Eastern Oklahoma Catholic July/August 2010 : Page 20
f e a t u r e s t o r y the way, but I try to communicate with them a lot and let them know I am on their side and want to make Bishop Kelley a great place to work and serve God. The other administrators have cer-tainly stepped up. (Interim Principal) Gary Oberste, (Vice Principal for Aca-demic Affairs) Judith McMasters and Jeff Pratt are a dynamic group, each bringing their own gifts. They have helped me adjust and have had to adjust themselves to my leadership. I cannot say enough good things about the job they’ve done for Kelley. What are your goals for your sec-ond year? Any changes? I stick with my original three goals from the day I started: 1) Strengthen our Catholic identity; 2) have full enrollment with a waiting list; and 3) be affordable to every Catholic family that wants to come to Kelley. These are not one-year projects. Each of them is significant in its own right and will require my time and the dedication of many others. Bishop Kelley is not in great shape financially. We don’t charge what it costs to educate a student because we want to stay affordable, but that has left us with a shortfall. We have some big decisions to make financially with regard to tuition and costs. We also have to do more to reach out to alumni and benefactors to let them know how much we need them if we are going to thrive. You’re a member of the Presby-teral Council; are you able to keep up good relations with your brother priests even though you’re not in a parish? I have made this a priority. Keeping up good relations with my brother priests is very important. Living with Father Jack Gleason at the rectory at the Church of the Madalene has been a huge blessing, and having other good friends who are priests is very important to me. I wish we all had more time to spend with each other, but there’s just so much going on in our ministry to our people that it is difficult to get together. I would like priests to become more involved in Bishop Kelley. I am delighted that Father Kerry Wakulich has been assigned to be a chaplain here. Has your experience as a Bishop Kelley teacher helped your relation-ship with your teachers? It appears your top administrators have really stepped up in the absence of a prin-cipal. Will that vacancy continue? This has probably been the biggest adjustment for me. I came to Kelley 12 years ago as an energetic recent college graduate anxious to teach. The faculty of Kelley welcomed me and mentored me. They had a lot to do with me finding my vocation to the priesthood. For the last two years as their chaplain, I tried to help them grow spiritually and walk their jour-ney of faith with them. Now I’m in a different role, one I’m getting used to. I think they are getting used to me as well. We’ve had bumps along Eastern Oklahoma Catholic 20 July/August 2010 www.dioceseoftulsa.org
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