St. Viator president to step down at end of school year
St. Viator High School President the Rev. Dan Lydon announced this week he will step down at the end of the school year, wrapping up a three-year stint that marked a return to clerical leadership at the Arlington Heights Catholic school.
Lydon, a 1973 graduate ordained a priest later in life in 2015, said he plans to go on a brief sabbatical after his term ends June 30, 2024, then move into other ministries.
In the school's recent history, it's customary for a president's term to be three years, he added.
"It is also customary in school administration to always be planning a year ahead in all aspects of school operation," Lydon wrote in a letter to families.
That means the school's board and Viatorian board of governors, whose headquarters is next to the school campus, have started the process to find a successor. They expect to use a search firm, Lydon said.
School officials didn't say if they intend to find another priest for the job, or transition back to a layperson.
Following a long line of Viatorian priests and brothers as school president, Brian Liedlich became the first layperson to serve in that role in 2016. He left in 2021, and now is a Barrington-based leadership coach.
Under Lydon, the school unveiled a $28 million capital campaign that includes renovating classrooms, building the endowment and upgrading campus athletic facilities.
The marquee piece is a proposed four-field outdoor athletic complex south of the school building along Dryden Avenue. Early plans went to the village's conceptual plan review committee last November following a neighborhood meeting.
That project is seen as a long-term goal for the school, which has never hosted varsity football games on its campus in 62 years. But it already has faced some community opposition.
In the short-term, Lydon oversaw a host of building upgrades over the summer that added new acoustics, lighting, flooring, HVAC and technology to some 30 classrooms, eight science labs, the math and language labs, and five department offices. At the end of last school year, St. Viator unveiled Burks Place, a new wellness area, coffee bar and gathering space for students, faculty, staff members and visitors.
"Our school is uniquely positioned to educate and inspire students for the foreseeable future with these improvements," Lydon said.
Lydon noted other significant aspects of his term, including leading the school out of the COVID-19 pandemic-era and strengthening the school's Catholic identity.