Three Shady Side Academy faculty members were recently named to endowed chair positions at the Academy. Each endowed chair holder receives an annual stipend for a five-year term (2022-2027).
Junior School teacher Christina Blazin was named to the Richard K. Mellon Chair in Mathematics. Blazin joined Junior School faculty in 2018 and taught third grade before moving to fifth grade math. She succeeds Junior School fourth grade teacher Lisa Budd as the Mellon Chair.
Senior School English teacher Paul Ejzak '89 was named to the Julia D. and James C. Rea Chair in the Humanities. An alumnus, Ejzak returned to his alma mater in 1997 to teach English, and he has also coached cross country and been a dorm advisor, form dean and department chair. He succeeds Middle School social studies teacher Molly Braver '94 as the Rea Chair.
Senior School teacher Dr. Devon Renock was named to the George and Ann Magovern Chair in Science. Dr. Renock has taught biology and chemistry at the Senior School since 2017 and is also an assistant boys' soccer coach. He succeeds Senior School science teacher Dr. Scott Peterson as the Magovern Chair.
A total of six named endowed chair appointments are available to SSA faculty, made possible by generous gifts from members of the SSA community to the faculty endowment fund. In addition to the three listed above, the other endowed chairs are:
- The Howard Heinz Chair in the Sciences, held by Senior School Science Department Chair Dr. Joe Martens (2019-2024)
- The F. Walter Jones Jr. Chair in History, held by Senior School History Teacher Rachel McCool (2019-2024)
- The Dr. Craig T. Kerins '63 Chair of English, held by Senior School English Teacher Jeff Miller (2021-2026)
Congratulations to Ms. Blazin, Mr. Ejzak and Dr. Renock on their appointments!