Bernard Ho, who has led Damien Memorial School for nearly a decade as president and CEO of the Catholic campus, has announced he will retire next summer.

Ho, 73, joined the private Kalihi school in 2007, following his retirement as an executive vice president for Hawaii Medical Service Association, where he worked for 37 years.

He’s credited with overseeing the school’s successful transition from an all-boys campus to a coed school in 2012. Enrollment in Damien’s middle and high school grades has since increased from a low of 365 students in the 2011-12 school year to nearly 700 this school year. The last graduation ceremony Ho will preside over next summer will feature the school’s first coed graduating class.

The school said in a news release that Ho was instrumental in enhancing school infrastructure with modern technology and communication systems, and strengthening Damien’s financial operations.

"My tenure as president was most gratifying to witness continuous improvements in spirituality and learning among our amazing young men and women students," Ho said in a statement. "I look forward to happy days with family and grandchildren and continuing community services."

Ho also launched the school’s largest campus expansion campaign. The Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Building, set to open in December, is the first project scheduled to be completed. Other planned projects include a new music education building, administration building and library, as well as refurbishing the school’s football field and track.

Gregory Sitar, chairman of the school’s board of directors, said a search firm has been hired to find Ho’s replacement. "Bernard is a special person, and it will be a challenge to find a successor with his passion and energy," he said.