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Hockaday Welcomes Liza Lee

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The Hockaday School is pleased to announce that Elizabeth (Liza) Lee has been appointed Interim Headmistress effective today, June 18, 2015. 
Hockaday Board of Trustees Appoints Liza Lee Interim Head of School
 
DALLAS (June 18, 2015) – The Hockaday School is pleased to announce that Elizabeth (Liza) Lee has been appointed Interim Headmistress effective today, June 18, 2015. Ms. Lee’s appointment was unanimously approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. Having served as Hockaday’s Eugene McDermott Headmistress from 1990 – 2004, Ms. Lee will return to the School as the twelfth headmistress since Miss Ela Hockaday founded the School in 1913.
 
“We are excited that Ms. Lee is returning to Hockaday. Her commitment to the School, as both a thoughtful leader and a highly-respected educator, will create an invigorating learning environment for the students, which is our top priority,” said Maryann Mihalopoulos ’78, Chair, Board of Trustees. “Ms. Lee values the traditions of the School and I am confident that her expertise will provide strength, structure, and a vision for Hockaday’s future.”
 
For 14 years, Ms. Lee was instrumental in spearheading the growth of The Hockaday School, during which time she strategically worked with faculty to create a new curriculum with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics; collaborated with members of the Hockaday community to complete Hockaday Tomorrow, a successful capital and endowment campaign; and implemented new programs like the service learning program that allowed every student to explore the community and learn beyond the classroom. 
 
“My goal is to make this coming year a bridge to the future that opens all sorts of marvelous possibilities for the School,” said Ms. Lee. “I hope to manage a seamless transition to a new year that will deepen and enrich our sense of community, and to help the School plan strategically for the future so that we will have continued excellence in all areas and the financial security to support our dreams.”
 
Ms. Lee has more than 37 years of experience at some of the leading private schools in the country. Most recently, Ms. Lee served as Head of School for the Columbus School for Girls in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, Ms. Lee served as interim Head of School at Trinity Episcopal School in Austin, Texas; Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina; and the College Preparatory School in Charleston, South Carolina. Her work with The Brearley School in New York City spanned from 1967–1990 and included serving as Acting Head and Head of the Middle School. Ms. Lee has also served on the boards of The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, The Brooks School in Massachusetts, The Brearley School in New York, St. Phillip’s School and The Winston School in Dallas, and several other independent schools.
 
An advocate of all-girls education and service to the community, Ms. Lee currently serves many organizations including National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, Past President; Country Day School Headmasters Association, Past President; Oldfields School, Board Member; and Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Justice and Tolerance, Board Member.
 
Ms. Lee received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Mt. Holyoke College where she was a Mary Lyon Fellow and her Master of Arts from Columbia University, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She has received numerous honors throughout her career, including the Elizabeth Topham Kennan Award from the Mt. Holyoke College Alumnae Association; a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, Southern Methodist University; The Maura Award from Southern Methodist University for support of women’s lives; Excellence in Education Award from the Dallas Historical Society; and the Girls’ Champion Award given by Girls Inc.
 
Ms. Lee resides in Dallas with her husband William M. Lee, M.D. Dr. Lee holds the Meredith Mosle Chair of Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.
 
About The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School, the largest independent girls’ school in the country, is a college preparatory day and boarding school for girls. From Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, Hockaday prepares bright and engaging girls to define their place in the world. Ranked among the country’s finest college preparatory schools, Hockaday was founded in 1913 – more than a century ago – and continues today to build on its original Four Cornerstones: Courtesy, Character, Scholarship, and Athletics. Hockaday’s mission statement is: Believing in the limitless potential of girls, Hockaday develops resilient, confident women who are educated and inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
 
To learn more about Hockaday, please visit The Hockaday School website at www.hockaday.org.
 
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Media Inquiries:
Susan Brower
Director of Communications
sbrower@hockaday.org
 
 
 
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Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.