Following a thorough national search which evaluated a top slate of candidates from Catholic and Jesuit schools across the nation, Fairfield College Preparatory School has named Academic Dean Timothy Dee as the next Principal effective July 1, 2021. Tim Dee is a gifted Ignatian educator with a deep working knowledge of the Fairfield Prep mission and community. For the last twenty years, he has been involved in Jesuit education beginning as a student at Boston College High School and Fairfield University, and later as a teacher, coach, and administrator at Fairfield Prep.

President Christian Cashman, who made the final selection, praised Dee's background and abilities: "I am thrilled that Tim Dee will join me in leading Fairfield Prep into the next great moment of our Jesuit history. As brothers in the Prep mission, Tim and I have known each other for over a decade, first as teaching colleagues and now as fellow leaders. Tim understands the Jesuit and Ignatian charism at every level. He is a living example of how transformational Jesuit education produces talented leaders who view their lives as a vocation to serve. Tim's transition to principal will be seamless in a time of great educational need and change in our region."

Poised to assume the role of principal and academic leader of the school, Dee says he is prepared to build on Prep's core elements of Ignatian pedagogy while embracing the ingenuity and innovation of 21st century learning models that will enhance the experience of Prep students. Since his arrival at Fairfield Prep in 2009, Dee has served the school community as a Math and Computer Science teacher, coach, leader of Christian Service trips and Retreats, Department Chair, and currently Academic Dean. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Fairfield University.

In Dee's three years as Chairman of the Mathematics Department, he worked to expand opportunities for students, collaborating with colleagues to start AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, and Statistics courses, as well as to create Honors Pre-Calculus with Introductory Calculus courses – all enhancing Prep seniors' college application profiles.

During his four years as Academic Dean, Dee continued to create new, more efficient and more impactful opportunities for Prep students across all departments. He integrated courses from the Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute (AVLI) into the curriculum, giving students online course options for additional credit. He also redesigned the Prep course selection process and Course Catalog, collaborated with faculty members to launch a new academic schedule, and led Prep's quick adjustment to institute hybrid and virtual learning to ensure educational excellence during the global pandemic.

Finally, for the 2021-22 school year, Dee has planned introduction of a new dual-credit course with Fairfield University, Film & Media Production, and a new Bioengineering enrichment course which will be taught by a team of Fairfield University professors. These courses, along with the popular Entrepreneurship Institute, will be housed in Prep's newly opened McLeod Innovation Center.

Excited to assume the principal's role, Tim expressed his passion for Prep and Jesuit education: "I am wholeheartedly committed to upholding and enhancing the Jesuit mission of Fairfield Prep. My experience as a student in a Jesuit school was transformational. As an adult in a Jesuit school, my goal each day is to live out the Jesuit mission as a model for all students. As we enter an era of a small number of Jesuits physically present in our school, I will endeavor to make decisions and strive for excellence while continuing to uphold and enhance the Jesuit mission of the school for years to come. I am prepared to lead the school alongside President Cashman to make Fairfield Prep a place where young men come to develop their intellectual competence, conscience, compassion and commitment to justice – to go forth and change the world."

President Cashman added: "Tim is a universally respected teacher and educational leader who will also be a champion for our talented faculty in their professional development. We cannot wait to see how Tim will bring his gifts to bear on the mission of academic excellence that is Prep's hallmark." Cashman additionally thanks Principal Dr. Tommy de Quesada for his extraordinary leadership and talent over the last three years, and wishes him Godspeed in his return to Belen Jesuit in Miami, where he will serve as Executive Director of Enrollment & Community Outreach. Cashman also thanks the search committee chaired by Special Assistant to the President Gregory Marshall '73 and the seven committee members for their extensive work.

Dee brings a highly-qualified educational resume which includes: BS in Mathematics, Fairfield University; MA in Secondary Education, Fairfield University; Intermediate Administration Certification, Sacred Heart University; and PhD candidate in Curriculum & Instruction, Texas Tech University. He also completed the Seminars in Ignatian Leadership sponsored by the Jesuit Schools Network.

An immediate search will commence for the vacancy now created in the office of Academic Dean. Dee will begin to collaborate with President Cashman, the Prep Board of Governors and Fairfield University to ensure a smooth leadership transition and a continued expansion of Prep's academic offerings in the areas of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and STEM curriculum. He will also have a key leadership role in the development and implementation of the strategic vision for Prep's 80th Anniversary beginning in 2022.