Committee to Scout Interim PEA Principal

Despite the original announcement from President of the Trustees Tony Downer ’75 that the Board of Trustees would make an executive decision to appoint Phillips Exeter’s interim principal, an advisory committee has been formed to collect community ideas and provide recommendations for the position. The Interim Principal Advisory Committee consists of trustees, faculty and staff who have convened twice to consider feedback from Student Council and faculty members.

The final candidate was projected to be chosen by spring break, but after receiving strong reactions from faculty members during the forum Downer held after the announcement of Principal Lisa MacFarlane’s resignation, he decided it was best to formally incorporate the community’s opinion into the search process. A survey sent out to staff members enabled them to share “thoughts on the critical questions associated with the interim selection process.”

According to Associate Director of College Counseling Michelle Thompson-Taylor, a member of the committee, the nominations will be presented to the Trustees in a few weeks. “We will not compress the timeline to a point of compromising either the process or the outcome. As a result, we have not fixed for ourselves a deadline,” Downer said.

Some of the questions faculty considered were what the goals or objectives should be for the interim principal, what key attributes he or she should encompass, whether Exeter should consider the position in terms of a one or two year term of service, and if PEA should focus on identifying someone familiar with, and familiar to, the community.

Downer aimed to invite a range of Exeter adults to sit on the committee. “The goal was to have it be representative of the community as a whole,” he said, emphasizing that the committee contains faculty, staff, administrators and trustees. “Several of the faculty were selected from the faculty’s Agenda Committee; the staff were chosen from the Staff Advisory Committee.” The administrators, meanwhile, were selected for their experience and perspective, and the Trustees were chosen based on seniority and their experience in education.

According to History Instructor Meg Foley, a member of the Advisory Committee, the information is streamlined by having faculty and staff members gathering feedback and communicating their suggestions to the Committee Head and first-year trustee, Claudine Gay, and other trustees.

Student Council Co-president Jackson Parell said that the Council reached out to the Trustees asking for an opportunity to input students’ ideas, and was given the same list of questions sent to PEA staff members. During Student Council’s discussion, many voiced different opinions.

Exonians supported qualities including being able to deal with sensitive issues such as race, gender and sexual misconduct at a high school level and being able to contribute new ideas to the school.

Another important issue was mental health. “I’m worried that when Principal MacFarlane leaves, the next principal may forget about that,” upper Jordan Davidson said.

When asked for specific desired backgrounds, the replies ranged from anywhere between a business background to a current dean. Senior Cody Nunn, who advocated for a current faculty to take the job, said, “I think it’s important for someone to know the campus. For a teacher, we don’t have to worry about getting acclimated to life here.”

All of these responses were consolidated into a statement sent by Student Council to the Advisory Committee. According to Thompson-Taylor, some of the students’ issues corresponded with the faculty’s concerns. “Among faculty members as well as students, things like clear communication and increased transparency are very important.” Another objective was to have as smooth a transition as possible.

Downer recently announced that the committee was opening up the selection pool to an external search; however, according to Thompson-Taylor, the external candidates considered are mostly individuals “specifically nominated by members of the faculty.”

Although external candidates can arrive with a fresh perspective and a set of new ideas, they “will not be familiar with the community...will need to take time to get to know the people and the culture of the community before making significant decisions,” Downer said.

Gay assured the Academy that, in the spirit of increasing inclusivity, the work being done by the Advisory Committee would be taken seriously by the Board of Trustees when the time comes to make final decisions.

After two meetings to identify potential candidates, the committee’s job is to now contact the nominees and assess their interests. Candidates who wish to be considered further would need to send in a personal statement, and the Advisory Board plans to make these public to the community for feedback. “I am grateful for the energy and insight committee members have brought to our work,” Gay said in her email. “I next will communicate with you to share the shortlist of nominees and invite public comment. I look forward to benefiting from your input.”