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Alumnus to lead Archiocese of Omaha schools
by Lisa Schulte,
special to Tower Topics
Father James E. Gilg, a Conception Seminary College alumnus, has been appointed the new superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Omaha.
Father James E. Gilg
Photo by Lisa Schulte.
Father Gilg, president of V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha, brings nearly 40 years of experience in education to his new position, having served as superintendent, principal and president of several archdiocesan high schools.
“I’m honored to be offered the position,” Father Gilg told The Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Omaha. “I see it as an opportunity to continue my services to the archdiocese in the area of Catholic education.”
Pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Omaha, Father Gilg will begin his position July 3, replacing Sister Michelle Faltus, SFCC, who has served as superintendent of Catholic schools since 2000. He will continue his duties as pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Parish.
Born in 1941, Father Gilg was raised on a small ranch near Atkinson and graduated from St. Joseph High School in Atkinson in 1958. He received a bachelor’s degree from Conception Seminary College in 1962 and is a former member of its Board of Regents. In 1966, he earned a master’s degree in educational administration from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and a master’s of science degree in education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1983.
Extensive experience
Since his ordination in 1966, Father Gilg has spent almost his entire priesthood serving the young people of the archdiocese in both the rural and urban areas.
From 1968-70, Father Gilg was the superintendent of Cathedral High School in Omaha. He was Humanities Co-chairman at Pope John XXIII High School in Elgin from 1970-72. Father Gilg then went on to serve as principal of Dominican High School in Omaha from 1972-1983. In 1983, he was named director and principal of Father Flanagan High School in Omaha and later served as adjunct professor in the Department of Education at Creighton University from 1987-96. During that time, he became president of Skutt Catholic, serving in that position for the past 15 years.
“I’m very much intrigued with the energy and the curiosity and the challenge of high school students and helping them grow in the faith and to be present to them in such a way so they know that the church believes in them and sees their particular life experiences as being something very important,” Father Gilg said.
Leader in development
In his various positions, Father Gilg has been a leader in program development. As principal of Dominican High School, he directed the formation of education and social service programs that met the learning styles and social circumstances of high-risk youth.
As founding director and principal of Father Flanagan High School, he continued to improve programs. And as founding president of Skutt Catholic, Father Gilg directed all aspects of program development, establishing credibility for the college-preparatory high school program and increasing enrollment from 120 in 1993-1994 to more than 700 in 2005-2006.
At each school, Father Gilg directed plans to begin and continue institutional advancement programs in order to strengthen financial stability.
In 1976, he co-founded the Christian Urban Education Services (CUES) to provide financial resources for Dominican High School and Sacred Heart Grade School. In 1979, he established the Dominican Relocation Committee to search for resources to continue Dominican High School after the North Freeway destroyed buildings, which led to the decision of Father Flanagan’s Boys Home to sponsor the school and begin construction of Father Flanagan High School.
In 1991, Father Gilg served on the Special Gifts Committee of the Archbishop’s Campaign for Educational Excellence, which raised $25 million for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Omaha. And after several years of directing the start-up years of Skutt Catholic, he organized the “To Secure the Legacy” Capital Campaign, which raised more than $3 million for major facility improvements.
Father Gilg is now focusing on the procurement of endowment funds for Skutt Catholic, going from zero to close to $1 million, and directing the process which will result in the 2006 Strategic Plan for Skutt Catholic.
Power of Catholic schools
Father Gilg said he sees Catholic education as being among the best evangelization efforts that the church has founded in this country.
“It’s a very strong tradition in the United States and it has allowed many of the immigrant Catholic populations to move up in society and it continues to teach the faith in a way that is not possible with any other program that I know of and it’s just very effective,” he said. “It also helps the church to continue to be strong and vibrant in the future because it prepares people to be very active in church structures and church leadership.”
Catholic education also is a great outreach to people who are struggling and in poverty around the United States, Father Gilg said.
“It’s an extremely powerful way to show how the church cares for people who are struggling and are poor and provides them with a kind of education that gets them in the same upward mobility that the urban populations had in the Catholic schools back in the last century,” he said.
Continuing support
Although there has been much attention nationally to the challenges confronting Catholic schools, including financial issues, Father Gilg said he will continue his efforts to make Catholic education possible for all students by supporting programs such as the Children’s Scholarship Fund.
“I hope that I will be able to assist the leaders of parish communities and school communities in helping them see the value and worth of all the sacrifice that they always continue to make in Catholic education, and also help them understand and feel very confident about the fact that not only is this worth the effort, but it is something we can be successful in doing,” he said. “And we will, through the cooperation of all the people involved in those various communities that make these schools as strong as they can be.”
This article previously appeared in The Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Omaha.
We welcome your comments:
communications@conception.edu
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