Governor taps Lumen Christi principal for State Education Board

CatholicAnchor.org
The Alaska Legislature approved Gov. Bill Walker’s nominee, Lumen Christi Principal John Harmon, to serve on the Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development for the next five years.

Confirmed with a 48-11 vote, Harmon will fill Esther Cox’s seat on the nine-member board, which has a mission statement “to ensure quality standards-based instruction to improve academic achievement for all students.”

Among the board’s duties are establishing minimum qualifications for teachers, supervisors and directors, as well as selecting a state director of vocational education.

Harmon grew up in Alaska and is a graduate of Palmer High School. He holds a juris doctor from Capital University and received a bachelor’s degree from Houghton College in New York. He has his Master of Education in school leadership with a concentration in Catholic Theology from St. Joseph’s College in Maine.

Since 2013 he has served as principal of Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage. Prior to that he practiced law. During his time as an attorney, Harmon taught classes at Capital University and was a regular guest speaker at The Ohio State University. He later became in-house counsel for Nationwide Insurance, where he served as associate general counsel until he retired and returned home to Alaska to pursue a career in education. His most recent position before taking the helm of Lumen Christi was serving as president for Charter College in Alaska.