Board of Trustees

The Advancement Committee shall formulate a long-range strategy and calendar for Advancement, including the fostering of relationships, fundraising and communication. The Advancement Committee will guide and support various giving campaigns, both annual and capital, promoting the actual implementation of board and staff efforts. It also guides and supports Advancement’s public relations and marketing efforts that are focused both internally and externally.

The Building and Grounds Committee ensures Brebeuf has a pleasant, safe, and adequate space for learning to take place. The Building and Grounds Committee will monitor and review the facility needs of the school and recommend to the Board items to be included in the maintenance and upkeep budgets. Annually the Building and Grounds Committee, in cooperation with the school administration, is responsible for developing a list of building deficiencies and provides both a short term (one year) and long term (five year) list of those needs.

The Education Committee concerns itself with planning, oversight, and support for the educational programs of Brebeuf Jesuit, including: 

• Academic departments and programs
• Student academic performance 
• Student academic support 
• Curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Faculty and professional development

The Finance / Audit Committee ensures Brebeuf has adequate funding and that the school’s management is using funds in a manner that is tied to both the mission and the strategic plan. The Finance / Audit Committee also ensures that the school’s management are good stewards of the funds both invested and used in the operating budget. The Finance / Audit Committee gives advice on investments and accounting issues that may come up during the operation of the school. The Finance / Audit Committee is responsible for the audit of the financial statements for Brebeuf Jesuit on a yearly basis, and also makes sure the school is planning far enough into the future to help alleviate unforeseen financial burdens.

Purpose 

Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School derives its Catholic and Jesuit identity through its sponsorship by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus.  That sponsorship results from the school being guided in its operations by Our Way of Proceeding - Standards and Benchmarks for Jesuit Schools in the 21st Century and through a sustaining agreement entered into by the Board of Trustees of Brebeuf Jesuit and the Provincial of the USA Midwest Province.  The sponsorship is reviewed every six years by the school and the Province; the review notes commendations, recommendations, and advises the Provincial with regard to renewing the sustaining agreement.

The purpose of the Jesuit Identity Committee is to help ensure that Brebeuf Jesuit is continuing to live its Jesuit charism in all that it attempts - in what we offer students and their families and how we communicate about what we offer.  The committee is charged with monitoring progress and keeping the Board apprised as the school addresses the various sponsorship review recommendations.  The committee also has a role in encouraging  Brebeuf Jesuit to embrace other initiatives of the Society of Jesus not directly noted in the sponsorship review’s commendations or recommendations (e.g. the Universal Apostolic Preferences, Jesuit Conference or Midwest Province initiatives).  The committee in conjunction with the Governance Committee is responsible for helping form members of the Board  for mission  in a way that Brebeuf Jesuit’s mission and values are the reference point for all decisions of the Board and its committees.

Goals

• In coordination with the Assistant to the President for Mission and Strategy, monitor preparations for the next sponsorship review, which is scheduled for January or February 2024.  This will include a self-study of the school that documents how what was commended has been maintained and what was recommended has been addressed.  This process will include hearing reports from and engaging various members of the administration, faculty, staff, and board who have responsibilities related to what was highlighted in the 2018 report.  The self-study will also address new issues that have arisen since the last review.
• In coordination with the Governance Committee, develop a curriculum and process for Board formation that considers content for and how to execute new member orientation, formation at quarterly meetings of the board and each meeting of the various committees, and an annual Board retreat.
• Enumerate initiatives related to Jesuit identity (e.g. the Universal Apostolic Preferences, Jesuit Conference or Midwest Province initiatives, and the immediate pastoral needs that present themselves) with which Brebeuf Jesuit needs to give attention and assess the school’s engagement.
• Give thoughtful consideration to the document The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue  from the Congregation for Catholic Education, making recommendations to the Board and school leadership with regard to action Brebeuf Jesuit may need to take.

The Governance Committee assists the Board of Trustees to review and oversee all areas affecting the corporate governance of the School (including the By-Laws), policies and procedures respecting both the orientation of and the continuing education of the Board of Trustees, legal matters, and policies and procedures respecting the evaluation of the individual Trustees and the President. It shall also propose and submit to the Board of Trustees names of persons nominated for election as Trustees and as officers of the Board of Trustees.

The Student Life Committee concerns itself with planning, oversight, and support for student life programs of Brebeuf Jesuit, including: 

• Equity and inclusion
• Student engagement and school spirit
• Co-Curricular clubs and activities
• Mental health and wellness
• Athletics 

The members of the Board of Trustees are so named because they hold the mission and identity of the school in trust. Legally, the Board holds the school and its Jesuit identity in trust for the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, per the Sustaining Agreement. As such each Trustee and all Trustees hold primary responsibility for knowing deeply and thoroughly the character of Jesuit high schools and Jesuit education.

The Board of Trustees is the governing, policy-making body of the school. It is headed by the Chair and organized into committees, each with a Chair and a Charter that describes its responsibilities. The Chairs of all standing committees form the Executive Committee of the Board, which is chaired by the Board Chair. Its officers – a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary – are elected each year by the full Board. These positions and roles are described in the Bylaws.

The Board is responsible for assisting the school by translating the school’s mission and values into policy, notably the Strategic Plan, for an extended period into the school’s future. The Board’s policy must ensure as a first priority the Jesuit and Catholic character of the school. This policy must also ensure the financial health of the school, its repute in the community, and its spirit of service to those families whose children enroll in the school and to the wider community.

The work of the Board is done largely by the committees which normally report in writing and sometimes orally at regular Board meetings. The committees are responsible for assisting the Board to fulfill its policy role by completing work unique to the Board, e.g., approving an annual budget for the school.

Trustees are expected to provide leadership to the school in contributing to the Annual Fund and Capital Campaigns as they are mounted.

The primary role of the Brebeuf Jesuit Trustees is to develop and positively promote the Jesuit mission of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. As the governing and policymaking body of the school, the Trustees:

• Articulate and monitor the Brebeuf Jesuit Strategic Plan.
• Select, support and evaluate the Brebeuf Jesuit President.
• Establish and maintain a solid financial foundation for the school.

Trustees are identified and selected through a process managed by the Governance Committee. This process, handled confidentially and done annually, begins in the fall of the year and is based upon awareness of the competencies, skills and experience of current Trustees. The Governance Committee identifies individuals who match the needed competencies and makes recommendations to the Trustee Executive Committee. Members are elected for a three-year term (renewable once) at the Trustee annual meeting in May.

Any current Trustee can suggest an individual for nomination to the Trustees. In addition, individuals can make their desire known to be nominated as a Trustee through a letter and resume sent to governance@brebeuf.org. In order to be in synchronization with the annual process, such letters of interest and/or resumes should be sent no later than October 15.