Career Center

McQuaid Jesuit

President

Rochester, NY

 

 

Mission

McQuaid Jesuit is a Catholic, Jesuit, college-preparatory school that inspires young men to realize their God-given gifts through the pursuit of excellence in all things, service to others, and a lifelong commitment to justice.

 

Core Values

A Faith that Includes: The message of the Gospel and the life of Saint Ignatius Loyola empower us to find God in all things and in all people.

A Life of Learning: The pursuit of excellence and the development of critical thinking skills lead us to actively engage the complexities of our world.

A Spirit of Empathy: Service with and for others fosters a spirit of empathy and a desire for reconciliation and justice.

A Call to Leadership: Students are called to be leaders within our school and in their communities, guided by sound conscience and grounded in humility.

An Appreciation of Diversity: The diversity of the McQuaid Jesuit experience inspires gratitude in our students and prepares them to excel in a global community.

 

All Boys

The single-sex model is a tested, proven approach to education popular in hundreds of schools around the country, both public and private. Research confirms that boys and girls learn differently; we know how to embrace those differences through an educational model that is distinctly attuned and beneficial to the rhythms of adolescent life. Competition, rivalry, hands-on learning, and energy are some of the hallmarks that characterize successful boys’ education.

 

Additionally, adolescence can be a time of turbulence, questioning, and formidable peer pressure. An all-boys setting allows students to be themselves without worrying about what girls think, pursuing interests and talents regardless of social stereotyping.

 

Of course, simply being an all-boys school doesn’t guarantee success. Leadership from adults who understand the responsibility of teaching boys to become Great Men of character is essential. Our Ignatian heritage insists that the process of education takes place in a moral as well as an intellectual framework. It calls for the reverence of the dignity of each individual and urges students to uphold integrity and respect in dealing with all people.

 

Profile of the Graduate

During his four, six, or seven years at McQuaid Jesuit, a student should grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He should come to realize he is invited to follow Jesus and work with Him to build God’s kingdom on earth. Just as the motto of all Jesuits is “For the Greater Glory of God,” the students should come to the same orientation of making choices that honor God by doing the greater or better good. Specifically, the student should be marked by a number of characteristics:

 

Intellectually Competent

A McQuaid Jesuit graduate is highly educated in a wide spectrum of academic disciplines. He is trained in powers of reasoning, imagination, expression, freedom of choice, and value formation, and sensitive and appreciative of aesthetics. With this background, he is beginning to become both confident of success and capable as a leader in service to others.

 

Loving

A McQuaid Jesuit graduate is able to move beyond self-interest or self-centeredness in his relationship with others. His relationships deepen as he accepts and cherishes other people, and he begins to integrate his concerns, feelings, and sexuality into his whole personality.

 

Open to Growth

A McQuaid Jesuit graduate understands the Jesuit credo that it is more important to learn how to learn, to desire to go on learning through life, and to come to a deeper appreciation of the richness of God and his creation. Consequently, he strives for an ongoing development of imagination, feelings, conscience, and intellect, and he recognizes new experiences as opportunities to further his growth.

 

Religious

A McQuaid Jesuit graduate is motivated by love of God and others in such a way that his decisions in life are being made more for the glory of God and service to his community than for his own perceived needs.

 

Committed to Justice

A McQuaid Jesuit graduate understands Jesuit education teaches that the ultimate goal in developing one’s talents – the gifts from God – is not self-gain but the good of the human community. In light of this realization, he is developing the attitude of mind that sees service to others as more self-fulfilling than success.

At a Glance

Year Founded: 1954    Enrollment: 740

 

School Profile

 

Website              Faculty and Staff          Board of Trustees

 

Enrollment Viewbook                 Formation for Mission

 

 

About Rochester

The strong sense of community at McQuaid Jesuit is shared across the greater Rochester metropolitan area. Traditional Rochester values—caring for the less fortunate among us, maintaining the highest per capita charitable contribution rate in the country, and regularly manifesting a commitment to fairness, decency, and justice—directly parallel and reflect core Jesuit values and principles.

 

McQuaid Jesuit alumni, families, and patrons are integral members of the leadership teams at the largest area businesses, universities, hospitals, charitable organizations, and more. These strong connections enable McQuaid Jesuit to impact the community in myriad meaningful ways and offer members of a local, Rochester-based Jesuit contingent opportunities to pursue their passions and personal interests in order to make positive change in our world, whether those passions and interests be in education, ministry, healthcare, or other areas of focus.

A very brief discussion of some background facts on the area, and about McQuaid Jesuit’s “connectivity” to the area, may be useful in clearly illustrating the point here. Home to just over a million people, residents in the greater Rochester metropolitan area are highly educated and exhibit a strong, community-oriented mindset. Rochester was one of America’s original boomtowns, and the area nurtured legendary companies such as Eastman Kodak, Western Union, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb.

 

In the 21st century, the community is anchored by its numerous colleges and universities, and it supports a diversified economy led by the University of Rochester, Wegmans, Constellation Brands, Xerox, Paychex, Harris Corporation, and Bausch & Lomb, as well as a strong and rapidly developing technology sector with emphasis in optics, photonics, and data analytics. The community is large enough to possess many of the most valued offerings of a larger city, but small enough to nurture a deep sense of community, where our valued traditions are evident and regularly in practice.

 

Highlights about Rochester today:

A College Town—More than 15 colleges in our region, collectively, matriculate over 80,000 students. Rochester is ranked sixth nationwide in college students per capita, behind only Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego, Sacramento, and Austin, and ahead of places like New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

 

The University of Rochester currently enrolls more than 11,000 undergraduates and graduate students. The University also employs more than 30,000, operates the largest hospital and healthcare system in the region, and sponsors a medical and scientific research complex that engages more than 3,000 medical and scientific researchers. The Rochester Institute of Technology, with more than 18,500 students, is one of the largest computer science, coding, gaming, optics, engineering, and graphic arts institutions in the nation; its graduates are highly valued for their technical and creative skills, and RIT also operates the world-renowned National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), serving members of the hearing-impaired community from across the country.

 

Additional institutions of higher education in the area include St. John Fisher University, Nazareth College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the State University of New York at Geneseo and at Brockport, and Roberts Wesleyan University. Members of the McQuaid Jesuit community have connections at all these places and can assist members of the Jesuit contingent in their pursuit of any interests they may have to work, study or volunteer there.

 

An Educated Community—The Center for Governmental Research has identified Rochester as the nationwide leader in STEM graduates per capita, and #2 nationwide for Performing Arts degrees per capita. These dovetail well with two of McQuaid Jesuit’s most recent capital expansions—our $14 million Wegman Family STEM Center and our multi-purpose performing arts facility.

 

A Caring Community—Rochester has a storied tradition of caring for those most in need. It long has been ranked #1 nationwide for United Way per capita giving and #2 nationwide for volunteerism. McQuaid Jesuit students, consistent with these community traditions and values, regularly engage in a variety of volunteer efforts such as the Joseph of Arimathea Society, and each senior completes a capstone project and provides a minimum of 100 hours of service. Many McQuaid Jesuit graduates go on, after college, to serve in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, as AmeriCorps volunteers, or as volunteers in other community-based programs across the country.

 

Support for the McQuaid Jesuit Mission—McQuaid Jesuit alumni and patrons have generously donated their time by volunteering countless hours at the school and their treasure with more than $40 million to expand and enhance the campus over the past 15 years. These contributions have funded the new STEM building and performing arts center as well as our new chapel, our new Mission and Ministry area, new cafeteria, new fitness center, and the new Jesuit residence on Barclay Square.

 

Strengths and Challenges

McQuaid’s next President will benefit from McQuaid’s many strengths, including its:

 

• Reputation for strong education and brotherhood
• Jesuit Mission
• Excellent athletics, fine arts, extracurricular activities, and leadership-building activities
• Strong traditions and legacy, along with a strong alumni body
• Reputation throughout Rochester
• Commitment to boys' education
• Commitment to service
• Longevity of faculty and staff
• Diverse student body

 

Challenges for the next President include:

 

• General demographic decline in the community.
• Balancing tuition costs, which are a challenge for many, against the revenue needed to support program excellence and faculty/staff compensation.
• Connecting leaders and strategy to help move the school forward.
• Assuring accountability among students, faculty, staff, and administration, including strengthening the performance review system.
• Strengthening communication about the strategic plans of the school to the broader community.
• Supporting faculty and staff morale in the aftermath of COVID and through the transition to new leadership.

 

Job Description

The President reports to the Board of Trustees and has seven direct reports (Principal, High School; Principal, Middle School; Vice President, Operations; Vice President, Advancement; Director, Mission and Ministry; Director, Human Resources; Director, Enrollment Management)

 

Position Summary

The President ensures McQuaid Jesuit is faithful to its Catholic character and mission as a Jesuit School, an apostolate of the United States East Province of the Society of Jesus. The President serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the school and as Director of the Work for the Society of Jesus. As Director of the Work, the President is missioned by the Provincial of the United States East Province of the Society of Jesus.

 

Core Responsibilities

• Ignatian Identity: The President will continually strengthen the Catholic, Jesuit identity and character of McQuaid Jesuit. The President is the top “culture carrier” at McQuaid Jesuit and will define and set expectations for the culture and leadership behaviors across the organization that enable people to grow, develop, and accomplish goals with minimal distraction. The President will nurture the “special sauce” characteristics of McQuaid Jesuit and enhance formation programs for faculty, students, trustees, parents, patrons, and Alumni.
• Vision & Strategy: The President will unite the McQuaid Jesuit community around its Jesuit Mission, developing a clear vision and defined goal-oriented strategy and inspiring each person and department to bring new, tangible benefits for our community. The President will utilize all forms of capital – relational, social, and financial through friends and fundraising to help McQuaid Jesuit realize its vision.
• Leadership: The President will demonstrate the ability to inspire and engage the organization to implement strategy successfully and engender the confidence and trust of the Board and key stakeholders (faculty, administration, students, parents, and patrons). The President will build respectful, strong relationships across the McQuaid Jesuit stakeholder groups.
• Financial & Business Acumen: The President is responsible for the creation of the annual operating budget and is responsible for the allocation of financial, human, relational, and social capital to ensure key goals and priorities are adequately prioritized and resourced. The President must possess a strong knowledge of the financial and operating aspects of running McQuaid Jesuit, including enrollment, advancement, capital improvements, staff salaries, financial aid, and other key operating metrics.
• Excellent Communication Skills: The President must speak, write, and present information in a clear, concise, and compelling manner. The President must also demonstrate strong active listening skills.

 

Fundamental Expectations

• Mission: Ensures the Jesuit Identity and Catholic Nature of McQuaid Jesuit is sustained, nurtured, and promoted among administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents. Models Ignatian ideals in personal conduct and action and challenges the school community to strive for excellence in all dimensions of the school and its Ignatian and educational programs. Is a Catholic in good standing and regularly participates in the faith life of his/her local parish.
• Vision: Establishes and communicates the vision for McQuaid Jesuit. This vision is built into a strategic plan that is actioned each year.
• Leadership: Leading, inspiring, collaborating, and coaching a senior leadership team to ensure clear, consistent, and coordinated management of the school aimed at achieving its mission/vision. Leads by example, communicating a sense of service to McQuaid Jesuit through our Ignatian way of proceeding: setting direction, responding maturely to crisis, dealing well with personal limitations, remaining flexible and adaptable, andattending to ongoing personal, professional, and spiritual development. 
• Communication: Communicates clearly and candidly to all constituents of the school. Promotes a culture that thrives on multiple points of view, seeks to understand the ideas of others, and provides an open, honest, and respectful forum where all feel welcome to contribute.
• Financial Stewardship: Ensures the institutional integrity and financial well-being of the school. Oversees legal matters affecting the school. Supervises all operating and capital budgets, oversees management of the endowment, and ensures proper fundraising efforts by soliciting support graciously.
• Board Liaison: Works closely with the Board of Trustees to facilitate fiduciary, strategic, and generative leadership for the school. Serves as a member of the Board, ex-officio, the Executive Committee, and all Board committees.

 

• External Relationships: Serves as the primary outward champion of the school’s mission - seeking to engage alumni, parents, and friends in support of McQuaid Jesuit
• Advancement: Builds and nurtures relationships with the McQuaid Jesuit community and key donors to enhance advancement efforts to support the mission of the school.
• Director of Jesuit Work: The President receives a mission or confirmation of appointment from the major superior, and is accountable to him, for the fulfillment, according to our way of proceeding, of the institution's apostolic mission. The director is responsible for the apostolic animation of the work, translating the apostolic vision, or mission, of the work, through an apostolic plan, into professional daily practice.Works in collaboration with the Diocese of Rochester.
• Liaison to the Local Jesuit Superior: The President works collaboratively with the local Jesuit Superior and the Director of Mission and Ministry to foster the Ignatian and Jesuit identity of McQuaid Jesuit.

 

Accountability

Specific Metrics exist for each of the following areas:  

• Annual Operating Plan
• Enrollment
• Advancement/Endowment Growth
• Financial Aid
• Student Retention

 

Background and Experience Required

The successful President will have proven leadership and management experience in organizations with strong, productive cultures and possess a passion for mission-based education. The President will have strong strategic planning, organizing, leading, influencing, communication, fundraising, and financial skills. The executive will be successful at leading in a manner that guides McQuaid Jesuit to remain true to its vision and values while meaningfully “moving forward,” staying relevant and informed about student needs and trends in the current environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start Date: July 2024

 

Application Deadline: September 30, 2023. Interviews through October. Candidates should apply below by submitting a cover letter, resume, statement of educational/leadership philosophy, and five references. (References will not be contacted until the finalist stage of the search.)

 

Salary Range: $185 - $250K

 

This position description is based upon material provided by McQuaid Jesuit, an equal-opportunity employer.

 

To apply for this position, please click HERE.

Andrew Watson, Senior Talent Consultant

Jennifer Fleischer, Senior Talent Consultant

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