Portsmouth Abbey School Headmaster To Retire

Headmaster Dr. James DeVecchi will retire in June 2013, following the conclusion of the 2012-13 school year, after 40 years of service to the school, 13 of which will have been as headmaster.  

Since joining Portsmouth Abbey in 1973 as a mathematics' teacher, Dr. DeVecchi has served the school in numerous capacities, including as head of the Mathematics Department, registrar, academic dean, dean of  faculty, associate headmaster, and, now, headmaster, a position he has held since being named school head in 2000.

He also coached baseball, basketball and golf, having notched 167 career wins as the boys' basketball coach and been instrumental in developing a regionally renowned golf program. 

Dr. DeVecchi and his wife, Deborah, who also taught mathematics at the School for a number of years, raised their two sons, Matt '95 and Steve '97, on campus.

"The past four decades in which Deb, Matt, Steve and I have called Portsmouth Abbey home have been immeasurably rewarding," said Dr. DeVecchi. "It has been an honor to help educate so many fine young men and women and form them into good, compassionate and inquisitive people and global citizens. 

"Serving for the past 12 years as the chief steward of Portsmouth Abbey's Mission - to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace by fostering reverence, respect and responsibility - has been especially gratifying," he continued. "Because the school is in a sound and stable place, and Deb and I are hoping to move onto another phase of our lives, this is a good time to begin the process of passing Portsmouth Abbey's leadership to a successor who will lead the school forward, with vision, enthusiasm and conviction, in the Catholic Benedictine tradition."

A Search Committee, co-chaired by Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B., of Portsmouth Abbey, and John "Mac" Regan, III, '68, P '07 and chairman of the School's Board of Regents, has been formed. The executive search firm of Carney, Sandoe & Associates, of Boston, MA, has been retained to serve as outside counsel to the process. 

"The Monastic Community of Portsmouth Abbey has found Jim DeVecchi's leadership of the School to be in smooth continuity with the more-than seven decades of monastic/lay partnership that preceded it, a cooperative relationship that is at the heart of our School culture," said Abbot Caedmon. "We thank Jim for his many years of devoted, skillful and energetic leadership, and we wish him and Deb a happy retirement."

Under Dr. DeVecchi's direction, Portsmouth Abbey has seen significant domestic and international enrollment growth, the expansion and enhancement of campus facilities, the advancement of endowment resources, and several successful capital campaigns. He was also a key player in the school's transition to coeducation in the early 1990s.

"At the core of Jim's leadership is a humility and an unflagging dedication that has regularly sought what is best for the school, its students and its faculty," said Regan. "Because of Jim's faithful stewardship and rich legacy of achievement, Portsmouth Abbey is poised for further accomplishments in the near term and the years to come."

Dr. DeVecchi served on the Board of Trustees at St. Michael's School, in Newport and was a coach for Portsmouth Little League. 

In addition, he was an executive committee member of the Independent School Association of Rhode Island, served as a committee member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and was a consultant and table leader for the Calculus AP Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. 

News and updates concerning the search for Dr. DeVecchi's successor will be made available on the school's Web site under "Head of School Search," http://www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/hss.