A man known as “the face” of St. John’s University has retired after 61 years – and he finally revealed a secret he shared with former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Longtime Vice President Joseph Sciame, 82, helped educate generations of students including a high-profile bishop and Berlusconi’s daughter, whose presence on campus he kept hidden from newspapers and paparrazzi.

“If there were a Mount Rushmore-like memorial for St. John’s University, it would feature Joe Sciame’s face,” said SJU spokesman Brian Browne, who began his own career working for Sciame, calling him a “great ambassador.”