Libby Margraf held the HOS helm from July to December...
by John Bishop
GROTON, Mass. — The “acting” adjective before any title is often overlooked and underwhelming, primarily because of its temporary nature. However, the LA community will attest that Libby Margraf’s profound impact on our school is anything but temporary.
On December 16, 2024, Mr. Dennis Canty, the Dean of Students, Equity, & Campus Life, and Ms. Christine Torigian, the Dean of Faculty & Academic Affairs, 'tricked' the Interim Head of School, Mrs. Margraf, into allowing them time to make an announcement as the school completed the final week of class before the winter break.
Mrs. Margraf, usually LA’s Assistant Head for School Life, presided over her last assembly of the year (and her "acting" tenure) and ceded the time to Canty and Torigian. That made space for a formal community-wide “thank you” for all her successful work as Lawrence Academy’s acting head of school since July, when Head of School Dan Scheibe went on sabbatical.
While she may eschew public attention, everyone agreed with the supportive sentiment for “Libby.” Moreover, as the first woman to lead the campus in well over a century, her work in the corner office holds historical value and deserves recognition.
"I must admit that I lied to Mrs. Margraf when I said I wanted to discuss some logistics," Mr. Canty said, sheepishly. "Ms. Torigian and I wanted to do something different: to take a moment to express our profound gratitude to our colleague and friend [Mrs. Margraph].
"Leadership is really hard," continued Canty. "It's even harder when you're asked to temporarily fill the shoes of someone who has been a champion of this school.
"But what we have seen — all of us — every single one of us in this room, what we know to be true, and we know firsthand is that those shoes were filled so incredibly capably the last six months by Mrs. Margraf.
"We know firsthand how hard she works and how well she has been able to balance doing her day-to-day job as assistant head of school while keeping the school moving forward as acting head.
"Most of all, we know how much she cares about her team; we feel it every single day, the faculty and staff who come to work each day on this beautiful campus, and most importantly, every single one of you," he said.
Canty and Torigian hold a theory for why this hard work seemed so easy for Margraf.
"It was easy for her because she loves Lawrence Academy," explained Canty, who added, "That's something we got to witness every single day we had the privilege of working alongside her."
"So let's give our friend, Mrs. Margraf, an enormous round of applause for her amazing work."
"Bravo," and "Thank you," Mrs. Margraf!