Westminster Schools president William Clarkson
Westminster Schools president William Clarkson

Westminster Schools president William Clarkson plans to retire in June 2014 after 23 years of what the school called “transformational leadership,” the school announced Jan. 25.

“Westminster is among the finest schools in the nation and is profound in its commitment to educating the mind, the body and the spirit of its students,” Clarkson said in a statement released by the school. “The passion of my colleagues for this mission, and the deep satisfaction I have gained from working alongside them, is unmatched in my life experience. My years at Westminster have been the happiest of my career.”

The school’s trustees created a search committee to identify Clarkson’s successor, who will become Westminster’s fifth president on July 1, 2014. Trustee, Alumnus and Westminster parent Mike Egan will chair the committee.

“We are extremely blessed to have had Bill’s extraordinary leadership for more than two decades,” said Board of Trustees Chair Olga Goizueta Rawls. “Our next president’s mandate will be to leverage his many contributions, and introduce new ones, while adhering to the highest standards of excellence and our Christian mission.”

Joe Earle is Editor-at-Large. He has more than 30-years of experience with daily newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was Managing Editor of Reporter Newspapers.