"I shall always be humbly proud of our beautiful way
of working together for the Lord in my adopted homeland of Korea."

Norbert J. Tracy, S.J. 

(1924-2007)

Father Norbert John Tracy spent his last months at the Saint Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. On the night of Sunday January 21^st, Father Tracy ate supper in the dining room with his Jesuit Community. He died peacefullyin his sleep a few hours later. He was 82 years old, a Catholic from infancy, a Jesuit for 65 years, a priest for 52 years. He was a dedicated member of the founding group of Sogang University.

Father Norbert J. Tracy was born in Chicago, Illinois May 18, 1924. He had two brothers and one sister. He was baptized soon after birth. His family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin a few years later and there he grew up, doing his early education at Saint Rose Parish School and his high school course at Marquette University Jesuit High school course at Marquette University Jesuit High School. He entered the Society of Jesus at Saint Stanislaus Novitiate, Florissant, Missouri in 1942. He did first studies at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri and at the West Baden Campus of Loyola University-Chicago, earning the BA in Classics and the Licentiate in Philosophy. Missioned to Japan after his first studies, he taught English and directed the Athletics program at Sophia University, Tokyo for three years, 1949-52. Returning to the States, he studied priesthood theology at the Saint Mary's, Kansas Campus of Saint Louis University, completing his Licentiate in Sacred Theology.

Shortly after priesthood ordination, Father Tracy received his mission to be part of the Jesuit founding group of Sogang University. He prepared for this work by doing his doctorate in Higher Education Administration at the University of Minnesota. Father Tracy arrived in Korea on May 31, 1961-- one week later he was appointed Sogang's Director of Academic Affairs.

Father Tracy served at Sogang for 35 years. For 20 of Sogang's first 21 years he worked hard to create and direct Sogang's academic structure, serving four terms as Academic Dean, one term as Sogang University Director of Planning.

Father Tracy was always kind but firm in maintaining high educational standards. He was zealous, optimistic and very hardworking. He was a man of Jesuit magis, that is, he was always striving for a greater service. At Sogang University he found the worthy outlet for his hard work and dedication. He continually strove to help Sogang give better service to our students, to Korean society, and to the Church. He is responsible in large part for the strong academic base on which Sogang University is built.

Father Tracy especially helped Sogang develop a solid undergraduate education system: a system that included major, minor, and humanistic general education courses; a system with a reduced graduation credit requirement, so that students could do more independent study using Sogang's good library and language lab; a system that included reports, examinations, attendance and participation in classes. It was an academic structure that demanded a lot from students, faculty and staff, but also one that produced competent, hardworking, and creative graduates.

Father Tracy also made a great contribution to the establishment of Sogang's highly regarded graduate school, and he guided Sogang's transition from college to university status. Later Father Tracy became the founder and first Director of three important University-related outreach programs: the Institute for English as an International Language (1981), the International Institute of Lifelong Education(1989), and the Korean Language Program for Foreigners (1990).

In addition to dedicated service to Sogang, Father Tracy gave us all a good example of effective collaboration in mission. Because he began his full time work as soon as he arrived in Korea, he never had the time to learn the Korean language well. To overcome this difficulty, he always found people who could work with him in order to put good educational plans into practice.

If we accept our weaknesses which we all have and ask for help from our collaborators, we can all succeed beyond our hopes. For more than 25 years, Jesuit educators have emphasized that our educational ideal and goal is to help form “men and women for others”.

Nowadays we recognize more and more, that we can be for others only if we also live and work “with others”. Father Tracy's 35 years at Sogang witness to this truth. In Father Tracy's own words, “I shall always be humbly proud of our beautiful way of

working together for the Lord in my adopted homeland of Korea.”

In 1996 Father Tracy went to the USA for a sabbatical. Initially he intended to return to Sogang.

While in the USA, however, he discerned that God was calling him to live out his last years there. After his sabbatical, he did priestly pastoral ministry for two years. Then health problems forced him to retire, or rather to spend his final years in what is

the last mission of most older Jesuits “Praying for the Church and for the Society of Jesus”. Father Tracy is now with the Lord. We ask him to add a special prayer “and for the Sogang University family!” 

Father Robert K. McIntosh, S.J.

January 2007