NMH Magazine : Spring 2003

Opening Lines

by Head of the School Richard W. Mueller '62

A recent article in the New York Times spelled out changes in the job descriptions of independent school headmasters. Over time, revered Mr. Chips-like figures have morphed into something more like CEOs: institutional leaders rather than master teachers, they are more likely to need successful experience dealing with litigation than Latin; they should have expertise in diplomacy and development, endowment investment, capital campaigns, facilities construction, strategic planning, and college admissions; and they must be able to work closely with powerful trustees and empowered parents. 

This, of course, is woven in with life on campus with 1,100 adolescents, all of whom must be thoughtfully cared for and carefully educated, and with supporting 500 faculty and staff, attending to alumni, working with admission, and so forth. I leave the details of achieving that–and doing it all well–to your imagination. The list of required responsibilities is a long one. 

The New York Times article noted a projected high rate of turnover in heads of school, shorter terms of service, and the trend toward looking outside the academic world for new candidates. It quotes the president of the National Association of Independent Schools, Patrick Bassett, as saying, "The industry joke is that everyone is looking for God on a good day." 

There is no question that the job is complex, extraordinarily busy, and filled with its own pressures. NMH has experimented over the years with variations on models of leadership, including a president and two heads of school. At the moment, of course, we have one head of school, period. But NMH has not, as far as I can determine, had an associate head–and it is time that we did. 

As we launched our search for candidates this spring, we drafted a position description. Here are some details: the associate head will have responsibility for the day-to-day educational program, which is at the heart of who we are and what we do, and it is comprehensive, including academics, residential life, athletics, and extracurricular programs. 

The associate head is a visible leader, working toward resolution of problems and supporting faculty and staff as well as students through allocating precious resources of time and money. The associate head is charged with identifying and hiring the finest faculty we can find, and overseeing those teachers as they work in the classroom, on the field, and in the student houses, as well as attending to their professional growth in concert with the department chairs. 

Working with and supervised by the associate head will be the academic dean, the dean of students, the athletic director, the director of community development, the chaplain, the director of college counseling, and the office of faculty recruitment and development. And, of course, the associate head will have a very close working relationship with the head of the school, cooperating closely on broad and long-term issues facing the school. 

I am pleased to tell you that the new associate head will be Tom Sturtevant, currently upper-school principal at the Friends Academy on Long Island. Intimately familiar with boarding schools, Tom will bring great experience and a love of education to NMH beginning this summer. 

And what, you may ask, will the head of the school be doing, in addition to maintaining an active involvement in the life of the school? Coming to see you, of course. The job of staying closely in touch with our alumni, listening to their concerns, and sharing their pride as well as raising the funds NMH will need if we are to take the next steps in becoming the very best school we possibly can is a critical one, and one I gladly undertake. I believe that having both positions will prove to be the best combination of talent and time, and will position NMH to move ahead smartly. We have, as the poet Robert Frost said, miles to go–and I look forward to visiting with you.