St. Michaels University School has announced that Mark Turner, an award-winning global educator and Head of Shrewsbury School in the UK, has been appointed as its new Head of School. He succeeds outgoing Head Bob Snowden, who retires at the end of this school year.
“We are very excited about this appointment,” says SMUS Board of Governors Chair Blair Hagkull. “From the beginning of our search process, Mark stood out as an energetic forward-thinker who is ideally suited to lead St. Michaels University School to even higher levels of excellence and international reputation, building on Bob Snowden’s very successful 22 years.”
St. Michaels University School will be Mr. Turner’s fourth headship of an independent boarding and day school. Only 34 years old when he was appointed as the Headmaster of Kelly College in Devon, England, Mr. Turner earned a reputation as a pragmatic reformer before moving on to the headship at Abingdon School in 2001. Since 2010, Mark has been Head at Shrewsbury School in Shropshire, England, one of the top schools in the UK. There, he has successfully navigated the shift to full co-education while steadily raising the school’s academic reputation and overseeing the execution of an ambitious fundraising and development plan for the Shrewsbury campus.
Mr. Turner’s excellence as an educator and administrator has been recognized repeatedly by the yearly national awards adjudicated by the influential UK magazine Tatler. He was named Headmaster of the Year in 2009 and has been short-listed for that honour in 2005, 2007 and 2016.
The appointment of Mr. Turner is the result of a months-long process led by a Search Committee chaired by former governor and alumnus Chris Considine ‘70, QC, in partnership with executive search consultant Janet Wright of Janet Wright & Associates (JWA). After consultation with community members, the Search Committee compiled a detailed profile and kicked off an international search that yielded interest from more than 200 candidates around the world.
Mr. Turner and his wife, Elizabeth, will arrive at St. Michaels University School in August to begin meeting SMUS community members and to get to know the school. The couple will complete their move to Victoria in the summer of 2018. During the 2017-2018 school year, Mr. Turner will work in partnership with the school’s current Deputy Head of School Mr. Andy Rodford, who will be the Acting Head.
