a Marksman. BECOMING
PROSPECTIVE FAMILY INFORMATION
2025-2026
Welcome to St. Mark’s
On behalf of all my colleagues and the more than 900 Marksmen who walk our halls each day, I want to thank you for your interest in St. Mark’s School of Texas.
Since its founding in 1906, St. Mark’s has been focused on helping young men prepare for lives of leadership, responsibility and service. Our motto, Courage and Honor, reaffirms the important core values that underpin our mission and daily work with boys.
As we hope you’ll learn and experience, St. Mark’s is a vibrant community full of energy, warmth and inspiration. It’s an open and inclusive environment that cherishes the important elements of boyhood, including exploration, creativity, play and cooperation. In the classroom, on the playing field, in the art studio, on the stage or working with a teacher one-on-one, we strive to ensure that every boy is known, loved and challenged. Our curriculum and programs are carefully designed to help students test their limits. Experienced, dedicated and passionate teachers motivate and inspire boys to stretch themselves in every way possible. We set high aspirations for every boy so that he will learn to overcome challenges and develop the self-confidence and independence necessary for a life of meaning and purpose.
While excellence and achievement are certainly important and ever-present, our primary focus is the personal development and character of every boy. People define our School – faculty who care deeply about their students, and boys who support one another in a continual effort to make our community stronger. Older boys guide and mentor younger boys at every turn, continually mindful of the example they provide for those who follow in their footsteps. The Path to Manhood statue in the Perot Quadrangle represents the very essence of our School. It depicts a senior Marksman carrying a Lower School boy on his shoulders, tangibly demonstrating what it means to lead and to serve.
You can learn a great deal about the strength of St. Mark’s by perusing the website or picking up a recent issue of the student-run and nationally recognized newspaper, The ReMarker, but the best way to experience the School is to spend time on campus. Watch a class of Upper School Marksmen respectfully wrestle with a challenging topic around the Harkness table, listen to Lower School boys lift their voices as part of our internationally known Choir or witness creativity in action as Middle School boys delve into advanced robotics and engineering in the Winn Science Center Makerspace. You’ll quickly see that St. Mark’s is an amazing place where remarkable things happen every day, in and out of the classroom.
Again, thank you for your interest in St. Mark’s. I hope that as you get to know our School better, you’ll see that being a Marksman is about much more than preparation for college, it is about preparation for life. We look forward to seeing you on campus sometime soon.
Sincerely,
David W. Dini
Eugene McDermott Headmaster
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a non-sectarian, college-preparatory, independent day school for boys in grades 1–12. The Charter states that the School is “designed to afford its students well-rounded physical, intellectual, moral, and religious training and instruction.” The St. Mark’s Board of Trustees intends for the School to be a diverse community of teachers and students who share a love of learning and who strive for high achievement in whatever they undertake.
Challenging studies in the Sciences, Arts, and Humanities form the basis of a St. Mark’s education. Teachers work to instill an enthusiasm for learning, to encourage independent and critical judgment, and to demonstrate the methods for making sound inquiries and for effective communications. To complement this academic experience, St. Mark’s offers boys a rich variety of opportunities for involvement and leadership in the School community and on its playing fields. Whether academic or non-academic, activities at St. Mark’s should motivate students to realize their potential, rewarding those who strive as well as those who achieve.
St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world. To this end, the School professes and upholds certain values. These values include the discipline of postponing immediate gratification in the interests of earning eventual, hard-won satisfaction; the responsibility of defending one’s own ideas, of respecting the views of others, and of accepting the consequences for one’s own actions; and an appreciation for the lively connection between knowledge and responsibility and the obligation to serve.
St. Mark’s School of Texas does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
WHO WE ARE
Helping boys become good men
or more than a century, St. Mark’s School of Texas has provided boys with exceptional educational opportunities by synchronizing our educational program to the unique learning styles and maturity rates of boys and by promoting exploration of the many PATHS TO MANHOOD. Free from traditional gender assumptions, boys are encouraged to discover and develop their intellectual, artistic, and athletic interests. By nurturing individual gifts, perspectives, and abilities, St. Mark’s allows boys to mature at their own pace as they become young men. Being a single-gender school is a definitional distinction, but gender philosophy alone cannot substitute for the attributes that make a school truly exceptional. High levels of academic, athletic, and artistic accomplishment distinguish the School. St. Mark’s measures its achievement compared the best independent schools in the nation. St. Mark’s is AN ENVIRONMENT FIT FOR BOYS; we understand and appreciate the most obvious fact that boys and girls are different, and we craft our instructional process, daily interactions, and physical facilities around the unique characteristics of boys. St. Mark’s School of Texas is much more than a boys school; St. Mark’s is a school for boys.
At the core of the St. Mark’s experience is the CLOSE RELATIONSHIP between gifted instructors and capable students. Small classes and a low student-toteacher ratio (8:1) allow students and the School’s nationally acclaimed faculty to navigate the educational journey together in a close mentoring relationship. The faculty of St. Mark’s School of Texas
is a talented and diverse group of professionals, dedicated to their academic specialities and to the education of our boys. The School supports 22 endowed faculty positions and aspires to maintain faculty salaries in the top 10 percent of independent schools in the United States. Seventy eight percent of the faculty HOLD ADVANCED DEGREES and several serve in state and national leadership positions within their disciplines. Rated twice by The Dallas Morning News as one of the city’s best places to work, St. Mark’s offers significant assistance for professional development and encourages the faculty to expand their perspectives and experiences.
Our community of learners respects the GLOBAL DIVERSITY OF VOICES AND PERSPECTIVES. The diversity of St. Mark’s student body reflects a wide variety of ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and nearly half of the boys are people of color. Generous donors, who are committed to eliminating any economic barrier to attending St. Mark’s, support the School’s endowment-based financial aid program, which includes funding for middle-income families.
Additionally, the GENEROUS SUPPORT provided by our community through annual giving, combined with the yearly drawdown from the endowment, functions as a hidden scholarship to support the education of all Marksmen, contributing nearly $14,000 per student each year — above and beyond the cost of tuition.
st. mark’s school of texas
Chapel bell tower
Club activities
Alma mater after football game
Collaborative instruction
Senior buddies
The School’s nearly 40-acre campus in the North Dallas area is an EXCEPTIONAL VENUE for learning. First-class facilities and cutting-edge technologies provide students with the opportunity to nurture academic, athletic, and artistic interests. In the fall of 2008, two new facilities (Centennial Hall and the Robert K. Hoffman Center) opened to house the English, mathematics, humanities, and foreign language departments, as well as our RENOWNED DEBATE PROGRAM and student publications. The Winn Science Center and McDermott-Green Science Building opened in 2019, providing stateof-the-art science facilities. Slated to open January of 2025, the 77,000-square-foot ZIERK ATHLETIC CENTER includes features such as a 850-seat gymnasium and a 12-lane swimming pool. The unparalleled quality of the campus facilities reflects the School’s dedication to the boys and the school community’s dedication to St. Mark’s.
Helping boys become good men requires an institutional commitment to teaching and modeling ethical behavior and personal integrity. Integral in all areas of campus life, the School’s CHARACTER & LEADERSHIP EDUCATION emphasizes the values of strong moral development and personal courage. Boys learn to do right because it is right. St. Mark’s also maintains a safe environment by taking an active role in fostering positive interpersonal relationships. These intrinsic values can be seen in the Chapel program, which provides spiritual leadership and life lessons to boys of many faiths, as well as in the COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM, which contributed nearly 18,000 hours to
the Dallas community during the 2023–2024 school year
In every aspect of their lives — at home, at school, and in the broader community — St. Mark’s students are challenged to live out the School’s motto: “COURAGE AND HONOR.” As the phrase suggests, members of the school community expect one another to understand and do what is honorable as well as to have the courage to act on their beliefs. To create a school community grounded in the fulfillment of potential and the development of MORAL AND ETHICAL CHARACTER, all members are expected to behave truthfully, honestly, and fairly. Academic and personal integrity lie at the School’s very foundation. Our goal is to foster a sense of responsibility for oneself and for others.
Commencement does not represent the end of the St. Mark’s experience. With alumni spanning the globe and working in a wide variety of professions, our graduates have access to an ACTIVE NETWORK of Marksmen who passionately support the mission of the School and its students. The Alumni Association is a powerful advocate for the School, and alumni efforts are visible in all aspects of school governance and support.
St. Mark’s also sponsors annual gatherings in major cities around the world for the purpose of connecting alumni with teachers, administrators, and classmates. For a lifetime, St. Mark’s Lions are valued members of the pride.
Leadership wall presentation
Harkness table discussion
Orchestra practice
Class on the quad
A brief history of St. Mark’s School of Texas
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a non-sectarian, collegepreparatory, independent day school for boys in grades one through 12. The School’s charter states that it is “designed to afford its students well-rounded physical, intellectual, moral, and religious training and instruction.”
The School is intended to be a DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS who share a love of learning and who strive for high achievement in whatever they undertake.
St. Mark’s proudly builds upon a rich heritage of scholarship and excellence in education that dates back over 115 years. In 1906, M.B. Terrill, fresh out of Yale University, came to Dallas, a city of over 70,000 citizens, and established the prestigious Terrill School for Boys, which served both day and boarding students.
In 1913, at Terrill’s urging, Ela Hockaday moved to Dallas and opened the Hockaday School for Girls. The
Hockaday campus on Haskell and the Terrill campus at Peak and Swiss backed up to one another with a simple fence in between. In 1946, Terrill School became The Cathedral School, which in turn merged in 1950 with Texas Country Day School, founded in 1933, to form St. Mark’s School of Texas.
Impressive facilities such as the planetarium, observatory, and greenhouse once inspired Time magazine to call St. Mark’s the “BEST EQUIPPED DAY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY.” In the sixties and seventies, the School established a financial aid program and initiated innovative teaching methods within the classical curriculum where appropriate. During the eighties, the Board of Trustees developed a forward-looking strategic plan called Goals for St. Mark’s which resulted in DRAMATIC MODERNIZATION of the School’s physical plant and substantial growth of its endowment.
Today the School continues its tradition of excellence serving more than 900 boys and their families.
1906 Menter B. Terrill and his wife Ada establish The Terrill School on the principles of providing rigorous academic preparation and strict discipline for boys.
1913 Menter Terrill recommends former student Ela Hockaday as headmistress to open a school for girls in Dallas.
1930 The Terrill School moves from Swiss Avenue to a 12-acre campus on Ross Avenue. The Episcopal Diocese owns the campus, former home of St. Mary’s School for Girls.
1933 Many parents of Menter Terrill’s former students join together to establish Texas Country Day School at the northeast corner of Preston Road and Walnut Hill Lane.
1940 Texas Country Day begins to develop a new campus about threequarters of a mile north of its leased location and constructs the first building, Founders Hall, for a cost of $75,000.
1943 Founders Hall catches fire and suffers $150,000 in damages. Students meet in classrooms in Southern Methodist University’s Fondren Library. Boarding students move into a home provided by the Higginbotham family.
1946 The Terrill School officially closes its doors and reopens as Cathedral School for Boys, with Episcopal Bishop Avery Mason as its new leader.
1950 Cathedral School for Boys and Texas Country Day merge to form St. Mark’s School of Texas, a nonsectarian, college-preparatory school. Standards for admission are raised, the Lower School is added and several key hires are made.
1961 Executive committee chairman Ralph B. Rogers announces that the School raised $500,000 for the Eugene McDermott Scholarship Endowment Fund. The McDermott-Green Science and Mathematics Quadrangle opens to national acclaim.
1971 St. Mark’s hires the Outward Bound company to organize and staff the first ninth-grade wilderness trip—a 12-day hiking, camping, rafting, and climbing experience at Big Bend National Park. The School takes over the trip the following year, initiating the annual wilderness trip near Pecos, New Mexico.
1977 Cecil and Ida Green establish the first fully endowed Master Teaching Chair, and Lower School teacher Evelyn Boone fills the position.
1985 The Board approves a comprehensive, long-range strategic plan, Goals for St. Mark’s, to guide the School’s future growth and development. To implement the plan, the School is required to raise $32 million for the new facilities and the endowment.
1986 The St. Mark’s Choir takes its first overseas trip to England, beginning a biennial tradition and elevating the group to even greater national prominence.
1991 The School hosts the first St. Mark’s Teacher Institute to promote interactive professional development for area public school teachers.
2009 Casey McManemin ’79 and Bob Roberts ’64 together pledge $5 million to establish the Alumni Financial Aid Challenge. The gifts are the two largest single commitments to financial aid in the School’s history.
2010 Two graduating seniors are named Presidential Scholars in the Arts, an honor bestowed on only 20 students in the nation.
2014 After more than two decades as headmaster, Arnie Holtberg retires. Following a comprehensive, nationwide search, Assistant Headmaster David W. Dini is appointed as the next Eugene McDermott headmaster. The Winn family announces a $10 million gift toward construction of a new state-of-the-art science building.
2015 The new Roosevelt Family Chapel Organ is dedicated. Dr. Alan Stern ’75 leads NASA’s New Horizons mission, exploring Pluto for the first time.
2016 Graduate Hall, three decades in the making, is dedicated inside Centennial Hall and honors the legacy of every graduate of St. Mark’s School of Texas and its predecessor schools.
2017 Construction begins on the Winn Science Center and McDermottGreen Science Building, which will include more than 75,000 square feet of new and renovated science education facilities. Both facilities open in 2019.
2019 In October, St. Mark’s receives a direct hit from an EF-3 tornado. Much of the north side of campus is damaged and the Thomas O. Hicks Family Athletic Center is completely destroyed. The School reopens after a nine-day cleanup effort.
2022 St. Mark’s hosts the 2022 International Boys’ Schools Coalition for the second time in school history. Delegates representing 12 countries, 120 schools and over 225,000 students attend more than 80 workshop sessions.
2024 Set to open January of 2025, construction continues on the Zierk Atheltic Center. The 77,000-square-foot facility includes many features, most notably an 850-seat gymnasium and a 12-lane swimming pool.
Life Skills
Teaching grades 1–12 on a single campus, St. Mark’s has the unique opportunity to support boys during the sometimes stressful transition between grades. With each new year, boys are given more independence as well as more responsibilities. To help them find balance in their school work and personal lives, Dr. Gabby Reed, director of Counseling, along with a team of faculty, teach Health and Wellness to boys from fourth to tenth grade. Beyond the universal lessons of time management and decision-making, boys learn about issues that are relatively new to this generation: balancing a healthy level of “screen time,” addressing the use of alcohol and drugs and understanding the messaging within advertisements. The curriculum in Life Skills dovetails with St. Mark’s wider Character and Leadership Education and introduces students to a range of topics and skills that maturing boys need to address.
A
Academic life
lower school
The academic program in the Lower School offers courses in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and foreign language, as well as performing and fine arts. Physical education involves an extensive developmental program, and a nonsectarian chapel program stimulates spiritual reflections twice a week. The study of Spanish begins in first grade, and in fourth grade, language arts, social studies and study skills are combined to form the humanities classes. Teachers seek to DEVELOP STRONG STUDY AND LIFE SKILLS, including how to maintain concentration, work well both independently and as a member of a group, persevere when confronted with difficulty, learn from mistakes and enjoy work that is done well.
middle school
Energy, enthusiasm, curiosity about whom one is becoming, a desire to be nurtured while seeking adult responsibilities—these traits and more define the middle schooler. Instruction is based as much on the PROCESS OF LEARNING as it is on the product of learning. Rigorous academic expectations, coupled with a variety of extracurricular offerings, shape lifelong habits and interests. Boys are taught that striving to do one’s best and developing new talents can be as rewarding and fulfilling as achieving established goals. Courses in fine arts and daily physical education or interscholastic athletics complement instruction in humanities, mathematics, foreign language and science. Middle School boys participate in outdoor education programs during their Middle School years, culminating in the Pecos Wilderness Trip the summer before their freshman year.
COURSE PROFILE:
Humanities 8 A Perpetual Journey
The capstone course of the Humanities Department, eighth graders are encouraged to think more seriously about themselves and the world in which they live: WHAT MAKES A GOOD PERSON? What makes a good society? What makes a good life? The course challenges students to develop more sophisticated reading, writing, and critical thinking skills while challenging them to become increasingly engaged, collaborative, and confident learners. The course explores American history and literature as the perpetual journey toward the clarification, development, and expansion of the Founders’ goal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
COURSE PROFILE:
Computer Science 7: Make it, Break it, Fix it Seventh Grade Computer Science is where engineering, design, programming, and the physical world collide. Held in the Makerppace, this class is dedicated to REAL-WORLD, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING designed to teach problem solving skills through an engineering and designthinking approach. During the course, students will learn computer aided design (CAD), Photoshop, and Illustrator. These systems will integrate with hand tools and automated equipment in order to build and test their designs. Additionally, microcontroller programming skills learned in previous computer science courses will be reinforced and expanded upon.
COURSE PROFILE:
3D Design
The INDUSTRIAL ARTS PROGRAM invites boys to explore the world of woodworking, product retailing, automotive design, formal mechanical drawing, residential building design and much more. From the introductory course on basic project planning to the other five electives offered, students are prepared for Upper School courses in woodworking and drafting.
upper school
Upper School at St. Mark’s is a challenging, stimulating, close-knit environment that encourages young men to develop individual talents, pursue varied interests and challenge themselves in and out of the classroom. Programmatic studies and a culture of brotherhood promote the six vital qualities of integrity, confidence, judgment, passion, ethics and balance. A strong and comprehensive college preparatory curriculum ensures that students gain BREADTH AND DEPTH in the arts and sciences, going well beyond the acquisition of factual information, to develop keen analytical and problemsolving skills. A wide array of extracurricular offerings in athletics, fine arts, community service and leadership allow boys to contribute to the School community and extend their talents and interests. Academic offerings in the Upper School include honors and Advanced Placement courses in foreign languages, biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, mathematics, computer science, English and history. To develop the habit of serving the broader community, students perform a minimum of 15 hours of community service each year in a variety of programs in the Dallas area.
COURSE PROFILE:
English 10
English 10 focuses on CHARACTER EDUCATION in the context of ongoing work with reading, vocabulary and writing. The first trimester curriculum begins with John Knowles’s A Separate Peace (summer reading) and progresses through Emerson’s essay “Compensation” and Sherwood Anderson’s short story “Sophistication.” Vocabulary study begins with essential concepts, values and skills essential to thriving on the path to becoming good men. Writing assignments present opportunities to contemplate, assess and apply growth in students’ potential for lives of service and leadership. Classes study the core literary texts of Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Tempest, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gastsby.
COURSE PROFILE:
Engineering I: Engineering & Robotics
This elective course in robotics is available to Upper School students interested in developing technological skills in a projectbased environment. Programming of robotic systems, computer-aided design, and use of the automated manufacturing tools in the makerspace will be among the core skills developed. Students will design and build a robot to compete in the annual B.E.S.T. Robotics competition against regional schools. Students will learn how to think like an engineer and develop TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS to real-world problems. This course is an excellent fit for students who are interested in STEM fields and who enjoy doing hands-on work, thinking creatively, and collaborating in small teams.
COURSE PROFILE: Ceramics
Those who wish to study ceramics begin with a one-trimester prerequisite, art elements, which focuses on form, shape, texture and the many other aspects of PHYSICAL ART. They then move on to ceramics, in which they can explore coil and slab construction, wheel pottery and glazing and firing techniques.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:
The academic year comprises two semesters. Students must complete the equivalent of 18 full-year courses in the Upper School, including but not limited to: four English, three history and social sciences, three laboratory sciences, three foreign language, three mathematics, one fine arts and one elective. Students must also complete 2.5 PE/athletic credits and 60 total hours of community service. During the last year of Upper School, students are required to complete a SENIOR EXHIBITION where they demonstrate a talent, skill or interest to a portion of the student body and members of the faculty.
Pep Rally
Spikeball on the quad
Flying drones in Winn
Lower School Library
Ceramics
Endowed Chairs
Established by generous gifts from alumni, parents and friends of the School, endowed chairs are one of the ways St. Mark’s recognizes excellence among the faculty. The current number of endowed teaching chairs stands at 22, including five endowed department chairs and the headmaster’s endowed position.
These teachers are expected to be outstanding in the classroom, to serve as leaders within the School and to
GayMarie Vaughan, D.L.S.
Appointed in 2012
Victor F. White Master
Teaching Chair in English
B.S., Pennsylvania State University
M.A.T., University of Texas at Dallas
M.A.S., University of Dallas
D.L.S., Southern Methodist University
D. Scott Gonzalez
Appointed in 1995
Cecil H. and Ida Green
Master Teaching Chair
B.A., North Texas State University
M.A., University of Dallas
D. Scott Hunt
Appointed in 1998
Tony Vintcent Fine Arts Department Chair
Arnold E. Holtberg Master Teaching Chair
B.S., Texas A&M University – Commerce
M.F.A., Texas A&M University – Commerce
Jack Mallick ’14
Appointed in 2018
Ahlberg & Ribman Family
Director of Alumni Relations
B.S., Texas Christian University
provide leadership in local, state, regional and national topics pertaining to their disciplines.
Because the compensation of our Master Teaching Chairs is endowed, additional funds are available to provide competitive salaries and benefits to the entire faculty.
St. Mark’s faculty salaries are, by a considerable margin, among the highest in the region and in the top 10 percent among large day schools nationally.
David W. Dini
Appointed in 1994
Eugene McDermott Headmaster
B.A., Southern Methodist University
M.L.A., Southern Methodist University
Fletcher H. Carron
Appointed in 2006
Stephen M. Seay ’68 Science Department Chair
B.S., Rice University
John S. Mead
Appointed in 1990
Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science
B.A., Duke University
M.A.T., Duke University
Janet Lin
Appointed in 2016
Gene and Alice Oltrogge
Master Teaching Chair
B.A., Universal Journalism College
B.A., Soochow University
J. Gregory Crook
Appointed in 2018
Thomas S. Adams
Master Teaching Chair
B.A., College of William and Mary
Nancy G. Marmion
Appointed in 1985
J.J. Connolly
Master Teaching Chair
B.A., College of William and Mary
M.A., University of Texas at Austin
Veronica G. Pulido
Appointed in 2002
Al G. Hill ’63 Director of College Counseling
B.A., University of Notre Dame
M.S., University of Notre Dame
K. Shane May
Appointed in 2019
Thomas B. Walker III ’73
Mathematics Department Chair
B.S., University of Houston
M.Ed., Houston Baptist University
Martin F. Stegemoeller, Ph.D.
Appointed in 2003
Malcolm K. and Minda Brachman
Master Teaching Chair
B.A., Northwestern University
M.A., Vanderbilt University
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Michael R. Lane, Ph.D.
Appointed in 2023
Leonard N. “Doc” Nelson
Alumni Master Teaching Chair
B.S., University of California, Berkeley
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Tracey McKenzie
Appointed in 2021
Founders’ Master Teaching Chair
B.A., Texas Southern University
M.A., American Intercontinental University
Amy J. Pool
Appointed in 2011
The Sally & Edward Genecov
Master Teaching Chair
B.S., Portland State University
M.S., Portland State University
Teri Broom
Appointed in 2006
Ackerman Family Master
Teaching Chair in Lower School
B.A., Virginia Tech University
Zuming Feng, Ph.D.
Appointed in 2021
Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair in Mathematics
M.S., Johns Hopkins University
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Lynne M. Weber Schwartz
Appointed in 2000
Trustee Master Teaching Chair
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., University of Dallas
Bruce C. Westrate, Ph.D.
Appointed in 2003
Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Master Teaching Chair in Humanities
B.A., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
M.A., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Ph.D., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Mark Adame
Appointed in 2007
Cecil H. and Ida Green Master
Teaching Chair in Science
B.S., Texas A&M University
M.A.T., University of Texas at Dallas
A SCHOOL FOR BOYS
Campus Tour
St. Mark’s Chapel
The Chapel is perhaps the most recognizable landmark on campus. Apart from weekly, nonsectarian services, the St. Mark’s Chapel also hosts a monthly Service of Choral Evensong, talks from guest speakers, spring Baccalaureate and a Festival of Lessons & Carols, the beloved holiday tradition. The world-renowned St. Mark’s Choir performs at many of these services, accompanied by the Roosevelt Family Chapel Organ.
Dedicated in 2008, the LEED Silver-certified Centennial Hall is the primary academic and administrative building on campus, housing the Upper and Middle School administration, faculty offices, and classrooms that feature large, conference-style Harkness tables to facilitate natural discussion and group learning.
Robert K. Hoffman Center
The LEED Silver-certified Hoffman Center, which was dedicated in 2008, created additional classroom and office space. The Center offers a state-of-the-art home for the School’s nationally renowned journalism program and debate team. The building also houses the Paul Weadon Language Lab, the College Counseling offices and the senior lounge.
Nearburg Hall
At the entrance to the main Quad, Nearburg Hall is the first stop for visitors and houses the offices of Business, Admission and Development & Alumni Relations. The first floor features two large meeting areas, and the second floor includes several Middle School classrooms and the 3-D design workshop.
W.W. Browning, Jr., Great Hall & A. Earl Cullum, Jr., Alumni Commons
Built in 1994, the Alumni Commons hosts large gatherings, including Spring Alumni Dinner and the All-School Christmas Party. The Commons also houses the Student Store and serves as a common area and corridor between the main Quad and the athletic fields. Within the Commons, more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff enjoy lunch in the W.W. Browning, Jr., Great Hall every day.
Centennial Hall
Athletic Facilities
The Norma & Lamar Hunt Family Stadium is the School’s main outdoor athletic field for varsity competition, including football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field. A lighted, all-weather turf stadium is surrounded by an eight-lane Tartan track. Bordering the stadium are the multipurpose Silcock Field, Montgomery Field, the Rogers Natatorium, the Winn Wrestling Center, the Mullen Fitness Center and Spencer Gym. The Zierk Athletic Center is set to open in January of 2025.
H. Ben Decherd Fine Arts Center
This spacious auditorium, equipped with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, hosts hundreds of events throughout the year, from weekly assemblies and theater productions to musical performances and guest speakers. The Center also includes visual and performing arts studios and the Eamonn Lacey Black Box Theater, which support a world-class fine arts program.
Fojtasek Family Lower School
The Lower School is home to grades one through four and features an extensive fine arts wing for creative learning. Nearly every square foot of wall space is covered in vibrant colors, posters, maps, and photos to inspire and enthrall young boys. The dedicated fine arts wing is home to the music, art and drama rooms, as well as a pottery kiln.
Cecil & Ida Green Library and the Lower School Library
The Cecil & Ida Green Library and the Lower School Library serve the St. Mark’s community with a combined collection that includes nearly 53,000 print volumes, 90 current periodical titles, DVDs (theatrical releases and educational programming), and academic databases for students at all grade levels. In addition, the library offers more than 20,000 eBook and audiobook titles via SORA, which students can check out electronically via laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
The
Winn
Science Center and the McDermott-Green Science Building
Following a two-year construction project, the Winn Science Center and McDermott-Green Science Building provide a combined 75,000 square feet of new and renovated classrooms, labs, common areas and offices. Students and teachers of all disciplines use this state-of-the-art facility, including a makerspace, DNA lab, planetarium, greenhouse, lecture hall and more.
Campus facilities
St. Mark’s School of Texas is situated on approximately 40 acres in the Preston Hollow area of North Dallas. Since moving to its current location over 70 years ago, the School has developed an EXTRAORDINARY CAMPUS through an extensive, longrange campus master plan that has resulted in completed construction in excess of $145 million in the past 20 years alone. Although the focus has always been on the students and faculty, St. Mark’s has long been known for having world-class facilities.
Today, the St. Mark’s campus stands among the most modern and welldeveloped schools in the United States. Facilities at 10600 Preston Road include seven major academic buildings, a freestanding Lower School, two libraries, a gymnasium, a natatorium and wrestling center, a chapel, a fine
arts center and music building, an alumni commons and reception hall, extensive playing fields and a state-ofthe-art turf stadium with a nationalclass level track and field facility with a Beynon® encapsulated synthetic surface.
The School garnered national acclaim in the 1960s for the opening of the McDermott-Green Physical Science Center. A half century later, St. Mark’s took A LEAP FORWARD in science education with the construction of the Winn Science Center and the renovation of the McDermott-Green Science Building. Students are now learning in a cuttingedge science facility complete with a planetarium, greenhouse, lecture hall, a maker space and dedicated lab spaces for DNA science, robotics, Lower School science and more.
ACADEMICS & ADMINISTRATION
Centennial Hall
A. Earl Cullum Jr., Alumni Commons
Fojtasek Family Lower School
Robert K. Hoffman Center
Cecil & Ida Green Library
Nearburg Hall
FINE ARTS
H. Ben Decherd Performance Hall
Fine Arts Building
D. Gordon Rupe Amphitheatre
St. Mark’s Chapel
ATHLETICS
Mullen Family Fitness Center
Albert G. Hill Tennis Center
Norma & Lamar Hunt Family Stadium
Morris G. Spencer Gymnasium
Ralph B. Rogers Natatorium
Arthur P. Ruff Field
Zierk Athletic Center (January 2025)
Montgomery Field
Silcock Field
SCIENCES
Winn Science Center
McDermott-Green Physical Science Center
Arthur Douglas Greenhouse
Conversation on the quad
Student section at Hunt Stadium
Cecil and Ida Green Library
Upper School assembly
Blue and Gold Day
Campus Life
Community service
St. Mark’s believes in the importance of student engagement, service and leadership within their communities. The community service program seeks to develop the habit of community involvement, awaken concern for those coping with hardship and encourage a sense of responsibility for the environment. A meaningful and flexible program of mandatory community service can raise social awareness, broaden outlooks, teach sound leadership skills, and promote moral and ethical values. The program distinguishes between community service and charity through its emphasis on the educational, person-to-person nature of service, which enables students to play a beneficial role in the Dallas community.
Music
The study of music at St. Mark’s extends through all 12 grades and includes scholarly inquiry into the history, theory and style of artistic expression. The band and orchestra perform in concert several times during the year, and the Upper School choir performs regularly at Chapel services, including Evensong and special events.
Drama
Drama classes begin in Lower School, where each grade focuses on a body of literature as the source for dramatic activities. Middle School students expand their technical skills, script writing and acting skills for putting on a theater production. In Upper School, students apply their acting, directing and stagecraft skills to the three major productions performed each year, as well as student-directed, one-act plays.
Debate
Beginning in the seventh grade, Middle School courses focus on the fundamentals of the debate process and culminate in a debate tournament at year’s end. In the Upper School, members of the debate team extensively research the current national debate resolution, and from September to June, debate teams compete on local, regional and national levels. In 2000, the National Speech & Debate Association recognized St. Mark’s as one of the 10 most successful debate programs of the 20th century.
Parents’ Association
The Parents’ Association at St. Mark’s is actively involved in the day-to-day life of the School. Parents volunteer in the cafeteria, student store and library, support student-athletes in every sporting event and aid in the production of fine arts events. All parents at St. Mark’s are part of the Parents’ Association and can serve on its Executive Board or volunteer for numerous activities sponsored by the Association. Activities include Fall Fun Day for grades one through six, an annual community event for parents, and parties for students in each grade.
Alumni Association
The Alumni Association exists to advance the well-being of the School, to sustain its high standards, and to promote a close relationship between St. Mark’s and its alumni. The Alumni Board is composed of over 40 members and meets regularly to enhance local and regional programming and foster engagement around the country and the world. Regional clubs have formed in seven cities across the nation and young alumni serve their campuses as college ambassadors.
outdoor education
Outdoor education is an integral part of the St. Mark’s experience. Confronting some of life’s basic problems in the wilderness under the guidance of skilled and caring adults can help boys learn to cope with uncertainty while gaining self-confidence and self-reliance. Students learn the skills of an outdoorsman at the same time they develop their ability to organize and lead others. The wilderness program begins with campouts in the sixth grade and culminates with a 10-day trip to the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico between eighth and ninth grade. The Pecos Trip is a rite of passage to the Upper School and a longstanding St. Mark’s tradition.
CREATIVE ENDEAVORS
FINE ARTS
t. Mark’s believes in a HOLISTIC EDUCATION and encourages its students to expand their minds beyond the classroom and playing fields. Students are offered a wide range of artistic outlets to explore, including its nationally recognized and award-winning programs in photography, ceramics, woodworking, choir, drama, painting/drawing, debate, band, film and orchestra.
Students are introduced to the arts in first grade and are provided an everincreasing ARRAY OF CREATIVE DISCIPLINES to delve into as their career progresses here. Many boys ‘discover’ hidden talents through the arts and go on to great creative accomplishments. In
the past five years, three seniors have been named PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS IN THE ARTS, one of only 20 students in the nation to do so each year.
Student works have appeared in film festivals and won national art competitions. Student musicians have toured internationally and been recognized at state and national competitions. Graduates have gone on to win Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards and been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
A gifted athlete with a knack for acting or a science scholar who is also a talented fine artist is common on campus. It is a product of nurturing all aspects of a student.
Wood and Metal
Choir
Band
Film
Photography
The Future of Science at St. Mark’s
In the winter and summer of 2019, St. Mark’s opened the doors to two cutting-edge facilities and began a new chapter of science education.
The Science Center Project was a years-long endeavor by St. Mark’s to REVOLUTIONIZE ITS SCIENCE EDUCATION FACILITIES and foster intellectual curiosity for future generations of students. Following a seed gift of $10 million by the Winn Family Foundation, the School secured gifts from 60 other families to fully fund the project prior to the start of construction.
The new Winn Science Center and the renovated McDermott-Green Science Physical Center together include 75,000 square feet of state-of-the-art science education facilities. Marksmen of all ages explore their scientific curiosities through the buildings’ modern classrooms, laboratories, greenhouse, makerspace, lecture hall and theater-
style planetarium. These are among the environments that will serve as INCUBATORS FOR STUDENTS to explore disciplines including engineering, robotics, DNA science, bioengineering, and computer science.
Beyond the sciences, these facilities also support learning and community across campus. Drama productions use the spacious atrium while history classes explore ancient battlefields through immersive planetarium shows. In every corner of the buildings, chairs and tables provide gathering places where students can collaborate and study.
Teachers and students are just beginning to realize the FULL POTENTIAL of these facilities. In the coming years, teachers across campus will find new and exciting ways that these spaces can help ignite the curiosity of their students and forward the mission of St. Mark’s.
Addy Family Makerspace
Virtual reality lab
Planetarium
McDermott-Green Science Center
Winn Science Center video wall
chapel
The St. Mark’s Chapel hosts special events such as christenings, weddings and memorial services for alumni and members of the faculty. A sample of regularly occurring events includes:
Weekly Chapel Events
Lower School Chapel
Middle School Chapel
Upper School Chapel
Eucharist Service
Monthly Chapel Events
Choral Evensong
Lower School Birthday Chapel
Annual Chapel Events
Alumni Chapel
Baccalaureate
Banner Chapel
Christmas Chapel
Grandparents’ Chapel
Hanukkah Chapel
Lessons & Carols
Lower School Banner Chapel
Matriculation Chapel
Step-Up Chapel
Thanksgiving Chapel
St. Mark’s Chapel Program
The Chapel is an important and central facility that demonstrates St. Mark’s commitment to the SPIRITUAL GROWTH OF OUR STUDENTS. As a nonsectarian school, we seek to develop an atmosphere of open inquiry into the various aspects of faith, spirituality, and religious awareness. The Chapel program provides boys with the opportunity to practice and express their own personal beliefs and to learn about world religions. Fundamentally, we seek to help students understand and appreciate the importance of spirituality in their own lives and to give them the tools they need to LIVE RESPONSIBLY.
The spiritual dimension of community life at St. Mark’s is fundamental to the experience of each boy. In addition to weekly Chapel services, a wide variety of programs and services throughout the year celebrate the major religious holidays and festivals such as Yom Kippur, Advent, Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali, Ramadan, Passover, and Easter. Though of differing faiths, we COME TOGETHER in Chapel to ensure that concepts such as peace, love, compassion, understanding and respect are celebrated and promoted.
Inherent in the Chapel program is a fundamental respect for the variety of religions represented in the community. Because we are a school that has roots in the Episcopal church, we have a Christian chaplain. In addition to leading the Chapel program, the St. Mark’s chaplain serves as a member of the teaching faculty and interacts daily with the boys.
The Chaplain actively seeks STUDENT PARTICIPATION on the Middle and Upper School Chapel Committees to consider the content, calendar and speakers for the Chapel program each year.
The Chapel is also home to St. Mark’s RENOWNED BOYS’ CHOIR, which performs traditional Anglican choral music, including monthly Evensong services throughout the school year. The Choir is steeped in training from the Royal School of Church Music of England and travels to Europe and Africa every other year to sing in some of the world’s great cathedrals.
Supporting the Chapel’s musical program is the Roosevelt Family Chapel Organ. The instrument is modeled after great English pipe organs and contains more than 3,400 PIPES within a solid oak case. Polished façade pipes up to 16 feet tall shine in the chapel loft, providing a stunning view for the congregation.
Physical Education & Athletics
Physical education and athletics are important elements in St. Mark’s quest to develop MEN OF CHARACTER. The physical education program prepares students to live a healthy life by developing athletic potential, lifelong wellness habits and an appreciation for the benefits of health and personal fitness. The interscholastic sports program teaches boys the value of competition, cooperation, perseverance and hard work. Boys participate in daily physical education classes in the Lower and Middle Schools and have the opportunity to begin participating in team sports in the seventh grade. Because athletic participation is highly valued at St. Mark’s, it is not uncommon for boys to participate in two, even three, varsity sports per year during Upper School.
St. Mark’s is COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE in athletics through sound instruction, maximum participation and genuine competitiveness at every stage of the athletic program. We consider athletic participation complementary to the intellectual demands of the classroom and, therefore, strive for the classical ideal of “a sound mind in a sound body.” St. Mark’s employs a highly accomplished group of veteran coaches, trainers and physical education teachers to guide, train, and mentor studentathletes. Included in this group are former collegiate athletes, former NCAA champions, a former Dallas Cowboy and several St. Mark’s graduates.
The School offers modern athletic facilities, including a two-story Athletic Performance Center with extensive Olympic lifting platforms, free weights, resistance and aerobic training, rehabilitation facilities, a multi-sport outdoor stadium with an all-weather playing surface and a NATIONAL-CLASS LEVEL track and field facility with a Beynon® encapsulated synthetic surface.
The School also has multiple outdoor grass practice and playing surfaces, including two competition baseball facilities, a soccer field, as well as an indoor pool. A strong tradition of financial support also enables the School to offer SPECIALIZED SPORTS such as fencing, water polo and crew in addition to mainstay sports like football, basketball and lacrosse.
While the goal of the St. Mark’s athletic program is not necessarily to win as many championships as possible, Marksmen regularly bring home Southwest Preparatory Conference titles. We believe this accomplishment is a result of applying the same HIGH STANDARDS to athletics that are dedicated to the academic and artistic programs on campus.
varsity sports
St. Mark’s fields more varsity boys’ teams than any other school in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. The following is a list of the sports offered, as well as the number of Southwest Preparatory Conference championships won in each:
Baseball (21)
Basketball (18)
Cheerleading
Crew (15–state titles, 1–district title)
Cross-Country (19)
Fencing (6–state titles)
Football (20)
Golf (14)
Lacrosse (10 – SPC, 1– state title)
Soccer (15)
Swimming (25)
Tennis (25)
Track & Field (39)
Volleyball (13)
Water Polo (12 –state titles)
Wrestling (37–SPC, 13–state titles)
Student Highlights from 2023-2024
Marksmen Named Presidential Scholars
Each year, the Department of Education selects 161 of the nearly 4 million graduating seniors to be named United States Presidential Scholars. This year, two of those Scholars are Marksmen: Alex Pan ’24 and Patrick Flanagan ’24
“We are incredibly proud of Alex and Patrick for their welldeserved recognition as United States Presidential Scholars,” said David W. Dini, Eugene McDermott Headmaster. “It is a credit to not only their hard work and dedication but also to the care, support, and guidance of their teachers and families.”
Alex was named a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar for his academic achievement, personal characteristics, and leadership and service activities, as determined by the Commission on Presidential Scholars. Patrick was named a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts after advancing in the photography category of the YoungArts competition. St. Mark’s is one of only eight schools in the nation — and the only school in Texas — with more than one Presidential Scholar this year.
A Blockbuster Finish for Robotics
This year marks a groundbreaking moment for St. Mark’s robotics as not one but two teams competed at the world championships. This was the first time in school history that any robotics team had qualified for a world competition.
The Upper School team, named ‘The Marksmen,’ advanced to the world competition based on an eighth-place robot performance ranking at the First Tech Challenge (FTC) Texas State Championship. Texas is one of the most competitive regions in the world with nearly 900 teams. In one particularly successful match, the driver-controlled portion of the competition called ‘Teleop,’ The Marksmen had the third-highest score of any team in the world throughout the entire season.
St. Mark’s most accomplished Middle School First Lego League team, ‘RoboRoar,’ won the second place Champions Award at the Texas State competition in March and was one of only three teams from Texas to advance to the world championship.
“The world competition was a truly unique experience,” said Dr. Stephen Harder, RoboRoar coach and St. Mark’s parent. “The boys took full advantage of the event to hang out with teams from around the globe, check out amazing exhibits and cheer on our St. Mark’s Upper School team as they competed in the First Tech Challenge. From a coach’s perspective, it was amazing to see the robotics program gain depth and success year after year. It is an activity that allows each boy to delve deeply into their interest and see how far hard work can take them. I’m so appreciative that St. Mark’s offers these opportunities to our boys.”
Class Wins National Vocabulary Challenge
The Class of 2032 has been named the national champion in its division of the 2023-2024 WordMasters Challenge, an annual vocabulary competition involving nearly 125,000 students nationwide.
This is the fourth consecutive year that St. Mark’s fourth graders have claimed the national title.
“Having facilitated WordMasters for several years, even prior to teaching at St. Mark’s, I’m very familiar with these challenges and the types of questions they ask,” said Lauren Fischer, fourth-grade Humanities and Life Skills teacher. “Hands down, these were three of the toughest challenges I’ve seen the program publish, and these boys absolutely rose to the occasion. By the third set of words, they were seasoned in their study skills and were wholly dedicated to the team’s hopes of achieving the best finish possible.”
The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level) and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships.
Senior Awarded Princeton Prize for Race Relations
Senior Noah Cathey has been awarded Princeton University’s “Princeton Prize in Race Relations,” the University announced. This award “recognizes and rewards high school students who, through their volunteer activities, have undertaken significant efforts to advance racial equity and understanding in their schools or communities.” Each year, only 29 high school students nationwide receive this award.
“Noah embodies the Path to Manhood statue,” said Lorre Allen, Director of Inclusion, Diversity, and Human Resources at St. Mark’s. “The Princeton Prize speaks to the ideals we teach at St. Mark’s – the priority of inclusion and the ability to have healthy, respectful discussions with one another. Noah models this for his peers and we’re all better for it.”
Cathey has been instrumental in raising awareness of inclusion on campus as co-chair and founding member of the School’s Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Council (IDLC), which fosters inclusivity and celebrates diversity in the St. Mark’s community. Additionally, Cathey helped the IDLC develop a series of student-led discussions known as Lions’ Tables, a program in which seniors meet with underclassmen to discuss the importance of community. As co-chair of the IDLC, Noah has encouraged and mentored DADYO (Dallas Area Diversity Youth Organization) leadership to harness their potential, inspire peers, and engage in meaningful community conversations around inclusion and diversity.
2024-2025 Financial information
Tuition
A St. Mark’s, education is an investment that will pay dividends for life. By providing an extensive financial aid program as well as tuition financing options, St. Mark’s helps families find manageable ways to afford their son’s education. The St. Mark’s endowment and other funds contribute nearly $14,000 to the actual cost of educating each boy in addition to tuition and fees paid by families. Listed below are the tuition and fees for the 2024–2025 academic year. The amount includes tuition, lunch, textbooks and supplies. A new student fee of $1,500 is also required for first-year students.
2024–2025 Tuition
1st Grade: $31,435
2nd Grade $31,435
3rd Grade $31,523
4th Grade $31,889
5th Grade $35,192
6th Grade $35,115
7th Grade $37,142
8th Grade $37,142
9th Grade $40,146
10th Grade $40,146
11th Grade $37,674
12th Grade $39,355
Tuition Assistance
St. Mark’s admits qualified boys regardless of their financial circumstances. The School actively seeks students who represent varied socioeconomic backgrounds. An extensive need-based tuition assistance program, which includes a significant middle-income fund, will provide awards in the current year totaling more than $3 million to over 14 percent of the student body.
Tuition assistance awards are based on need and require annual qualification. Awards are recommended by the St. Mark’s Tuition Assistance Committee using information provided by applicant families and qualification information. Awards are communicated to applicant families with their application decision in March.
To receive more information regarding tuition financing options, contact the Office of Admission and Financial Aid at 214.346.8700.
St. Mark’s School of Texas Tuition Assistance Awards for 2023–2024
Choir performance
Virtual reality immersion
BRIGHT FUTURES
college matriculations
St. Mark’s graduates attend some of the finest colleges and universities in the world. The following list indicates the four year colleges where Marksmen from the Classes of 2020 through 2024 have enrolled
TEN OR MORE:
The University of Texas at Austin
Southern Methodist University
Texas A & M University
Harvard University
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
Brown University
Dartmouth College
Georgetown University
Rice University
Washington University in St. Louis
FIVE TO NINE STUDENTS AT:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yale University
New York University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Johns Hopkins University
Purdue University
Santa Clara University
University of Southern California
Columbia University
Stanford University
The University of Alabama
Wake Forest University
Princeton University
FOUR STUDENTS AT:
American University
Baylor University
Duke University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Indiana University
The University of the South
United States Military Academy
University of Michigan
Villanova University
THREE STUDENTS AT:
Emory University
Lehigh University
Middlebury College
Rhodes College
Southwestern University
Texas Christian University
Tufts University
United States Air Force Academy
University of Miami
University of Notre Dame
Washington and Lee University
TWO STUDENTS AT:
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Austin College
Belmont University
Boston College
Bucknell University
Claremont McKenna College
Colgate University
Cornell University
Gonzaga University
University of London
Loyola Marymount University
Morehouse College
Texas Tech University
The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Dallas
Tulane University of Louisiana
United States Merchant Marine
Academy
United States Naval Academy
University of Bristol
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Georgia
University of Richmond
University of South Carolina
University of Wisconsin-Madison
ONE STUDENT AT:
Babson College
Bates College
Boston University
Brigham Young University
California Polytechnic State University
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Davidson College
Drexel University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Emerson College
Florida State University
Fordham University
George Washington University
Gettysburg College
Hampden-Sydney College
Haverford College
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University New Orleans
Northeastern University
Oberlin College
Oklahoma State University
Pennsylvania State University
Pomona College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Saint Edward’s University
Samford University
St. John’s University
Syracuse University
The University of Tampa
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Cambridge
University of Colorado
University of Connecticut
University of Denver
University of Houston
University of North Georgia
University of Oxford
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of St Andrews
University of Toronto
University of Tulsa
Wesleyan University
William & Mary
STARS OF THE PRIDE
Distinguished Alumnus Award Recipients
he Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes achievement of exceptional nature in any field, vocational or voluntary, covering an entire career. Because the award is defined by its recipients, it has been given sparingly.
1987 ~ P. O’B. Montgomery, Jr. ’38
Professor of Pathology and Associate Dean at Southwestern Medical School
Special Assistant to the Chancellor of the University of Texas System
Executive Director of the Cancer Center at the UT Health Science Center
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (1974–1976) and Life Trustee
1988 ~ Samuel W. Papert, Jr. ’37
First editor-in-chief of The Roundtable, predecessor to The ReMarker school newspaper
Recognized by the Advisory Council of the University of Texas College of Communication with a fund and a room named in his honor
Served on boards and committees for Goodwill Industries, Red Cross, Timberlawn Research Foundation, and the Salesmanship Club
1989 ~ Ray L. Hunt ’61
First recipient of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce Erik Jonsson Award
Order of Marib (given by the North Yemeni Government)
CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board of Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
Appointed to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 2001
1990 ~ Tommy Lee Jones ’65
Oscar-winning actor and director
“Best Actor” Emmy for The Executioner’s Song
“Best Supporting Actor” Academy Award for The Fugitive
“Best Actor” at the Cannes Film Festival for his directorial-debut feature film, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
1991 ~ Carl Sewell ’61
Owner of Sewell Automotive Companies
Co-author of Customers for Life, a best-seller published by Doubleday in 1990 (also named best business book in 1990)
“America’s King of Customer Service”
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (2000–2002) and a Life Trustee
1992 ~ Robert K. Hoffman ’65
Co-founder and managing editor of National Lampoon magazine
Longtime CEO of The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Southwest (the fifth-largest bottling enterprise in the country)
Significant contributions to the Dallas Arboretum (Chairman of the Board), Southwestern Medical Center, and the Dallas Museum of Art (trustee)
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (1983–1986) and Life Trustee
1994 ~ Michael R. Levy ’64
Founder and publisher of Texas Monthly
First recipient of Travis County Medical Society’s Community Citation for Distinguished Service Award
Member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the World Presidents’ Organization
1999 Henry Johnson Fisher Award (for magazine professionals)
1995 ~ William Clarkson IV ’66
St. Mark’s Chaplain and chairman of the religion department (1975–1980)
Assistant Headmaster and Headmaster of the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia
President of The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia
1998 ~ Robert W. Decherd ’69
Chairman, President and CEO of Belo Corp.
Chairman, Parks for Downtown Dallas
Member of the board of directors, lead director, and chairman of the Executive Committee of Kimberly-Clark Corporation
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (1988–1991) and Life Trustee
2002 ~ Ross Perot, Jr. ’77
CEO, Perot Systems
Founder and Chairman, Hillwood Development Corporation
Developer of Fort Worth Alliance Airport
Co-piloted the first around-the-world helicopter flight
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (2004–2006) and Life Trustee
Steve Miller ’61
Clark Hunt ’83
Ross Perot, Jr. ’77
Robert Edsel ’75
Alan Stern ’75
2005 ~ Stephen T. Jurvetson ’85
Co-founder, Future Ventures
Co-chairman, with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, of the NanoBusiness Alliance
Founding venture capital investor in Hotmail, Interwoven and Kana
2005 Young Global Leader, named by the World Economic Forum
2007 ~ Steve Miller ’61
Multi-platinum recording artist
Producer of more than 20 albums, including such hits as The Joker, Book of Dreams, Fly Like an Eagle, Greatest Hits and Abracadabra
Leader of the legendary Steve Miller Band
2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
2009 ~ Alan Stern ’75
Principal Investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission and oversaw the historic first flybys of Pluto in 2015 and the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule in 2019
Twice named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world
Served as NASA’s chief of all space and Earth science programs, directing a $4.4 billion organization with 93 separate flight missions and a program of over 3,000 research grants
Delivered the St. Mark’s Commencement Address (2008)
2011 ~ Robert M. Edsel ’75
Formed Gemini Exploration, a leader in horizontal drilling
Established Monuments Men Foundation
Received National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2007
Served as Trustee of St. Mark’s and President of the Alumni Association
Wrote the book that inspired the George Clooney film The Monuments Men
2013 ~ Kurt Eichenwald ’79
New York Times reporter and bestselling author of four books
Wrote the book that inspired the 2009 film
The Informant
Uncovered numerous corporate fraud and malfeasance scandals
2015 ~ Ken Hersh ’81
Co-founder of NGP Energy Capital Management
Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum
Gave $5 million gift to build the Hoffman Center at St. Mark’s
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (2010–2012)
Named President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in 2016
2018 ~ John Nance ’64
Aviation analyst for ABC World News and the aviation editor for Good Morning America
New York Times bestselling author of 19 books, both fiction and nonfiction
Logged more than 13,700 hours of flight time as a military and commercial pilot
Air Force veteran of the Gulf War and Vietnam War
2020 ~ Victor Vescovo ’84
Broke the undersea depth record, diving 35,853 feet into the Challenge Deep
Completed the Five Deeps Expedition, exploring the deepest point in all five oceans
Completed the Explorers Grand Slam, climbing the Seven Summits and reaching the North and South Poles
Co-founder of Insight Equity
Former U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer
2022 ~ Clark Hunt ’83
Chairman & CEO of Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl LIV, LVII, LVIII Champions Chairman of the NFL Finance Committee
Founding Investor-Owner of Major League Soccer
Chairman of Hunt Sports Group, overseeing FC Dallas soccer team
President of the St. Mark’s Board of Trustees (2018-2020)
2024 ~ Steve Winn ’64
Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of RealPage Leads the investment firm Mirasol Capital
Board Chairman of Cosm, an immersive entertainment, media, and technology company
Winn Family Foundation served as catalyst for the St. Mark’s Science Center Project
Alumni facts
More than 4,200 alumni worldwide
Regional clubs in Austin, Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Annual events in more than 10 cities around the country
~ Homecoming in the Fall and Alumni Weekend in the Spring
56 percent alumni participation in the 2023–2024 St. Mark’s Fund, with gifts totaling more than $3 million
Access to the Alumni Association’s Online Alumni Database for networking and career mentoring St. Mark’s Alumni live in 49 of the 50 states
~ 39 St. Mark’s College Ambassadors at universities across the country
~ More than 65 percent participation in the St. Mark’s Fund from the 20 youngest alumni classes
Ken Hersh ’81
Victor Vescovo ’84
LION FACTS
St. Mark’s By The Numbers
~ Over the past 10 years, more than 50 percent of all seniors have been recognized by the NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP CORPORATION as finalists, semi-finalists or commended scholars.
~ Alan Stern, an alumnus from the Class of 1975, leads NASA’S NEW HORIZONS MISSION, which successfully flew by Pluto in July 2015, returning the first surface images of the dwarf planet. On New Year’s Day 2019, the spacecraft flew past Ultima Thule, a Kuiper Belt Object which is now the farthest object explored by man.
~ St. Mark’s has received the Athletic Directors’ Trophy for the best overall boys’ athletic program in the Southwest Preparatory Conference for 13 OF THE PAST 17 YEARS. In the past decade, St. Mark’s has won 18 SPC Division I championships and 9 state championships.
~ Victor Vescovo ’84 completed the EXPLORER’S GRAND SLAM, summiting the highest peaks on all seven continents and reaching both the North and South Poles. In 2020, he also completed the historic Five Deeps Expedition, exploring the deepest point in each of the five oceans. Just weeks after breaking the deep sea diving record in the Mariana Trench, Vescovo returned to St. Mark’s to deliver the Class of 2019’s Commencement address. In 2022, he visited space as part of Blue Origin’s NS-21 mission.
~ In the past five years three Marksmen have been named a UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR IN THE ARTS, one of only 20 graduating seniors in the country to receive the honor each year.
~ For the eighth time in ten years, the St. Mark’s varsity water polo team won the TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
~ For the 15th time in 17 years, St. Mark’s photography has been named the “TOP PROGRAM” by the Association of Texas Photography Instructors.
~ In 2023–2024, the St. Mark’s Fund SURPASSED $6 MILLION for the first time in it’s history. 56 percent of alumni and 87 percent of parents participated in the 2023–2024 St. Mark’s Fund. The fund supports more than 11 percent of the School’s operating budget.
~ 10 members of the Class of 2024 made commitments to play COLLEGE ATHLETICS representing Austin College, Clairemont McKenna College, Hampden-Sydney College, Haverford College, Southwestern University, Tufts University, University of South Carolina, Washington & Lee University, Washington University, and Wesleyan University.
~ Two Marksmen have won the SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE.
~ There are OVER 80 CLUBS on campus, ranging from philosophy, ping-pong, robotics, martial arts, movies, Kahoot, hockey, Lego’s, civil rights, rocketry, physics, history, armed forces, cycling, the blues, Rubik’s Cube, culinary, Spanish and dozens more.
admission office
David Baker Director of Admission & Financial Aid
214.346.8171 baker@smtexas.org
Anna Crouch
Senior Associate Director of Admission & Financial Aid
214.346.8202 croucha@smtexas.org
Kerry Schneidewind
Assistant Director of Admission & Financial Aid
214.346.8270 schneidewindk@smtexas.org
Korey Mack ’00
Assistant Director of Admission & Financial Aid
214.346.8197 mackk@smtexas.org
Alicia Alvarez
Admission Coordinator
214.346.8702 aalvarez@smtexas.org
Jennifer Jackson
Admission Office Administrator
214.346.8248 jacksonj@smtexas.org
administration
David Dini
Eugene McDermott Headmaster
John Ashton
Associate Headmaster
William Atkinson ’95 Head of Upper School
Dean Clayman Head of Middle School
Marion Glorioso-Kirby Head of Lower School
To apply or learn more about St. Mark’s, visit www.smtexas.org/Apply
ST. MARK’S AIMS TO PREPARE young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world. To this end, the School professes and upholds certain values. These values include the discipline of postponing immediate gratification in the interest of earning eventual, hard-won satisfaction; the responsibility of defending one’s own ideas, of respecting the views of others, and of accepting the consequences for one’s own actions; and an appreciation for the lively connection between knowledge and responsibility and the obligation to serve.