By Suraj Baadkar
One of the major constitutions of an institution is its administration. At the end of last year in the midst of a contract of 2 years, the Head of School resigned. Many of the students were enthusiastic to meet Mr. Matt Farwell after having a wonderful summer, but they soon acknowledged the fact that our previous Head of School Dr. Tony Spencer has taken the position.
Dr. Spencer retired from his post as Head of School in 2006. He was recalled back last June as the Interim Head for the year 2007-2008 due to the sudden resignation of Mr. Farwell. It is not only the position of the Head of School that has experienced a change, but also that of the President of the Board of Trustees. After successfully serving two years as Board President, Mr. Frank Newell has been succeeded by Mr. John Luke. Mr. Luke has been re-appointed to this position for the third time. He held this position for two terms prior to the presidency of Mr. Newell.
On the very first day of the academic year, more changes were evident. Not only were there changes in the administration but also in the physical plant, including the renovation of the kitchen, the canteen and the high school office. There have always been changes in the Schutz facilities since it was established in 1924. However, on the timeline of approximately nine decades, this is an instance when Schutz seems to be undergoing very profound changes.
Changes do bring certain new things to the community and they are clearly evident, but it depends whether the change favors the community or favors an individual. We have to be careful about who benefits from the changes. The Schutz tradition has always valued and well-received the changes. It also anticipates more changes in the future.
Tradition is the thing that keeps Schutz rich and distinguishes it from other institutions. The fact that changes can be good but can also come with a great risk should not be forgotten. Dr. Spencer, having had the experience of holding the same post in the previous years, might bring some stability to the situation. However, after the academic year is over, we will have to be ready to welcome another major change in the administration when the contract for the new head of the school will be signed.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
All Change!
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3 comments:
Letter to the Editor:
I found your editorial on "All Change!" quite intriguing. In your paragraph on- "change favoring the community or favor the individual as long as we understand the distinction between change for the community or the individual...." I would liked to have seen a more concrete example as to our Schutz environment and tradition. Was the change of headmaster a favorable change for the community or the individual? What is an example of the Schutz Traditions that Schutz prides itself in? Sometimes too many changes can seriously destabilize a community and can have affect on the individuals as well. Some food for thoughts.
The previous comment raises an important point. I think too much change is as damaging as too little change. An institution which has a solid foundation should be able to overcome both extremes. This also happens when there is a vision that sustains the changes implemented.
Thank you for your comments on the topic. I appretiate the thoughts communitcated regarding the article. The try was to portray both the pros and cons of change in an institution. Schutz has always been having major changes and is implementing appropriate steps to benefit from it.
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