Dr. Rebecca W. Bushnell was named the chair of the Princeton Day School board of trustees at the board’s January meeting., Dr. Bushnell, a 1970 PDS graduate, succeeds Barbie Cole Griffin as chair. Dr. Bushnell begins her appointment on July 1., “As Princeton Day School was fortunate to be able to turn to two devoted alumni — Treby Williams ’80 and Barbie Cole ’78 — to lead our school, so it looks now to Rebecca Bushnell ’70 to join that august company,” said Head of School Paul Stellato. “In electing Professor Bushnell, the board of trustees has expressed its confidence in her ability to guide our school during this most exciting, promising time and, as she has done at the University of Pennsylvania, to ensure it remains faithful to and fulfills its mission for its students, families, alumni, and faculty.”, The school, located on the Great Road in Princeton, has students from pre-K through 12th grade., Dr. Bushnell is The School of Arts and Sciences Board of Overseers Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has taught since 1982. Graduating with the Princeton Day School class of 1970, she earned a bachelor’s degree at Swarthmore College, a master’s from Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D in comparative literature from Princeton University. She also taught English for a year at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr., An accomplished scholar of wide-ranging interests, Dr. Bushnell is the author of many articles and eight books, on subjects ranging from Greek tragedy to English gardening. At Penn, she has taught courses on literature, theater and culture, and she received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and an NEH grant for Teaching with Technology., Dr. Bushnell also has significant experience in academic administration in the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn. As associate dean for the humanities from 1998-2003, she managed academic hiring and budgets in those departments; as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2003-2004, she oversaw the quality of academic advising and education; and as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences from 2005-2014, she was responsible for every aspect of the school’s finances, strategic planning, fundraising, administration, and faculty affairs., She is also committed to supporting nonprofit cultural institutions, as a member of the board of the Morris Arboretum, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Professor Bushnell and her husband, John Toner, the executive director of Renew Theaters, which manages the Princeton Garden Theater, reside in Philadelphia. They are the parents of two daughters, Emily and Ruth Toner., A member of the Princeton Day School board since 2013, Dr. Bushnell serves as a member of the Executive Committee, chairs the Mission Fulfillment Task Force, and has aided Princeton Day School’s fundraising activities., Ms. Cole will retire from the board after 17 years of service to Princeton Day School. Board chair since July 1, 2012, Mrs. Cole has led the school through a sustained period of growth and prosperity, placing the school in an enviable position from which to embark on a series of long-range academic, co-curricular, endowment, and facilities initiatives., Ms. Cole’s retirement coincides with the graduation of her son, George ’17. With her husband, Chris, Ms. Cole is the parent of two Panther alumni: James ’08 and Zeeza ’13.
