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Faculty News
FACULTY and STAFF News
Mike Jenkins Retires After 30 Years of Service
Mike Jenkins retired at the end of May after 30 years of service to The Dunham School as a faithful teacher, coach, administrator, and mentor.
Mr. Jenkins, who joined the school in 1991, taught numerous courses, including Bible, Louisiana History, American History, World History, World Geography, economics, and middle school science and math. He served as head coach for middle school football, basketball, and baseball and as assistant coach for varsity baseball, basketball, and football. In 2004, he helped lead the Dunham Tigers to a state championship title in football. Former administrative duties include middle school principal, middle school dean of student activities, middle school athletic director, upper school dean of students, and retreat coordinator.
A devoted mentor to students, Mr. Jenkins also sponsored Youth Legislature and Fellow- ship of Christian Athletes, coordinated the seventh-grade Washington, DC trip, served as the eighth-grade team leader, and, as he recently noted, drove the bus for field trips, retreats, and athletic events for 28 years. Perhaps his most important role, however, was that of father to two Dunham graduates, his sons Calip ’05 and Wally Jenkins ’09. In 2010, Mr. Jenkins and his late wife, Sharon, established the Two Coins Scholarship, which is awarded each spring to an eighth-grade student.
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
In January, Kelly DeRossette was named director of development. Kelly, who joined Dunham in 2017 as director of annual giving and constituent relations, now oversees all areas of fundraising, including capital campaign management, annual giving, corporate sponsorships, alumni relations, special events, and volunteer activities. SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINA-
TOR Ashley Istre joined the development staff as special events coordinator responsible for Jubilee, Carnival, and other special events. She also assists with volunteer activities. She previously served as a learning assistant in the Lower School, DPA president from 2016–2019, and annual giving parent campaign co-chair. RETIRED Carol Hill retired from the business office as accounts payable manager. Family, friends, and coworkers gathered for a reception held on March 4, in the Brown-Holt Chapel Arts Center to celebrate Carol and her 23 years of faithful service to The Dunham School.
CHRISTIAN JOHNSON ’11 joined the
marketing and communications team as assistant director of marketing. In addition to managing the Dunham Broadcast Network, Christian produces video content for the school and assists with day-to-day communications, including social media and website management.
C. JAYE MILLER ’07 joined the business office in March as accounts payable manager. C. Jaye holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Oklahoma City University.
2020-2021 NEW FACULTY Dunham welcomed six new faculty members at the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year. Pictured are (front, from left) Caroline McNulty (Pre-K4), Caitlyn McCormick (biology), Elizabeth Robin (MS counselor), (back row) Bonnie Greene (LS reading and research), Jason Wilson (Bible), and Michael Hull (band).
CPA Association Honors Grady Hazel for Exceptional Service
The Dunham School is thrilled to announce that the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) recently honored Director of Finance and Operations Grady Hazel for his remarkable contribution to the CPA profession by establishing The Grady Hazel Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to an accounting major at a Louisiana university.
Before joining the Dunham administration in 2016, Grady served as executive director of LCPA for 17 years and G400 Relations Manager with the American Institute of CPAs for three years. Previously, he spent 23 years with the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, where he was the associate superintendent of business affairs for eight years. He is a current member of the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science and an MBA from LSU.
During his time at LCPA, Grady was noted as a leader in the area of advocacy, working often with state legislators to protect the rights of taxpayers and preserve the strength of the CPA designation. As the lead presenter of Ethics for Louisiana CPAs, he donated all of his customary speaker’s fees back to LCPA’s Educational Scholarship Fund.
Grady is grandfather of four Dunham students, Parker King ’21, Olivia King ’23, Camille Istre ’26, and Jack Istre ’29. His daughter, Ashley Istre, serves as Dunham’s special events coordinator.
STEPHANIE WHITFIELD joined
the Dunham staff in August as the administrative assistant for the McKay Academic Center. Stephanie, who previously worked for BBP Sales, says she loves being around the students all day and especially enjoys coming to work with her husband, upper school teacher Kenneth Whitfield. US ART TEACHER NICOLE COTTEN
CALLAC ’08 put paintbrush to paper to create the colorful original artwork that graced the cover of inRegister’s “Women With A Cause” issue published in December of 2020. CONGRATULATIONS to science
department chair Jessica Shelton who successfully defended her dissertation last fall and completed all requirements to earn her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Southeastern Louisiana University in the fall. Dr. Shelton joined the faculty in 2019.
FACULTY and STAFF News
Hilary Morris was promoted to head coach for girls basketball in April. Since joining Dunham in 2019, Coach Morris has served as assistant coach for the varsity girls basketball team, head swim coach, and assistant track and field coach. As P.E. department chair, she has had a tremendous effect on our athletic program by sparking a passion for sports in our middle school girls.
Previously, Coach Morris was assistant varsity girls basketball coach at Denham Springs High School, helping lead the team to a Class 5A state runner-up finish. She also coached junior varsity girls basketball and girls track and field at Southside Junior High in Denham Springs and varsity, junior varsity, and junior high girls basketball at D’Arbonne Woods Charter School in Farmerville, La.
An accomplished athlete in her own right, Coach Morris played basketball for Whitman College (NCAA Division III), where she served as team captain for two seasons. During her collegiate career, she led her team in scoring in her junior and senior seasons and led the team and conference in 3-point field goals made during her senior season. She received the Lee Coleman Award as most outstanding senior female performer and was named to the First-Team All-Northwest Conference in 2009 and 2010.
Jonathan Pixley Retires from Dunham Basketball
Marking the end of an era, Head Boys Basketball Coach Jonathan Pixley retired at the end of the school year to serve as vice president of business development at Match Point, an innovative tech company that connects influencers and athletes with local businesses. Coach Pixley also continues to train professional basketball players and has maintained his role as director of basketball at Team Sportsplex.
In announcing his decision to retire, Coach Pixley said, “While I will no longer be the head basketball coach or a member of the faculty at The Dunham School, I will continue to support the school as if I never left. My heart will always be here—this is home to me and my family, and nothing can change that. Simply put, I am a better man because of the opportunity to serve here for the past two decades.”
Coach Pixley leaves Dunham as one of the most decorated coaches in school history. In his 20-year tenure as head basketball coach, his teams accumulated 437 victories, won eight district championships, played in five consecutive state championship games, and claimed the Division III state title three times in the past four years. He has been District Coach of the Year eight times and was named the 2021 2A State Coach of the Year.
RETIRED Tim Jorgensen retired at the end of the school year. Coach Jorgensen spent 18 seasons in the NFL as assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons and as the head strength coach for the Cleveland Browns. He also spent time at the NCAA level serving on the staff at both LSU and Alabama.
In the early 2000s, Coach Jorgensen began working with the Dunham athletic department, and in 2004 joined the staff as the full-time head strength and conditioning coach. He also served as head coach for the track and field program. During his tenure, Dunham athletes have won team or individual state championship titles in basketball, cross country, football, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.
Chad Myers Named Head Coach for Boys Basketball
Chad Myers ’97 was named head coach for boys basketball in April, following a national search to find a replacement for retiring coach Jonathan Pixley.
When announcing the news, Head of School Steve Eagleton said, “As an alumnus, former player, and long-serving boys assistant coach, Chad is uniquely qualified to lead our boys basketball program. As assistant boys basketball coach, he has been integral to the remarkable achievements of the team, including three state championship wins in the past four years. We are thrilled that he has accepted the position and are excited to see him further the success of the program by raising godly men through the sport of basketball.”
Coach Myers served as boys basketball assistant coach for 18 years and coached girls basketball as well as girls and boys tennis for 15 years. In 2007, he led the girls basketball team to a final four appearance in his first year as head coach. Since then he has amassed more than 260 head coaching victories, including a 2018 district championship title. He was named District Coach of the Year in 2018 and AAU National Champion Head Coach in 2013. Under his tenure, the boys tennis team has claimed three state championship titles, and the girls tennis team has been state runners-up twice.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION (ISTE)
Four faculty and staff members completed their ISTE Certification, a competency- based certification for educators that focuses on transforming education by using technology to engage students in real-world, active learning. Pictured are (counter clockwise from top left) Nikole Blanchard, Claire Hebert, Jackie Wilson, and Mary Elizabeth Carruth, who joined the technology team in August.
SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES
Faculty and staff who celebrated milestone service anniversaries in both 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 were recognized at the end-ofthe-year luncheon.
5 YEARS
Adrienne Clement* Marguerite Estes Lauren Franzella Lauren Hawkins* Grady Hazel Elisa Major* Kristi McCain* Bekah Myers* Pinpin Peng Allison Roark* Sherry Swanner Austin Trosclair* Jessi Wilson*
10 YEARS
Richard Hansen Lori Latuso* Lisa Murray* Melissa Stevens* Roxanne Taylor* Ed Van Haute
15 YEARS
Stacie Boswell Angi Eagleton* Valerie Jaques*
20 YEARS
Steve Eagleton Amanda McIlwain Mitch McIlwain* Donna Pixley Jonathan Pixley*
25 YEARS
Deedra LaPlace Lisa Stilley*
30 YEARS
Mike Jenkins
35 YEARS
Sharon Towry
*thank you! 2019-2020
