Leadership recognition for Principal

Leadership Recognition for Dominic College Principal

Dominic College Principal, Beth Gilligan has been nominated by the Tasmanian Catholic Secondary Principals for the association’s national Leadership Excellence Award which will be judged in July.

Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA) is the national peak body for Australian Catholic Secondary School Principals and is a federation of the principals' associations which represent Catholic secondary school principals in all Australian States and Territories.

Ms Gilligan’s nomination was led by Mr Frank Pisano, the Chair of CaSPA Tasmania and Principal of St Brendan Shaw College, Devonport.

Mr Pisano said that Ms Gilligan had built a reputation as an outstanding educational leader across the last decade in Tasmania.

“The excellent leadership Beth Gilligan has provided in the transformation of Dominic College to a vibrant educational community with high aspirations and expectations of students and their achievements should be recognised and commended widely.”

Mr Pisano was a member of Ms Gilligan’s Performance Review panel late last year along with Dr Sandra Harvey and Mr Greg Hay, Principal of St Mark’s College in Port Pirie.

“She is a passionate, dedicated, hardworking and compassionate Principal who enjoys the deserved respect and confidence of the entire Dominic College community,” said Mr Pisano.

The CaSPA Leadership Excellence Award recognises and celebrates the strategic and successful pursuit of excellence by Principals in Secondary Schools and Colleges within Catholic Education in Australia.

Dr Sandra Harvey Assistant Director - System Improvement for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Ballarat said that Ms Gilligan was an exceptional educational leader, “She has been the driving force behind all that has been achieved in Dominic College’s transformation and has used her determination to remain undaunted by the numerous and often complex challenges that have arisen.”

Dr Harvey said that not only is Beth Gilligan a committed leader, “who leads from the front”, whether strategically planning for the school or teaching in the classroom, but “she is continuously innovative and courageous in her approaches for engaging students and staff.”

The CaSPA Outstanding Leadership nomination considers a principal’s achievements in their school in the development of Catholic Identity and Ethos, Teaching and Learning, Pastoral Care and Well-Being, Communication, Networks and Community and Innovative Practice.

Ms Gilligan said that she was honoured by the nomination and that developments at Dominic College were the result of the dedication of her quality staff, wonderful families and talented and committed students. She said that Dominic College was like a large family: “There is an old African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child and indeed this is what happens at Dominic College.”