On Friday evening, January 20, the St. Mark's School community assembled in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of '45 Hall for a special celebration to formally install faculty members Allyson Brown and Dejai Barnes as endowed chairholders.
Brown was bestowed with the Chris and Jan Mabley Chair, established through a bequest of a generous alumnus in honor of former Head of School Chris Mabley (1988-1994) and his spouse Jan Mabley. Barnes was honored with the Martin Fenton Sr. Chair in Humanities in memory of Martin Fenton Sr. '25, who exemplified a strong commitment to academic excellence within the humanities.
"Faculty, staff, and student leader nomination comments, and the sentiment expressed by current endowed chairholders, indicate that Allyson and Dejai amply demonstrate the attributes identified for holders of endowed teaching chairs," shared Head of School John C. Warren '74.
As Warren noted, faculty installed in endowed teaching chairs are widely recognized in the School community as outstanding St. Mark's educators and role models for adult peers and for students. Exemplars of lifelong learning and a holistic approach to educating, these faculty members are also deeply committed to the School, involved fully in the life of St Mark's students, and highly skilled at advancing our mission. They educate our students for lives of leadership and service; help them explore their place in the larger world beyond the campus; and challenge them to develop their particular analytic and creative capabilities—by both inspiring their academic and spiritual curiosity and kindling their passion for discovery.
Martin Fenton Sr.'s grandson Joshua Fenton '87 took the stage after Warren to offer his remarks on why alumni fund endowed chairs and what these chairs mean to the families who support them. As Fenton said, "It lets us remember that the most important aspect of St. Mark's is the teaching."
A graduate of Smith College, Allyson Brown came to St. Mark's in 2003 and has taught several courses in the Mathematics Department throughout her 20-year tenure, including Algebra I, Algebra II, Functions, and Calculus. She served as a dorm head for 15 of those years, in addition to coaching, advising, and mentoring students in the Robotics program.
"She's a great model of being brave and taking risks," said Karen Bryant, who holds the Roland D. Sawyer Memorial Chair, in her introduction of Brown at the installation ceremony. A world traveler, a lifelong learner, and a woman with a strong moral compass, Brown has never been one to shy away from difficult discussions. According to Bryant, she is "not afraid to have hard conversations with students if it helps them to be better people."
Brown accepted the Mabley Chair with a speech filled with her signature dry sense of humor, beginning with words crafted via ChatGPT. On a serious note, Brown thanked her parents who were in attendance, acknowledging how her father taught her that "working hard at something difficult is time well spent" and thanking her mother for "normalizing the important role of women in STEM."
Jeniene Matthews, holder of the Evill-Glavin Chair, then introduced Dr. Dejai Barnes. Matthews recalled her first conversation with Barnes via Zoom, noting his charisma, humor, earnestness, and enthusiasm along with his impressive knowledge of theology and literature. "He is always seeking to improve and grow in his craft" and "his passion for engaging with the literature and his students is palpable," Matthews said.
Barnes joined the History and English Departments at St. Mark's in 2019 after earning his doctorate from Columbia University, where he taught Literature of the Humanities to first-year college students for several years. Prior to that, he earned his master's from Concordia University in Montreal. In addition to teaching American Literature and Writing Workshop at St. Mark's, he coaches soccer and hockey and lives on campus in Thieriot House.
"I am by no means the most experienced teacher at this institution," acknowledged Barnes. "This is my fourth year at St. Mark's; it's also my fourth year teaching at the high school. In many ways I'm like a VI Former in terms of my tenure. To my colleagues I offer the sincerest "thank you" for supporting me in my classes, in the dorms, and in athletics. It's a myth to think that teaching is or should be done in isolation. That I am the recipient of a chair is only possible because of the support I've received from more individuals than I can name at the moment."
In addition to thanking colleagues and his family, Barnes also remarked that his years at St. Mark's have been "transformative to say the least" and professed that he is in awe of the students. "I marvel at your brilliance, your talent, empathy, love and enthusiasm for life–all of which are invigorating and contagious for faculty at this school. It's why we teach. It's because of you."
A recording of the ceremony is available here.
To view photos from the Endowed Chair installation ceremony, visit the St. Mark's SmugMug gallery for the event.
Photograph by Andy Weigl
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