Principal Transition Committee Appointed to Assist MacFarlane
The Academy announced Lisa MacFarlane, current provost at UNH, as Exeter’s 15th principal on Friday, Jan. 30. In order to assist MacFarlane in her first year on the job, a principal transition committee has been formed to help her assimilate to the Academy community and her responsibilities as principal.
On April 7, Principal Tom Hassan notified all employees about the committee, which will consist of four “transition organizers”: members from different areas of the Exeter community. Director of College Counseling Betsy Dolan, CFO David Hanson, Chief of Planning and Facilities Roger Wakeman and Dean of Faculty Ron Kim will comprise the committee.
“I’m eager to meet many, many Exonians, on and off campus—I anticipate there won’t be enough hours in a day. But I expect I’ll share that challenge with everyone at Exeter!”
As next year’s assistant principal, Kim will serve as the head of the committee and play a large role in the transition. Kim said that the purpose of the committee was to “provide information to Lisa MacFarlane about the key priorities of the school at this time, and to provide a transition for her in the first weeks, months and first year.” In addition, Kim added that “the members were chosen for their good looks.”
Kim highlighted the quick transition period for MacFarlane: “We are sensitive to the fact that Professor MacFarlane is the provost at UNH, and we want to make sure that we provide the context for her to start quickly and successfully on Sep 1,” said Kim.
The committee will meet bi-weekly and correspond frequently with MacFarlane. In addition to supporting her, it will also act as a liaison for the faculty, staff and students who wish to communicate with her.
The main difference between Hassan and MacFarlane’s transition will be familiarity: Hassan had held the role of vice principal of the school before assuming the principalship. Deemed an internal candidate during the application process, Hassan already commanded an understanding of the Academy’s workings when he began the job. MacFarlane, however, is an external candidate and will need a formal transition plan, including the committee, to familiarize.
Math instructor Jeff Ibbotson said that this year’s transition plan was the first he heard that involved a committee. He also noted that faculty did not have much input in the principal selection process this year. “The trustees believed it was important to keep the search confidential, so [the faculty] didn’t know until the end that a candidate had been chosen,” he said.
Ibbotson finds the idea of a transition team unusual. “It seems a little strange to have a transition team, simply because I don’t recall it ever happening before,” he said.
In the past, the final candidates for principal were invited to campus to meet in a handful of different venues. They had the chance to interact with students and faculty members as well as hold question-and-answer sessions with the finalists.
Currently, MacFarlane is completing her final month at the University of New Hampshire. She is looking forward to arriving on the Academy’s campus and officially beginning the job, however. “I’m eager to meet many, many Exonians, on and off campus—I anticipate there won’t be enough hours in a day,” MacFarlane said. “But I expect I’ll share that challenge with everyone at Exeter!”
MacFarlane said that the committee will be beneficial for her transition. “[The members of the committee] will help me learn as much as possible about Exeter and be wonderful advisors and resources as I become more familiar with the faculty and staff, students, and the rhythms of the school year,” she said.
As principal, MacFarlane has many roles and responsibilities on campus. According to Ibbotson, “I would imagine that it’s very difficult for a new person to understand the connections between different viewpoints.”
Ibbotson added, “The faculty have their own set of things that I think they often want. They want the principal to be a leader and a leading presence on campus, to be a guide for curriculum development and for the kinds of settings for character development that we like to see.”
He is optimistic, however, that the future is bright. “There are a lot of aspects of the job for a new person to encounter, but I think that faculty have a lot of trust in the new principal,” Ibbotson said. “We’re hoping that rather than just having business as usual, she’s going to have some real leadership and some goals on campus that lead us in new directions.”