During the nine years he served as principal of Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, Barry Breen knew that he could always rely on the support of then-vice principal Mary Liz Ivins in managing the day-to-day operations of the school. So when the time came for Notre Dame to select its first president to work alongside nowprincipal Ivins, Breen seemed like the perfect choice for the job.

Breen, who served as principal of Notre Dame from 1992-2001, will join Ivins, who assumed the role of principal upon his departure nine years ago, in a restructured leadership model for the school. With the change, Notre Dame becomes the third high school in the diocese to implement a president-principal model, following Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, and St. John Vianney, Holmdel.

Defined Roles
“In a typical organizational structure, you would probably look at it as a CEO and a COO,” said Breen, explaining that as president his function will be similar to that of a CEO.

Breen’s responsibilities will include building financial resources, developing a strategic plan for the school and advancing marketing efforts to increase enrollment.

With Breen taking over the business side of running the school, Ivins will focus her attention on the school’s educational mission. She expects the new division of labor to give her more time to develop the school’s academic and extracurricular offerings, while also making her more accessible to teachers, parents and students.

Breen, who spent the past six years serving as the first president of Bishop Denis O’Connell High School, Arlington, Va., said that many private schools around the country have come to the realization that the increasing demands of fundraising combined with the duties of running a school is no longer a one-person job.

“It takes a lot of time to build the networks, to meet with donors, to cultivate those donors and move them into an investment in the school, to build a clear and solid vision. And if you try to do all of the other things that a principal has to do, you just can’t focus on the other details,” Breen said.

“In my role I can take a little bit more time, step back and try to, in a more systematic way, develop the resources for the school that we need in order to build our future.”

“It became two functions that couldn’t be (handled by) one person,” added Ivins. “So really it is a point of evolution, where if we want to continue to be strong this had to happen.”

Common Vision
When Notre Dame’s advisory board and the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools made the recommendation that Notre Dame adopt the president-principal model, Ivins said that she knew her interest would be to remain in the role of principal.

But at the same time, she realized the person who assumed the position of president would have to be someone who shared her vision for the school.

“I knew that it had to be somebody I could truly trust,” she said, adding that her past working relationship with Breen made him an ideal candidate.

“We have a very common vision, a same sight for what Catholic education should be. We are both committed to it,” Ivins said. “The mundane questions are fed by that common sense of spirituality and that love for Catholic education, and when you have that trust in each other, the rest can be worked out.”

Breen shared a similar sentiment, noting that while he served as principal he and Ivins worked extremely well together in leading the school.

“During the time I was here, Mary Liz was vice principal for student life, and when I look back at it, she was really running the school then,” he said. “We operated pretty much in the same mode that we are going to be operating in now.”

The goals that Breen and Ivins both have for Notre Dame’s future include building the school’s financial resources to help keep tuition costs down, making a Catholic education affordable to all families. They also both hold a strong belief that Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and spirituality must remain at the heart of every aspect of the school.

“In today’s culture there are a lot of counter-faith influences, and I think to put your child in a place where they can begin and end their day with prayer, where God is at the center of all we do, where God can be in the discipline office when you are in trouble or on the field when you score a goal, it is such an enriching thing for a child,” said Ivins. “To create an environment in which God can just surround them and love them all day long is what Catholic education is about.”

“It is engaging the whole student in the process of growing and learning,” said Breen. “I think that is a vision that we share.”