Greenwood Returns to Serve as Dean of Equity and Social Justice

Northfield Mount Hermon is pleased to announce that James Greenwood will join the community as its next dean of equity and social justice, starting July 1.

This is actually a return to NMH for Greenwood: From 2007 to 2016, he served as the school’s director of multicultural affairs. He also spent five years as director of the SOAR Summer Program for incoming students of color.

“James is a leader in the field of equity, social justice, and multicultural education and is deeply respected in the NMH community and beyond,” Head of School Brian Hargrove said in announcing the appointment. “We look forward to welcoming James back to NMH.”

“I am beyond thrilled to be returning to Northfield Mount Hermon — a place that has been such an important part of my life and career,” Greenwood said. “Having been to other schools since I departed, I found myself constantly comparing them to NMH and became even more assured that there is something deeply profound about the NMH community and its historic commitment to equity and social justice. This ongoing dedication has become all the more important and evident in this current moment of pushback and backsliding on DEI progress.” 

Greenwood comes to NMH from Western Reserve Academy, where he serves as dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has also served as dean of equity and inclusion at St. Paul’s School and as director of inclusion and multicultural practice at Shady Hill School. His many years of experience at independent schools also include teaching history and work in admissions and student life. He has published and presented widely on issues of diversity and equity in education.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies, with a concentration in African and African American studies, from Kenyon College, and also did undergraduate work at Howard University. In addition, he earned a master of arts in teaching from Brown University; a master of education from Columbia University’s Teachers College; and a doctorate in education from Boston College.

Greenwood will replace Martha Neubert, who joined NMH as a history teacher in 2005 and was named dean of equity and social justice and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs in 2016. Hargrove thanked Neubert for her dedication to the school. “Our school is profoundly stronger because of her leadership and her strength in advancing our mission and our values,” he said.

“It's exciting to be able to return home and bring both institutional memory as well as the learnings and experiences I've gained in the years that I've been away,” Greenwood said. “I handed the baton off to Martha in 2016, who elevated the program to new heights, and am excited to pick it up again!”