EDUCATION BOARD OF GOVERNANCE

Appointed by the Bishop, the Diocesan Board of Governance for Education operates within the general pastoral and educational goals of the diocese. The aim of the Board is to help Catholic
Education identity take shape within the diocese. It does this by developing and monitoring its educational Vision and Mission Statements, its Strategic Priorities (annual and longer term), and through its educational policy process.

The Board’s role in policy development is visionary, developmental, coordinative and evaluative.
The Board engages in policy development through the shared wisdom process. The Board also cooperates with, and supports the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC), the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) and the Australian Bishops in furthering the ideals of Catholic Education in Australia.

The Education Board of Governance provides a mechanism through which the Bishop can oversee the work of Catholic Education, and the Executive Director can obtain impartial support and advice on matters concerning the work of Catholic Education Services and the schools.

Members of the Board are appointed by the Bishop, and usually are either from an education background or have other professional skills that are of value in guiding the work of Catholic Education. The Bishop and the Vicar for Education are also members.

The Board meets eight times per year. Its meetings provide an opportunity for the Executive Director and staff of Catholic Education Services to update the Board on their work and the key issues being addressed at the time. The Board is also a policy-making body which reviews policy documents and major strategic decisions faced by Catholic Education, confirming these for implementation in the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Cairns. The Board also approves and monitors the Central Budget of systemic schools and the budgets of the direct-funded schools of the diocese.

Serving the Board are committees of Faith; Education; and Finance. These also meet at least eight times per year, and have members from schools, CES, the Board, clergy, and others with expertise relevant to the focus of their work. The Board works cooperatively with the Diocesan Planning and Development Committee.

MEMBERS:

PROFILES:

(Most Rev) James Foley – Bishop of Cairns

The Most Rev James Foley was ordained a Priest on 7 August, 1973 by Archbishop Francis Rush, after studying at the Pius XII Provincial Seminary, Banyo from 1967 to 1973. His parish appointments included Gympie, Rosalie, Kenmore, Curate Ashgrove, and Weekend Assisting Priest at Beaudesert. He was Chaplain to the State Council of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Queensland from 1985 to 1988.

Born in Brisbane, Bishop James was educated by the Sisters of Mercy at St Ignatius Catholic Primary School, Toowong and Marist College Ashgrove.

A six year Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Louvain, Belgium in 1981 saw Bishop James return to Australia as a lecturer and later professor of Philosophy at Pius XII Seminary, Banyo and at the Brisbane College of Theology from 1982 to 1992, prior to his appointment as Bishop of Cairns. From 1985 to 1992 he was Spiritual Director at the Seminary. He has also lectured at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane and the University of Queensland, St Lucia.

While studying in Belgium, Bishop James worked as chaplain to American military installations on the German/Belgian border and spent several months as relieving parish priest in Canada. Immediately prior to his appointment as Bishop of Cairns, Bishop James was parish priest of Gympie.

Bishop James was ordained Bishop of Cairns on 21 August, 1992, and continues to serve in that role. As Pastor and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Cairns, Catholic Education is one of the many Diocesan agencies for which he has ultimate responsibility. Accordingly he oversees the Diocesan Board of Governance for Education, as well as the apostolic works of the Church in welfare and pastoral care. Assisting him in education are Episcopal Vicar for Education, Fr Neil Muir, and Executive Director of Catholic Education, Dr Bill Sultmann.

Fr Neil Muir

BTh, MTh (London), MAICD, CAE
Vicar for Education
Member, Diocesan Board of Governance for Education

Fr Neil Muir is Episcopal Vicar for Education. An Episcopal Vicar is delegated by the Bishop of the Diocese to act in his person and with his authority in a particular area (Education) of the Bishop’s responsibility in the Diocese. Included within Fr Muir's role is responsibility for the formation of candidates for the ministry of Deacon, as well as promoting vocations to the priesthood.


As Vicar for Education, Fr Muir works with the Executive Director for and on behalf of the Bishop, with oversight of Education both pastorally and administratively in terms of governance. Also as Vicar for Education, Fr Muir is a member of the Diocesan Board of Governance for Education, and sits on the education finance committee, the school fees review committee, and the Docemus Awards committee. Fr Muir has a particular interest in adult faith education in the Diocese and how that can be developed further. He brings to the role experience gained from previous positions such as being Vicar for Administration and Diocesan Secretary for five years, serving on the Diocesan Finance Council, the Provincial Finance Council of the QLD bishops, and formerly chairing the QLD Bishops committee for of the review senior executives' remuneration.

Fr Muir holds a Bachelor's degree in Theology (Brisbane College of Theology), a Masters in Theology (University of London), and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).

Bill Sultmann

DR WILLIAM (BILL) SULTMANN
DipT, B.EdSt, BA, MEdSt, Med(Lead), PhD, DipPsych, DipAppTheol, FACE, FAIM
Catholic Education – Executive Director


A registered teacher and psychologist whose contribution to education spans 30 years including: teaching (primary, secondary and tertiary), guidance consultancy, and 18 years in executive leadership roles in Catholic and government system authorities inclusive of Executive Direct, Catholic Education Office, Toowoomba, Executive Director, Edmund Rice Education and Executive Director, Catholic Education Services, Diocese of Cairns.

Served on Ministerial Advisory Councils (Special Education, Curriculum and Multi-Cultural) and a member of State wide Statutory Authorities in Senior Secondary School Studies and Teacher Registration.  Contributed to the wider educational discipline through a host of professional association memberships and authored individually and with colleagues, twenty significantly large works (texts and monographs) in areas such a Special Education, Language and Reading, Interpersonal Psychology, Curriculum, Consultancy, Organisational Renewal and Christian Leadership.

Paul Campbell

Chairperson, Education Board of Governance

Paul is a primary teacher and is Principal of Woree State School. He has extensive experience in primary education and has been involved in Indigenous education. Paul has been a member of P & F and school boards. Paul, as Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education, is the Cairns Diocesan representative on the Queensland Catholic Education Commission.

Paul is the past president of the Queensland Branch of the Australian College of Educators and has served two terms as a Director on the National Council of the Australian College of Educators.

Sr Faye Kelly rsm

Member, Education Board of Governance
BDiv BEd GradDipArts(Religion) GradDip(RE) DipT

Sister Faye is the Congregation Leader of the Sisters of Mercy of the Diocese of Cairns, a position she was elected to by the Congregation in 2003. As Congregation Leader, Sr Faye is also a member of the Institute Plenary Council of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia, the Australian Council of Leaders of Religious Institutes of Australia and the Congregational Leaders of Religious Institutes of Queensland.

A teacher by profession, Sr Faye has been Principal of two primary schools in the diocese; St Rita’s at Babinda and St Joseph’s at Parramatta. Sr Faye was principal at St Rita’s for two years and principal at St Joseph’s for eighteen years until mid 2003 when she became congregation leader. In addition to these periods of service as a Principal, Sr Faye has also had considerable contact with other primary and secondary schools in the diocese, especially the 16 schools which were founded and operated by the Sisters of Mercy in earlier years. Sr Faye taught at St Teresa Ravenshoe, St Augustine’s Mossman, St Michael’s, Gordonvale, St Rita’s Babinda, Our Lady Help of Christians, Earlville and St Joseph’s, Parramatta. In 1992, on secondment from St Joseph’s School, Sr Faye spent a six month period working as a primary school consultant in the diocesan Catholic Education Office.

Mount St Bernard College Herberton which was established in 1921, is a secondary college catering for boarding and day students. It was owned and operated by the Sister of Mercy until January 2006. Sr Faye was the Administrator of the College from 2003-2005. During this time she also worked closely with the Bishop and the Director of Catholic Education Services to secure the transfer of ownership from the Sister of Mercy to the Diocese of Cairns in 2006.

Sr Faye did her teacher training at McAuley College, Brisbane and has continued her studies to the present day. She presently holds the following qualifications, Dip of Teaching, Grad Dip of Religious Education, Grad Dip of Arts –Religion Studies, Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Divinity. Sr Faye has also undertaken a number of other courses in relation to Religious Life, spirituality and Social Justice.

As congregational leader, Sr Faye is responsible for the many apostolic works the Sisters of Mercy undertake in the diocese. Although most of their work has focussed on education, the Sisters also have had involvement in Aged Care, Health, Welfare, Spirituality, Parish Ministry and the State School Apostolate. The Sisters of Mercy own and operate a Conference and Retreat Centre at Earlville which provides many organisations with a gathering venue for in-service and accommodation. The Sisters of Mercy have a long standing commitment to students and families from Far North Queensland, Papua New Guinea, the Torres Straits and rural and remote areas of Queensland.

Stephen Torre

BA PhD Qld
Member, Education Board of Governance

Stephen Torre was born in Innisfail on 4 May 1952. His father, a pharmacist, and his mother, a journalist, were the children of Italian immigrant cane-farmers. He has two sisters. After school at Innisfail Marist Brothers College and then at Marist Brothers Ashgrove in Brisbane, he attended the University of Queensland where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). He continued his studies at postgraduate level, and completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Australian Literature.

After travel in Europe, Dr Torre taught at the University of Queensland and at James Cook University in Townsville, after which he was appointed to a permanent position at the Cairns Campus of James Cook University, where he is a Senior Lecturer in English and Academic Adviser for Arts and Social Sciences. Dr Torre’s research and teaching interests are in Modern and Australian literature and culture. He has published widely in these areas, and is the General Editor of the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian Quotations. Currently, Dr Torre is carrying out research into the writing of North Queensland and the tropics, and edits an online journal, etropic: journal of studies in the tropics (www.jcu.edu.au/etropic/).
He is also involved in joint research on ageing and the elderly with his wife Dr Nerina Caltabiano, who is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at James Cook University Cairns. Dr Torre has served on numerous committees of the University, including the Academic Board.

Dr Torre’s greatest pleasure is in spending time with his family, particularly his daughter, Amelia, who attends St Monica’s College. As well as the delights of literature, he loves movies, music, art, and cooking, but loathes lawn-mowing. He has been a committee member of the Dante Alighieri Society of Cairns for a decade, and its President from 1999-2004.

Elaine Jesurasingham

Elaine Jesurasingham was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of
Queensland and High Court of Australia in 1992 and has, since admission,
worked continuously in the field of commercial litigation and dispute
resolution, both as corporate counsel and in private practice.

After graduation, Elaine trained and later practised as an associate in two national law firms in the fields of commercial building and projects, commercial litigation and corporate insolvency; and as corporate counsel for a Queensland Government department and later an American hard rock mining company.

Having seen the light, Elaine relocated from Brisbane to Cairns in 1996 and in July 1998 was made a partner of Miller Harris Lawyers. At Miller Harris Lawyers, she acts for a wide range of commercial clients in the property development, building, manufacturing, tourism, real estate, and insurance industries across an equally wide spectrum of disputes, courts and tribunals, but with a focus on and special interest in civil construction, workplace and discrimination law and insurance.

Judy Collins

Member, Education Board of Governance


Judy was born in Melbourne and was educated at Sacred Heart Primary School, Sandringham and Kilbreda College, Mentone.

She trained in General Nursing at Mercy Hospital, East Melbourne and in Intensive Care Nursing at Royal Melbourne Hospital. She worked in the fields of Intensive Care, Oncology, Geriatrics, Paediatric Oncology and Burns/Surgery.

She achieved a BA from Monash University (Chisolm Institute) and a Post Graduate Diploma of Criminology from the University of Melbourne. 

In 1987 Judy moved to Cairns in where she worked as a nurse and practice manager in a dermatology practice.

She studied law at James Cook University, then a Diploma of Legal Practice and Masters of Laws at the Australian National University. She completed the Bar Practice Course with the Queensland Bar Association.