NMH Magazine : Spring 2004

Schools Are Like Ocean Liners

By Mary Seymour

Tom Sturtevant talks to NMH Magazine about the challenges of heading the school during this transitional period.

Sturtevant with student advisory group

What’s your educational philosophy in three sentences?
Set high standards and give regular and frequent feedback. Mistakes are good. There’s no bad situation, just a new situation.

What’s the biggest challenge NMH faces right now?
Maintaining stability and pride. 

What are some other top challenges? 
The transition to one campus will have a number of logistical and emotional challenges. We’ve got to construct new facilities that will ideally support our program— in fact, much better than they support it now. We’ll need to undergo a significant capital campaign. We need to develop and communicate plans for the Northfield campus properties, all the while refining our educational program.

You’ve had to inform some faculty that their positions are being eliminated. That must be difficult.
I feel the poignancy and sense of loss in any faculty or staff member not being able to continue as part of this community. I think we all share that, and it’s hard. I don’t think anyone blames me for it. I’m not in a position where these decisions are viewed as personal. Maybe that’s because I’ve just arrived.

Are you planning to change the current academic schedule?
We like our educational program, and we’re committed to teaching in a longer block. But when we’re able to eliminate busing and recapture the 40 minutes it currently takes out of the school day, we’re going to find a way to use that well. So we’ll need to change the schedule. The exact number of long blocks in each day and how frequently they meet, and how it’s going to be organized—those will change. 

What’s the hardest aspect of your job?
Staying on top of it all, particularly now, with so many moving parts involved. The pace is fast. I’ve got to say, though, it suits me well. I really enjoy being in a position where I can help direct the pieces so the whole has a coherence and serves a mission. It really does take a head of school to do that. It can’t be done by committee.

What’s your top priority as head of school?
Serving our mission and strategic goals, and leading the community to doing better as a smaller school on one campus.

How will you get to know students?
That’s a tough one. The straight answer is: I have an advisory group. I try to have meals with students. I work with student groups, including Student Congress and student leaders. I also attend a lot of events and meet students that way. But my interaction is not as intense or personal as is a teacher’s relationship with students. 

How much will you interact with alumni?
Richard Mueller is going to concentrate his energies externally, while I focus on what’s happening on campus. I will do some traveling and meeting with alumni groups as well.

If you could change one thing about NMH, what would it be?
Schools are like ocean liners—they don’t turn very easily. But if I could do it instantly, I’d wave a magic wand and we’d be on one campus.

What would you keep the same?
The quality of our faculty, the diversity of our students, the breadth of our program.

Where would you like to see NMH in five years?
We’ll have opened a couple of new dorms, an arts center, a renovated library, and other facilities. We’ll be continuing to look at how we can best serve our kids and our mission. I’d like to see the school in a position where there are no restrictions in our ability to fund our programs, our students, and our faculty.\