Friends' Central

Gassel, of Bryn Mawr, is president of Robert Gassel Co., Inc., a commercial real estate development and property management company in Wynnewood. Gassel first served on the Friends’ Central Board from 1995 until 2002 and then rejoined the Board in 2004 after a one-year sabbatical. As a Trustee, Gassel has served as Clerk of the Trustees and Property Committees and helped oversee the development of Friends’ Central’s Master Plan and campus improvements.

 

Gassel has been active in the Friends’ Central community throughout his life. He earned the School’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2009 and was President of the Alumni/ae Board. Most recently, Gassel has served on the Long Range Planning Committee and was Clerk of the Space and Facilities Task Force for Vision 2020, the School’s Long Range Plan. He served on the Search Committee for Friends’ Central’s new Head of School, and was instrumental in the selection of Craig N. Sellers, who will become Friends’ Central’s 11th Head of School on July 1.

 

“I am eager for this opportunity to welcome Craig, to help him get know the Friends’ Central community, and to assist him in implementing our Long Range Plan,” says Gassel. “This is an exciting time for Friends’ Central.”

 

Says current Clerk James Wright, “Bob is the right person to lead the Board at this important time. He has many years of service on the Board, and he has sat on several committees. As an alumnus and a current parent, Bob is a well-known friendly face in the FCS community. His knowledge of the School is unparalleled, and his calm, generous personality and thoughtful, proven leadership are much admired.”

 

Wright, professor and William R. Kenan Jr. Chair in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College and a member of the Haverford Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, will be stepping down from his role as Clerk at the end of June. He has been appointed to a five-year term as the director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, beginning in July 2012.

 

“The Board feels that it is important for the Clerk to have the ability to communicate with the School—to be visible,” Gassel notes. “Since my son is in the Middle School, I am around a lot. The teachers know me, other parents know me. It is important for the School community—parents, faculty and staff, and alumni/ae—to get to know the Board and what we do.”

 

One additional goal for both Gassel and Horikawa, as members of the Trustees Committee, is for the Board to assess its structure and governance. “Just as the Head of School needs to evaluate Friends’ Central at all levels,” he says, “we should take a long look at the Board to make sure we are accomplishing our mission.”

 

Horikawa, of Wilmington, Del., is a member of the Radnor Monthly Meeting and a science teacher and Associate Science Department Head at Wilmington Friends School. She has served on the Friends’ Central Board since 2000. As Clerk of the School Life Committee, Horikawa will ensure that the School is guided by its Quaker principles and that diversity continues to be a priority at Friends’ Central. Horikawa also serves on the Engaged Community Working Group for Vision 2020.

 

“This is a momentous time for Friends' Central,” says Horikawa. “I am delighted and proud to be part of the countless conversations and processes that strongly connect Friends' Central to the core values of Quaker education and to the development of a vibrant 21st century learning community.”