by Kathleen Osborne
Former Middle School faculty gathered for lunch in September. Front Row (l–r): Viv Barrett, Lynn Wood, Mary Lynn Harper, Nancy West; Back Row (l–r): Nicole Twells, Phyllis Grumney, Roberta Hardacre Photo courtesy of Nancy West
Three other longtime HB faculty members – Dan Pierce, Sylvia Salaff, and Linda Wohlever – also retired at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Each of them similarly affected the courses of hundreds of young women’s lives. Dan Pierce started at HB in 1987. At a special send-off luncheon for the departing employees, Christ explained that Pierce came to HB with a mandate to elevate the math program, a task in which he succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. Pierce served admirably as the Chair of the Upper School Mathematics Department for more than 20 years, and he was a fabulous mentor to countless students and many new teachers. The Class of 2010 dedicated their yearbook to him, citing that he always was “extremely flexible, understanding and fair,” with a passion for math that he enthusiastically and helpfully shared with all of his students, even offering to meet with them any time of day.
Sylvia Salaff joined the Upper School World Languages Department as a Spanish teacher in 1997. She also served as a mentor, she oversaw the Peer Tutoring program, and she chaperoned many student trips abroad during her tenure. She is another retiree who has not been able to resist the pull back to HB. For the first few months of this school year, you could still see her in the halls every day, as she continued to serve as a substitute teacher and tutor. Now happily retired, Salaff enjoys having the free time to devote to caring for her house and nurturing some of her interests, including reading, taking walks, going to concerts, and doing yoga. She joined the Faculty Alumni Network and says she’s grateful for the opportunity to stay connected with the school. “As intense and demanding as teaching is at HB, I enjoyed the freedom that I always felt within the curriculum,” she says. “The energy that one feels at the school is hard to find someplace else. The students are truly interested in learning, and they are a pleasure to teach. I will miss the warm environment, and the remarkable, hardworking, and intelligent colleagues who are always striving to be better teachers.”
Linda Wohlever, another math teacher, came to HB in 1998. In addition to illuminating complex concepts for many young women in the classroom, Wohlever also acted as the faculty advisor for the Strnad Fellowship Program for a number of years, and she was the moderator of the Upper School Math Club. She now tutors students who are preparing to take standardized tests while she also is spending some wellearned leisure time with her children and grandchildren. She says she always enjoyed the camaraderie of her professional peers at HB, but the people she will miss most of all are the young women who came to school every day eager to learn. “The school is the students,” Wohlever says. “They make HB the phenomenal institution that it is.” If you are a former member of the HB faculty or administration who would like to join the Faculty Alumni Network, please visit www. hb.edu/pastfaculty to add your name to the list. Questions may be directed to kosborne@hb.edu or call 216.320.8785.
HB
“I think that the movie captured the important fact that teachers give much more to students than just an academic education,” Looman says. “They also give students a sense of worth, confidence in their abilities, and a sense of direction and purpose. The success of their students over the years truly is their opus.”
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