Associate Headmaster Mr. Len Miller P’20 will be leaving Hill after this school year to take on a new position as Headmaster at St. Mary’s Hall– a pre-K through 12 independent day school – in San Antonio, Texas. Although this news came as a surprise to many, members of the Hill community expressed their joy for him. 

Over the course of six years at Hill, Miller has become an integral part of campus life. Not only has he been behind the scenes for the creation of dynamic and innovative academic and student-life programs, but Miller has also simultaneously served as a history teacher, basketball coach, and advisor. Anyone who has interacted with Miller would acknowledge the empathy and wisdom that has seeped into their conversations. 

“He is a teacher that values in-depth, interesting conversations and discussions as opposed to menial work,” Greta Haverstick ‘21, a student in Miller’s Honors United States History class, said. “I’ve never learned history in a way that made me more engaged and interested. I think that [from our in-class discussions,] I have learned a great deal about debating and the way to conduct myself in these situations. It is very easy to be overwhelmed by passion in a debate and become too heated, but I think I’ve learned, or am learning, at least, to have just the right amount [of passion]. I also have been trying to learn how to incorporate other people into a conversation rather than monopolize it; that’s a trait of [Miller’s] that I really admire.”

Twila Fisher, Director of Community and Economic Development and Instructor of Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise echoed some of the fond statements about Miller that Haverstick expressed. Fisher noted that she has learned from the way Miller “notices who is in a room and acknowledges their presence, which makes them feel valued.” 

This year, Miller and Fisher collaborated to design the Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise class. 

“[I] was put at ease by his friendly, engaging manner and the ease with which he found a way for us to connect,” Fisher said. “This first impression has stayed the same as long as I have known him.”

In the summer of 2019, Miller introduced a book by Robert Caro to a group of Hill History Scholars made up of rising fifth and sixth formers. He leaned on knowledge he learned as a student – such as reading Caro’s work at Columbia – and shared it in a way that applied to the class interests. 

When asked about what he will miss the most from Hill, Miller said that he will miss the people, so many of whom he has become close friends with. He is also “very excited about taking on this new role.” There is nothing more befitting for Mr. Miller than to take on new challenges in a role of Headmaster as he starts a new chapter in his life.