FROM THE TR IA NGLE
Welcoming A New Head
PH OTOS BY ERIN SC HAF F ’ 07
Emma Willard School students, current and former faculty, parents, alumnae, trustees, friends, and distinguished members of the greater Capital Region officially welcomed Jennifer C. Rao as our 203-year-old institution’s 17th Head of School in October. The ceremony, held at Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, focused on leadership, global citizenship, and the importance of education for women. It featured words from Emma Willard constituents, video greetings, and musical and dance performances. During the ceremony, Ms. Rao received several Emmaspecific gifts. Faculty presented her with a hand-carved baton so that she could “conduct the orchestra that is the Emma Willard adult community.” To welcome her to the Emma sisterhood, alumnae shared their favorite Emma traditions and gave her a class ring from a graduate of the Class of 1946. Students decorated a gift box filled with personal notes from the entire student body, and they presented her with a fun music video. Additionally, the Board of Trustees presented Ms. Rao with two significant gifts. The first was the medallion of the head of school, bearing the likeness of school founder Emma Hart Willard. The medallion design included the school’s founding year of 1814, an illuminating lamp signifying the lifelong love of learning, and the school motto, “semper fidelis”—always faithful. The second gift was the mace, the formal symbol of the authority and independence of the school community when called together in times of unity and celebration. Board of Trustees Chair Susan Hunter ’68 announced, “With these symbols of office, we entrust you with our hearts and minds, that you may lead this community on an upward trajectory to new heights in the education and empowerment of young women and girls-first thinking.”
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