Reilly Takes the Reigns

The Chair of the GU Board of Trustees is an important role at Gonzaga – and it’s one Mike Reilly (’81) never expected to hold. One reason dates back to his junior year on campus in 1979.

Reilly was Resident Director of Roncalli House, an all-male residence hall which had a bit of a campus reputation for pranks.

“Along the first-floor hallway of College Hall, back then, portraits of all the university Trustees were posted,” Reilly reminisces. “When we knew the Trustees were coming to campus for a meeting, we secretly took down their pictures and replaced them with photos of Roncalli residents.” He laughs and adds, “much to the chagrin of the Trustees.”

Twenty-year-old Reilly could never have imagined he would one day lead the trustees, but present-day Reilly says, “I’m very honored to do so.”

An employment attorney in Seattle for nearly four decades at Ballard Spahr, a national firm of 750 attorneys, Reilly has deep ties to the Gonzaga and Spokane communities. Mike graduated from Gonzaga Prep and attended GU on a debate scholarship. He and his wife Trea recently moved back to Spokane. They have one daughter, Jackie, who is a comedy writer in Los Angeles.

Mike previously served as Chair of GU’s Board of Regents and became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2016. For the last three years he has served as Vice Chair of the Trustees. Through it all, he has remained a fervent supporter of the University and everything it represents.

“Gonzaga has always been an important part of my life,” Reilly says. “The holistic approach to education not only provides excellent academics, but it also nurtures the soul and informs us of important values to guide us.”

“You really get to know people,” he continues. “I formed strong connections with students and faculty, and I made lifelong friends.”

Reilly says the Jesuit values instilled during his time as a student continue to inform his approach to daily life. “At Gonzaga, we learn about ‘Ignatian presupposition’, to assume goodwill before anything else,” he says. “Over the years that approach has helped me hear and understand different opinions of others.”

Outside his work in employment law, Reilly has served on a number of other boards, from Gonzaga Prep to the American Red Cross. Another Gonzaga experience that inspires Reilly comes from his Gonzaga debate team coach, Sister Mary Margaret Conway who once asked him, “Who are you becoming for other people, not just yourself?” That stuck with him, always in the back of his mind, as he volunteered his time for his communities.

Now newly chairing the primary governing entity at the University, Reilly recognizes the opportunity in front of him, especially as Gonzaga undergoes a presidential transition.

“First things first, we get to celebrate a fantastic leader,” he says. “President McCulloh has been transformational and inspiring at Gonzaga in too many ways to list -- and both he and the Board have a set of tasks to complete before he leaves.” Reilly points specifically to Dr. McCulloh’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, “a time when other universities were laying off employees and grappling with the repercussions of shutting down campuses.”

 

“Dr. McCulloh showed incredible courage,” he continues. “To say, ‘We are going back to school, we are not laying people off and we are going to take a measured risk.’ Dr. McCulloh’s leadership showed that Gonzaga is a community that cares for its students, and its faculty and staff.”

 

With a new president on the horizon, Reilly says the goal remains the same – to ensure Gonzaga is the best it can be. “We need to continue to ask ourselves how the university can be better, more relevant, more desired and more innovative, with a new leader.”

The groundwork is already there, he says, referring to the recently updated strategic vision. “I’m excited to see our new leader come in and build on the great foundation Gonzaga already has.”

And, of course, he knows all this must be done with the students’ experience in mind. Reilly says it wasn’t so much any individual class or moment he had on campus that ultimately made him who he is. “I just remember how Gonzaga made me feel. It empowered me to be a better person and, hopefully, a more enlightened individual.”

 

“What motivates me? I’ve realized at my age, I may not be able to change the world,” he muses. “But the faculty, staff, administration and Trustees, we all work to create a difference in the world of our students – and those students might just go out and change the world.”

 

Reilly’s picture is no longer displayed on the first floor of College Hall as part of a dormitory prank. It now occupies a more permanent place at the head of the Board of Trustees table, and it’s a role he is more than ready to take on.