Libbi Murray, Notre Dame Academy's new Head of School, has been involved in independent schools all of her professional life, starting with St. Timothy's in Stevenson, Maryland, and most recently at Linden Hill in Northfield, Massachusetts, with stops at Brearley and Spence in New York City along the way.

A graduate of Marywood College, Murray received her Master's degree from the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership of Teacher's College at Columbia University.

Throughout her career, she has worked to help create a healthy and positive environment for the students she's come to call her own. And most recently, at Linden Hill, she was directly involved in the authorship of the school's strategic plan designed to chart its course for the future, reenergizing its capital plan, promoting the school's brand and advancing enrollment.

All of this and more, she says, is what makes her feel so energized and enthusiastic about the opportunities she sees to build upon the strong foundation at Notre Dame and carry it forward into the future.

Murray first visited the Notre Dame campus in October of last year, and was immediately moved by what she found.

"The first thing that struck me on that visit was really the students, these bright, happy young people who were everywhere, going about their lives as engaged in what was going on around them as any I've ever seen in my career.

"The second thing was the faculty. Notre Dame Academy has a remarkable group of men and women who serve its student-body, day in and day out. Of the twenty-six full-time faculty currently on campus, six of them have PhD's; an additional ten have other advanced degrees. For an independent school of this size, those are remarkable numbers."

But Murray is not deaf to the winds of concern and apprehension that have blown through campus during the recent past, particularly those relating to the school's break with the Diocese of Arlington.

"I understand those concerns, and respect those that voice them," affirms Murray. "There has, at times, been a lack of organized communication between the school, its Board and its parents. One of the main things I want to do, one of the main things I was specifically brought in to do, was to reopen those channels of communication, heal the wounds that may have been opened over the issues that have divided us, and help the school come out the other side better, stronger and healthier, all while maintaining strong and respectful ties to our founders and they principles they set forth."

Notre Dame's direct ties to the Diocese, though historic, are hardly the norm, even amongst other independent Catholic schools across the country.

"Notre Dame will move forward as an ecumenical high-school," says Murray, "and anyone who says differently is misrepresenting the facts, or doesn't understand them. We will continue the traditions set forth by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1965 when they founded the school, specifically to create a safe, nurturing environment that excels in college preparatory education. We will maintain our spiritual base, we will maintain our religious studies, and we will continue to use the Catholic Bible."

Given the cries of alarm that have resonated across the community concerning the Notre Dame's continued evolution, it's remarkable to hear what Murray's vision for the school actually entails.

"The school in five years will, on the one hand, look very similar to what it does now: a vibrant community of students and faculty interacting on a daily basis, a college preparatory program of the highest caliber, a nurturing and healthy environment where young men and women will grow and learn.

"On the other hand, there will, certainly, be changes. We would very much like to see a somewhat larger student-body, up to 300 from its current 250; expanded facilities for fine and performing arts, as well as athletics; a larger role in the outside community.

"Now, more than ever, it is important for our students to leave here knowing not just what to think but how to think; not to be prepared just for college but for life in an increasingly complex world after college. Notre Dame Academy students must learn how to be good citizens in a global community, they must be prepared to be of service, and they must leave here knowing the value of stewardship."

Murray is clearly struck by the school she now calls home, by its students and faculty and staff, as well as the by larger community that cares so much about it.

"I don't know if you'd say it was a calling, but I feel I was drawn here, I really do. The independent school model, the environment it provides, is truly special. I wanted to be somewhere where I could serve, and I think I can do that here. This place is a gem, it really is."

It sounds like Notre Dame may have found a jewel of its own. After a search as long and deliberate as this one has been, that's at least a good start.