In Tribute

Trust is the Special Sauce

My 22 years on the Board have coincided precisely with Dennis Manning’s tenure as Headmaster of Norfolk Academy. I did not realize back in 2001 that I would have a front row seat for what was to be one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of independent school education in Virginia and beyond.

As I reflect on the past 22 years, my first memory of Dennis and Beth is of hosting an event in our home to help welcome them to the Academy community. That was the beginning of a friendship that has grown in depth and durability over all these years and of a headmastership that is, for lack of a better word, legendary. And, as I dissect that friendship and that headmastership and the reasons for the prodigiousness of both, I come back time and again to one word:

Trust

Like my fellow trustees and so many of you, I love Norfolk Academy. I love what it did for me, I love what it has done for my three sons, I love the impact it has had on generations of students and families, I love what it has done and will continue to do for our world, and I love what it stands for. It is a precious gem to me, among the most precious. Twenty-two years ago, we entrusted that precious gem to Dennis Manning, and we were wise to do so.

He has polished that gem so that it gleams more brightly than ever, even in the face of forces that might try to tarnish it. He has elevated it with his sterling reputation and he has guarded it with his tireless hard work and remarkable endurance, his fierce passion and protective instincts, and yes, his undying love and complete devotion. I quickly came to understand that Dennis was “all in” on Norfolk Academy because I saw that he loved the Academy and what it stands for as much as I did. It did not take long for me or the Board to realize that we had something special in Dennis and that we could entrust our priceless gem to his care.

The Academy has had three leaders in 73 years. And the prevailing reason for that is because we have been fortunate enough to find leaders in whom we could place our trust, and because we have had the wisdom to trust them. Quite simply, that trust is the foundation upon which all the Boards of Trustees over the past 73 years have based their relationships with the Headmasters of our school. Because of that, the Board/Head relationship at Norfolk Academy is widely recognized as a unique and special one. Like his predecessors, J.B. Massey and John Tucker, Dennis came to the job with an inherent understanding of and alignment with the school’s values. Because of that, the Board’s relationship with Dennis has personified what constitutes a model Board/Head relationship.

Because of that trust and that relationship, I believe Dennis has had the latitude, freedom, and confidence to be visionary, to be great. And he has been great. Trust is the special sauce that has made all the difference for our school as he has engineered programmatic innovation, led the reimagination and reconstruction of our campus, bolstered the importance of the Honor System, enhanced the diversity of and access to our school, and elevated the reputation of Norfolk Academy as not just good, but great on a national scale.

On a personal note, my last three years as Board President have been interesting, to say the least. A pandemic, political turmoil, the search for a new head of school, and other challenges have presented hardships and have demanded sacrifice. But, what I learned along the way is that there could have been no greater partner for me and for the Board than Dennis Manning in meeting every challenge head-on, with vigor and confidence, and in total alignment with the school’s Philosophy and Objectives.

Like the foundation of any great friendship, a great Board/Head relationship fundamentally is rooted in trust. As the leader of our school and as a friend to me, Dennis Manning has proven more than worthy of my trust, of our trust, at every turn. Thank you, Dennis, for your love of our school, for your special friendship, and for having earned and validated our trust every day for the last 22 years. Godspeed.

Sincerely,

Alfred M. Randolph Jr. ’80 President of the Board of Trustees