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News and Events : News 03-04
Press Release
January 17, 2004
Northfield Mount Hermon makes Historic Decision
NORTHFIELD , Mass. – Northfield Mount Hermon School’s Board of Trustees
formally announced on Saturday new directions for the school that will
strengthen its unique educational program and secure its position as one
of the nation’s preeminent boarding schools for the long-term future. The
125-year-old independent school will be located on its Mount Hermon campus
in Gill, Massachusetts . It will be a coeducational boarding and day
school, with a student body of approximately 600 to 750 students. The
school will operate on one campus at Mount Hermon in September 2005.
Based on extensive studies carried out over many months, the board
believes this decision will best serve coming generations of students and
carry forward the enduring aspects of founder Dwight L. Moody’s legacy. A
single campus provides greater academic excellence, enhanced care and
support for students, community pride and spirit, and increased financial
strength, which will permit the school to provide additional assistance to
attract deserving, qualified students.
“The board recognizes its special responsibility for the Northfield
campus. It intends that the Moody legacy buildings will remain a part of
NMH and that the entire campus will be used in a way that continues to
fulfill our institutional mission,” said William Rhodes ’53, chairman of
the NMH board since 1998. The board has 18 members, 16 of whom are alumni
of the school.
Rhodes added that there will be places for all current students as the
school moves toward the desired enrollment. “Their educational experience
will not be disrupted in any significant way,” he said. “Similarly,
faculty and staff will be integral to the development of the strategic
plans. Regretfully, there will be a reduction in the number of faculty and
staff positions, proportionate to the size of the student body. The school
will be as helpful and generous in providing transition assistance as
possible.”
To strengthen overall school leadership, the board is reestablishing the
position of president to be filled by Richard W. Mueller, the current head
of the school. Reporting to him will be Tom Sturtevant, the current
associate head, who will take over as head of the school.
Northfield Mount Hermon has been a prestigious provider of private
secondary education since its founding by educational visionary Dwight L.
Moody as the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879, followed by the
establishment of the Mount Hermon School for Boys in Gill two years later.
The schools were combined into one coeducational institution in 1971. For
the past 32 years, classes, residential life, sports, and extracurricular
activities have been carried out on both campuses, which are approximately
four miles apart.
The school has been best known for its emphases on college preparation,
values education, its work program, diversity, spirituality and
crosscultural understanding.
Please visit www.nmhschool.org/future for more information.
Contact: Deb Holman, 413-498-3376, dholman@nmhschool.org
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