NMH JOURNAL
More Voices Join Leadership Team Both familiar and new faces will help NMH implement strategic priorities. NMH will get an infusion of fresh energy this summer, according to Head of School Peter Fayroian, who recently announced the return of Charles A. Tierney III, a familiar face to many, as the new associate head of school. Fayroian also announced the hiring of a new dean of diversity, equity, and social justice, and a new director of athletics. The latter two positions will be elevated to become part of NMH’s senior administration, as will the director of college counseling, Peter Jenkins. “It’s an effort to bring more voices to the table as we embark upon the implementation of our strategic plan and prepare to launch a new capital campaign,” Fayroian says. “Each of these positions represents areas that are of critical importance to the future of NMH. Having this kind of input at the senior level will help us better meet our institutional goals and fulfill our mission to educate students to act with humanity and purpose.” Tierney will return after two successful years as head of the Tatnall School, a day school for 650 students in Wilmington, Delaware. He will replace Dr. Sharon Howell, NMH’s associate head since July 2014. Howell led the school’s strategic planning efforts throughout her two years on campus, and also oversaw the design process for a new $34 million integrative science and math facility that will be built on campus in 2017–18. Howell will become the director of Indian Springs School, a progressive day and boarding institution with 300 students in Indian Springs, Alabama, outside Birmingham. She will be the first woman to lead Indian Springs. From 1998 to 2014, Tierney worked at NMH in a variety of roles: history teacher, coach, dorm advisor, dean, assistant head of school, interim plant facilities director, interim communications director, and interim head of school. “I’m delighted to have Charlie Tierney back at
NMH,” Fayroian says. “He has a deep understanding of and affection for the school. He has been and will continue to be a trusted school leader.” NMH history and social science teacher Martha Neubert will become the dean of diversity, equity, and social justice. She succeeds James Greenwood, NMH’s director of multicultural affairs for the past nine years, who will join the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as director of inclusion and multicultural practice. Charles Tierney Neubert joined the NMH faculty in 2005 and, in addition to teaching, has Martha Neubert served the school as a dorm counselor, advisor to the Gender Sexuality Alliance, lacrosse coach, and coordinator of numerous programs related to diversity, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and privilege. Neubert recently earned a master’s degree in education and child study from Smith College. Finally, Kevin Klein will join NMH as director of athletics. He replaces Tom Pratt, a 21-year NMH veteran who has held the A.D. job since 2005 and also has coached the boys’ varsity hockey team for nearly a decade. Pratt will move on to Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, as Kevin Klein director of leadership gifts. Klein served as deputy director of athletics at the U.S. Naval Academy, his alma mater, for four years, as well as a strategic planner for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Haiti and director of operations for the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Put Your Phones Down, It’s Trivia Night! Quick: Can you name the six most populous cities in New England? The U.S. governor who once hosted the Emmys? The number of tennis courts at NMH? That’s a taste of Trivia Night, an occasional Friday-evening activity hosted by history and social science teacher Grant Gonzalez and much beloved by the 50 or 60 students who typically show up. In teams of five, they answer questions that
cover science, sports, history, geography, pop culture, and current events. “Everyone gets really into it, so it’s competitive in a fun way,” says Lauren Downes ’16. “The questions are challenging, and it’s impressive because so many kids are getting the answers right.” Gonzalez tries to include topics the students are interested in, such as lyrics from songs that were popular when
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they were younger, or movies from their childhood (think Disney). There are NMHfocused questions, too, such as this one: In front of Memorial Chapel stands a fountain that is dedicated in honor of whom? “If they can’t answer that one, I want them to think, ‘How come I pass by this every week and don’t know what it is?’” Gonzalez says. (Answer: Harriet Ford Cutler)
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