Announcement from Jennifer Gonzalez McComb '89, President, Board of Trustees

Dear WT Community,

After 15 years of exceptional leadership, Gary Niels informed the Board of Trustees this morning that he will conclude his tenure as Head of Winchester Thurston School at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. While the Board would like nothing more than for Gary to continue to lead Winchester Thurston, we accept his decision with the utmost gratitude and admiration for all that he has done for our school.

Gary has led WT through the creation of extraordinary opportunities that have resulted in momentous change, including:

Transformation of our campuses: From the construction of the Upper School Building, which opened in September 2006, and the Campus Center at the North Hills Campus (in 2005), to major renovations to the City Campus and North Hills Campus playgrounds and outdoor classrooms, Athletics Wing, Garland Field, and Falk Auditorium, Gary has overseen the greatest expansion and enhancement of our campuses since Molloy Posner Hall was built in 1963.

Financial sustainability: During Gary's tenure, the school's endowment has grown from $7 million to nearly $17 million.

Program innovation: Our nationally respected City as Our Campus program, a nascent idea when Gary arrived, has taken hold and flourished; today, this approach to active learning serves as a model for other schools. Our students have also benefited from advances in a myriad of other programs, from computer science to athletics, from moral life to outdoor education, from faculty development to eLearning to the arts.

Record enrollment: In a competitive independent school market, WT has realized record enrollment for the last nine years.

National reputation: Gary's leadership has positioned WT in the national spotlight as an example of progressive education for our 21st century students, and placed us in the company of some of the most highly regarded independent schools in the U.S. For a number of years, we were the only school to have been awarded both the Edward E. Ford Foundation Leadership Grant and the Malone Family Foundation Malone Scholars Grant—both honors that recognize educational excellence and that may be competed for only by invitation.

Remarkable advances in philanthropy: Under Gary's leadership and direction, the school exceeded its goals in two capital campaigns: the first raised $15 million for the Upper School and Campus Center at North, and the second raised more than $21 million, largely for endowment that funds faculty compensation and professional development, financial aid, and City as Our Campus. In both of these campaigns, Gary led the way in building pride and support among our WT community in Pittsburgh and beyond.

WT has benefitted greatly from Gary's absolute dedication to students and teachers, as well as his foresight, wisdom, and commitment to coalescing teams. He has acted always with the school's Mission and credo at the center of every decision. WT is a stronger and more diverse school community because of Gary's leadership.

In the next few weeks, the Board of Trustees will form a Search Committee and will engage a search consultant to assist with the process of recruiting a new Head, who will start in July of 2018. The Board will make the final selection based upon the Search Committee's recommendation, and after ample opportunity for input from faculty, staff, alumnae/i, students, and parents. We will keep the school community informed of the process along the way. Gary will continue to thoughtfully lead the school, and he will play an important role in the successful transition of leadership.

As we move forward, the Board is confident that one of the legacies of Gary's Headship is that WT is in a superb position to attract the best possible candidates for his successor. We all look forward to the future of Winchester Thurston with great optimism.

Please join me in thanking Gary for his dedicated service and congratulating him on his extraordinary accomplishments at Winchester Thurston.

Sincerely,


Jennifer Gonzalez McComb '89
President, Board of Trustees