Sister Julia Marie Hutchison, SND, the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Charleston, State of South Carolina, is being awarded the prestigious O'Neil D'Amour Award for her long dedication and service to Catholic education and most notably for her endeavors in promoting a special role for school boards in the educational system.

 

Personally, Sister Julia has shared her knowledge of the significant working of boards by serving, for example, on the School Advisory Councils for Notre Dame Academy, Central Catholic High School, and St. John’s Jesuit School as well as the Bishop’s Advisory Council in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. Currently, Sister is a member of the Board of Trustees for Lial Elementary Private School, which is operated by the Toledo Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame.

 

To assist the school boards in the Diocese of Charleston, she initiated a very successful parish school board training program. Furthermore, she was awarded a grant to establish the Closer to Full Capacity program designed to educate school boards regarding their role in school marketing using webinars put on by the NCEA Department of Boards.

 

As an active educator, Sister Julia has worked both as a teacher and a principal in Catholic schools. She also has served as an adjunct professor at Teachers College Columbia University, the University of Detroit-Mercy, and the University of Dayton.

 

Recognition of her leadership abilities saw her assuming such administrative positions as directress of schools for the Sisters of Notre Dame Toledo Province, associate superintendent for technology & academics for the Toledo Diocese, and assistant dean of graduate studies in education at the Orlando campus of Barry University.

Sister’s contributions to education in general include chair and site visitor for the North Central Association as well as co-chair and Quality Assurance Review site visitor for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. At the national level Sister Julia has been a member of the United States Department of Education site evaluation team for Blue Ribbon Schools.

 

Likewise, the NCEA has been the recipient of Sister's talent as she has spoken at the association’s conventions and served as a representative of Michigan and Ohio principals on the NCEA Department of Elementary Schools Executive Committee. She also was a team member of the NCEA’s partnership with and visitation of Guatemala Catholic schools.

 

The foundation for Sister Julia's illustrious career as a professional educator included earning a Masters Degree in Education Administration at Bowling Green State University and a second Masters Degree and a Doctorate in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

 

Sister Julia is a recipient of the papal honor: Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross.