“The Patriot” will break down the Board of Trustees’ history, role, importance, and goals over the coming weeks.
President Richard O’Hara said, “There is always a need in schools to demystify the Board and their role and purposes. The Board at John Carroll functions very well. They are thoughtful of what their role is compared to the role of the administration.”
However, much of the work of the Board is unknown to students as part of a more general policy. “If you’re having big Board problems and it’s in the news, that’s really not good. Whether it’s a business institution or a school, if we’re doing our job, it will be under the radar,” said Rachael Rice, class of ’88.
Other members of the faculty and staff maintain a connection with the Board, from making presentations as representatives for their focus groups to serving on a Board subcommittee.
“Depending on the nature of the committee, we may have other people on it. I’m on it because of my position; they’re on it because of experience,” said Chairwoman Sister Mary Helen Beirne.
Director of Finance Katherine Nichols is on the finance committee, math teacher Claudia Reyerson is on the facilities committee. Director of Communications Sue Cathell is on the marketing committee, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Kurt Sudbrink and Director of Development Laura Lang are on the institutional advancement committee and religion teachers Dr. Joseph Gallen, Patti Murphy-Dohn, and enhancement teacher Anne Drummey are on the Catholic mission committee.
Cathell describes her role as that of “the liaison. I’m there mostly to answer any logistical questions they [the Board] have, of day to day operations. I’m really there to absorb their recommendations and their expertise. They’re looking at marketing from a different lens than I am.”
Other faculty members offer reports at the Board meetings on the state of the school in their department.
O’Hara in effect serves as the “administrative representative.” He added, “The Board hires and fires the head of the school. I am the only employee that reports to the Board.” He is also the only faculty member to sit in on the closed door “Executive Sessions.”
He gives a report every meeting, including a “state of the school update” at the January meeting, “more how’s enrollment looking, how’s finance looking, how is the development effort coming along. I see my role as making sure my voice is what is in the best interest of the students and the mission of the school, especially when the conversation gets more complicated.”
In addition, “Aside from my report, at every board meeting, there is about 10 minutes of what we call the education component, and I lead that. It provides education into what it means to be a trustee, what to avoid and how they should act,” said O’Hara.
Other organizations make reports to the Board during meetings, from heads of the Parent Association, Margaret and Tony DiPaula, to the faculty representative, history and fine arts teacher Bob Schick. The representative for the Alumni Association is Michelle Bands Jewett, class of ‘78.
Sr. Beirne cautions that “we don’t make any decisions for them [the organizations represented], other than to say that we support them. We take a listening stance; sometimes we ask questions for clarification.”
Schick said about his role, obtained earlier this school year, “Mostly we [the faculty] just want the Board to know what’s on our mind and what we’ve been doing. We just offer reports about what’s going on in the life of the faculty at large. It seems essential that a faculty member be present at meetings involving the future of the school.”
The faculty representative comes from the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC), currently consisting of Schick, math teacher Susan Gradishar, Guidance Counselor Carrie Siemsen, English teacher Nicholas Attanasio, and foreign language teacher Jane Michael.
Schick said, “All of the members of the FEC were elected by members of the faculty. We discuss among ourselves who wants to be the faculty representative.”
Current co-chair of the institutional advancement committee Larry Burton, class of ’80, worked first as the alumni representative. About his intentions while in the position, he said, “One of my personal goals as the alumni rep was to ensure that legacy students were given ample opportunities to come here. It was to look out to make sure alumni were considered as part of any kind of decisions that were being made.”
Although students are not represented on the Board, “Primarily that [reports regarding students] would come out in Mr. Barker’s report, as far as direct student issues.” said O’Hara.
He added, “To a very large degree, it’s often that you’ll hear people say as we analyze, what’s the best thing for kids, what’s the best thing for the students here because that’s what our mission is based on.”
Barker’s role likewise includes “attending while the Board is in General Session, and I usually have a ten to fifteen minute slot to make my report as the operational leader of the school. I address three areas of the school: spiritual, educational, and administrative.”
Barker’s relationship has changed from the “first six years” of his time as an administrator “when I told the Board that I did not want to be the president and that I was happier doing the sort of things the principal does. Back then, I was the sole employee of the Board and everybody else basically worked for me. Now, I work for Mr. O’Hara, so when the Board has something to say to the people around the school, they’re generally talking to Mr. O’Hara and not to me. That’s the big structural change,” said Barker.
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].