Message from Board of Trustees Chair

Dear Members of the St. Scholastica Community,

I am writing on behalf of The College of St. Scholastica Board of Trustees to share some news about our president, Dr. Colette Geary.

After a great deal of deliberation, Dr. Geary has decided to leave the College by next December to spend more time with her family. During several conversations with Dr. Geary, it has become clear that, while she loves our wonderful College community, she feels the need to devote more time to her children and husband. I think we can all appreciate that family takes precedence. Family sits at the heart of what is near and dear to all of us.

Under Dr. Geary’s strong leadership and with the hard work of the entire St. Scholastica Community, the College has flourished, built strong community partnerships, and served the changing needs of our students. The Board is extremely thankful to Dr. Geary for all she has done and will do to strengthen our College. We are blessed to have a skilled leadership team in place, and Dr. Geary will continue to guide our future until the end of her term.

As a sign of her commitment to our community, Dr. Geary has asked me to share the following letter with you. I am grateful to Dr. Geary for opening her heart and sharing her voice following this very personal decision.

I hope that you had a wonderful winter break and enjoyed the holiday season with loved ones. 2019 has arrived, and with it comes new things in the life of the College and for each of us personally. I have something difficult to share with you today.

In recent discussions with Board Chair Chris Dolan, I have shared with him the unanticipated challenges that the relocation to beautiful Duluth has posed for my family. In looking to the future, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it will be best for me and my family that my commitment to the College presidency concludes within one year from now, or by December of 2019.

It has been my profound privilege to serve as president of the College. The St. Scholastica community, inspired and guided by the Benedictine values, is truly quite special. It is this distinctiveness that drew me here from the East and is also what makes it heartbreaking to think about leaving. But life is full of difficult decisions, and how we balance our time and our commitments to our loved ones is a responsibility that we each face uniquely and unavoidably.

I am so grateful for the richness of the experiences I have had here and am eager to make the very best of the year we still have ahead. I am especially excited as we move the strategic plan into the implementation phase — the College is quite well positioned for this, having already discerned the goals and priorities that will assure its finest future. I ask you to join me enthusiastically in ensuring that 2019 is abundantly fruitful and impactful for the College’s future through our collective stewardship.

In all of this change that we have been working through, in the good planning work being done and in the natural cycle of people joining and leaving the community, I see the mystery of God’s unfailing love for St. Scholastica unfolding in new ways: through the dynamism of what you each contribute to the College; and, this robust capacity then being enlarged and stretched by the gifts of those who have been, or will be, newcomers.

I am proud of what we have accomplished together during my tenure, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity I have each day to work with so many talented and inspiring faculty, staff and students. Let us trust in the new things God is doing as The College of St. Scholastica continues to move ahead, boldly and gloriously, in this second century of Saints.

Warm regards,
Colette Geary

The Board is in the process of selecting a national search consultant and establishing a presidential search committee to thoroughly and thoughtfully identify our 13th president. We will provide additional details on the search process soon.

In the meantime, the Board and I would like to thank Dr. Geary for her continued leadership as we prepare for the next chapter in the life of the College.

Sincerely,

Chris Dolan, Chair
Board of Trustees