Saint Augustine Prep announces Father Robert J. Murray, O.S.A., as the next leader of the Richland school. The school’s current leader, Father Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., has been named Head of School at Malvern Prep, Malvern, Pennsylvania.
As a member of the Saint Augustine Preparatory School Board of Directors since January 2010, Father Robert Murray, O.S.A., has served as Chair of the Mission, Governance, and Planning Committee as well as a member of the Institutional Effectiveness Committee.
“His extended relationship with Saint Augustine Prep, along with extended experience and achievement in our Augustinian educational apostolate, make him the ideal choice to lead the South Jersey campus community at this moment,” the school said in a statement.
Father Murray, professed as a member of the Augustinian Order in 1976, was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. He has served as director of the graduate program in education and counseling at Villanova University. He holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Temple University, and served in various leadership roles at Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill for 10 years, and on several boards of independent schools in the Delaware Valley.
“As I enter my third term on the Board of Directors at Saint Augustine Prep, I am honored to serve in this exciting leadership role. I hope during my time at the school to continue the work of the Board of Directors, Father Reilly, the friars, and our lay colleagues who preceded me and build the quality of its programs, and the endowment necessary to support it,” said Father Murray.
Coach Rodio honored
In other news from Saint Augustine, the school recently bestowed its Mendel Medal upon educator and coach, Paul A. Rodio ‘70. He is the 44th recipient of the award.
Coach Rodio has been the Hermits head basketball coach since 1978 and his work in the Prep classroom as a teacher and student predates that. He has amassed 861 wins, making him the winningest coach in South Jersey history while leading the Richland school to five state championships in basketball and four previously earned state championships in cross country. He is a member of the NJSIAA Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame and the Basketball Coaches of South Jersey Hall of Fame.
Under his direction, Saint Augustine Prep basketball has also captured 13 South Jersey Championships and many of his former players have gone on to enjoy successful collegiate and professional careers.