Dean Cathy George To Take Up New Post

September 11, 2020

BDS Associate Dean Cathy George has announced her plans to become the Chaplain of the Epiphany School in Dorchester, MA, an Episcopal School serving economically disadvantaged families in Boston. She will continue at BDS through the end of this semester.   Dean George’s five-year appointment at BDS concluded last June, and she indicated her interest in pursuing this opportunity, which returns her to Dorchester where she served two parishes. 

Epiphany, which serves young people from infants and toddlers through Middle School, is regarded as one of the country’s most successful schools serving low income communities in ways where families as well as the enrolled children prosper. Recent examples during the COVID crisis include offering emergency cash grants for families this spring and the collection and distribution of thousands of pounds of food to the families of the school’s student body. 

Epiphany’s academic track record is impressive: as one example, students in the Fifth Grade enter 1 to 3 grades below average; the Eighth graders leave Epiphany one grade level above average. One of the hallmarks of the School is the continuing advising of the students after they graduate to help them realize their full potential. The School has inspired 19 other schools nationally to adopt their model. 

The inspiration of Epiphany prompted BDS to award an Honorary Degree to the School’s Founder John Finley   some years ago. 

Dean McGowan and BDS Board Chair Jim Elrod are so grateful that she agreed to continue full-time during this semester. 

There will be other occasions to thank Cathy properly for the extraordinary contributions she has made to BDS and our students over what will be more than five years of her tenure and particularly her leadership as Acting Dean during the challenging COVID semester of last spring.   

Dean McGowan will be leading the search for Dean George’s successor and expects to have a new Associate Dean in place by the summer of 2021.