the Man behind the Superintendent: The Flip Side of Edward H. Pruden STORY BY Jo Ann Mathews PHOTOGRAPHY BY John urban
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principal of Douglas Southall Freeman High School in Henrico, Virginia, Dr. Edward “Ed” H. Pruden joined a group of students at a home basketball game and strummed hit songs on his Fender Jaguar electric guitar. Pruden sold the guitar two years ago, but he still owns a Steinway baby grand piano that sits in a nook of his Ocean Isle Beach home. “I play at it,” he says and explains that his mother was a conservatorytrained pianist. “He can play the Navy hymn ‘Eternal Father Strong to Save,’” adds Peggy, Pruden’s wife of 40 years. Pruden’s musical talent was not a factor, though, when he was hired as superintendent of Brunswick County Schools in 2010. Shirley Babson, chair of the school board, cites Pruden’s ability to relate to others as the reason why she believes he surpassed nearly three dozen other candidates for the job.
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