Mercersburg Academy is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas W. Adams as assistant head of school for enrollment.

Adams began his tenure July 1. He succeeds Christopher Tompkins, who after eight years at Mercersburg accepted the position of headmaster at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.

Adams already exudes a genuine affection for the Mercersburg campus. “I am both honored and thrilled to be appointed,” he says. “Having the opportunity to visit the campus several times to meet with students, administrators, and faculty enabled me to appreciate what a special place the Academy is. 

“It is a spectacular campus with beautiful facilities, but even more importantly the spirit and pride within the school community were strong and evident; I felt at home both professionally and personally.  I look forward to getting started and to working with the other members of the admission staff to maintain and further enhance the quality and character of the student body.  My family is eager and extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the Mercersburg family.”

Head of School Douglas Hale echoes Adams’ enthusiasm. “I could not be more delighted that Tommy has accepted our invitation to join our senior administration,” Hale says. “Not only is Tommy known around the country as an energetic and respected educator, but he has an excellent track record in the areas of admission and marketing, and he is totally dedicated to working with young people in a boarding school environment.”

Adams comes to Mercersburg from The Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut, where he had been director of admission since 2000 and was associate director of admission starting in 1996. Prior to The Gunnery, he was both a teacher and director of admission at The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, preceded by a teaching position for four years at Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York.

He received his preparatory education at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Connecticut, and a bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College.

Three additional administrative faculty appointments have also been announced:

Rick Hendrickson, director of athletics

Hendrickson begins his 16th year at Mercersburg in a new role. Having served as director of summer and extended programs, as a teacher of English, and a 15-year stint as head wrestling coach, Hendrickson now assumes leadership of the Academy’s athletic department.

He succeeds Ron Simar, who moves into a newly created administrative position at the Academy following 20 years in charge of athletics.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the direction of athletics here, and to provide the vision for our athletic department," Hendrickson says. “Ron has served the school well in this position, and I hope to be able to serve Mercersburg just as well during my tenure.”

Hendrickson is one of the most successful coaches in recent Mercersburg history. He holds school marks in dual-meet coaching victories and winning percentage, coached 12 Pennsylvania state individual prep champions and 28 Prep All-Americans, and led the Blue Storm to six conference championships.

In summer 2007, Mercersburg Summer Programs ran more than 30 different sessions for approximately 1,900 participants.

Hendrickson is a graduate of West Liberty State College and West Virginia University; his wife, Amy, works in the Academy’s business office, and their two oldest children, Jennifer ’03 and Rachael ’06, are Mercersburg alumni.

Quentin McDowell, director of summer and extended programs

Originally from Washington state, McDowell received his bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he studied religion and was the captain of the soccer team.

Upon graduation, he went to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was the technical coordinator and assistant to the director of coaching education, which entailed primarily event planning, developing coaching curriculum, and teaching coaching courses. 

From the NSCAA he accepted a faculty post at Cushing Academy teaching history and serving as the head boys’ soccer coach. While at Cushing, McDowell was named director of student activities for its summer school (2007).

Wanting to be closer to family and friends, he joined the history faculty of Mercersburg in 2007 and was appointed the head men’s soccer coach in December 2007. He also serves on the Mercersburg Scholarship Committee and the Use of Time Committee, in addition to being a faculty interviewer with the Academy’s admission department.

“I am thrilled to be taking over as Director of Summer and Extended Programs,” said McDowell.  “The office has thrived under Rick's leadership, and I hope I can I can bring the same energy and creativity needed to keep the program moving forward.”

Wallace Whitworth, director of strategic marketing and communications

Whitworth comes to Mercersburg most recently from Georgetown University, where for four years he was executive director of marketing, communications, and constituent development in the medical center wing of the university’s Office of Advancement.

“We are indeed fortunate to have someone of Wallace’s background and caliber in this critical position,” says Douglas Hale, head of school. “His career path reflects his enviable ability to adapt to diverse markets and organizations. He is a writer, thinker, and strategist, who instinctively looks at all facets of an institution through a practical, yet creative, marketing-communications lens.”

A liberal arts graduate of the University of South Carolina, Whitworth has focused the better part of his career on building marketing and fundraising programs for some of the most prestigious institutions in the country.

For ten years at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., he served as assistant director of development for annual giving programs, where he managed a combined donor base of 30,000 that generated $5 million annually. At Lincoln Center in New York City, he was director of marketing for six years with New York City Opera, where he was in charge of all advertising and sales for a 20-week season of 19 productions in repertory each year.

Whitworth, who began at the Academy May 19, says that he sees Mercersburg as one big theatrical production—a seasoned production team, a handsome setting, an ever-renewing story line, a dedicated audience of alumni and parents, and, of course, 430 of the most committed and energized young performers on the planet.