Eric Widmer to Head King's Academy in Jordan

by Lee Wicks

Headmaster Eric Widmer has announced to the Deerfield Academy Board of Trustees that after he steps down as Deerfield's headmaster at the close of the 2005-2006 school year, he has agreed to be the first headmaster of the newly established King's Academy in Madaba, Jordan. A long-held dream of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, King's Academy will be an independent, coeducational boarding school serving 600 boys and girls from countries throughout the Middle East and beyond.

"Nothing," says King Abdullah "is more vital to the future of Jordan and the entire Middle East than preparing the next generation of enlightened leaders."

In response to being asked to head the new school, Mr. Widmer says, "This has been a rather astonishing turn of events for someone who had imagined a simple life in Rhode Island. But who would not be persuaded by King Abdullah's vision for the new academy? When His Majesty talks about the idea of the school-'utterly progressive, utterly idealistic, utterly optimistic, and utterly necessary'-who wouldn't want to be part of it?"

King's Academy will aspire to the highest international standards of educational achievement, with the purpose of becoming a training ground for the region's next generation of business, community, and government leaders. The student body will be diverse, and many religions will be practiced on its campus. There will be significant scholarship assistance available and the programs will be designed to prepare students for the very best United States colleges and universities. Much of the inspiration for the new school comes from the remembrances of King Abdullah of his own time as a student at Deerfield. Deerfield has reciprocated by helping His Majesty with the planning for King's Academy.

"King Abdullah deeply embraces the democratic ideals that are central to independent school education in the West, where what matters most is not where you come from but what you do with yourself. This is the message King's Academy will send and the style of education it will deliver to the brightest young minds in the Middle East," said Mr. Widmer.

He adds, "Deerfield has been given a chance to help build a new bridge between the United States and the Middle East. If the timing of this endeavor makes it all the more bold, the effort is, as Abdullah says, all the more necessary. It is a privilege for Deerfield, in my view, to have been part of the planning process for King's Academy, and certainly it is an honor for me to be asked to be the founding headmaster."

Mr. Widmer went on to say, "When His Majesty talks about creating a school in Jordan using the Deerfield model, he's not talking about a school that looks like Deerfield but one that feels like Deerfield, against the diverse landscape of the Middle East. King's Academy will blend an American style of education rooted in the liberal arts and sciences with Jordanian history, traditions, language, and cultural values."

When the school opens it will be the only one of its kind in the Middle East-a boarding school offering an American high school diploma modeled on the best college preparatory boarding schools of the United States, and challenging its students to continue their education at colleges and universities-in the United States and elsewhere.

Looking forward, Mr. Widmer says, "We very much hope that King's Academy and Deerfield will think of themselves as sister schools in the future, and that many exchange opportunities for students and faculty will become part of that relationship."