Two Shady Side Academy teachers were recently named to endowed chair positions at the Academy for five-year terms, beginning in 2012. Both endowed chairs provide an annual stipend to the faculty member holding the position.
Middle School English teacher Martha Banwell was named to the Rea Chair in Humanities. Banwell holds a B.A. in East Asian studies from Wellesley College and an M.A. in classical Chinese literature from Columbia University. She worked in publishing, banking and higher education administration in New York, worked in the refugee camps of Southeast Asia during the exodus of the Vietnamese boat people, and did resettlement work in New York before becoming a teacher. After her children began school, she completed Chatham University's teacher certification program, student taught at the SSA Junior School, and has taught English at the Middle School since 1999.
Senior School math teacher Sue Whitney was named to the Mellon Chair in Mathematics. Whitney holds a B.A. in geology from Colby College and an M.A.T. in secondary mathematics from Chatham University. Prior to SSA, she taught mathematics for four years in Malawi and one year at Dartmouth (Mass.) High School. She has taught mathematics and coached girls' cross country at the SSA Senior School since 1991.
Congratulations to Mrs. Banwell and Ms. Whitney!
