Dr John Kernohan Elected Chairman of The Trust Board

The Saint Kentigern Trust Board is pleased to welcome Dr John Kernohan and Mrs Rosemary Harris as its new Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively. These appointments were unanimously approved at the Trust Board Annual General Meeting. The Trust Board also took the opportunity to thank Dr Bruce Goodfellow, who will remain as a Board Member, for the exceptional service he has provided as our Chairman over the last 18 years. 

The new appointments reflect the Trust Board’s stated intention to re-evaluate its strategy for the long-term enhancement and growth of Saint Kentigern as a successful, leading educational organisation. As part of this strategy, Saint Kentigern committed to significant structural change last year.  Following the announcement that Head of College, Steve Cole planned to retire at the start of 2017, it created the new role of Head of Saint Kentigern, appointing David Hodge to the position, and more clearly defined the separate roles of its four schools. The College’s new structure was implemented at the beginning of the year with Mrs Suzanne Winthrop taking up the role of Principal – Senior College and Mr Duncan McQueen, Principal – Middle College.  

In keeping with this new direction, and to ensure the Trust Board continues to refresh its membership, Dr Kernohan said it will also be establishing a nominating process to secure the continuing appointment of suitably qualified Trust Board members to lead Saint Kentigern in the future.

Dr Kernohan said that while Dr Goodfellow did not seek re-election as Chair, the Trust Board is very pleased that he is remaining as a Board member and will be making an on-going contribution to Saint Kentigern. During Dr Goodfellow’s 33 years on the Board thus far, he has given outstanding service, often going above and beyond the call of duty. In his time as Chairman, our Saint Kentigern schools have more than doubled in size and now include over 400 staff teaching 2846 students, making it one of the largest Independent Schools’ groups in Australasia. The Trust Board is proud that through this growth, Saint Kentigern has retained its firm commitment to excellence and service to the community. 

With the 2017 year now well underway, The Trust Board, in conjunction with management, has started the process of master planning for our campuses. This is an opportunity to further bring our ‘one organisation’ together to provide benefits for the advancement of our students.