Commitment
“Suffield is special to me for many reasons and most importantly because it has been home. I never intended to return after I graduated but fortunately I did. We have loved being part of Suffield’s success story over the past 25 years. It has been a wonderful place for Peyton and Harrison, and an amazing experience helping raise the thousands of students we have worked with on campus.” c Hillary Rockwell Cahn ’88
Hillary and Charlie Cahn have dedicated their lives to Suffield Academy. Hillary was born and raised on campus and returned as a faculty member in 1996. Charlie was named Head of School in 2004 after serving as a teacher, director of admissions, and dean of faculty.
Suffield Academy is where they met, married, and raised their children: Peyton ’18 and Harrison ’22.
The Cahns have been the champions of Suffield’s core values, steadfastly focused on helping each student thrive in an encouraging, supportive environment on a beautiful campus. Charlie has led this vision to a reality, and Hillary has projected it to the outside world through Suffield’s marketing and communications efforts.
Evolution
“Suffield is thriving because we embrace our core values but are also responsive to change. We agree on the fundamentals of hard work, respect, and kindness. We have a remarkable blend of talented, invested students and educators, a world-class campus, and a philosophy focused on distance traveled.” c Charlie Cahn
The changes to Suffield’s campus during the past 18 years have been astonishing, with more than $90 million invested in the physical plant and programs. Nearly every space has been touched by this renewal.
Careful design has centered on making programs and buildings ideal for delivering Suffield’s mission. Recent campus master plans led to distinct academic and residential quadrangles, the construction of a new Memorial Building and Holcomb Science Center, Tisch Field House, Koo Family Dining Room and Landis Student Union, and three new dormitories.
Most importantly, Charlie and Hillary have sustained a distinct culture led by unwavering core values. These include warmth, kindness, strong character, and a commitment to inclusion, nurturing, and support of others. The essence is reflected in these words from Charlie Cahn: “Suffield Academy has a crystal-clear sense of purpose. We are dedicated to helping each student succeed and focused on the distance they travel during their years here. Suffield combines challenging academics and high standards with an encouraging, supportive faculty and positive spirit. This atmosphere has helped the school reach new heights.”
The school is hitting on all cylinders. The Board of Trustees wants to honor Hillary and Charlie Cahn for promoting their vision and getting Suffield to this point. The next goal is to make all of this more permanent.
