The buzz about the new head of school hiring has come to its climax, as the Board of Trustees finally set its decision in stone. On Sept. 21, Paul Dietrich, vice-chair of the Board and head of the search committee, sent out an online announcement regarding the final decision. The Board revealed that the new headmaster would be Byron Lawson Jr. of Dallas, TX.
Lawson will begin his career as the school’s fifth headmaster on July 1, 2016. Lawson’s qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Prior to being hired at Trinity, Lawson spent 21 years in the independent school system environment. He taught history, was assistant dean of students, assistant director of admissions and assistant to the headmaster at St. Mark’s School of Texas, one of the top schools in the nation. With a lot of experience up his sleeve, Lawson is excited to bring his skills to the school.
“Trinity is a great school with a top-notch staff and amazing students,” Lawson said. “I hope I can build upon the successful learning, strengthen the endowment and link the school to other globally known centers of learning.”
One factor about Lawson’s personality that intrigued the Board was his genuine love and passion for the school and his job.
“Trinity is [big on] character education, has strong academics, is as large as my other schools, co-ed, and everyone is so enthusiastic about the place,” Lawson said.
History teacher William Milsten was an important member of the head of school search committee and said he spent a lot of time with Lawson, getting to know him on a personal level.
“He really wanted to be here,” Milsten said. “It was really obvious to us. He seemed like somebody who really wanted be a part of what we’re doing and to make us better—that’s really at the heart of it.”
Out of approximately 100 candidates who applied for the job, the committee narrowed the pool down to twelve people who came on campus for interviews. The interview process consisted of the committee asking the candidates questions to see how much they knew about the school and how they would handle the questions that came up on the spot. The interview covered a variety of topics: budget, philosophy on education, how the applicants interact with students and how they would let a faculty member go, to name just a few.
“I threw a lot of curveballs at them,” Milsten said. “I wanted to know what kind of music they listened to, [and] it kind of caught them off guard.”
From there, they reduced the field to four finalists, whom the committee brought on campus so that they could get a feel of the atmosphere of the school. The committee watched how the candidates interacted with administration, faculty, staff and students.
“We wanted them to meet everybody,” Milsten said. “They spent time with the principals, middle school students, upper school students at lunch—that’s more about ‘who are they?’”
When they were touring the campus with students, the headmaster candidates asked the students multiple questions; they were curious about learning everything the school stands for and about the day-to-day lives of the students on campus.
Some of the advisories on campus had the opportunity to interview all four of the headmaster finalists. One interviewer was senior Julia Paoli, who thought highly of Lawson.
“He had a lot of great ideas for the school, and he was very sincere and personable,” Paoli said. “One idea that he mentioned that I thought was very exciting was he hopes to have all [of] the seniors over to his house at the beginning of the school year for a big family-style dinner so they can meet his family and get to know each other and see him in a personal setting.”
The finalists each offered unique qualities to the school. However, Lawson’s incredible passion and love for Trinity was evident to the committee and the Board.
“I’m a bit of a cheerleader when it comes to students and adults,” Lawson said. “I want the school to pursue excellence, and I want to celebrate [that]. I’m going to cheer on the student body and faculty [every step of the way].”
Making the decision of who would be running the school next year was a very nerve-wracking process for the committee, but also an exhilarating experience.
“[We were] nervous and excited,” Milsten said. “To the point where we took the vote and it was unanimous to recommend to the Board.”
After the vote, Dietrich called Lawson to tell him that he was being offered the job. When Lawson accepted it, the room full of committee members exploded in joy.
“We all jumped up out of the chairs, we were hugging, and some people were crying,” Milsten said. “It was a powerful moment.”
Lawson was equally as excited about receiving the phone call that gave him the good news.
“Honestly, I was relieved and excited [when I got the job]; and then I hugged my wife,” Lawson said. “You’re never supposed to get attached to a job while in the search process, but I [definitely] became attached to Trinity. I probably would’ve [had] a sense of loss [if I had not] been awarded the position.”
Lawson feels very grateful to have been given this opportunity. He said he is very humbled and honored to have been awarded the position, and he could not be more excited to take the next step in his career as Trinity’s fifth headmaster.
Robert Rough • Jul 13, 2016 at 8:21 pm
As the parent of a St. Marks alumnus who played lacrosse under Byron, I congratulate you on attracting him. He is a tremendous leader and developer of young people as well as being a warm and funny man.