Print Issue: August 1, 2002

Founding Principal Chosen For Msgr. Donovan High School

ATHENS - Scott Fleming, Ph.D. has been selected as the founding principal of the Msgr. Walter J. Donovan Catholic High School in Athens. The appointment was effective Aug. 1.

The high school will open in the fall of 2003 on a 106-acre site on Lavender Road, just off Highway 129N, five miles from St. Joseph's Elementary School. The first Catholic high school in the area, serving Athens and surrounding counties, it will offer a challenging academic curriculum in a values-based education. It is open to students of all faiths and is projected to serve 400 students. The Catholic high school will be self-supporting, but will be under the curriculum and policy guidelines applicable to archdiocesan schools.

Fleming, 41, from New Orleans, was chief administrator of Cathedral Catholic School, a coed school for 650 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in Natchez, Miss. He also served as principal of seventh through 12th grade at the school.

Prior to this, he taught English, history and religion for 14 years at his high school alma mater, Jesuit High School in New Orleans. He was also the swim coach of six state championship teams.

In college, he won the 1981 Rookie of the Year award for military triathlon as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated from Tulane University with a degree in English. He earned his master's degree in curriculum and instruction in 1989 and a master's degree in educational administration in 1993, both from the University of New Orleans. In 1996 he earned his doctorate in educational administration from the University of New Orleans. He was a recipient of a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Scholarship and received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1998.

Msgr. Donovan High School will enroll students in freshman and sophomore classes in 2003 and add a class each year until enrollment is complete.

Fleming said students in the new school will have unique opportunities to "develop leadership skills because they will help the school determine the path for which extracurricular and sports activities will be offered."

"I am excited about leading Msgr. Donovan Catholic High School from its inception and I look forward to working in the vibrant city of Athens," he said.

He said the school will eventually offer a full range of extracurricular and sports programs, but will start by fielding junior varsity teams in sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer. "I hope we can compete on the varsity level for other sports such as swimming and track," Fleming said.

Msgr. Donovan, 86, who is retired and in residence at Sacred Heart Church, Atlanta, founded St. Joseph's Elementary School in 1949, two years after he arrived in Athens as pastor of St. Joseph's Church. The school enrolls approximately 375 students of all faiths.

A nine-member search committee, including the principal of St. Joseph's School, the pastor of St. Joseph's Church, two former principals and several parents, worked on the process. Rosie Hildebrand was the chairperson.