Foxcroft School Board Chair Reggie Groves '76 charged Catherine S. McGehee with upholding the school's mission and ethos as she leads it forward, and Megan Murphy of the National Coalition of Girls Schools paired compelling research on the value of girls' schools with McGehee's passion and gifts for carrying that out Friday afternoon when McGehee was officially installed as Head of the Middleburg, VA, boarding and day school.

McGehee responded by sharing her goal to serve Foxcroft with devotion, passion and conviction for girls past, present and future, and "to enjoy hard work and fun."

"By the authority of the Board of Trustees, I install you as the 10th Head of Foxcroft School and charge you to uphold the mission and ethos of Foxcroft School and to lead this school forward into its second century with vision, integrity, courage, strength and purpose," said Groves before nearly 400 people gathered in Miss Charlotte's Garden under bright sunny skies for the first installation of a Head in a quarter-century.

In addition to students, faculty, staff, and parents, the leaders of five other independent schools, and several former Heads – including Foxcroft's Mary Louise Leipheimer -- were present, along with scores of alumnae representing eight decades, most members of the Board of Trustees, a dozen McGehee relatives, former colleagues from St. Catherine's School (Richmond), and friends.

In her remarks, McGehee focused on the corporate nature of the day, a theme raised in Charlton's reading from Corinthians. "Note to self!" she said. "This celebration isn't about me; it is about all of us -- the body of Foxcroft." After thanking various constituents, ranging from the Search Committee and staff to her husband and mother, she turned her attention to the 157 students in the audience. "It is you, girls, who sealed the deal," McGehee said. "You are the reason I came to Foxcroft."

Elaborating on the corporate nature of a school, she said, "We are all members of the Foxcroft community. . . . and all of us have an important role to play." Quoting 2006 poet laureate Donald Hall, she described work as "a devotion undertaken with passion and conviction. . . an unrelenting quest which cannot be satisfied," and concluded: "That is my goal: to serve Foxcroft with a devotion undertaken with passion and conviction on behalf of Foxcroft girls yesterday, today and tomorrow, and to enjoy good hard work and fun."

A native Virginian, McGehee comes to Foxcroft from St. Catherine's School in Richmond, VA, where she served as the Director of the Upper School for the eight years. Previously, she taught Upper School English and was chair of the St. Catherine's English Department (K-12).

She also has been a frequent presenter at independent school conferences, including the National Coalition of Girls' Schools and the Virginia Association of Independent Schools, and has lectured at the University of Richmond. In May 2014, she received the Gibb Family Distinguished Alumni Award at the University of Richmond.

McGehee holds a Bachelor of Science in English from Vanderbilt University, where she also earned her teacher's certification at the George Peabody College. She earned her MA in English from the College of William and Mary and a Master's of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Richmond. She is married to Dr. Read McGehee III, an ophthalmologist, and has two daughters, Eliza and Jane.