Values for a Lifetime

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is getting a new Director of Educational Services and Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1.

He is Jim Rigg, Ph.D., Diocesan Director of Curriculum for the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs and principal of Divine Redeemer School in Colorado Springs. The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, archbishop of Cincinnati, made the appointment upon the recommendation of a search committee following a nationwide search.  

Rigg succeeds Brother Joe Kamis, S.M., who was appointed assistant provincial of the United States Province of the Society of Mary, and interim replacement Patricia Armstrong. 

“I have immensely enjoyed my career so far in Catholic education,” Rigg said. “I greet each day with joy and gratitude that God has placed me in a Catholic school system. I am a staunch believer in the unparalleled value of a Catholic education, and how Catholic schools can fulfill the mission of our Church to spread the teachings of Christ. I have already been impressed by the quality of the schools within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. I look forward to joining such a vibrant and Christ-centered community!”

Rigg has overseen instructional programs of the schools of the Diocese of Colorado Springs since 2008, in addition to his position as principal of Divine Redeemer Catholic School since 2005. In five years as leader of the school, he effectively doubled its enrollment, created new sources of financial aid, increased the financial viability of the school, and shepherded it through a process of becoming the first Catholic school in the state to be accredited under a new program. 

He is also an affiliated professor at Regis University in Colorado Springs. His previous positions include part-time principal of St. Peter Catholic School in Monument, CO, while still at Divine Redeemer (2007-2009); principal of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary in Memphis, TN (2003-2005); adjunct professor at the University of Memphis (2002-2003); dean of Bishop Byrne Middle/ High School in Memphis (2001-2003); and teacher at Bishop Byrne (1999-2001). 

Rigg graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, in 1999 with a bachelor of arts degree, majoring in history and minoring in international relations. He earned a masters in education from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, in 2001, where he was part of the Alliance for Catholic Education program, and a doctorate in educational administration from Capella University in Minneapolis in 2009.   

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 38th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with almost 500,000 Catholics, and has the eighth largest network of Catholic schools in terms of enrollment.  The 19-county territory includes 218 parishes and 115 Catholic primary and secondary schools.