July 2019 Dear Chatham Hall Friends, The beginning of a journey is usually full of excitement and promise. For me, it started as a longdistance car ride with my belongings in tow. As I stepped out of my car onto campus on June 30, my knees and legs were stiff in that familiar way that accompanies such a journey. But the stiffness quickly eased as I was enthusiastically greeted by the faculty and staff on campus during the summer. They made me feel very welcome and even joined me on a walk, my first official campus walk as Rector. It was a warm and deeply satisfying day because I have been so eager to start my Chatham Hall journey for some time. Since the announcement of my appointment as Rector, I have been able to visit Chatham Hall twice to meet students, converse with faculty and staff, speak at chapel, and attend a Board meeting. Suzanne Buck welcomed me with open arms and our frequent conversations had me further enthralled by the work going on here and the journey ahead. I am grateful to Suzanne for all she accomplished during her tenure. I know that I have the luxury of coming to a school that is financially strong and on the rise. I see what is immensely possible because of all that precedes me. One thing seems evident: Chatham Hall knows what a girl is made of. With this truth as our compass, we have spent over 125 years charting journeys, empowering a girl to be her best self and to better the world. In the next year, I will have hundreds of conversations with students, parents, alumnae, faculty, and staff exploring what this has looked like and what this has felt like. It will be a time for listening and learning and it will help inform how we implement the next, and perhaps most critical, phases of the strategic planning work that began three years ago . . . How do we expand and better personalize the intellectual and emotional development of our girls knowing both her varied interests and the confusing pressures that bombard her every day? How do we encourage her to expect more of herself which often means embracing the messy learning that comes from mistakes and failures? How do we make sure she sees a place for herself in our community and can make her contribution? We have, of course, been doing this important work for years. The Chatham Hall faculty is committed to being attuned to the shifts in the world of today’s girl. They know they must continue to meet her where she is on any particular day and make sure she knows, in the words of renowned author Rachel Simmons, she is “enough as she is.�
800 Chatham Hall Circle, Chatham, VA 24531 | tel: 434.432.2941 | fax: 434.432.1002 | www.chathamhall.org