Brother Konrad Diebold, FSC, President of Saint Patrick High School, was honored when Lewis University awarded honorary degrees to local and national leaders in law, healthcare and education at its winter Commencement Ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 15 and Sunday, Dec. 16. In addition to Brother Konrad, honorees included Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke and Dr. Daniel Gutierrez, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet.

The honorary degree recipients were recognized along with more than 600 graduates who were awarded degrees throughout the weekend’s ceremonies. All events were held in the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, located on the Lewis main campus. Lewis holds both spring and winter Commencement Ceremonies, graduating more than 1,300 men and women each year.

A highly dedicated and very effective advocate for Catholic and Lasallian education, Brother Konrad Diebold, FSC, has served as the chief administrator of Saint Patrick High School for the past 24 years, first as Principal, and then as President since 1987 when the school adopted a principal/president model.  Saint Patrick is Chicago's oldest Catholic high school for boys, founded in 1861.  Brother Konrad's faith-filled vision and exceptional leadership have enabled Saint Patrick High School to both grow and truly thrive in an era when many Catholic schools have suffered declining enrollments, some even forced to close.

With Brother Konrad's astute guidance, Saint Patrick High School established a Board of Trustees governance model nearly twenty years ago. That Board is composed of twenty-five men and women from a variety of professions and backgrounds, including representatives of the Christian Brothers and Saint Patrick alumni.   In turn, the administration and Board of Trustees launched Saint Patrick's first ever capital campaign—Vision 2000—generating $6.5 million dollars for building and program expansion, which included a state-of-the-art library/media center, a 299 seat theater, music and art facilities, an auxiliary gymnasium, a cultural center atrium, and additional office space—all of which serve Saint Patrick students and its larger community.

A member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers for fifty years, Brother Konrad joined his religious congregation at the age of twenty. Throughout his religious and educational career, he has contributed significantly to his community and to several generations of students as an exemplary teacher, highly competent school administrator, and perceptive and visionary leader, in steadfast support of the educational mission of the Christian Brothers. The youngest of eight children, he grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended De La Salle High School there.   In 1957, Brother Konrad entered the Christian Brothers novitiate in Glencoe, Missouri, an event, he says, "that truly transformed my life and gave it a purpose beyond any expectations I may have had." He consistently promotes quality Lasallian education, based on the heritage and teachings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers.

Brother Konrad received both his bachelor's and his master's degrees from St. Mary's University of Minnesota. He has also completed graduate courses at Saint Francis College; Loyola, Northwestern and DePaul Universities; and has studied at the Universite de Montreal, L Alliance Francaise in Paris, and the Lasallian Institute Center in Rome.

He began his educational career in 1961 at Saint Patrick High School in Chicago and went on to teach and become principal at Saint Paul High School, located on Chicago's south side, which at the time was an experimental dual-enrollment program with the neighboring John F Kennedy Public High School.  Brother Konrad later served as a high school Curriculum Consultant with the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education and then served from 1975 to 1982 as Auxiliary Provincial for the Brothers of the Christian Schools, with primary responsibilities as both Director of Finance and Director of Education for the Chicago Province.

In 1983, Brother Konrad returned to Saint Patrick High School, first as Principal and then as President.  While guiding the school's building and program expansion, he has also revitalized Saint Patrick's mission, which promotes ethical leadership, social responsibility and a commitment to faith and service. Indeed, Brother Konrad Diebold's Lasallian leadership reflects remarkably well the Lewis University Mission values of Knowledge, Wisdom, Association, and Fidelity.

Widely recognized for excellence and exceptional leadership by his colleagues and the community, Brother Konrad has received the De La Salle Distinguished Alumni Award and the Lasallian Award from De La Salle High School in Minneapolis. He has served the Christian Brothers nationally and internationally through numerous leadership roles, including as a member and Chairman of the Regional Council of Christian Brothers, as an elected delegate of the 40th International General Chapter of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Rome, and as an elected member of the Provincial Council of the Midwest Province of Christian-Brothers for several decades. He has also held numerous board memberships, including service on boards of trustees for Lewis University, Christian Brothers University, St. Mary's University, Driscoll Catholic High School, Saint Patrick High School, Christian Brothers College High School, and Lancelot, Inc (Northwestern Business College).  In addition, Brother Konrad has served on boards of directors for various charitable organizations, including the Easter Seal Society of Metropolitan Chicago and the Southwest Belmont Unit of the American Cancer Society.