Colleges appoint 'dual' principal

A pair of evangelical Anglican colleges have appointed a “dual” Executive Principal.

Sean Doherty will hold an oversight role for both Trinity College Bristol and St Mellitus College in a “new dual-institution leadership model”. Doherty has been principal of Trinity College since 2019; prior to that, he was part of the St Mellitus College staff team – first as Tutor and Lecturer in Ethics, and later as Director of Studies.

Both colleges will reportedly remain as separate institutions and autonomous in governance and operation, including retention of their own legal structures, finances and charitable statuses. “This is not a merging of the two institutions,” statements on the colleges’ websites say. The colleges emphasise that this “development did not emerge from any sense of failure or crisis in either institution.” Instead, they say, this decision “reflects proactive leadership, careful stewardship, and a shared desire to plan well for the future in a changing context for theological education.”

St Mellitus has stressed that Doherty’s appointment isn’t because of an inability to appoint its own “independent” principal, stating that the decision followed “a thorough and deliberate discernment and recruitment process, through which Sean emerged as the strongest candidate.”

The college’s announcements emphasise that each institution will remain accountable to its own governing body, with Doherty reporting separately to each college’s Board, “with clear responsibilities and agreed objectives appropriate to each institution.”