Yesterday's opening convocation kicked off the 195th school year and welcomed 310 students, whose bright, inquisitive faces inspire us to make this another exceptional year on Mount Ida. “Pumping the Heart Muscle” was the title of my address to the community, and I encourage you to ask your daughters what they remember about my message. At Emma, we see an inextricable connection between our intellectual and our emotional lives, and we are eager to ensure a healthy, proactive approach to both.

Senior class president Mary Leigh leads the processional	History department chair Bob Naeher is named the Newell Chair in Humanities	Head of School Trudy Hall encourages compassion

This year's student body consists of 218 boarders and 92 day students. Our 108 new students are an exciting group of interesting, diverse, and strong young women selected from an impressive pool of applicants 7% larger than last year’s group. Our new students come with strong family ties; two new 9th graders are fourth- generation Emma girls—both have great-grandmothers who attended the school. We also welcome seven new sets of sisters, bringing to 10 the pairs of sisters on campus this year.

Nine new students arrive as part of the Davis Scholars Program, a new initiative funded by Gale Lansing ’63 and Shelby Cullom Davis. These talented students hail from Bolivia, Botswana, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, as well as Albany, Atlanta, Schenectady, and Seattle. Learn more about the Davis Scholars Program here. Our inaugural Davis Scholars add another dimension to the roughly 30% of our boarding population who come from all around the globe.

Twelve new members of the faculty were introduced at Convocation.  They bring a wealth of experience, talent, and dedication to our halls.  In addition, we bestowed one of our greatest honors upon Dr. Robert Naeher—the Newell Chair in Humanities, English, and History. Dr. Naeher came to Emma in 1997 and has chaired the history department since his second year. Under his leadership, the department has become more collaborative, energized with a desire to enhance the curriculum and hone instruction. In the spring of 2001, Dr. Naeher became the recipient of the Madelyn Levitt and Linda Glazer Toohey Award for Faculty Excellence.

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Welcome (back) to Emma!

Trudy E. Hall Head of School