 | | The second-longest tenure of any Durham Academy headmaster will conclude at the end of the 2012-2013 school year when Ed Costello leaves after 14 years of service. Only Bess Pickard Boone, headmistress from 1938 to 1957, served longer. DA’s Board of Trustees announced on Nov. 6, 2012, that Michael Ulku-Steiner will take Durham Academy into its next chapter. |
Durham Academy Announces new Head of School
Nov. 6, 2012
Dear Durham Academy Community,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are extremely honored to announce that Mr. Michael Ulku-Steiner will become our next Head of School, beginning July 1, 2013. Michael is currently the Head of School at The American School in Switzerland (TASIS), an international coeducational day and boarding school serving 647 students in grades PK through Upper School.
Michael, an accomplished and talented educator, has deep roots in the Durham Academy community, having begun his teaching career at the Upper School in 1992 after graduating Phi Beta Kappa and as a Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served for eight years as teacher, coach, advisor and interim Director of Studies. Michael was recognized for his outstanding teaching in 1997 with Durham Academy’s prestigious F. Robertson Hershey Distinguished Faculty Award. A self-professed “career learner,” he earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University in 1997. Michael then was selected as a Klingenstein Center Fellow at Columbia University, and received a Master of Arts in Educational Administration in 1998. Michael left DA in 2000 to serve as Dean of Students at TASIS until 2003, when he returned for five years as DA’s Upper School Director. In 2008, he was appointed Head of School at TASIS, where he has continued to prove to be an exemplary and inspirational leader. As a thoughtful communicator, he has demonstrated at both DA and TASIS an innate ability to relate to students, faculty and families across divisions, fostering excellent teaching and an authentic sense of community. He is that rare leader who combines vision, charisma, intellect, integrity, warmth and a keen sense of curiosity.
We are also pleased to welcome back to Durham Academy Michael’s wife, Dr. Beril Ulku-Steiner, and their two children, Kenan and Lucy, ages 13 and 10 respectively. Beril is a developmental psychologist currently teaching at Franklin College in Switzerland.
Michael’s appointment is the result of the remarkable efforts of many people. We thank our search firm, Brigham Hill Consultancy, for providing outstanding guidance, and the Search Committee for its tireless efforts and dedication to the process. We also thank our Board of Trustees, the numerous faculty, staff, parents, alumni and students who met, toured and interviewed our two finalist candidates. It was an extensive and time consuming effort, but we are confident that this inclusive process made it possible to choose the best match for Durham Academy from a pool of excellent candidates. In this process, we have come to realize what an extraordinary community Durham Academy truly is.
In selecting Michael as the next Head of School for Durham Academy, the Board of Trustees has chosen a talented and distinguished educational leader who will serve as the embodiment of the school’s mission and values. We look forward to welcoming Michael back to Durham Academy and seeing our school continue on its trajectory of excellence under his capable leadership.
Sincerely,
David Beischer ’85
Chair, Board of Trustees
Brendan Moylan ’85
Chair, Head of School Search Committee
Dear Durham Academy Community,
Twenty springs ago, DA took a significant risk and hired a 21-year-old to teach in the Upper School. We have both matured significantly since.
Compelled by gratitude and the extraordinary potential of the school, I will return to DA eager to build on the abundant institutional strengths nurtured by Ed Costello since 1999. Ed will leave the campus and community in tremendous good health. Having worked closely with him and six other Heads of School, I realize that I have much to learn. Nevertheless, I am confident that I can serve the DA community with skill, energy and love.
I feel particularly honored to have shared the finalist experience with Lee Hark. I have known Lee since 2008, appreciated his friendship and admired his leadership of the Upper School. I sincerely hope that we have the opportunity to work together next year.
Brendan Moylan, David Beischer, the Search Committee and the Trustees have been exceedingly thorough and organized through a process that left me feeling appropriately scrutinized and inspired by the hopes and objectives of DA’s diverse community.
For more than two decades, this burning question has motivated my work in three universities, three stints at DA and seven years at The American School in Switzerland: How can schools and communities best help children grow into their most compassionate, capable and courageous selves? DA has already offered my children and me innumerable gifts and transformative experiences. I am delighted to have the opportunity to return.
Beril, Kenan, Lucy and I look forward to working, playing and learning with you next year and beyond.
Sincerely,
Michael Ulku-Steiner |
DA Head of School Finalists Announced and Visits Scheduled
10/23/2012
Dear Durham Academy parents, alumni, faculty and staff,
We are pleased to report that the Head of School Search Committee has made significant progress in its search for a new Head of School.
The committee met in late August to review résumés of qualified candidates provided to us by Brigham Hill Consultancy, our search firm, and selected five semifinalists to invite for interviews. Those interviews took place over the past three weeks. The semifinalist group was an excellent and diverse group of highly qualified independent school professionals. The group included sitting heads and senior administrators from outstanding schools around the world as well as from Durham Academy itself.
From this group, we have invited two finalists and their spouses to visit with the entire DA community. We have scheduled open sessions for parents, alumni, faculty and staff during the visits, and we invite you to attend:
Candidate #1: (Visiting Oct. 25 and 26)
Lee Hark
Director of Upper School, Durham Academy
Open Sessions for Parents and Alumni (Brumley Performing Arts Building, Lower School)
Thursday, Oct. 25
Noon to 1 p.m.
OR
Friday, Oct. 26
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Open Sessions for Faculty and Staff (Brumley Performing Arts Building, Lower School)
Thursday, Oct. 25
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
OR
Friday, Oct. 26
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Candidate #2: (Visiting Oct. 29 and 30)
Michael Ulku-Steiner
Head of School, The American School in Switzerland
Open Sessions for Parents and Alumni (Brumley Performing Arts Building, Lower School)
Monday, Oct. 29
Noon to 1 p.m.
OR
Tuesday, Oct. 30
8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
Open Sessions for Faculty and Staff (Brumley Performing Arts Building, Lower School)
Monday, Oct. 29
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
OR
Tuesday, Oct. 30
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Following each session, we will request feedback via an online survey from those in attendance. That feedback will be very valuable as our search deliberations are finalized. Résumés for both candidates are available in the upper-right portion of this page.
Thank you in advance for your participation in this important process for Durham Academy.
Sincerely,
Brendan Moylan '85
Head of School Search Committee Chair
David Beischer '85
Board of Trustees Chair |
Read about Durham Academy's head of school search in The Record
9/24/2012
Read about Durham Academy's head of school search in the summer edition of The Record. See pages five and six of the magazine for an overview of the search process. |
A letter from David Beischer and Brendan Moylan
5/14/2012
May 14, 2012
Dear Durham Academy Community,
As many of you are already aware, Headmaster Ed Costello has announced his intention to depart from Durham Academy in June 2013. To prepare for a smooth transition of leadership, the board of trustees formed a search committee last fall to begin the work of selecting the next head of school. Brendan Moylan ’85 is serving as chair of the Search Committee, and he is joined by board chair David Beischer ’85, trustees Liz Gustafson, Anne Lloyd ’82, Kip Frey, Jim Coleman, Laura Virkler ’91, Alumni Board president Jamie Spatola ’00, faculty members Tim Dahlgren and Karen Lovelace and school administrative liaison Leslie Holdsworth.
The Search Committee has been hard at work and has already accomplished its first important task: the selection of an executive search firm. After considering six firms known for their outstanding work, the committee chose Brigham Hill Consultancy, a firm with extensive experience conducting nationwide searches for independent schools. Linc Eldredge, firm president, and Jessica Cockrell, senior search consultant, are leading our search. Linc and Jessica spent two days on campus in February meeting with school administrators, board members, faculty, Parents Council, Alumni Board members and students in preparation for their work for Durham Academy.
Brigham Hill formally announced DA’s head of school search in March, and the search profile can be found on this page dedicated to the search on the Durham Academy website. Linc and Jessica will spend the summer identifying and evaluating candidates and will bring a confidential list of semi-finalists to the Search Committee in September. In October and November, the Search Committee will welcome final candidates to campus for extensive visits that will include representation from the entire DA community. The Search Committee will recommend a finalist to the board of trustees. The board intends to name DA’s next head of school by December.
We will make every effort to keep the DA community informed throughout the search process. The Search Committee welcomes your input and recognizes the importance of including everyone in our search for a visionary, talented leader who will be key to Durham Academy’s future.
Sincerely,
David Beischer ’85
Chair, Board of Trustees
Brendan Moylan ’85
Chair, Search Committee |
Durham Academy Head of School Search Profile Released
4/5/2012
The Durham Academy Head of School Search Profile has been released. Click on the link in the sidebar on the right side of this page to view the profile. |
Parents invited to Feb. 16 meeting to discuss head of school search
2/1/2012
The search committee for Durham Academy’s next head of school, chaired by trustee Brendan Moylan ’85, has been hard at work since its formation in the fall and recently completed the important task of selecting an executive search firm.
After considering six organizations known for their outstanding work, the committee chose Brigham Hill Consultancy, a firm with extensive experience conducting nationwide searches for independent schools. Linc Eldredge, firm president, and Jessica Cockrell, senior search consultant, will lead the search for a head of school to join DA in July 2013.
Over the next few months, Eldredge and Cockrell will spend time getting to know Durham Academy. They will come for a two-day visit in February that will include interviews and meetings with administrators, faculty, trustees, Parents Council, the Alumni Board and students.
All parents are invited to a meeting with the consultants Thursday, Feb. 16, at 8:15 a.m. in the Upper School conference room, located in the new Learning Commons. Brigham Hill also will conduct a web-based survey following their visit that will be open to the entire DA community. They will use the feedback gathered to develop a description of the school as well as a candidate profile.
For information and updates throughout the search process, visit the head of school search page on the DA website at da.org/headsearch. The search committee will use this page, as well as regular communications such as News & Notes, to keep the DA community informed.
The new head of school will follow Ed Costello, who will leave DA at the end of the 2012-13 school year after 14 years as headmaster, the second longest tenure in school history.
|
A letter from Headmaster Ed Costello
10/16/2011
When I first became a head of school, now more than 20 years ago, a wise senior colleague sidled up to me and said, “Remember, you have a great job but you are, after all, only an itinerant.” The statement turns out to be true and is a healthy aspect of school leadership. You may be tempted to say, “But what about Mr. Chips? He stayed at Brookfield for 40 years.” True enough, but he also refused the job of head when it was offered to him.
A teacher of long tenure is generally an asset to a school; a head of school, not so much. I am not asserting that the head’s office should be outfitted with a revolving door. Rather, I am saying that change at the top, when it occurs in a planned fashion that is aligned with the goals of the school, brings new perspective and energy and helps move the school forward. The foregoing logic is exactly what caused me to enter into conversations with the Durham Academy Board of Trustees several years ago about my career path.
My choices were pretty clear to me. I could seek to attain a leadership position in another school, or I could essentially take myself “off the market” and go through another planning cycle and capital campaign at DA. I am grateful to the board for agreeing to the latter course of action. It made sense to both parties to create a “no-cut” contract covering several years and to establish a time frame for transition to a new head of school.
So the board and I have known for five years that we would form a search committee this fall. At the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, I believe strongly that the school is fortunate to be able to choose new leadership according to an established plan. All too often, boards and heads get into wrangles that are resolved with “disruptive separations” which are good for neither party.
By the time I leave in 2013, I will have spent more than a quarter of my working life as DA’s headmaster, a significant portion of my life’s work. The best possible outcome of my departure from DA is for the board to hire someone who makes me look bad. Some readers are likely to think this should not be difficult, and I would agree with them. But it is fair to say that the search committee’s work should be made easier because institutionally DA is on very solid ground. No crisis has happened to put the school in search mode.
Pride is not a good quality in a head of school, but I am proud of what happened at University School of Nashville after I left in 1999. I look forward to the day I am able to make a similar statement about Durham Academy. For now, I will continue to spend my time worrying about the things we can improve at the school, hopefully addressing some of them before my watch is over.
It is also likely I will spend some time considering how best to bridge the gap between my departure from DA and my eventual retirement. While working in the bag room at a golf course has some appeal, I may have to stay in the school business in some capacity. I will not, however, take a job that requires me to decide whether or not to call a snow day!
|
Headmaster search committee appointed
9/1/2011
The second-longest tenure of any Durham Academy headmaster will conclude at the end of the 2012-2013 school year when Ed Costello leaves after 14 years of service. Only Bess Pickard Boone, headmistress from 1938 to 1957, served longer. In preparation for Costello’s departure, DA has formed a search committee with the goal of having his successor in place by Dec. 2012.
Brendan Moylan ’85, a member of the board of trustees, will chair the search committee. Also serving on the committee will be David Beischer ’85, chair of the board of trustees; Liz Gustafson, immediate past chair of the board; Anne Murray Lloyd ’82, vice chair of the board; Kip Frey, secretary of the board; trustees Jim Coleman and Laura Horton Virkler ’91; Margaret Jones, president-elect of Parents Association; Jamie Krzyzewski Spatola ’00, vice president of the DA Alumni Association; and faculty members Tim Dahlgren and Karen Lovelace. |
| | Five Questions with New Head of School Michael Ulku-Steiner
|
|