he served as Dean of Business, among other top positions, including vice president in charge of master planning and facilities management following Hurricane Katrina, a monumental and heroic role instrumental to the university’s recovery and rebuilding efforts.

A trusted and beloved civic affairs leader, Chase served multiple terms on Loyola’s Board of Trustees and was the long-time chair of the Board’s Finance Committee, one of the most time-intensive volunteer positions on the Board and at Loyola generally. He has been consistently generous to Loyola over many years with philanthropy as well.

Chase has served as a board member or board chair at numerous organizations, including the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Friends of Lafitte Corridor, New Orleans Greenway Project; the Public Belt Railroad of the City of New Orleans; City Park Improvement Association; and, the Counselor Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem; the City of New Orleans Employees’ Retirement Plan; Odyssey House Louisiana; the Metropolitan Crime Commission; the Port Authority of New Orleans; the Bureau of Governmental Research; the Preservation Resource Center; the Musical Arts Society of New Orleans; the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation; the State of Louisiana Millennium Port Authority; the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; and, the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

He continues to work with his family’s restaurant and with the foundation established in honor of his parents, Dooky and Leah Chase, catalysts for change who made a profound impact on their beloved city.

The award will be presented at the Loyola Alumni Association's annual 1912 Society Dinner, to be held, Thursday, March 24, 2021 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Audubon Tea Room.  Tickets may be purchased here.