Memphis’ Saint Agnes Academy President to Join Ole Miss

After 21 years, Barbara Daush, President of St. Academy-St. Dominic School, has announced she will leave the school in June 2016 after the completion of the next school year. Mrs. Daush will join her alma mater, the University of Mississippi, in a leadership capacity in fundraising as a part of the University’s upcoming campaign.

Barbara Daush

Mrs. Daush has been President of St. Agnes-St. Dominic since 1994. As President, she has proven to be a transformative leader, all the while maintaining a commitment to the legacy of the Dominican Sisters who founded the School 164 years ago. During her tenure, enrollment has grown 45 percent, the school’s endowment has grown 8,000 percent to almost 6 million, and the campus has been reinvented through two major capital campaigns.

“I have loved participating in this consistent growth and improvement over the past 21 years. It has been an exciting and professionally fulfilling experience, and I have worked side by side with some of the most gifted educators I will ever know,” Mrs. Daush said.

“In February 2014, my first grandchild, Robert, was born to son Bobby and his wife Julia, and my life’s priorities joyfully and suddenly changed. I realized how much time I wanted to spend with him, and in this job, time is not an easy gift to find. Then this November, we found out that our other son and daughter-in-law, John and Lacey, will bring our second grandson, Luke, into the world in July 2015. We are so blessed! As a grandparent, I now look back and realize how much I missed with my sons as they grew up. I don’t want to miss those chapters with my grandchildren. I know it is time for me to make a change and to hand over the role of President to the next leader,” Mrs. Daush added.

The St. Agnes-St. Dominic Board of Trustees has formed a search committee composed of all the school’s major stakeholder groups and will immediately begin a national executive search.

“Barbara has been a dynamic visionary and was the perfect choice as the first lay president to take over from our founders,” said Joe Getz, Chairman, SAA-SDS Board of Trustees.

“After more that two decades her name has become almost synonymous with the School and our mission. She truly embodies the spirit of each of the Four Dominican Pillars – Study, Prayer, Community and Service. She has been our partner in mission, purpose, commitment and love. Our mission is grounded in Catholic, Dominican education, and that will be paramount as we proceed in our search,” Mr. Getz added.

Mrs. Daush is currently serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). She was named the 2014 CEO of the Year by MBQ Magazine and was a member of the inaugural class of the Memphis Business Journal’s Super Women in Business in 2012. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools and a past president of the Memphis Association of Independent Schools. She is a member of the Division II Committee for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association and served for ten years as liaison to the Board of Control and Legislative Council of the TSSAA. She is Vice-Chair of the Board of the Coalition of Lighthouse Schools and a member of the Board of Madonna Learning Center. Mrs. Daush also serves on the board of the St. Martin de Porres Shrine and Institute at St. Peter Catholic Church and is a Eucharistic Minister at St. Louis Catholic Church.

Courtesy Ginger Jordan, Saint Agnes Academy