A Message from Laura Fuller: Spring/Summer 2017-18

Happy summer to all of you! While our faculty continue to enjoy a well-deserved respite from another great school year, many of our staff are still hard at work this summer, planning for another great year ahead. I’ve written often about these incredible members of our community, and all that they do for our students and our school. I am blessed to lead such a dedicated and talented group of individuals! However, one group that also works tirelessly—and mostly behind the scenes—is our amazing Board of Trustees. We are fortunate to be guided by trustees who bring an entirely new meaning to the phrase “working board,” as they help guide the long-term strategic direction of our school.

Our board is made up primarily of school parents and parents of alumni—several of whom are alumni themselves—who are knowledgeable about our mission and passionate about our future. Their role is not to manage the school, but rather to provide governance and fiduciary oversight. Our trustees are experts in their respective fields, and the insight and guidance they bring to our school is nearly impossible to quantify. They also make University School a philanthropic priority—and have stepped up in a major way in their support of our current comprehensive fundraising campaign—while also soliciting gifts and pledges from others in our community. They truly go above and beyond in their roles, and much of our success as a school is due to their tireless work.

As we finish up our third year of fundraising for Our Common Bond, it is humbling to look back and see what tremendous progress we have already made, and I encourage you to read more about that progress in this issue. The gifts that we have received from so many of you in our community are so greatly appreciated. Although we still have a ways to go to reach our $27 million campaign goal, it is such an incredible reflection on all of us in this community that we take so seriously our investment in the future of this school. And it is because we work together—all of us, as a team—that we are able to do such great things. While our board and administrative team set the goals of our campaign, this effort was informed by feedback from so many in our community about what the priorities should be. We are all working to ensure that our students will enjoy experiences that both educate and shape them into learners, leaders, and citizens as highlighted in our recently developed Portrait of a Graduate statement. I am very happy that so may of you are part of that effort.

As I think about all the individuals who help to shape the heart of our school, I want to end with some bittersweet news. Our Head of Middle School, Pamela Nosbusch, has announced that she will retire at the end of the 2018-19 school year—which will, incredibly, be her 41st year at University School!I know that, just as she has made such a significant contribution to our school, Pam has had a positive impact on so many of you and your families. She has more than earned her retirement, but is excited about one more great year ahead. I look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead about our plans to celebrate her next year.