Dr. Karen Ristau became National Catholic Educational Association’s (NCEA) ninth president in July 2005.
She began her career in California as a teacher and later was principal of Our Lady of Fatima School in Modesto. In subsequent years, she was a faculty member and director and chair of programs in education leadership at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, where she established, along with another colleague, the university’s first doctoral program in educational leadership.
Following that position, she was vice president for academic affairs at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut, and then vice president and dean of faculty at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. At St. Mary’s, she helped established the Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership with a $12 million grant from the Lilly Foundation.
The NCEA president holds an undergraduate degree in English and education from San Jose State University and a master degree in educational administration from the University of San Francisco. Her doctorate in organization and leadership also is from the University of San Francisco.
Dr. Ristau is a frequent lecturer and has served on numerous educational committees and boards. She is published in many scholarly education journals and has been an active member of NCEA throughout her academic career, serving as an author and speaker at national conventions. She was recognized by NCEA in 1997 with the Neil D’Amour Award for her service to the Association and for her efforts in establishing effective boards of Catholic education nationally. In 2006 she was given an award from the University of San Francisco for distinguished service to Catholic education, and received the John Gregory Murray Medallion from University of St. Thomas for extraordinary service to Catholic education.
Established in 1904, the NCEA is the largest private professional education organization in the world, representing 200,000 Catholic educators serving 7.6 million students in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, in religious education programs, in seminaries, and in colleges and universities.
National Catholic Educational Association
