New Fontbonne principal has a familiar face

Fontbonne Hall Academy’s new principal won’t need much time to adjust to his surroundings. 

Dr. Fred Herron has a 42-year history with the Shore Road school. He was chair of religious studies, campus minister and spiritual director before he resigned in 2020. He succeeds Mary Ann Spicijaric, who had led the all-girls Catholic high school since 2013.

Herron was also a member of the theology and religious studies department at St. John’s University; religious education director for the U.S. Coast Guard; and executive director for the Mount Manresa Jesuit Retreat House and the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center.

He has written six books, including “Tuning the Rig: Catholic Schools for a Learning Church.”

“I am delighted to be back home,” Herron told this paper. “This will be my 43rd year at Fontbonne Hall. My mother-in-law was in the first graduating class and my oldest daughter graduated from here as well.

“This school has a long history of raising up young women who are leaders in every field of endeavor. This is a tremendous legacy.”