If there was a way to give back to Saint John’s University, Phil Galanis found a way to do it.
The 1975 graduate – who sadly passed away at age 70 in October of last year – was a member of the school’s Board of Trustees from 2016-23 and served on the SJU Leadership Council from 2019 until his death.
He was the Alumni Association chapter president in The Bahamas from 2012-19, and remained on the chapter board. In addition, Galanis was the principal host for the annual CSB and SJU President’s visit to The Bahamas from 2012 until last year, and the lead student recruitment volunteer ambassador for prospective Bahamian students.
A former managing partner at Ernst & Young, and the managing partner of his own accounting firm, HLB Bahamas, he was also a leader when it came to providing a business and career network for Bahamian students enrolled at CSB and SJU – including through hiring summer interns, providing them experience that helped lead to their first jobs.
Beyond that, he was a generous donor and enthusiastic supporter of both schools – sharing the story of his own SJU experience far and wide.
“From a broader point of view, Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s have always meant a lot to all the Bahamians who have come here over the years, and to our country as a whole,” said his longtime friend and fellow Bahamian alumnus Prince Wallace ’68. “There is a special bond there, and for some of us, that bond goes even deeper. Phil was one of those.
“He was a Benedictine in every sinew and fiber of his body.”
Which is what makes him the perfect recipient of this year’s Fr. Walter Reger Distinguished Alumnus Award – the highest honor bestowed by the SJU Alumni Association for service to alma mater.
The award – which will be presented at an event in The Bahamas on March 15 – is named in honor of Fr. Walter Reger, OSB. A priest, professor, prefect, dean and friend, Reger was the driving force behind the SJU Alumni Association for years.
“I know this award would have meant the world to Phil,” said Wallace, who received the honor in 2018. “I know what it meant to me, and he also deeply cherished Saint John’s and the experience he had here.”
John Young ’83, the associate vice president for institutional advancement at SJU, got to know Galanis very well over the years. He said he exemplified everything the Reger Award represents.
“Phil worked tirelessly as a volunteer, serving as CSB and SJU Trustee, Bahamas Alumni Association President, SJU Leadership Council Member and Bahamian Student Recruitment Ambassador. In these roles he became a mentor to hundreds of alums and students, and he extended unimagined Benedictine hospitality to everyone from our community who visited the Bahamas,” Young said.
“He was a child of God, a humble man who brought joy to others with his charming smile and unmatched charisma,” Young continued. “He laughed and he cried, and he believed in the power of prayer. We were all blessed to walk alongside such a giant of human being, a man for all seasons and a man whose infinite faith in humanity gives us hope.”
Beyond his devotion to CSB and SJU, and his own successful professional career, Galanis also found time for public service in The Bahamas, where he was a longtime member of parliament from 1997 to 2002 and the former head of The Bahamas Trade Commission, as well as his nation’s chief negotiator in talks with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In case that wasn’t enough, his column “Consider This” ran regularly in The Nassau Guardian for 13 years as well.
“Phil was not only a progressive warrior and a nation builder; he was a man of unshakable integrity, candid in his views, and truthful to his convictions,” read part of a lengthy statement issued by Bahamian Prime Minister Philip E. Davis last October.
“He spoke his mind, always believing in the power of truth and the importance of standing up for what he felt was right for our country. He never wavered in his belief in The Bahamas, even when his opinions were met with opposition. That was Phil – unflinching, steadfast, and always driven by his deep love for this country and his vision for its future.”
The bond between the CSB and SJU community and The Bahamas stretches back to the 1890s, when the first Benedictine monks from Saint John’s Abbey began serving there. Over the last 100-plus years, well over 1,600 Bahamian students have attended the two schools, including 59 graduate and undergraduate students enrolled during the 2024-25 school year.
Brittany Merritt Nash, an assistant professor of history at CSB and SJU, has conducted extensive research into this remarkable relationship. She said Galanis was one of the key figures in ensuring it remained strong.
“He – along with people like Prince Wallace and Basil Christie ’66 – worked hard to organize scholarships for students from The Bahamas to come here,” Nash said. “Without that work, we wouldn’t have anywhere near as many Bahamian students as we do. When we took students from the McCarthy Center to The Bahamas last year, he arranged dinners for us, set up speakers to come talk and helped find accommodations.
“He was just a tireless champion,” she continued. “In the past year, we lost both Phil and (CSB alumna) Telzena Coakley ’62. They both did so much to keep the relationship alive, and to ensure that future Bahamian students will be able to attend CSB and SJU the way they did.”
Wallace echoed those sentiments.
“I don’t know how he found the time to do all that he did with everything he had on his plate,” Wallace said of Galanis. “But he wanted to make sure this history (between CSB and SJU and The Bahamas) continued into the future.
“He wanted to make sure the next generations knew and understood the huge role that relationship played in the history and development of our nation.”
