A Surprise Leadership
“Above all,” John Phillips stated, “it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind.”
“A trend is forming where administration greatly monopolizes the governing decisions of the school.”
Since the inception of Phillips Exeter Academy in 1781, the deed of gift has served as the Academy’s compass, providing a standard that PEA strives to uphold even to this day. Over the past two centuries, only 14 principals have led the Academy, and with Principal Tom Hassan retiring at the end of this year, the trustees were left with the task of finding the fifteenth principal.
“She is an accomplished scholar, committed teacher and sophisticated administrator,” were some of the glowing compliments Hassan praised Lisa MacFarlane, the Academy’s fifteenth principal, with. But is that all that she is?
Let’s start with the facts.
When Principal Hassan announced his retirement last July, the trustees and faculty were given the daunting task of finding a suitable replacement for our current principal. As past articles have explained, however, the process was not as easy as it seems.
A committee comprised of faculty and trustees convened to discuss the traits and qualities a new principal should embody. They spent hours searching through applications and interviewing possible candidates until only two candidates remained.
“We were fortunate to have a deep pool of talent from which to draw during this search, and we are absolutely thrilled with the outcome,” Belle Burden Davis, co-chair of the search committee, wrote in an e-mail.
After interviewing the candidates and convening in Boston this past weekend, the committee chose Lisa MacFarlane as the fifteenth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
Principal Hassan has assured the Exeter community of her ability and skill—provost of the University of New Hampshire, mother of two Exeter graduates and recipient of many educational degrees—on many occasions. But there is a darker side to MacFarlane that the Exeter community is only being made aware after the decision was announced.
“In 2006, Dr. MacFarlane’s husband was arrested and convicted for online solicitation of a minor.” According to a recent email the trustees sent to the Exeter community, MacFarlane then separated from her husband, who currently lives in Exeter.
Although the Trustees assure us that they have reviewed the matter thoroughly and their conversations with MacFarlane have only increased their admiration for her, this incident begs a crucial question: is there any further information being kept from us? How much say do we really have in the controlling factors that affect the Academy?
Over the past months, when the principal search was prevalent, the search committee showed secrecy and withheld substantial information from the faculty, staff and students at the Academy.
When Dean of Faculty Ronald Kim was appointed to Assistant Principal for the next year, a surprise email informed us all. But that is not the only case. How can the Exeter community rely on an administration that does not have any transparency?
A trend is forming where administration greatly monopolizes the governing decisions of the school. A recent and ongoing example is the strategic-planning committee. Most students are not aware of the committee and its role in the Academy, only grateful for the few scattered Wednesdays off.
Worse, however, is arguably the utter lack of responsibility shown by our current administration to educate the school on such important matters. It is the responsibility of the Academy to keep the populace informed, and it has not upheld the faith placed in them.
What will happen in this ever-changing global environment, when a new leadership takes over? Will the new principal reform our current system or opaque the connection between faculty, students and administration?
The new principal will not only guide the Academy in its future endeavours but will also serve as the face of PEA. With a clandestine committee and little to no input from the Exeter community during the selection process, will this “highly qualified” Andover graduate stand-up to the test as principal of PEA?
Only time will tell. ♥