De La Salle president abruptly placed on leave at all-boys Catholic high school
De La Salle Collegiate High School — which in 2020 dismissed its president over his handling of sports hazing allegations — announced Tuesday that its current president, Larry Rancilio, was placed on leave for the rest of the school term.
In addition, the Catholic all-boys school in Warren said, Rancilio's contract would not be renewed. The message, which was forwarded to the Free Press, however, did not detail why the prep school president departed abruptly, raising speculation.
School Board of Trustees Chair Roma Heaney, who sent the message to parents and alumni, said an "interim transition administrative team" would be appointed that would work and report to a board committee.
The board decision, she added, came after "much consideration" and explained the board "will begin a broad search for the next full-time school president" and would "keep our community appropriately advised as we work through that process."
The Free Press left several phone messages Wednesday with Rancilio, various school officials, including board members. The Archdiocese of Detroit said it does not operate the school and has no knowledge of what happened.
De La Salle — which is nearly 100 years old and markets itself as "Builders of Boys, Makers of Men" and is run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a religious order — has distinguished alumni in various fields and has won numerous sports championships.
Heaney thanked Rancilio — who is a 1986 graduate and its fifth president — for his "leadership and dedication" and said that his "enthusiasm and passion" for the school, faculty, students and community are "very much appreciated."
Rancilio’s predecessor, John Knight, was fired more than three years ago over the handling of hazing allegations that led to charges against seven football players, a public clash with local police about whether the incidents were properly reported, a civil lawsuit and widespread news media attention and public criticism.
The victims told officials they were held down by football players while someone prodded them in the legs and behinds with a broomstick. The boys were fully clothed, but the sexual nature of the allegations sparked public outrage.
The school acknowledged at the time that it found hazing, the imposition of strenuous or humiliating tasks, to be more "deep-rooted" and "pervasive" than it was initially aware, but denied that there was an attempt to sidestep reporting it to law enforcement.
After the students apologized, the misdemeanor charges were dropped.
In early 2020, De La Salle came under fire in local and national news after Allison Donahue wrote a first-person account in the nonprofit news site Michigan Advance of her experience with Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido, who was at the time a state senator, and what she called "locker room" talk — and others called sexual harassment — directed at her.
Donahue said Lucido, a De La Salle grad who was talking to De La Salle students when she sought to interview him, told her: "You should hang around! You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you."
The group of boys, she added, burst into laughter.
Lucido later, in an interview with the Free Press, said he was not denying the quotes attributed to him, but felt they were taken out of context and the reporting was out of proportion.
De La Salle, however, apologized and said the comments do not represent the school or the values it aims to instill in young men and met with the students who were there to discuss the situation's impropriety.
In 2016, Knight announced that De La Salle Principal Patrick Adams and athletic director Brian Kelly were leaving. He said in a letter to alumni and parents that "while transitions are often difficult, they are also an important part of the healthy institutional life."
When Rancilio was hired in 2020, he said he was going into the job as "a servant leader" and aimed to "provide a steady hand." The announcement, at the time, said 2020 had been a "very challenging year" and Rancilio was the "best person to lead our school."
Rancilio, the announcement also noted, was not only an alumnus but had a "long and dedicated history" with the school. In addition to De La Salle, Rancilio attended Columbia University in New York, where he coached Catholic Youth Organization basketball.
He had been a chair of De La Salle’s Board of Trustees, has two sons who also graduated from the school and served the Christian Brothers as a ministry board member for the District of Eastern North America.
"I want to use my final 15-20 years of work-life to make a difference and create a lasting impact," Rancilio said, suggesting he saw his new position as more than a job. "De La Salle is the ideal place to do something meaningful, to give back and influence the next generation."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren's De La Salle High School President Larry Rancilio on leave
