Fox Tracks

Remembering Former Headmaster Alan Craig

This message is adapted from an email message sent by Head of School Julia de la Torre to the MFS community on March 16.

I am very sad to report that Alan Craig, Headmaster at MFS from 1990-2001, passed away on Monday, March 15. Alan had recently moved back to the area with his wife Mary (a former MFS fifth grade teacher) and was living at the Evergreens in Moorestown. I was fortunate enough to meet and spend time with both Alan and Mary when I first arrived almost three years ago. I am thankful to have had Alan’s first-person perspective on a Moorestown Friends School era that saw tremendous positive growth and change. Not lost on me during our conversations was the joy and love he experienced interacting with students, young and old, which he clearly missed. That love was evident in a farewell message he shared with the community upon his retirement in 2001. Alan wrote: “...I will miss much of what filled the days: the hard work that led to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, the human interaction that made the work less burdensome, and mostly, the pleasure of seeing a project come to fruition, especially when that ‘project’ was a confident, articulate, and accomplished student crossing the Oval at Commencement.”

When Alan took over, he was the fourth Head in six years. He provided stability for the school at a time it was desperately needed. Fred Moriuchi ’65 was Clerk of the School Committee when Alan was appointed after spending 18 years in various roles, concluding with Associate Headmaster at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, NY. Fred reflected: “This is an emotional time for my wife Caroline (Brunt Moriuchi ’66) and me. We have known Mary and Alan Craig for 31 years since MFS was lucky to attract them to our struggling institution. I can easily say, without their total effort, the MFS as we all are proud of now would not be here. Alan Craig’s educational philosophy and leadership focused the MFS School Committee, faculty and staff on the needs of the students to reach their full potential. Alan’s enthusiastic personality, and educational and administrative expertise, led a floundering school to establish a strong base to move forward. He was able to enjoy those changes before he retired and then watched with pride as MFS has advanced. He will be greatly missed.”

Enrollment grew from a low of 482 in 1991 to 652 when Alan departed, with the Preschool program added in 1993. He prioritized a physical beautification and transformation of the campus that was headlined by the opening of the Dining Hall Commons in 1997, renovation of computer labs, and fundraising for the Field House and Arts Center which eventually opened in 2002. Alan led the establishment of the Endowment for Faculty Support, and expanded the Chester Reagan Chair to include not only a coordinator for Upper School but an additional coordinator for Lower and Middle School to be more intentional about making Quaker values an even more integral part of student life.

Then-School Committee Clerk Tom Zemaitis summarized Alan’s tenure quite well in 2001 with these words: “Those of us associated with the school before Alan’s arrival know that much positive change has taken place, but we’ve seen that change occur gradually. To alumni and others who return for a campus visit after years of absence, however, the dramatic impact of Alan’s leadership is quite evident. Whatever your perspective, I’m sure you will agree that Alan has set us on a positive, progressive course and leaves MFS a much stronger institution than when he arrived.”

Larry Van Meter ’68 succeeded Alan as Head of School in 2001 and cites the steadying force Alan provided as the school entered a new millennium, while also being very appreciative of how well-positioned the school was as he assumed leadership: “Alan came to MFS when there had been a lot of leadership turnover and the school was in many ways adrift. I was on the School Committee early in his tenure, and I was impressed by his clear-eyed view of the school’s challenges and his confidence in tackling those challenges. MFS grew and prospered under his leadership, and his affection for the school only grew during his long and successful tenure as Head. He left me a proud, strong, and stable school.”