Each April, our Faculty Awards Ceremony honors, promotes and celebrates the extraordinary teaching that takes place at MICDS. It’s a time to recognize the outstanding work and tireless dedication of our faculty. Former Head of School Lisa Lyle spoke about how the MICDS campus is impressive, but that it’s our faculty who make MICDS the truly remarkable learning community it is. “In the learning spaces you create,” she said, “students discover their passions, develop skills and knowledge; they learn to think critically, demonstrate compassion for all the world’s people and stand for what is good and right, as our mission calls us to do!”
The School is able to present summer sabbaticals, fellowships, merit awards and Chairs of Distinguished Teaching thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends who value their experiences at Mary Institute, Saint Louis Country Day School and MICDS. Congratulations to the 2019 honorees!
Summer Sabbaticals and Fellowships
Mary Institute Class of 1957 Endowed Fund for Faculty Continuing Education
Summer Beasley
Soledad Villagomez
The Edward M. Rivinus Memorial Summer Sabbatical
Gabe Grabarek
Wilma and Roswell Messing Jr. ’34 Summer Sabbatical
Natalie Griffin
Thomas Family Fellowship
Robin Campbell
Veronica Wachter
Polk Family Summer Sabbatical Fellowship for the Teaching of English
Tex Tourais
Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Fund for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics
JK-12 Math Department
(All department members will be working with concept-based math curriculum and instruction expert Jennifer Wathall.)
Faculty Merit Awards
Mary Institute Class of 1940 Distinguished Faculty Award
Kelly Walsh
Country Day School Class of 1958 “Extra Effort” Award
Khannie Dastgah
Denise Douglas
Ashley O’Toole
Brian Purlee
Dorothy Wray Roberts 1917 Faculty Merit Award
Christy Moore ’72
Sears Foundation Faculty Merit Award
Darrett Thompson
Michael S. Gerrard Award
Dustin Delfin
Chairs of Distinguished Teaching
Albert G. Blanke Jr. ’28 Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Kelly Hummel
Country Day School Class of 1959 Walter J. McCreery Chair of Distinguished Teaching in Memory of George P. Braun ’59
Sara Levine
Eugene A. Hecker Chair of Distinguished Teaching in Humanities
Elizabeth Wells
David S. Turken Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Sarah Garner
Donald H. Webb Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Sarah Elliott
Aaron Proctor
Gilbert-Werremeyer Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Janet Purdy
Jason Roberts
Sander H. Coovert Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Zuowei Chang
Suzanne Siegel Harbison ’45 Chair of Distinguished Teaching in Science
Michelle Hrastich
Craig E. Jones Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Celeste Prince
J.R. Johnson Jr. Chair of Distinguished Teaching
Maggie DesPain Dunson ’09