Ryck Walbridge and Ellen Nelson at 25 year wall

On January 17, 2008, a wall featuring 87 faculty members who have dedicated more than 25 years of service to The Hill and its students was installed in the Map Room of the Academic Center. Click here to view the full list.

The idea came from Ryck Walbridge, assistant headmaster of academics, who had seen such displays at other schools and felt it would be a good way to show the School’s appreciation for its long-term faculty. Ellen Nelson, instructor of arts, helped create the wall, which features plaques with photographs and information about the faculty members who have worked for The Hill School for 25 years or more.

“In an age where people tend to switch jobs frequently, the wall is a way to recognize years of service by our faculty and their dedication to The Hill,” Walbridge points out.

Walbridge also believes the wall can provide a great history lesson for the students. “The students may see Sweeney Gymnasium or stay in the Rolfe Dormitory but might not know who these buildings are named after. Through the wall they can learn more about these faculty members and the contributions they have made to the School,” he notes.

The wall features three female faculty members: Gertrude Johnson; Winifred O’Shaughnessy; and Donna Rudick, instructor of Spanish, who will celebrate her 25th year of service in June 2008.

Also recently put on display, above the Map Room staircase, were student awards given out at graduation by headmaster David R. Dougherty. These prestigious awards include: The Wilbur C. Riley Memorial Award, The Jodi Calvario '03 Award, The Medal for the late Oscar Cox, The Hill School Achievement Award, The Prize for Unswerving Loyalty and Outstanding Integrity, The Archibald R. Montgomery Award, The J.T. Moore, Jr. '41 Award, The Phi Beta Kappa Association of Philadelphia Prize, The Aurelian Honor Society of Yale University Prize, The Marion D. Patterson, Jr. Memorial Prize for Unswerving Loyalty and Outstanding Integrity, The Best General Record in the Sixth Form Prize, The Nicolai H. Hiller, Jr. Memorial Prize, The Head of Form Award, and The Charles A. Frank III ’59 Award. 

Special thanks to David Allain, assistant dean of students, who scanned and printed most of the photographs; Brian Moser, assistant to the director of the physical plant; Richard Moser and Eric Dusko, members of the buildings and grounds department, who installed the railings for the photographs; Willis Pierre, Hill instructor of mathematics emeritus (and 25-year faculty member), who researched and compiled the faculty list; and Don Mace, a local Pottstown vendor, who created the logos and signage. Richard Moser retired in late January 2008 after serving The Hill community extraordinarily well for nearly 14 years.