November 2005

Dear Members of the Deerfield Community:

It is with great pleasure that I write to announce that Deerfield Academy's Board of Trustees has named Dr. Margarita O'Byrne Curtis, age 52, as Deerfield's 55th Head of School. Dr. Curtis has been a member of the faculty at Phillips Academy Andover for more than fifteen years, most recently serving as Dean of Studies.

Margarita was born and raised in Cali, Colombia. She moved to New Orleans at the age of 12, when her father became a member of the Tulane University faculty. She completed her undergraduate work at Tulane, spending her junior year at the Sorbonne, and then earned her doctorate in Romance Languages and Literature from Harvard University. Her award-winning dissertation on Benito Perez Galdos was published in Spain in 1996.

Before joining the Andover faculty; Margarita taught at Harvard where, for four consecutive years (1982-1986), she won the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. She is married to Manning Curtis MD, a cardiologist with a private practice in North Andover, Massachusetts. Manning is an avid sports fan with a keen interest in philosophy. Initially, he plans to commute to Deerfield for long weekends, moving to Deerfield permanently in a few years. At Andover he is known to be a great host who enthusiastically engages in all aspects of school life.

Margarita and Manning have two children: Heather, age 29, graduated from Lawrence Academy and Wheaton College, and Patrick, age 25, graduated from Andover and Williams College.

As the Dean of Studies at Andover, Margarita has broad responsibilities, overseeing ten direct reports including the Directors of Athletics, College Counseling, Technology and Telecommunications, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library; the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and the International Academic Partnership.

Upon learning of her appointment, Headmaster Eric Widmer said, "To Deerfield she will bring the highest qualities of leadership, character, and intellect. She is a rare scholar/educator with skills to inspire, to lead, and to manage a global educational community like ours."

Margarita's educational philosophy begins and ends with the welfare of students. She leads with ideas, common sense, and eloquent language. She believes that Deerfield, because of its traditions, close-knit community and dedicated faculty is uniquely positioned to provide a superior education of the whole child. She insists on high standards. She respects school traditions and will work diligently to uphold the culture and values that Deerfield holds most dear, especially our dedication to remaining a caring community devoted to the building of character along with our commitment to educational excellence.

In its quest for new leadership, the Search Committee (consisting of six trustees and two members of the faculty) developed a position profile based on hundreds of interviews with Deerfield trustees, students, faculty; staff, administrators, parents and alumni. The position profile directed the Search Committee to bring forward a candidate who will "genuinely enjoy, understand and respect young people and inspire them with insight, a sense of humor, occasional whimsy and a high level of energy…a model citizen with a demonstrated capacity for educational administrative leadership." The Deerfield community demanded "a Head of School capable of fully engaging the skills and talents of a devoted and caring faculty and staff and collaboratively developing a bold vision that will carry Deerfield into this third century."

Margarita Curtis is all of these things and much, much more. We are lucky to have her, and I know each of you will offer her a warm Deerfield welcome.

Sincerely,

John Jeffry Louis '81
President
Board of Trustees