American Community School (ACS) at Beirut, Lebanon Appoints L. Hamilton Clark Head of School

The Board of Trustees of the American Community School (ACS) has approved the appointment of L. Hamilton Clark as Head of School, effective July 1, 2013. Mr. Clark, will succeed Dr. George Damon, who is retiring after ten successfu

Beirut (I-Newswire) October 5, 2012 - The Board of Trustees of the American Community School (ACS) has approved the appointment of L. Hamilton Clark as Head of School, effective July 1, 2013. Mr. Clark, will succeed Dr. George Damon, who is retiring after ten successful years leading ACS.

AN INSPIRING LEADER

In announcing his appointment, President of the Board Nina Joukowsky Köprülü, ACS’79 said: “For students, parents, administrators, and faculty, Mr. Clark has been that rare leader whose zeal for inspired education creates shared passion to effectively reach every child within the school community. His intellect, integrity, judgment, vision, and humor have earned him respect both within and beyond the school.”

Said John Waterbury, retired AUB President and an ACS trustee: “I am delighted that the ACS board has chosen Hamilton Clark as the school’s new head. Hamilton is an inspiring leader and gifted educator with a deep commitment to ACS’s students and faculty. He is the perfect person to succeed George Damon and to lead the school into a new era.”

The selection of Mr. Clark was the culmination of an international search during which a seven-member trustee committee chaired by alumna and trustee, Nina Joukowsky Koprulu —worked closely with consultants from Carney, Sandoe & Associates to identify and review candidates.

Said Mr. Clark: “ACS is that exceptional school that is steadfast in its pursuit of its mission. The school has been fortunate to benefit from George Damon’s leadership over the past ten years, and I am honored and eager to build on his success while looking to the future of ACS.”

ABOUT HAMILTON CLARK

Mr. Clark currently serves as Headmaster at the Episcopal Academy, a co-ed K-12 school established 227 years ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. With nearly 40 years of experience, including the last ten as Headmaster of Episcopal Academy, Mr. Clark is one of the most respected headmasters in U.S. independent education.
During Mr. Clark’s well-rounded academic career he has, among other roles, taught English and Ethics, served as a Director of Admissions and College Advising, a Financial Aid Director, and coach. At Sewickley Academy, where he was Headmaster for fifteen years, and during the last decade at Episcopal Academy, Mr. Clark has worked to develop a strong sense of institutional identity, internationalism, purpose and unity, always guided by the school’s mission of developing and sustaining an inspiring education.
Under Mr. Clark’s ten-year leadership, Episcopal Academy moved its historic campus to a completely new site. To do so, Mr. Clark led the effort to raise $100 million dollars for facilities and endowment. In addition to overseeing from design to completion a new state-of-the-art campus, Mr. Clark also invested significant time and resources in the professional development of the faculty to ensure excellence and continuous innovative and adaptive learning that is shared with the students and the community. He believes there can be no resource more important in which to invest than the faculty of a school.

Mr. Clark has many professional affiliations that include serving on the boards of Country Day School Headmasters' Association and the Headmasters' Association. He received his B.A. in Religion from Trinity College in 1972, and his M.Ed. from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Mr. Clark has also been a Columbia University Klingenstein Fellow and a Visiting Practitioner at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Mr. Clark and his wife, Ceci, also a veteran teacher and administrator in independent schools, are the parents of three grown children.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL AT BEIRUT

Founded in 1905, ACS has educated generations of students to become strong, independent and confident people. We offer a rigorous, university preparatory education to girls and boys from pre-Kindergarten through grade 12, currently numbering 1080, in a caring and attentive school community.

PRESS INQUIRIES

Please direct all press inquiries to Fadwa Ghannoum, director of Development and Alumni affairs, at fghannoum@acs.edu.lb. More information may be found at www.acs.edu.lb.