Honoring 25 Ye
MARY LOUISE LEIPHEIMER
Mary Louise Leipheimer’s story has been told before – how she came to Foxcroft in 1967 for two years and stayed a lifetime; that the fourth-generation educator started out in the classroom teaching English and though she may have left the classroom for an array of administrative jobs, she never stopped teaching. Familiar, too, are the tales of her becoming Foxcroft’s ninth head of school in 1989 and leading the School from a place of vulnerability to the forefront of independent girls’ schools, focusing on “the three P’s” – people, program, and plant, – together with astute financial acumen, exceptional leadership skills, wisdom, and hard work, to position Foxcroft to soar into its second century. Mary Lou’s accolades also have been well documented, as she has received awards from virtually every possible educational organization, local, regional, and national. Why, Foxcroft’s Board of Trustees bestowed the School’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Award for Distinguished Service, on her five years ago! Mary Lou’s 25-year tenure as head of Foxcroft – which comes to a close June 30 – is second only to the School’s founder, Charlotte Haxall Noland. Indeed, it is more than three times as long as any of the seven individuals who served between “Miss Charlotte” and “Mrs. Leip.” There is, in truth, too much to tell in one magazine article; so we have decided to take another tack as we mark the culmination of what former Board President Carl Yeckel calls, “an extraordinary forty-seven year journey for both Foxcroft School and Mary Louise Leipheimer.” Many have attempted in recent months to express what this remarkable woman has meant to them, to their School, and to the larger educational community. Please enjoy this assortment of eloquent efforts. 16
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Foxcroft School – Spring 2014
6/16/14 11:14 AM