Following an independent review, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops (NZCBC) have announced a new entity for the delivery of Catholic tertiary education.
According to a statement from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, the services provided by Good Shepherd College (GSC) and The Catholic Institute (TCI) are to be brought together under one governance structure to strengthen capacity for excellence in theological and religious studies, academic formation for seminarians through a high standard bachelor’s degree, together with research and public engagement.
An establishment board, led by Sir Brian Roche, will guide the process of moving toward a single entity. Sir Brian Roche is a former chief executive of PWC New Zealand and of New Zealand Post, he has held a number of public sector roles and led the bid for New Zealand to stage the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Sir Brian was involved in the consultation with stakeholders as part of the review and brings a wide breadth of organisational and leadership gifts, the NZCBC statement noted.
In the meantime, the TCI Council and GSC Senate will remain in place, providing oversight of each entity and ensuring quality teaching, advocacy, research, curriculum development and academic formation of seminarians continue.
President of the NZCBC, Bishop Patrick Dunn, said that “the role of Catholic tertiary education is vital for the mission of the Church in the world and offers tremendous benefit to the wider New Zealand public”.
It is anticipated that the new entity will be in place by 2019 with confirmation on the timeline for changes taking place as the establishment board begins work in early 2018.
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