50th Timeline: 1999 – The Resignation of John Harkins and the Appointment of Drew Smith as the Sixth Head of School

Even when things are going well at Friends School Mullica Hill, one can rest assured that there are always challenges lurking.  One of these was the surprise announcement by John Harkins that he intended to retire as Head of School. This news, coming during the capital campaign, was quite stressful for Board leadership.  Succumbing to some pressure, John agreed to stay on for one additional year and to help with the transition to the next Head of School. John recommended, and the Board eventually agreed, that an internal search process was best suited to the circumstances, namely being in the midst of the campaign and the construction project.  Indeed, John believed that Drew Smith would be a worthy successor. Drew had joined the School in the Fall of 1986 and had served as a teacher, a coach, and as a Middle School administrator. The Board did not doubt Drew’s past impact on students, his administrative abilities or his potential, but there was concern about not conducting an external search and in passing over other longtime teachers at the School who also held administrative experience.  In the end, the Board accepted John’s recommendation and announced that Drew Smith would become, at the beginning of the 2000-2001 academic year, the sixth Head of Friends School Mullica Hill. In the year before he became Head, Drew worked hard as Associate Head of School, including key efforts on fundraising for the new Building, and proved his worth and rewarded John’s faith in him.