Mary Beth Lennon, president of Mercy High School, is one of just 20 school leaders from around the world selected for this year’s Klingenstein Heads of Schools Program at Columbia University’s Teachers College. This fully funded fellowship brings together 20 school heads from independent schools in the United States together with international school leaders from Colombia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Tunisia, India, Japan, and Honduras to consider educational philosophy, leadership, and strategic innovation.

“This prestigious fellowship affirms the remarkable momentum that Mercy High School has experienced under Mary Beth Lennon’s leadership,” said Kevin Burke, chair of Mercy’s Board of Trustees. “The Board is delighted that Mary Beth will have the opportunity to join with other accomplished independent school leaders from around the world for intensive professional study, collaboration and reflection. The experience will prove invaluable as Mercy continues to be an innovative leader in girls education and a top choice for area families.”

Ms. Lennon is in her sixth year as president of Mercy High School, a Catholic college preparatory school for girls sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. The first alumna to lead Mercy, Ms. Lennon previously served on the founding leadership team of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. Ms. Lennon holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a Master of Arts in Latin American history from The Catholic University of America. She is active in Baltimore’s civic and cultural life with a distinguished record of volunteer service.

Founded in 1977, the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University seeks to improve the quality of independent school education by developing and strengthening leadership among teachers and administrators who work in independent and international schools in the United States and throughout the world. Drawing upon a record of success that spans more than thirty years and the full resources of Teachers College and the other graduate schools of Columbia University, the Klingenstein Center stands alone in its capacity to develop leaders for independent schools. The Klingenstein Center has nearly 4000 alumni in 49 U.S. states and territories and 54 countries working in schools around the world and has been credited with contributing to the professionalization of the field.

Click here for more information on the cohort in the Heads of Schools program at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

A Mercy High School education is distinguished by rigorous academics, enabling students to form habits of lifelong inquiry, critical thinking and courageous action in a global society. More than 8,000 Mercy graduates bring their Mercy values into the world, in Baltimore and beyond.