This week, we present the first part of a two-part interview with Tammy Alvarez and her guest Father James Van Dyke, S.J., the 20th President of Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, the nation’s oldest Catholic boys’ school and the only Jesuit boarding school in the United States.

Prior to his presidency at Georgetown Prep, Father Van Dyke served as the rector of the Jesuit Community at St. Ignatius in New York City for five years. He also was the founding principal at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. In addition to these leadership roles, he directed Ignatian Programs and Faculty and Staff Faith Formation at Xavier High School in New York City and Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York.

In the classroom, Father Van Dyke has taught English at Canisius High School (Buffalo, New York), Xavier High School (New York City), Fordham Prep (Bronx, New York), McQuaid Jesuit High School (Rochester, New York), and Regis High School (New York City), where he also served as chaplain. He has also served on the Boards of Trustees at Fordham Prep and Regis High School.

A graduate of Canisius High School, Father Van Dyke earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Virginia. He holds M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from the Weston School of Theology and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (MALA) from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.

He entered the Society of Jesus in 1981 and pronounced his Final Vows in 2005.