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NMH Magazine : Spring 2005

A Man of the World

When Richard Mueller signed on as head of Northfield Mount Hermon in 1998, the school was still reverberating from extensive changes to its organization, curriculum, and schedule. Mueller ushered in a softer, gentler era, bringing a diplomat’s thoughtfulness to campus.

Leading NMH was a new line of work for him: He’d spent 32 years as a career diplomat in the Foreign Service, specializing in Chinese and Asian affairs and working for Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, and James Baker, among others. The capstone to his diplomatic career was his stint as US Consul General in Hong Kong from 1993 to 1996, during the formative years leading to Hong Kong’s reversion to China.

Mueller spent his first year as an educator getting to know the school—and letting the school get to know him. He led through collaboration and teamwork, with special emphasis on bringing faculty and staff together.

In his second year, he launched a strategic planning process based on the assumption that NMH would remain one school on two campuses. Four strategic goals emerged: academic rigor, cohesive community, leadership in international and crosscultural education, and financial strength. The architectural firm Sasaki Associates, working with educational planner Philip Parsons, drew up a master facilities plan that called for new buildings on both campuses. Faculty and staff working groups developed initiatives that included a new freshman program. In May 2001, the board of trustees enthusiastically endorsed these plans.

And then the world changed. In September terrorist attacks on the United States stunned the country and halted life as usual. An economic downturn made an ambitious build-up of both campuses unlikely.

“Given what was happening in the world, as well as what would have been a tough job raising as much money as necessary, I had to rethink our position. In October 2002, I wrote an eight-page essay about the challenges facing us and presented it to the board,” Mueller recalls.

He asked the board to revisit the plan and put all options for NMH’s future on the table. In other words, the trustees should no longer assume that NMH would remain one school on two campuses. Led by chairman Bill Rhodes ’53, the board discussed his findings at length and set up a small group chaired by trustee Don McNemar.

“I have huge respect for previous boards over the last thirty-five years who have wrestled with the challenges of

two campuses,” says Mueller. “The issue has come up regularly, both for educational and financial reasons. Other boards and heads of school decided to find alternative ways to do the right thing by students. But I’m proud of this board. They were willing to take on the challenges of two campuses directly.”

It was a collaborative effort. The trustees embarked on an intensive study of NMH, working with Mueller, senior staff, and faculty to analyze everything from admissions to alumni to maintenance costs. There was no predetermined outcome. Would NMH become two smaller schools? An upper and lower school on two campuses? A smaller school on one campus? The only certainty was the need to make NMH the best possible place for current and future students.

“We knew that students get a great education here,” says Mueller. “The questions were: How do we reach our four strategic goals? Do we want to keep educating on two campuses for the next ten to fifteen years, realizing we need  to make decisions from a position of strength? Or, when we still have options and good momentum, do we begin to change direction?”

At a retreat in October 2003, the board began to reach a consensus: NMH’s future educational program as well

as its financial resources would be better devoted toward a one-campus school. However, they continued to weigh alternative options.

“The most difficult decision came when I sat down quietly by myself and said, ‘Richard, what do you, in your heart of hearts, think is the right thing for the students of the future at NMH?’ and then concluding, ‘Becoming a smaller school on one campus is the right way to go.’”

He reached this point of clarity in October 2003 and wrote a memo to the board of trustees in December. In it, he recommended that NMH become a school of about 650 students based solely on the Mount Hermon campus. The rationale was clear: NMH would retain its best and unique characteristics and would be able to better serve students in a smaller, more cohesive community.

On January 17, 2004, the board publicly announced its decision, which echoed Mueller’s recommendation and described a vision for the future of NMH.

The reaction to the school’s new configuration was instantaneous. Hundreds of letters and e-mails poured in within the next few days, many with strong words to offer, many asking questions. Many lauded the board’s courage and vision. “I fully appreciate the magnitude of the decision and its impact,” says Mueller, “and I understand how some alumni have had reservations or might have preferred a different outcome. I hope they will all be proud of their school in the coming years.”

A year and a half later, the school is moving firmly ahead with its vision. Faculty, staff, alumni, and parents have provided a critical mass of support, and the consensus is that it’s the right thing—the only thing—to do.

Mueller’s tenure has been marked by many softer moments. His greatest joy has been getting to know the students, and perhaps his proudest legacy is the 2,500 graduates from the last seven years.

He’s famous for knowing students by name (“I could swear he puts the student directory under his pillow at night,” marvels Peter Donald ’05) and caring about the details of their lives. Mueller’s office brims with tokens of their affection: a parrot piñata, a potted Norfolk pine, a shovel to symbolize ground-breaking for the “new NMH.”

Kasima Brown ’05 will never forget a dorm picnic at Merrill-Keep that included a water slide and water balloons. “My favorite memory of that day was Mr. Mueller chasing us with water balloons, in his dress clothes, mind you, and us chasing and throwing them right back at him.”

He and his wife, Claire, have been so omnipresent at school events—from theatre productions to the football games—that an April 1 edition of the student newspaper claimed “AP Biology Class Clones Richard and Claire Mueller.” As proof of their commitment (and endurance), they’ve gamely run in every Pie Race.

The Muellers hosted countless student gatherings at Ford Cottage. Early in his tenure, Richard insisted that all students who attend the Chat—the senior prom, which takes place in two tents by Ford Cottage—come through the front door, where Claire and he shook their hands and invited them to look around the first floor. Now, at every Chat, students swirl in and out of Ford Cottage, proud to be party to its elegance and warmth.

The Muellers, who worked together in the Foreign Service, also opened their home to classes, particularly freshman and sophomore humanities. The students were asked to walk around and look at what was on the walls—a Buddhist thankha from Tibet, a painting of Hong Kong Harbor, photos of China and Southeast Asia—then sit down and talk with their hosts. Far-ranging discussions on foreign policy, world religions, and other global topics inevitably followed.

Teamwork is very much a hallmark of the Muellers. In their seven years here, Claire has traveled with Richard to alumni events around the United States and overseas, from Beijing to Munich to San Francisco. In recognition of her hard work, the class of ’62 made Claire an honorary member at its 40th reunion.

 “I don’t think I could have done this job if I hadn’t had her steady moral support,” says Mueller. “I’ve got to share a lot of the credit with her—for both the fun and the tough times.”

Their working partnership will continue in the next phase of their life, when Mueller becomes head of school at Hong Kong International School (HKIS) in August. Both enjoy the prospect of returning to Hong Kong, where they’ve spent eight years and forged innumerable connections. Mueller is

a former chair of the board of HKIS, which has 2,600 students and spans prekindergarten through 12th grade. Like NMH, it includes a broad sweep of ethnic groups and religions—so he’ll feel very much at home. Meanwhile, he looks forward to keeping up his strong ties to NMH.

In January 2004 the board of trustees appointed Richard Mueller president of NMH, while former associate head Tom Sturtevant became head of school. The two men have been working in tandem during NMH’s intricate transition period; Mueller focused on overall leadership, fundraising, and planning efforts for the Northfield campus. He’s proud of the latter process, which is well under way, and he emphasizes that the school takes its stewardship obligations very seriously.

 Of the new head of school, he says, “I have a lot of confidence in Tom. I hired him as associate head, thinking that he’d bring continuity as we moved forward. I feel good that his leadership has taken hold so we don’t have to miss a beat in this transition.”

As for the future? Mueller wants most of all to see NMH keep its heart and soul, with core values that go back to its founder, D. L. Moody. “I think that will be the single greatest challenge for the board and for the school: that we retain the things that are really special about us—being a truly caring community, educating young people to believe in themselves, teaching them to help others and make a difference in the world.”

He hopes NMH will continue to expand its international awareness (his dream: a center for international education), offer even more interdisciplinary courses, and raise much more endowment money for financial aid.

He plans to be a frequent visitor to NMH—a place he first came to 45 years ago as a well-traveled and rather serious young student. He leaves it now as a believer in the power of young people.

“I felt a whole new awakening seeing the world through the eyes of young people,” he says. “So many of them are hopeful—I’ve changed in that it’s added to my own natural sense of hopefulness and optimism. I feel very strongly that this is a good generation of young men and women coming along. Given a chance, they’re going to make a huge, positive difference in the world.”