Hockaday Installs New Head of School

Named in December, Laura Leathers celebrates new role

The Hockaday School installed Dr. Laura Leathers as its Eugene McDermott Head of School on Sept. 5.

Leathers was appointed interim head of school in March 2022 and was named the permanent head on Dec. 1, 2022, following a national search. As the 14th head of school in Hockaday history, she was installed at a convocation and installation ceremony in Hockaday’s Penson Athletic Center.

“Today, we have paused to mark this time when we are all beginning a new and exciting chapter in Hockaday’s history,” Leathers said at the installation. “Together, we will build and preserve this community founded on the Four Cornerstones of Character, Courtesy, Scholarship, and Athletics.”

The ceremony featured student speakers Elizabeth Carter, Swara Rathod, Ariana Wang, and Zoe Stone, as well as Hockaday Alumnae Association president-elect Jimieka Oswald and Joni Palmer, director of special programs for the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest.

A. Shonn Brown, chair of the board of trustees, officially installed Leathers.

“Dr. Leathers’ intellect, warm, strategic vision, and genuine care for each and every person on this campus are clearly evident — in the boardroom, in the classroom, on the sidelines, in the audience, and in the hallways,” immediate past board chair Nicole Ginsberg Small said. “We look forward to many years of her leadership and guidance.”

Before head of school, Leathers was Hockaday’s assistant head of school for academic affairs. She also served in various roles ranging from teacher to coach to assistant head of school for more than 13 years at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee.

Leathers has a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and French from Lafayette College. She also studied abroad at the Université de Grenoble and earned a doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Vermont. She conducted postdoctoral research as a fellow at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and earned an education specialist degree with a concentration in administration and supervision from Union University.

“This is both a tremendous honor and a great opportunity, and it is my goal to ensure that our girls are in a position to succeed both today and in the future,” Leathers said in December when she was named permanent head of school. “I am a passionate believer in educating girls and young women to be capable, confident contributors to their communities and the world.”