A Perfect Choice: Tom Hadzor ’72

Introducing Our Next Board of Regents President

By Amy Marathe P ’26

Whenever anyone on campus mentions Tom Hadzor’s name, it is always, without fail, met with a smile and a, “Oh, I love Tom!” This is not an attempt to connect with someone in a conversation but rather a genuine response to how the Mercersburg Academy community feels about him. So, it was not a surprise when members of the Board selected Hadzor to be the school’s next Board of Regents President. When that news hit campus, everyone unanimously said, “Perfect choice!”

Hadzor is no stranger to Mercersburg or the Board of Regents. Since 2012, he has been a member of the Board, where he served as chair of the Reach and Reputation Committee. Hadzor has also served stints as a member and past president of the Alumni Council, a reunion committee member, and a phonathon and donor relations volunteer, as well as a member of the executive committee for Mercersburg’s Daring to Lead campaign.

In preparing to lead the Board, Hadzor has drawn from the experience of former Board Presidents Stacie Rice Lissette ’85, P ’14, ’14, ’17, ’23 and Debbie Simon ’74, who both provided guidance from their experiences. Hadzor also attended two Zoom conferences by the Independent School Chairpersons Association (ISCA).

“You happen to hold a particular position, but the weight of your vote is not any bigger than the weight of anybody else’s vote,” Hadzor said, noting that the Board’s role is to provide oversight, partnership, and foresight. “Our job is to think ahead, to look at issues, and to debate them.”

His desire and dedication to serve educational institutions started early. He has worked as an education advancement professional since 1979. From 1979 to 1981, he was Mercersburg’s annual fund director and coordinator of special programs.

Most recently, he retired as the associate university librarian for development at Duke University, where he oversaw fundraising and communications for the Duke Libraries. While at Duke, Hadzor led two successful campaigns for the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and Duke Law School. Before Duke, Hadzor worked at Wilkes University as vice president for alumni development and university relations and Scranton Prep School where he served as director of development.

Hadzor received Mercersburg Academy’s highest honor in 2022, the Class of ’32 Distinguished Alumni Award. The prestigious award is presented annually to members of the alumni body who have most distinguished themselves through character, service, and achievement.

A leadership donor with 45 years of giving to Mercersburg Academy, he is a member of the Via Lucis Society and the

William Mann Irvine Society, as well as the Marshall and Irving Alliance. Moreover, he is a Torchbearer with 42 consecutive years of support and the benefactor of the Susan C. Ross and Thomas B. Hadzor ’72 Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Hadzor’s development work has garnered five national awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)—a global nonprofit association dedicated to educational advancement—as well as the University & College Designers Association and the Academic Library Alumni and Development Network. He also has published a chapter in Successful Library Fundraising

Hadzor earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Muhlenberg College, and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Michigan State University.