Galligan named new Colby superintendent

Dr. Patrick Galligan will be serving as the Colby School District Superintendent after the board of education announced on Friday that its search had concluded.

Galligan has spent a majority of his administrative career in Wausau as he started as the activities/athletics director at Wausau West High School in 2016. He then took over as associate principal of Wausau West High School and then became the principal of John Muir Middle School in Wausau.

Galligan received his doctorate from Edgewood College in Madison in Educational Leadership in 2022.

Galligan said he felt a connection when touring the schools during the interview process. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve as the next superintendent of the Colby School District. I could not be more pleased to have been selected to work with this team,” Galligan said. “The opportunity I had to tour the schools [during interview] and meet all of you was an extremely gratifying experience for me. To talk with each person, to see all the great work going on in the buildings, and especially seeing the students in their classrooms, was something that helped me understand that yes, this is a place that I want to be.”

Galligan was chosen over fellow Wausau-area administrator Matthew Spets. Galligan will bring over 25 years of public education experience to Colby.

He will be training and learning more about the district with current superintendent Dr. Steve Kolden until Kolden’s retirement this summer.

Galligan will begin his duties as superintendent officially on July 1.

The district welcomed Galligan in a statement that read, “The School District is excited to welcome Dr. Galligan to our outstanding district and looks forward to his leadership building on our vision of success.”