Newhaven College Chair David Jobe
Newhaven College is proud this week to introduce its Board Chair, David Jobe.
Newhaven College’s Board of Directors is responsible for the College’s governance.
The role of Chair takes a special person. One who is passionate about excellence in teaching and learning, is encouraging and respectful of ideas, and represents the school in our community with dignity and enthusiasm.
David Jobe joined the Newhaven Board in 2015 and in 2021 took on the role of Chair. Greg Price, who had been Chair for 10 years left big shoes to fill. David has embraced the role with both energy and a sense of responsibility.
“Newhaven has given so much to me. It allowed me to be the first in my family to attend university. It has educated my sons. It remains an integral part of our community,” he says.
David reflects on his time at Newhaven College at the original Boys Home Road campus.
“It was a close-run thing that the school even got off the ground in the early days. It was running on a shoestring,” he said.
Some of his memories of those early days are priceless. “On hot days, our teacher would pile us all into the back of his station wagon and we would go down to Cape Woolamai back beach for a swim at lunch times.
“Of course, there is no way the board would sign off on that now, but on reflection, that same sort of spirit that was created during the school’s founding is still here today. The sense of community created by the student’s different backgrounds produces a sense of empathy and understanding that helps define us as a school.”
David was a Papworth Prize recipient and dux of the school in 1987. He went on to serve as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and was manager of The Continental Phillip Island before founding Southern Sustainable Developments, a locally-based company developing residential land projects with a focus on environmental sustainability.
“In my experience, in three very different careers so far, the things that have helped me the most have been curiosity, passion, critical honest thinking, a sense of humour, and persistence. These were all part of Newhaven values forty years ago, and they remain part of Newhaven’s values today.” David said.
Looking to the future for Newhaven College, David is optimistic. “We are fortunate to have an energetic and capable principal with a strong background in best-practice education, and a board of highly professional people who each bring important perspectives. My role is to bring out those perspectives to inform our decision-making for the long-term benefit of our students, the College as a whole, and our community.”
When addressing Newhaven College students David’s message is clear: “To students, particularly in senior years who may be wondering about your futures, which path to choose and what skills you will need, be quietly confident that the values you learn and the character you develop at Newhaven will help you make the most of whatever challenges, surprises and opportunities your future holds because sometimes life doesn’t work out exactly as you plan. It’s much better.”