Dennis Gorsuch sat at his desk in a modest office, stacks of paperwork ready for attention, more than a few programs visible on a computer screen behind him.

It was July 10 and the recently-appointed president of Cristo Rey High School, Sacramento’s newest Catholic high school, had been on the job barely a week.

Cristo Rey, located on the former campus of St. Peter School, will serve at-risk youth, providing them with a college preparatory education that features a unique work-study program.

Gorsuch will be responsible for institutional advancement, strategic planning and development, and will oversee campus operations when the school opens to a freshman class of 104 students on Aug 28.

In addition to the obvious “back to school” tasks of any school administrator — planning meetings with faculty and staff and making sure all the school’s electrical systems are up and running — there is one priority topping his agenda.

“We’re spreading the good news throughout the community that this is a one-of-a-kind school, and a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Cristo Rey students,” Gorsuch said.

Gorsuch brings more than 35 years of senior level human resources management and consulting experience to his new job.

He founded the Sacramento Human Resources Executive Circle and Human Resource Management Forum, is a member of the Sacramento Area Organization Development Network, and former chairman of the Human Resource Executive Roundtable.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Fairfield University in Connecticut, Gorsuch completed his master’s degree in education at Chapman University in Orange.

A former instructor with the UC Davis and the University of New Haven Extension programs, Gorsuch is a member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Folsom and a candidate in the diocese’s permanent diaconate program.

Three religious communities — the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the Sisters of Mercy of the Auburn Regional Community and the California province of the Jesuits — along with the Diocese of Sacramento, share oversight of the mission and operation of the high school.

Gorsuch said the collaboration of the religious communities, plus “a great faculty and staff, the support of the Sacramento community, and Bishop William Weigand,” make for “dream team” potential at Cristo Rey.

On Aug. 1, members of the incoming freshman class attended a summer training institute to learn the skills needed to be effective participants in Cristo Rey’s work-study program.

Twenty-five Sacramento-area businesses have signed on to provide jobs for students who will work five days a month.

“This is a diversity of employers and entry-level opportunities for our students to learn different skills and discover what’s going on in the Sacramento community,” Gorsuch said.

A smile crosses the Cristo Rey president’s face when he is asked to access members of the school’s freshman class.

“We’re bringing in some great students who have a wonderful attitude and desire to come here and be successful,” he said. “We’re off to a good start.”

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