April 3, 2013
The Mounds Park Academy Board of Trustees is delighted to welcome Jeff Suzik, Ph.D., as MPA’s next head of school. Dr. Suzik is an accomplished and innovative educator, school leader, and community-builder who will join the MPA community this July after five years as the assistant head of school at Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS), a preK-12 independent school of 1,250 students in suburban St. Louis.
“Dr. Suzik’s expertise, creativity and passion for excellence have all contributed to his outstanding reputation across the country,” said Robin Brooksbank, chair of the MPA board of trustees. “He is an engaging, collaborative and savvy leader who comes to us with proven business acumen and an academic vision that fits perfectly with MPA’s mission to think independently, communicate effectively and act with respect and integrity in a diverse community.”
Dr. Suzik graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Gustavus Adolphus College and received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He was awarded the E.E. Ford Fellowship for Aspiring Heads of School, the Goldman Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching and was named a university teaching fellow at Carnegie Mellon’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence.
As Assistant Head of School at MICDS, Dr. Suzik led department chairs and division directors in the articulation and alignment of curriculum across the school’s 14 grade levels and three divisions. He oversaw the work of 14 direct reports, including college counseling, international programs, service learning, diversity, summer school, extended day, student support services, and technology. Before joining MICDS, Dr. Suzik held a number of faculty and administrative positions at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh.
“MPA’s commitment to intellectual ambition, global responsibility and the joy of learning strongly reflects my personal educational philosophy,” said Dr. Suzik. “I’m looking forward to working arm-in-arm with the entire MPA community to further establish the school as the place to be and become — an empowering environment in which students, through academic challenge and self-discovery, can truly discover who they are. MPA’s exemplary program helps students develop their passions while preparing them for college and for life.”
