1993
• The facilities team welcomes CHARLES SMITH, who recently celebrated his 20th year at Pace. • PAT MOTE joins the science faculty and teaches biology until 2000.
1994 • PETER COBB becomes Pace’s third headmaster.
1995
• The math department gains two Pace legends, JASON SMITH and KRISTA WILHELMSEN. >>> Jason Smith arrived at Pace with dual master’s degrees from Georgia Tech and has become one of the Upper School’s most beloved teachers. A brilliant mathematician and statistician, he also has been an involved member of the Pace community—keeping stats at varsity basketball games, coaching the math team and leading Global Education study tours. He is a founder of PAPUBA, Pace Academy Pick-Up Basketball Association, and his weekly emails about the club are a thing of legend among students.
1996
• MIKE MURPHY, previously head of Lower School, takes over as interim headmaster. He is officially named headmaster in February of 1997. • MIKE GANNON, LINDA TEAGUE and BECKY WHEELER accept positions at Pace. <<< A native New Yorker, Michael Gannon traded Wall Street for education and taught for several years in California before moving to Atlanta. He started his Pace career as a history teacher, launched the school’s lacrosse program, served for a brief period as a college counselor and was named head of Upper School in 2008. Gannon continues to teach AP American History.
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KnightTimes | Spring 2013
Pace’s cheerleaders perform for the whole school at the 2012 Homecoming Pep Rally in the Inman Center.
principally the construction of new campus facilities. If the school wanted to retire its debt and finally satisfy the terms of Lane’s challenge, it would need to raise more money. And so, the Board launched what it called a “Supplemental Campaign” aimed primarily at new parents. The goal of the campaign was $150,000. Under Kirkpatrick’s leadership, the school would go on to add a second addition to the Bridges building in 1973 and settle its debt. The new section fronted W. Paces Ferry Road and included a foreign language lab and additional classroom space (the current foreign language and English halls, and the Academic Resource Center). The addition completed the exterior of the building as it stands today.
Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy served as head of the Pace Lower School before becoming Pace Academy’s fourth headmaster in 1997. Under his leadership, the school embarked on a campaign to build a new athletic facility and Middle School building and, in early 2000, dedicated the multipurpose Inman Student Activities Center. The 57,000-square-foot Middle School was completed in August 2004. Murphy was beloved by Pace faculty and known for his gentle spirit and kind heart.
Bridges Hall in the New Millennium Phase IV: 1973-2004 In 1976, Pace purchased the Randall family property adjacent to the school. First used to house fine arts programs, the Randall House offered the possibility of providing separate classroom facilities for the Upper and Lower Schools. The Lower School classroom building was constructed as an addition to the
The Randall House, purchased in 1976.