Dear Parents, Alumnae/i and Friends:
On March 26th, I marked my fourth week at the
Academy as the interim President. What
am I doing here? What have I been asked to accomplish? and How long will I be
here? are, or should be, questions in your minds. I would like to clarify my presence here as
the Board of Directors and I understand it, and as I have explained it to the
staff and faculty.
Before answering those questions, however, let me assure you
that the mission of St. Julie and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur will
continue to be strongly supported. We
will continue to honor our Catholic beliefs as others have for decades at this
excellent institution. We celebrate the
traditions of our Catholic faith through our masses, our prayers, and through
our focus upon issues of social justice.
We teach our students through their classroom experiences and through
our community example how to develop the skills and knowledge that will, to
paraphrase St. Julie, educate them for life.
In accomplishing this, we will continue
to maintain our high academic standards.
Let me try now to answer the questions I posed earlier. I am a
retired university administrator who has served in major positions up to and
including that of university president.
My last non-retired position was as President of a Catholic university
sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and I am both familiar with, and
most supportive of, the mission of the sisters. I now work as a private
consultant, especially with a group called the College and University Presidential
Registry. I am here to work with the
senior staff, the staff, the faculty, students, parents, alumnae/i, the Board
of Directors and friends of the Academy to help continue improvements that have
already been started. Specifically, by working with the staff and
faculty on many different issues within the institution, we hope to better
prepare it for the hiring of the next “long-term” president. My time at Academy is expected to extend
through the end of June 2012. Within that
time frame, we expect to help guide the Academy community in improving even
further those aspects which will strengthen the institution and prepare it for
this hiring.
At the direction of the Board of Directors, I will actively
“oversee the Academy’s strategic planning efforts, oversee the Academy’s
financial stability, work with the Institutional Advancement Area to raise
funds for Academy, and work with the Enrollment Management Issues of the Academy.” Working with the board, staff and faculty, we
will implement sustainable systems and processes for each of these areas.
During this time, it will be imperative that we improve
communications among all of our constituents and broaden the image and
involvement of the Academy in the larger communities of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Finally, under my leadership, a team of
senior administration, faculty, staff, parents, and students will be formed and
charged with the responsibility for assuring the successful preparation for the
Academy’s 2012 accreditation visit from the New England Association of Schools
and Colleges.
The Academy deserves the commitment of all of its
constituents to the institution’s continued growth and success. We are called upon to make the next two years
the most successful in the history of the Academy. With the support of the
foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Saint Julie Billiart, we will
be ready for our accreditation visit, we will be successful in our fundraising
efforts, and our enrollment will continue to grow. Our capable senior administration, faculty
and staff, working alongside our alumnae/i, our students and our friends, will
strengthen this institution and enable our Board of Directors to recruit the
next “long-term” president.
Sincerely,
John B. Oblak, Ph.D.
Interim President
