The Rev. Joaquin O. Martinez stepping down as St. John's president

12/14/2012
BY MARK REITER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • rel-FR-JOAQUIN-MARTINEZ


    • The Rev. Joaquin O. Martinez, president of St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy, is leaving the institution on June 30 for a new assignment, the school announced today.

    Father Martinez was selected to lead to the all-male Jesuit school in 2008 after a 15-month national search. He is the eighth president of the school, which opened its doors in 1965.

    "I have very much enjoyed my time here. I am very happy to have had this opportunity," he said. "St. John's is a terrific school. One of the blessings of being here is continuing to keep St. John's focused on its mission."

    Under the priest's tenure, the school added the sixth grade academy, improved technology infrastructure, including providing computer iPads for all teachers and students, and built a 4,000-seat state-of-the-art track and football stadium complex.

    "We are most grateful to Father Martinez for his leadership in these past five years," Kurt Miller, chairman of the board of trustees, said in a prepared statement. "With 945 students, Father Martinez has positioned our school well as a leader in educational excellence. We wish him all the best in his new assignment."

    Father Martinez said he is proud of the academic achievements of students, including their consistency to score the highest among local schools on the ACT and the Ohio Graduation Test.

    "We have more National Merit Scholars than any other school in the area," he said. "I think I am leaving the school in much better shape than when I got here."

    Father Martinez said the school will assemble a search committee to find his replacement. He said the process will include consulting with students, parents, alumni, and faculty on the qualities they want for the new president.

    Father Martinez served as intern principal of Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Mass., before the appointment to St. John's Jesuit.

    A native of Manila, Phillippines, where he attended Jesuit schools, he joined the Jesuit order in 1991 and was ordained in June, 2003, in Los Angeles.

    Father Martinez, who belongs to the Jesuit's California Province, said he doesn't know what his next assignment with the order will be.