Lasallian Education was well represented at the 2012 National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Convention and Expo in Boston, MA from April 11-13. Not only did Lasallian educators take part in professional and spiritual development sessions, several were honored and others accepted new NCEA leadership roles.
Richard Engler, president of Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, MN, was recognized for his service as a regional representative of the executive committee of the NCEA’s Secondary Schools Department for the 2011-2012 school year. Father Brian O’Brien, president of Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, OK, and Dr. William Hudson, president of Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, MN, were both welcomed as new executive committee members for the 2012-2013 school year.
Also at the convention, Brother Michael Collins was posthumously awarded the 2012 Michael J. Guerra Leadership Award. Bro. Michael was serving as president of DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, MN when he passed away in January 2012 after a brief illness. Bro. Michael was a prominent figure in Catholic education for more than 50 years. He served on the NCEA board of directors from 1996-2004, first as president of the Secondary Schools Department and then as vice-chair of the full board from 2001-2004. He received the NCEA’s Catherine McNamee Award in 2007. Barry Lieske, DeLaSalle interim president, accepted the plaque.
Dr. Michael Carotta, a respected presenter at the Lasallian Leadership Institute, received the Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis at the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors (NPCD) Convocation, which took place as part of the NCEA Convention. The award is given to someone who has exercised outstanding national leadership in the field of catechesis.
The night before the convention started, approximately 30 Lasallian participants gathered for an evening of fellowship including representatives from the Region, Districts, and schools. Dr. Maggie McCarty, Executive Director of the Regional Council of Lasallian Association for Mission (RCLAM), was among those in attendance. Kenneth Famulare, assistant director of the NCEA Department of Secondary Schools, reunited with Lasallians during the gathering. Famulare accepted the NCEA position in 2011 after serving from 2009-2011 as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at La Salle Academy in New York City.
*Pictures courtesy NCEA