Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., received the 2001 St. Louis Award yesterday at a ceremony in St. Francis Xavier College Church, recognizing his contributions to the St. Louis metropolitan community.

Established in 1931, the St. Louis Award honors “the resident of metropolitan St. Louis who has contributed the most outstanding service for its development or . shall have performed such services as to bring greatest honor to the community.”

“This is a great honor for me and for Saint Louis University,” Biondi said. “I have been blessed to receive several awards . Looking at the list of previous award recipients, I’m humbled to be in their company.”

Prominent figures from the local community partook in the ceremony, including St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall. Both Slay and Westfall remarked that ever since Biondi’s inauguration as president in 1987, SLU has emerged to become a vital part of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

“There’s a lot of things that have happened since I’ve graduated,” said Slay, a 1980 Saint Louis University School of Law graduate. “I can’t think of anyone who is more deserving than Fr. Biondi . [He’s spent] 14 years helping to make St. Louis a great city.”

Westfall, also a graduate of SLU’s Law School (’69) echoed the idea that SLU has grown from “an ordinary urban campus” to “one of the most beautiful, thriving, entertaining campuses in the nation” under Biondi’s tenure.

Since 1987, SLU has spent more than $282 million on campus improvements, growing from 66 to 140 buildings on 284 acres.

“[Biondi] is a noted educator, linguist, author and president of SLU,” said David Kemper, president of the St. Louis Award Committee, who presented the award to Biondi. Kemper also called Biondi a “catalyst for progress in the Midtown area.”

During his remarks, Biondi announced a new initiative to help real estate development in the neighborhoods surrounding SLU’s campus. This $10 million revolving loan fund was authorized by the University’s board of trustees.

“We hope that our community fund will help to energize the Grand Center area and bring more focus on Midtown development,” said Biondi. “We’d like to see the area around [SLU] and the cultural district develop into a true urban neighborhood, where people live and work, as well as attend classes and cultural institutions.”

Furthering the development of Midtown, Biondi said, “is not only the morally right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.”