Waring School Announces New Head of School

To All Members of the Waring School Community:

On behalf of the Waring School Board of Trustees, it is my privilege and pleasure to announce the appointment of Melville (Mel) S. Brown, as the next Head of the Waring School, succeeding Peter Laird Smick, upon Peter's retirement at the end of June, 2012. The Board's unanimous decision to appoint Mel Brown as the third Head in Waring's history followed a similarly unanimous recommendation by the Search Committee.

Mel comes to us from Trinity School, a K-12 day school, with some 1,000 students, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Mel has been at Trinity for more than 20 years, first as a member of the faculty and then as the Founder and Chair of the Performing Arts Division. The Performing Arts Division at Trinity is the public face of the school, bridging all academic disciplines and involving students of all ages. Long viewed as one of the premier schools in the city, Trinity is an exceptional institution with a gifted faculty and with rigorous academic standards and expectations.

Mel combines a keen intellect, distinguished scholarship, a sure grasp of independent school governance, and a collaborative but decisive management style, with an abundance of good humor and quiet humility. He is a product of Philips Andover Academy and graduated with an A.B. summa cum laude in French literature and Music from Duke University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Following Duke, Mel received a Masters in Music and Piano Performance from The Juilliard School and a Masters in Educational Administration from Columbia University. Mel brings to Waring a lifelong interest in mathematics and science, which comprised his secondary coursework at Duke. His professional development has focused on current neuroscience research and its implications for teaching and learning.  

We are elated and honored that Mel accepted our offer. We look forward to welcoming Mel's wife Inka Rudnycka, a graduate of McGill University with a Masters from Juilliard, and their two sons: Ivan a 2010 graduate of Muhlenberg College and Darius, a member of the class of 2013 at Duke University.

The Board of Trustees and I are deeply indebted to our Search Consultant Gregory Floyd, without whom we would never have had the good fortune of crossing Mel Brown's path. Further, we want to extend our most heartfelt thanks to the members of the Search Committee, who have worked tirelessly on this process over the last eight months. Each of them brought distinctive and substantive skills to the committee, expressed their individual voices with vigor and insight, and collaborated effectively and professionally, repeatedly culminating in broad, effortless consensus. Their nuanced understanding of Waring's culture, their perceptive appraisal of its immediate needs, and their passion and enthusiasm for its future put us firmly on the path to Mel Brown.

Finally, I want to thank the faculty, staff, parents, and students for their critical role in evaluating the field of finalists. Finding and selecting Mel Brown to succeed Peter Smick is perhaps the most important milestone affecting Waring School since it inception. And, while Peter did not play any role in selecting Mel, he and Allegra have been enormously helpful and supportive throughout the search process.

While we eagerly await Mel Brown's permanent arrival as Head of School eight months from now, let us now luxuriate in the sunny meridian of Peter's  extraordinary career as Waring School's Head. It is to Peter's credit that Waring School has established itself as such a lush oasis of learning that it is able to attract and secure someone having the character and caliber of Mel Brown.

Sincerely,
Geoffrey P. Hunt
Chair, Waring School Board of Trustees