The University of Nebraska-Lincoln dean of students has been named the new superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
Matthew Hecker will replace Msgr. John Perkinton, who is stepping down after serving as superintendent of the diocese’s 32 schools for the past 27 years. Perkinton's new assignment has not been announced.
The Diocese of Lincoln’s schools serve more than 7,600 students in grades Pre-K through 12, and employ more than 600 teachers, including laity, 45 priests, and 36 women religious who teach.
Hecker, who has spent more than 30 years in education, including the last 15 at UNL, will officially begin his new position July 2.
Originally from Denver, he began his work in education as a youth director at a parish in Fort Collins, Colorado, then became a high school social studies teacher and coach in Colorado and later earned advanced degrees in counseling and education administration.
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For more than 20 years, he worked in college administration — as associate dean of students at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, vice president for student development at the University of Mary in North Dakota and vice president and dean of student at Benedictine College in Kansas — before joining UNL in 2003.
“One of the single best ideas in all of Christendom was and continues to be Catholic education," Hecker wrote in a letter introducing himself to the schools. "The world is filled with darkness. Faithful Catholic education is ... a powerful means in which to assist parents with the job of equipping students to bring light into the darkness and as a means of helping secure their salvation.â€
Bishop James Conley initiated a nationwide search for the position last fall and a search committee did interviews and vetted the candidates.
“Our hope was to find a leader with experience as a systemwide administrator, imbued with a love for Jesus Christ and his Church,†Conley said in a news release.
During the remainder the school year, Hecker will visit as many diocesan schools as he can, to introduce himself to administrators, teachers and students, according to the news release.