VASJ hires new President!

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School is pleased to announce that beginning July 25, 2011, Richard J. Osborne will become the school's President. Osborne, a 1969 graduate of St. Joseph High School, replaces Brian Menard, who has relocated with his family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is Head of Redemptorist Elementary and High Schools.

Inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame in 2007, Osborne has an extensive background in management, marketing and journalism. Previously publisher and editor of Ohio Magazine, Osborne has served as a newspaper editor, magazine executive and radio news director. He also is an author and editor of several corporate histories and other books. He wrote A Community of Faith, a commemorative publication for the Diocese of Cleveland, published in 1998.

"I am enormously pleased and grateful to come home to VASJ," Osborne said. "It is an incredible privilege to work with men and women who embody the Ursuline and Marianist values of educational excellence and service to others. It is little wonder that our students are so accomplished and their achievements are so inspiring. My job will be to facilitate this success so that it continues for many years to come."

VASJ has been operating under a President-Principal model since 2004. In this dual leadership model, the President serves as the chief executive officer and is responsible for overseeing the overall mission and Catholic identity of the school, leading institutional advancement and strategic long-term planning with the Board of Advisors. The Principal serves as the chief academic officer and is responsible for providing leadership for faith community affairs, academic affairs and student affairs. The President and Principal collaborate closely and have a united vision of what the school should be.

VASJ Principal Dave Csank says he is looking forward to working with Osborne to further advance the school's mission. "I am very excited that Richard Osborne was chosen to be VASJ's next President," Csank stated. "He has ties to the school, a love of the school and is completely dedicated to seeing VASJ become one of the top Catholic high schools in Northeast Ohio. In my experience working with Richard on the Board of Advisors, I am confident he has the skills necessary to continue with the positive momentum of the school."

For the last two years, Osborne has served as chairman of the Board of Advisors. "In that role he has come to deepen his appreciation for the gift of his own education at St. Joseph High School," said Margaret Lyons, Secretary for Education/Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Cleveland. "Richard's faith and his successful career will benefit him as he engages others in support of the wonderful students and families served by a remarkable VASJ faculty."

Osborne is a native Clevelander and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. His wife, Della, is a 1968 graduate of Villa Angela Academy. They have four children and six grandchildren.

Founded in 1990 with the merging of Villa Angela Academy (1878-1990) and Saint Joseph High School (1950-1990), VASJ is celebrating more than 150 years of educational excellence in the Diocese of Cleveland.