Headmaster Mich to Retire After Decade at St. Thomas

St. Thomas Academy announced last week that its headmaster, Dr. Thomas Mich, will be retiring at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Mich has worked in education for 48 years and as St. Thomas’ top executive since 2004.

The Academy’s board has formed a headmaster search committee and a national search firm will assist in finding a replacement.

St. Thomas has more in a press release:

“Dr. Thomas Mich’s tenure places him in the revered ranks of the many outstanding leaders and visionaries who have built, strengthened and sustained Saint Thomas Academy for more than 125 years,” said Rick Anderson ’80, chair of the board of trustees. “From his first day as headmaster, Dr. Mich brought confident, statesman-like leadership to the Academy, and with his talent and experience as an educator and administrator, quickly gained the respect of the faculty, administration and the broader Saint Thomas Academy community. His dedication and service as headmaster have strengthened Saint Thomas Academy and brightened its future incalculably.”

Mich said, “As I reflect on my tenure, I am enormously proud of what we have all accomplished these past several years. I am humbled by the quality and character of our students, the young men who in so many ways demonstrate significant abilities, diverse talents, personal integrity and generosity of spirit. They remain the focus for all that the Academy is today and will be tomorrow.”

Prior to joining Saint Thomas Academy, Mich served 18 years as superintendent of Orono Public Schools and 13 years in Burnsville Public Schools as associate superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction, and associate principal. He taught in the Saint Thomas College (now University of St. Thomas) Graduate School of Education from 1970 to 1973 and later as an adjunct professor of education. He taught English and Latin and was the resident dean of students at Saint Thomas Academy from 1967 to 1970. Mich came to Saint Thomas Academy as a student teacher in 1965-66, the school's first year at the Mendota Heights campus.

Mich has a bachelor’s degree from St. Paul Seminary; master’s degrees in education from Saint Thomas College (now University of St. Thomas), and the University of Minnesota; and a doctorate in education from the University of Minnesota.

Mich has served on a variety of boards and has consulted with both public and private schools throughout the U.S. He and his wife, Catherine, reside in Orono and are members of Holy Name of Jesus parish in Medina.