St. John’s Prep Establishes Theatre Endowment with $330,000 Donation to Honor Brother Paul Vincent Niebauer

(KNSI) – A generous gift will help ensure generations of students can enjoy live performances by establishing the Saint John’s Preparatory School Brother Paul Vincent Niebauer, OSB Endowed Chair in Theatre.

The endowment’s formation was announced Thursday night at the Paramount Theatre before the school’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ performance. It is made possible thanks to an anonymous donation of $330,000. Head of School Jon McGee told KNSI News the school has become famous for its theatre, which all started with the endowment’s namesake. “We were able to recognize Brother Paul Vincent Niebauer, who is really was the creator of contemporary prep theater, really, dating back to 1995-96. He’s a monk of St. John’s Abbey, and he’s just an incredible human being. He led St John’s Prep theater for 25 years.”

In that time, he directed more than 50 productions before retiring in 2019.

The department is now run by his protégé, Brandon Anderson. He will be the first to benefit from the endowment, which hopes to grow to $1.5 million. That would generate about $75,000 a year to permanently support the theatre director’s salary instead of via the school’s budget.

McGee says the investment in the theatre is about more than putting on shows. “It’s an unbelievably profound learning experience for these kids. And and it creates community in very special ways. I mean, these kids learn to be creative. They discover something about themselves. They learn how to be nimble on stage. They learn self-confidence. They learn all these skills that are, frankly, completely tangible.”

The milestone marks a significant portion of the school’s $10 million comprehensive Prep Forward: Our Time is Now campaign, launched in April 2024. The campaign focuses on faculty, facilities, and financial aid. McGee says while many colleges have endowment funds for theatre directors, it’s rare for a high school.

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