The Ignatian - December 2016 Vol 26 July Edition Vol 27 | Page 7

From the Council
Commitment and
Governance
When I left Riverview a little over 40
years ago, it was serendipitous to believe
that I would ever Chair the College
Council, particularly during times of
great change in the national education
agenda. As a boarder from Walgett who
arrived at Riverview in Year 6, my aim
was to complete school and honour the
sacrifice my parents made in sending
me to Riverview. University, a career
in accounting and the Chair of two
school Councils were light years from
consideration at the time. Over the seven
years of my schooling at Riverview, the
bulk of my formation as an adolescent
and a young man was acquired through
the Jesuits, and for that I am extremely
grateful. I am now able to commit my time
and experience to the school which gave
me so much on my way to adulthood.
In my secondary years, a truly prophetic
Jesuit was elected to the position of
Superior General – Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ. He
added his own vernacular to a revivalist
period in the Jesuit history – words
that have become commonplace in the
lexicon of our young men: competence,
conscience and compassion. They are
expressed in myriad ways but particularly
through works of service rendered to the
marginalised and the disaffected.
Over more recent years, a fourth ‘C’ has
been added: commitment. Peter Hans
Kolvenbach, Superior General at the turn
of the 21st Century, believed that the virtue
of his predecessor’s work needed to be
an enduring one, based upon a sustained
and principled commitment to making a
difference in the world.
Members of the College Council aim to
ensure that despite significant changes
to the landscape of education in a
rapidly moving world, we commit to the
values that are synonymous with Jesuit
endeavour. Indeed, we are part of a world
wide institute of schools and ministries
that have, and will continue to have, the
message of the gospels as our compass and
the four ‘C’s to guide our vision.
In an age that can be obsessed with
strategic plans, performance indices,
benchmark metrics and the like, the need
for values that anchor human behaviour
and aspiration is greater than ever. And,
as Peter Hans Kolvenbach would remind
us, it is not selective nor ephemeral; it is a
sustained commitment that is implicit to
living an authentic life through embracing
the Jesuit principles of education.
And, this particular characteristic of Jesuit
education will be the object of deliberation,
prayer and reflection at the Province
retreat, which will be held for all members
of Jesuit School Councils at Sevenhill early
next term.
I thank the members of Council for their
expertise, engagement and commitment to
the works of the College and to the wider
ministries in the Province.
J O H N W I L C OX ,
CHAIR
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