As Hill prepares to welcome our new Head of School, Kathleen Devaney, home in July, one of the many preparations included was ensuring that the Head of School house, also known as the Feroe House, was ready for her arrival. 

Commenting on the history of the renovations conducted for the Feroe House, Lou Jeffries, the Head of Archives stated, “I believe that there have been renovations to Feroe House between Heads of School.” Having been at Hill for 24 years, Jeffries said how he knew there were “significant renovations to Feroe House in 2012 after David Dougherty retired as Headmaster and Zachary Lehman arrived”

Due to Dougherty having stayed in the Feroe House for 19 years, from 1993 to 2012, renovations to update the house were needed to keep up with technological advancements.

“In 1993, there was much less fiber optic cable and the like which necessitated upgrades,” Jeffries said.  

There is no set schedule for the renovations to the Head of School house. “These renovations are not mandatory but fulfill the requests and suggestions of the incoming Head,” Jeffries commented.  

With regards to the current renovations, Rich Bouher, Capital Construction Project Manager stated, “We are taking advantage of the Feroe House being currently unoccupied to make necessary preventative maintenance repairs, which is what we try to do with any of the facilities if the timing works.”

The house dates from the 1920s and is in need of window replacements as well as an update to all the bathrooms. “We repainted the interior and exterior, as the house had not been painted in 12 years, and we are refinishing the hardwood floors as well,” Bouher stated. 

During each renovation, a budget is allotted for the upcoming projects.

“The budget is in line with what we would expect for the rehabilitation of a house from the 1920s,” Bouher also commented.

The project is expected to be wrapped up in mid-May, which provides an ample time buffer between Devaney’s arrival and the completion of the renovations.