consortium

First Director Named for Catholic Schools Consortium

Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 2/8/07)

The dean of one of the world’s leading online universities has been named executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium. Dr. Mary Ellen Hrutka assumed her duties as the Consortium’s first executive director last month.
The Consortium is a collaborative effort among the six Catholic (arch)dioceses of the Mid-Atlantic Region to develop innovative strategies for addressing common challenges facing Catholic schools in the areas of funding, leadership and governance.
Hrutka joins the Consortium from the University of Maryland University College, where she most recently served as vice provost and dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies.
Hrutka led the university’s efforts to overhaul the undergraduate curriculum and build a robust inventory of academic majors, minors and certificates worldwide in a system that serves over 29,000 students in both classroom and distance learning formats. She managed a staff of more than 80 full-time employees and 1,500 faculty members and played a critical role in the development of UMUC as the leading public “virtual university.”
The Consortium’s mission is “to make Catholic schools the schools of choice for Catholic children and families, and all who desire an education rooted in Catholic tradition and Gospel values.” It will identify collaborative solutions to the challenges shared by the six Mid-Atlantic (arch)dioceses: the Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington, and the Dioceses of Arlington, Richmond, Wilmington and Wheeling-Charleston.
The executive director is the strategic and operational leader for the Consortium and is responsible for implementing its mission, goals, objectives and policy agenda. Some of the Consortium’s goals include supporting the important role that Catholic schools play in faith formation, strengthening the management and governance structures of Catholic schools, leveraging the benefits of the size of the Consortium and ensuring long-term government and private financial support of Catholic schools.
“The operative word has been and always will be collaboration between the six dioceses,” said Dr. Timothy McNiff, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Arlington. “Hrutka has the vision and the ability to bring that collaboration together.”
For more information on the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium, please visit www.midatlanticcsc.org.