The following is a list of principals of Phillips Exeter Academy, an independent preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire, founded in 1781 by John Phillips. [1] There have, since 1783, been 16 principals in total, including one interim principal. From the founding of the academy to 1808, the head of school was called preceptor before it was changed to principal.
| Image | Principal | Served |
|---|---|---|
| – | William Woodbridge | 1783–1788 |
 | Benjamin Abbot | 1788–1838 |
 | Gideon Lane Soule | 1838–1873 |
 | Albert Cornelius Perkins | 1873–1883 |
 | Walter Quincy Scott | 1884–1889 |
| – | Charles Everett Fish | 1890–1895 |
 | Harlan Page Amen | 1895–1913 |
 | Lewis Perry | 1914–1946 |
| – | William Gurdon Saltonstall | 1946–1963 |
| – | William Ernest Gillespie (interim) | 1963–1964 |
| – | Richard Ward Day | 1964–1973 |
 | Stephen Guild Kurtz | 1974–1987 |
| – | Kendra Stearns O'Donnell | 1987–1997 |
| – | Tyler Chapman Tingley | 1997–2009 |
| – | Thomas Edward Hassan | 2009–2015 |
| – | Lisa MacFarlane | 2015–2018 |
| – | William Knox Rawson | 2018–present |
Phillips Academy is a co-educational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate (PG) year. The school is in Andover, Massachusetts, United States, 25 miles north of Boston. Phillips Academy has 1,131 students, and is a highly selective school, accepting 13% of applicants with a yield as high as 86%. It is part of the Eight Schools Association and the Ten Schools Admissions Organization, as well as the G30 Schools Group.
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. Home to Phillips Exeter Academy, a private university-preparatory school, Exeter is situated where the Exeter River becomes the tidal Squamscott River.
Phillips Exeter Academy is a highly selective, coeducational independent school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12, and offers a secondary postgraduate program. Located in Exeter, New Hampshire, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world.
John Phillips (December 27, 1719 – April 21, 1795) was an early American educator and the cofounder of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, along with his wife, Elizabeth Phillips. He was a major donor to Dartmouth College, where he served as a trustee. He also made significant donations to Harvard College and Princeton University.
Benjamin Abbot was an American schoolteacher. He is known for his work as a teacher and the second principal at Phillips Exeter Academy.
Robert Franklin Pennell was an American educator and classicist.
Thomas Edward Hassan is an American educator who served as the first gentleman of New Hampshire from 2013 to 2017 as the husband of former governor Maggie Hassan. He has served as the President of School Year Abroad since June 2016. Previously, he worked at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he began as the Director of College Counseling in 1989, worked as the Dean of Admissions, and was the 14th principal from 2009 until his retirement from the school in 2015. In 2016, Hassan was censured by The Association of Boarding Schools for failing to disclose sexual misconduct of a former teacher at Phillips Exeter. During his 20 years at Exeter, Hassan taught mathematics and junior studies, served as dorm affiliate, and advised student organizations, including Best Buddies and the Random Acts of Kindness club.
The Eight Schools Association (ESA) is a group of private college-preparatory schools in the Northeast United States.
The Exeter-Andover rivalry is an academic and athletic rivalry between Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) and Phillips Academy (Andover) and, bearing many similarities of tradition and practice to the Harvard–Yale rivalry as Exeter traditionally educated its students for Harvard, much as Andover traditionally educated its students for Yale. Today, Exonians and Phillipians continue to matriculate in large numbers to both Harvard and Yale, as well as many other top universities. The athletic rivalry between these two schools began with baseball, and football soon followed the same year. Today the two schools face each other in several sports every fall, winter, and spring trimester. The rivalry is America's earliest between preparatory schools. The two schools were also two of the three schools, who became the three first schools in the United States to form secondary school lacrosse teams in 1882. Similar prep school traditions include the Choate–Deerfield rivalry, Hotchkiss–Taft rivalry, the Blair–Peddie rivalry, the Hill–Lawrenceville rivalry, the Groton–St. Mark's rivalry, and the Milton-Nobles rivalry.
Tyler Chapman Tingley is an American educator who has headed four private secondary schools, including The Blake School and Phillips Exeter Academy.
Lisa MacFarlane is an American educator who served as the 15th principal of Phillips Exeter Academy. Previously she served as the provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of New Hampshire, as well as a teacher of American literature at the university for 28 years.
Albert Cornelius Perkins was an American educator and fourth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy and fourth principal of Adelphi University.
Lewis Perry was an American educator and the eighth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
Richard Ward Day was an American educator and the 10th principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
William Gurdon Saltonstall was an American educator and author, and the ninth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
Charles Everett Fish was an American educator and the sixth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
The Daniel Webster Debate Society at Phillips Exeter Academy is the oldest secondary school student debate union and literary club in the United States. Established in 1818 as The Golden Branch Literary Society, a secret society, the club later changed its name to honor Senator Daniel Webster, who attended the Academy. The club's primary focus today is on parliamentary-style debate, with some focus on policy debate and speechmaking.
Augustus Lord Soule was an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1877 to 1881.
William Ernest Gillespie was an American educator who served as assistant principal, dean of faculty, and interim principal at Phillips Exeter Academy.
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