Suzanne DeBuhr Milton’s Interfaith Chaplain Last fall and winter, a diligent student-faculty committee worked with Dean of Students Lucretia Wells to define the interfaith chaplain’s role at Milton. They then led the search to “bring a multitalented person to the campus, ready to be completely involved in the life of the School,” according to student members of the committee. The new chaplain ensures the role of spirituality and reflection for students, as well as supports dialogue and action in the areas of ethics and values. Having met and talked with all the groups involved with community life, from house heads to classroom faculty to student activity groups, Suzanne DeBuhr joined the Academy this August. Suzanne is a graduate of Harvard’s Divinity School and recipient of the Billings Preaching Prize. She combines a pastoral presence
Suzanne was most recently on the faculty of Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas; she was a member of the religion department, served as an interim chaplain and coached lacrosse. She also served on the Diversity Task Force, Curriculum Task Force, and the Discipline and Attendance Committee.
with the ability to articulate publicly the spiritual dimensions and approaches to the issues that confront adolescents as they come to grips with who they are and who they want to be.
Suzanne was teaching religion courses for grades 5–12 with a focus on comparative religions, world religions and ethics. She also taught a course called Multicultural America. Her deep interest in the study and teaching of religions, extensive diversity training and strong public speaking contributed to the committee’s confidence that she will help Milton continue to embrace diversity. Suzanne has been known to speak her mind and address issues head-on, generating respect among her col-
leagues. She has combined scholarship with humanity in her work through her own faith and study of world religions and cultures. Suzanne is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota where she studied religion and philosophy with a concentration in Asian Studies. Following college, she earned Master’s in Divinity at Harvard. Through Harvard’s program she served as a teaching assistant at Milton during the 1999–2000 school year. Students and faculty welcomed Suzanne to Milton this fall. The search committee was chaired by Lukie Wells, and included Sally Dey, Chris Hales, Mark Hilgendorf, Louise Mundinger, and Rod Skinner from the faculty, and students Amanda Rothschild, Sam Ratner and Kenzie Bok.
College Matriculation: Class of 2006 Brown Harvard U. Penn Wesleyan Yale Columbia Tufts Boston College Boston University Cornell Georgetown Trinity Vanderbilt Amherst Bard Bowdoin Middlebury Oberlin
11 9 9 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
2 each: Babson, Barnard, Bates, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, George Washington, Hamilton,
Hampshire, Holy Cross, Kenyon, Lewis and Clark, MIT, NYU, Occidental, Princeton, U. Rochester, U. Wisconsin, Union, Wellesley, WPI 1 each: AA of Dramatic Arts, Bentley, Brandeis, Colby, Colorado College, Dartmouth, Dickinson, Emory, Hobart, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, Macalester, Mt. Holyoke, Northwestern, Oberlin Conservatory, Oxford College of Emory, Parsons School of Design, Pomona, Providence, Reed, Rice, Roger Williams, RPI, Santa Clara, Skidmore, St. Andrew’s, Tulane, U. Kentucky, U. Miami, U. Michigan, U. Vermont, UCAL/San Diego, Vassar, Warren Wilson, Wheaton, Whitman Accurate as of July 10, 2006 53
Milton Magazine