Letter from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
Dear Members of the Peddie Community,
This letter accompanies Peter’s notice that he has decided to retire in June 2025 as Peddie’s Head of School. It is a bittersweet moment for us. Peter will have had a remarkable 22-year tenure at Peddie, the last 12 years as our Head. While we are saddened that he is leaving, at the same time we are excited for Peter and Maryanne as they move forward with their lives and experience new adventures.
I have had the good fortune, indeed privilege, to have served on the Board throughout Peter’s entire time as Head of School, these last three as Board Chair. During the “Quinn Era,” Peddie, already a strong and vibrant institution, has made remarkable strides in so many important areas while remaining true to its ideals and mission. By all accounts, Peter has consistently demonstrated the work ethic, judgment, demeanor, empathy, vision and unfailing passion and dedication to the mission that one desires for a Head of School. These personal qualities have set an example for faculty, staff and students alike. Peddie could not have been better served these last 10 years. His legacy is firmly intact.
Our accomplishments over the past decade, some of which Peter mentions in his letter, and the many challenges that he successfully navigated us through (the COVID-19 pandemic being the most daunting), are numerous. To note just a few, we have adopted a long-term Strategic Plan centered on four overarching priorities; invested over $45 million in facilities, including the Green and Kaye Dorms, the magnificent Arts Center expansion and faculty and student housing; created a widely admired robotics program anchored by the state-of-the-art Izzo Design Laboratory; established a formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program; and with a boost from the over $106 million raised by the One Peddie Campaign, grown the endowment so that it now stands at $422 million. Be assured, there will be ample opportunity to celebrate Peter and Maryanne before they move to Virginia next June.
With Peter’s decision to retire, it is the Board of Trustee’s role to select his successor. As stewards of the school charged with ensuring Peddie’s long-term sustainability and growth, the Board has no greater responsibility than choosing a Head of School. To that end, the Board has appointed a nine-person Head of School Search Committee which I will be chairing, composed of five other Trustees and three members from the faculty. The Search Committee’s work will require its members to devote considerable time and energy over an extended period. I want to thank them in advance for their willingness to dedicate themselves to this critical task on behalf of the school.
As its first order of business, the Search Committee will be engaging an experienced search firm to assist it in a nationwide search to identify prospective candidates. We have our 2017 Strategic Plan in place, a strong endowment and financial profile, major capital programs largely behind us, the success of the One Peddie Campaign, a strong enrollment, and support of a dedicated community of faculty, staff, students and alumni. I firmly believe Peddie is in a historically strong position to be seeking a new Head to lead the school through the critical next phase of advancing our four Strategic Priorities and meeting the future educational challenges ahead of us.
The candidate interview and selection process will take place over the next number of months. Our hope is to complete the process in time for the Search Committee to recommend the next Head of School to the Board of Trustees for approval in the fall of 2024. We will periodically keep you informed of the Search Committee’s progress over the coming months.
At Peddie, we are committed to the intellectual, social and moral growth of our students, who we inspire to strive for the highest quality of citizenship. In selecting our next leader, the Board will be seeking not only an individual who is highly qualified to lead Peddie through its next chapter, but just as importantly, one with vision who is deeply committed to these essential ideals, core values, and mission.
Ala Viva!
Doug Davidson ’64
Chair, Board of Trustees