Letter from the Board

May 2015

Dear Members of the Harding Academy Community,

 

I am writing to inform you of Ian Craig’s decision to move on from Harding Academy in June 2016 following the completion of the 2015–16 school year.

 

Despite concerted efforts by the Board to retain Ian as head of school, he has decided that the timing is right to seek his next professional challenge. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Ian for his extraordinary leadership of our beloved school. 

 

For the past nine years, Ian has worked tirelessly to enhance Harding’s strength and stability. He has cultivated an outstanding faculty, staff, and leadership team. He has overseen the dramatic transformation of our physical campus, and he has fostered a caring and inclusive community that aligns so well with Harding’s motto: Nurturing the Spirit  Inspiring the Mind. The state of our school is strong, as further evidenced by our highest enrollment and lowest attrition in school history. 

 

Looking forward, Harding Academy is well positioned to build on these achievements, and those of Ian’s predecessors, as we seek a new leader for the next chapter in our school’s history. To this end we will soon begin the thoughtful and deliberate process of conducting a national search to find the best candidate to carry forward Harding’s mission.  

 

The Board has formed an exploratory committee to evaluate consulting firms specializing in this process. I will chair this ad hoc committee, which will be comprised of several trustees, including Meredith Hollomon, Shayna Humphrey, Betsy Malone, and John Myers. Upon selection of a search firm, we will assemble an expanded committee representing a cross-section of our school’s constituents so that the selection process may be as inclusive and comprehensive as possible. 

 

It is our goal to announce a new head of school by early 2016. Given Harding’s history, reputation, and vision for the future, I am confident that we will attract outstanding candidates and ultimately hire a superb leader. 

 

On behalf of the current Board of Trustees, as well as past Board members who served during Ian’s years at Harding, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to him for his effort, vision, and thoughtful leadership of our school. As Board president, I have been personally enriched by Ian’s compassion, his ability to find the best in each person, and his commitment to placing the interests of Harding’s students above all else. We will have an opportunity next spring to honor and thank Ian for his successful tenure at our school.

 

I offer my thanks to the Harding community for your ongoing support, and I look forward to our partnership during this important transition.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Vic Gatto

President, Board of Trustees