A New Face (Head) in Upper School:
Rebecca Zug
In November 2009, Bryan Garman announced that the current Head of Upper School at Friends, Rob Lake, had been appointed as Head of School at the Head-Royce School in Oakland, California, effective July 1, 2010. Bryan wrote, “While we are delighted that Rob has earned this wonderful opportunity, we regret that he will be leaving Friends School. His talents, skills, and outgoing good nature have been much appreciated for the past five years, and we are all grateful for his friendship, colleagueship, and many achievements. Rob, his wife, Heather, and their wonderful boys, Tucker and Casey, will be deeply missed.”
In January 2010, Bryan sent the following announcement (slightly updated information included here) to Friends parents: It is with great enthusiasm that I announce the appointment of Rebecca Zug to be the Head of Upper School, effective July 1, 2010. The appointment is the result of an extensive interview process that included faculty, staff, students, parents, and trustees. Rebecca was selected from a highly qualified international pool of 110 applicants. Rebecca is currently Assistant Principal and Upper School Dean of Students at Sidwell Friends in Washington, DC, where she has served for the past seven years. Rebecca taught previously at Colegio Internacional de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela; Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut; the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York; and the George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where she taught in the International Baccalaureate program. A graduate of Westtown School, she holds a B.A. in American History and Literature with a Certificate in Latin American Studies, as well as a Master’s in Education, from Harvard University, where she was awarded a Pforzheimer Fellowship for her commitment to public service. She is also a graduate of the Joseph Klingenstein Summer Institute for independent school educators at Columbia University. In addition, Rebecca has served on the Board of Trustees at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York, and serves as the recording clerk for Bethesda Friends Monthly Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. Rebecca has a deep commitment to Quaker and international education, to nurturing student voice, and to working closely with faculty and staff. A native of the Philadelphia area, her husband, Jim, is an author whose books include The Guardian: The History of South Africa’s Extraordinary Anti-Apartheid Newspaper; Squash: A History of the Game; and Sidwell Friends School’s 125th anniversary history book, The Long Conversation. Jim has also written for the Atlantic Monthly and blogs for Vanity Fair. Jim and Rebecca are the parents of sons Collier (age 4) and Livy (age 6). I offer my thanks to all who were involved in the search process, with special recognition to Jake Rashkind, who served as faculty clerk, and Lynn Puritz-Fine and Loraine Snead, who participated in the semi-finalist interview process. Please join us in welcoming the Zugs to Wilmington this summer. In friendship, Bryan
6 Spring 2010 • Friends magazine
On February 3, 2010, Rebecca graciously participated in an email interview: 1) What attracted you to Wilmington Friends? Wilmington Friends is a school with a national and international reputation for providing an unparalleled education within the context of Quaker values. Its long history of commitment to diversity and to global connections interests me. The QUEST Center is a recent example of how the school is blending social justice, environmental stewardship, and Quaker testimonies in ways that engage the community. We also have family in Philadelphia and consider Wilmington a place where we can settle and put down deep roots. 2) What inspired you to become a teacher? An administrator? I come from a family of educators, so it was almost a foregone conclusion I would enter education in one form or another. When I was in Mexico City to write my undergraduate thesis on the Mexican Revolution, I fell in love with living abroad. That led to teaching at an international school in Venezuela seventeen years ago. After that, I was hooked. All teachers are leaders and do work beyond the classroom that affects the school community. I especially like that about teaching in a Friends school where leadership is more “bottom up” than “top down.” Yet I sought administrative roles ten years ago when I realized that I had the interest—and I hoped the skills and temperament—to implement change and support teachers from a broader position of responsibility. I served on the board of Oakwood Friends School for three years because of my interest in macro school issues. 3) What’s it like to be a “real” Quaker in Quaker schools that are mostly nonQuaker students and teachers? I believe that there are many “unofficial Friends” in Quaker schools, and I am accustomed to being in the minority as a birthright Quaker. I am comfortable with my role as the “card-carrying Quaker” when necessary. I think we can all benefit from intentional use of silence for reflection, and from the Quaker decisionmaking process. I was glad to learn that the students at Wilmington Friends have a Meeting for Business structure for their governance. It is clearly a school deeply steeped in Quaker practice and tradition.