The philanthropic foundation created by one of Orange County’s largest real estate investors has donated $49 million to a Jesuit high school in Boston.
It was the second $40-million-plus donation the Cadigan Family Foundation has made in just two months.
The foundation was created in 2002 by Patrick Cadigan, the former chief executive of Electronic Engineering Co. of California, now Transico, in Brea. The Newport Beach investor and philanthropist was 85 years old when he died in April 2020.
Boston College High School, a college-preparatory school for boys in seventh through 12th grades, announced last week the foundation had given it $49 million to go toward building a 50,000 square foot Wellness Complex on the high school campus.
“This gift is transformative in every sense of the word,” said Kelly DeGregorio, BC High vice president of advancement. “In 10 years, Pat has graciously gifted more than $60 million to BC High, transforming our campus and our community in the process.”
Cadigan, the son of Irish immigrants, grew up in Boston, attending Boston College HS (1952) and Boston College (1957). He also got an MBA from Boston University, a degree from Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University. Cadigan also served on the foundation board at UC Irvine.
The longtime Southern California businessman was EEOC’s CEO for nearly 20 years. He retired from the company when his wife was diagnosed with cancer but later served as chairman and CEO of Gateway Communications Inc. and Linear Instruments Corp.
In February 2022, the Cadigan foundation gave Claremont Graduate University a $42 million gift for the new School of Arts and Humanities as well as a hub for entrepreneurial business faculty and students.
In 2012, it gave the two Boston schools a combined $27 million, saying it was an honor to support the schools that supported him in his youth. He gave Boston College $15 million to name an alumni center and Boston College High School the other $12 million for a center for arts and recreation.
“Dad felt a strong personal responsibility to give back to the schools that contributed to the man he became and to the high level of success he achieved,” Maria Cadigan, Patrick Cadigan’s daughter, said at the time. “It deeply moves me when I think of CGU’s future and the people who will work together in the magnificent building that will be erected in his honor.”
Cadigan invested millions in multifamily properties in Southern California, buying thousands of apartment units across dozens of complexes. A month before he died, Cadigan bought Terra at Tustin, a 116-unit apartment community on Walnut Avenue for $41 million.
This donation by Cadigan’s foundation was the largest in BC High’s 159-year history.