Faculty
St. Mark's is extremely proud of its accomplished and respected faculty and administrative team. Click the directory search at right to search our entire Faculty & Staff Directory.
St. Mark's School Faculty Chairs
Through the generous support of donors committed to educational excellence, St. Mark's is proud to have so many endowed Faculty Chairs. Listed below are the chairs and brief personal autobiographies.
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Adel FahMy Mikhail
Recipient of the Armour Senior Chair
An endowed faculty chair
Established as part of a bequest from A. Watson Armour ’27Coming to St. Mark’s was a great blessing to my family and me. I joined the faculty in 1998. It was my first time teaching at the high school level and working at a boarding school. I quickly became more than a math teacher. Now I am a coach, a parent, and a friend to most of the kids at the school. In all of these roles, I get to know students very well. For me, the greatest reward in teaching is when students come back and share their successes.
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David Lyons
Recipient of the O’Neill Chair
Recognizing the connection between St. Mark’s and George, Abby and Grover O’Neill
Established by George O’Neill ’45, P’69Teaching at St. Mark’s provides me with a great opportunity to work in a supportive community that emphasizes excellence in the two arenas that I most enjoy: the classrooms and the athletic fields. Moreover, I get to work with a group of students that embodies the values that St. Mark’s holds most dear: curiosity, intelligence, hard work, independence, and compassion.
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Sarah McCann
Recipient of the Tyler Chair in Creative Writing
An endowed faculty chair used to support the teaching of creative writing
Established by Sidney F. Tyler ’25My high school English teacher returned my first poem with the words, “Promise me you’ll be a writer.” That comment, the extra time she took to meet with me, and the enthusiasm we shared has kept me enthralled with the possibility of helping people through well-placed words, through poetry. I strive to encourage writers and creative thinkers at St. Mark’s as my teacher inspired me.
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Maria-Esther Sánchez
Recipient of the Mabley Chair
Presented in honor of former Head of School Chris Mabley and his wife, Jan
Established by an alumni donorI feel very proud when I see my students go from not speaking one word of Spanish to becoming fluent in the language. I enjoy being part of that transformation. I also love taking students abroad and witnessing the enthusiasm they display as they discover other places and ways of life. A small school like St. Mark’s gives me a chance to follow not only their academic progress but their personal growth, as well. This community strives to create curious and long-life learners, and it is a privilege to be part of it all.
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Matthew J. Hartnett
Recipient of the Barlow Chair
Presented in honor of former Head of School Mark Barlow and his wife, Jane
Established by an alumni donorAs a student, I was drawn to the Classics because so many Greek and Latin authors seemed able to capture in just a few words some fundamental truth about what it means to be human. As a teacher of the Classics, I continue to be fascinated by their wisdom, but the most gratifying part of my work is introducing my students to the thoughts and words that so captivated me. We are fortunate to be able to engage in this pursuit at St. Mark’s, a school with a long tradition of excellence in the Classics.
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Kenneth D. Wells III
Recipient of the Richard A. Rader Chair
Presented in honor of former faculty member Dick Rader
Established by alumni/ae and friendsI have always been keen on camping, hiking, and the outdoors, and these interests influence my perception of reality as “my big world.” Physics endeavors to understand an even bigger world in a particularly insightful way, and environmental sciences illuminate mankind’s role in altering or preserving that world. It is crucial for students to know how to understand and use science beyond the walls of their classroom, so I believe the best science education brings students from a theoretical understanding to a hands-on interaction that shows them they can make a tangible difference in their “big world.” Students may learn about energy and electric current in the classroom and lab, but when they use it to power the St. Mark’s solar-electric truck in competition, they see the complex interactions of the “big world” in action.
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Richard J. Umiker
Recipient of the A. Watson Armour III Mathematics Chair
Established by Mr. and Mrs. A. Watson Armour IIIMathematics is a wonderful playground of patterns and puzzles, where new language is created and extended to serve in communication of logical reasoning. It is appealing and accessible at an elementary level and yet holds extraordinary complexity within its simplicity. Mathematics provides me opportunities to observe and guide young minds as they engage in exploration and discovery within a world of appealing internal consistency. While at St. Mark’s, I participate as broadly as I can as a teacher and athlete, in my faith, and as a learner. I appreciate mathematics as my primary tool for sharpening my own mind and for teaching my students how to think.
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Peter Glomset
Recipient of the Weezie Foundation Chair
Presented in memory of Lucile Thieriot Walker
Established by the Weezie Foundation“Men do heartily wrong themselves when they refuse to be present in all ages, and neglect to see the beauty of all kingdoms, and busy themselves only with things at home.” This reflection, by the 17th century English writer Thomas Traherne, touches on my aims and on my pleasures as a teacher. The photograph above points to my love of travel; it was taken not far from the university in West Africa where I taught American studies several years ago. I like to approach literary works from past centuries as another kind of travel, one that gives us an opportunity to encounter ways of thinking that are now vanished. I believe that students enjoy the challenges of broadening their own horizons; in doing so they gain an understanding of themselves, their own time and place that cannot be gotten if they remain “busy at home.”
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Stephen J. Lynch
Recipient of the Mrs. William Greenough Thayer Faculty Chair
Presented in memory of Mrs. Thayer
Established by alumni/ae and friendsMy first goal as a teacher at St. Mark’s is to bring a love of French and France to my students and to bring as many students as I can to France. I hope to encourage them to continue French after leaving St. Mark’s School and to participate in exchange programs or semester or year abroad study programs in France or a French-speaking country. On several of my trips with students to France, I arranged home stays with French families.
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Henry S. Large
Recipient of the Sawyer Memorial Chair
Presented in honor of former faculty member Roland D. Sawyer
Established by his family, alumni/ae, and friendsI am amazed at how similar our jobs are as coaches and teachers. In both areas, we want the kids to learn that concentration and hard work will lead to improved performance. Often that lesson is learned first outdoors in sports to be later carried indoors and applied to courses. That is one reason I have enjoyed my role as coach so much.
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Andrew M. Harris
Recipient of the Independence Foundation Chair
The school’s first endowed faculty chair
Established by the Independence FoundationI enjoy many aspects of my work at St. Mark’s, but none more than coaching the girls’ varsity crew. Properly executed, the rowing stroke is fluid, natural, and efficient. Thus coaching is largely a matter of removing impediments, progressively improving a series of movements that rowers are equipped and motivated to perfect. It is my favorite form of teaching.
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Gilbert O. Stanley
Recipient of the Martin Fenton Sr. Chair in Humanities
Presented in memory of Martin Fenton Sr. ’25
Established by his familyMay 2006: This is my twenty-ninth year at St. Mark’s. Both my children have graduated from here, and my grandchildren are now applying. I have loved every minute I’ve spent here. In particular, I have loved the teaching, the coaching, and most certainly the company of my peers. But what has made my time here particularly special has been watching the students grow up.
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Thomas N. Berryman III
Recipient of the Evill–Glavin Chair
Presented in honor of former faculty members William J. Evill and William K. Glavin
Established by the Forbes FoundationThere is nothing in my professional teaching life that brings me greater satisfaction than working with student musicians. What a joy to lead groups in rehearsal and performance.
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Barbara P. Putnam
Recipient of the William W. Barber Jr. Chair
Presented in honor of Bill Barber, a former headmaster
Established by alumni/ae and friendsIf there is a logical intersection between disciplines, it is the arts. My special interest is the woodcut, a relief printmaking method characterized by its directness and rich tradition. For me, the knife is a drawing tool that cuts, scratches, divides, and alters surfaces. I am interested in wetlands and ocean circulation, which present this and future generations with difficult issues of sustainability. I feel it is important for all of us to learn to see critically and to ask the sort of questions through our work that uncover new ideas and an urgency to pursue them.
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Lee Prudden Wells
Recipient of the Founder’s Chair
Presented in honor of the founder of St. Mark’s School, Joseph Burnett
Established by Mrs. Joseph BurnettWhat began as an act of rebellion has blossomed into a love affair with German. My parents wanted me to learn French, so I chose German. Outstanding teachers and professors and wonderful opportunities to study and work in Germany convinced me that German would play a larger role in my life. Enduring ties to host families and friends in Germany have deepened my appreciation of the language, the culture, the people, and the history of the German-speaking world. Hearing students communicate with one another, hearing of their adventures in a German-speaking country, and watching them come to appreciate the language fuel my continuing passion for German.
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