Honoring Eileen Davidson as She Retires

Student body celebration on Kelly Mac Field

At a regularly scheduled Board meeting on June 11, 2020, Eileen Davidson confirmed her decision to retire at the end of the 2020-21 school year, effective June 30, 2021. The Board of Trustees, while thrilled for Eileen, reluctantly accepted her decision to retire and noted her valued leadership as an exemplary leader, committed champion and beloved member of the Ursuline faculty.

Fond farewells at the CMMS reception. L to R Denise Deldin Moore ’69, Elisa Gabelli Wilson ’91, Eileen Davidson, Grace Acocella Pensiero ’89

Mariana Bulfamante ’10 surprised Mrs. Davidson with her custom cake at the celebration on Kelly Mac Field.

Tribute at the Mothers’ Auxiliary Communion Breakfast

In spring 2021, working within the limitations of the pandemic, several farewell events were organized to honor Eileen. These included presentations by the Mothers’ Auxiliary and the Fathers’ Club, and student speeches and songs. Alumnae also expressed best wishes at the Christine MacMenamin Memorial Scholarship Reception and at a virtual farewell Zoom.

A Leader Draws Strength from Students

Over 38 years, Eileen Davidson has served the community of The Ursuline School. She led us in enhancing our essential identity and mission, while guiding the school through a period of modernization.

Eileen’s first roles at Ursuline were science teacher and then Chair of the Science Department. In 1993, Eileen was appointed Assistant Principal in charge of student services and discipline. In 2005, she was appointed the first lay principal of The Ursuline School.

As Eileen mastered each of these roles, she worked tirelessly at advancing the Ursuline identity and mission. One way that this translates to daily school life is by expanding opportunities for Ursuline students. Eileen initiated the school’s science research program. Eileen also originated the Visiting Author series to ignite students’ imaginations by hearing from Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nobel Laureates. She was an early adopter of the Personal Development program to help Ursuline students become more confident, articulate and empowered leaders. And Eileen greatly expanded the possibilities for student international travel and home exchanges. She methodically built up relationships with Ursuline schools in Australia, South Africa, and Japan. She also pioneered the school’s service trips to Guyana and Peru.

In 2012, after a nation wide search process, Eileen was selected by the Board of Trustees and the Ursuline Sisters to serve as the first lay President of the

school. Eileen would say that one of her most important contributions as President has been the formulation of the 2014-18 strategic plan, the first formal collaborative strategic plan in the school’s history. It was a dynamic instrument that guided the school’s growth based on increasingly data-driven decisions.

Eileen recognized the importance of not only keeping up with, but staying in front of, academic movements and earning school recognitions. She led The Ursuline School

through our first accreditation in January 2017 by NYSAIS, the New York State Association of Independent Schools. The NYSAIS analysis guides the school’s strategic initiatives. It also added an important validation as 2015 Guyana service trip with Vilma Fermin ’16, Anna Timmins ’16, Katherine Poletti ’16, Caroline Mannix ’16, Taylor Moore ’17, Hulda Zheng ’17, Tara McCarthy Barkovitz ’03 we apply for grants from foundations. Personal leadership is tested in challenging times. After the death of an Ursuline student in 2012, the whole Ursuline school community witnessed Eileen Davidson at her very best. In the midst of grief and shock, Eileen stepped forward with compassion toward all. She offered solace to the student’s devastated family; she comforted students and ensured that counseling services were available to them. Eileen gently rallied the faculty and staff, and consoled parents at school meetings as well as in personal conversations. She reached out to alumnae who responded with strong expressions of support. Eileen was willing to show her own sense of loss and at the same time call on the practical and spiritual resources inherent in the school and the Ursuline community. Her compassionate strength made the difference as the school community moved through a time of unprecedented sorrow to find its resilience. In 2020, current events demanded leadership in new ways. Openness, humility, and steadfastness were required. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor sparked nation wide outrage and a necessary focus on racism, violence and injustice. Eileen led the Administration in active listening sessions with alumnae, as well as students and parents/guardians, that directly informed our new antiracism initiatives. She ensured that initial steps were taken to start the challenging work required to make Ursuline a truly just, inclusive and equitable community. Whatever the circumstances, Eileen has been a strong presence at Ursuline, both compassionate toward students 2017 Peru service trip with Aileen McClintock ’17, Hadley Nyre ’19, and encouraging of them. She inspires by example. Her Alaina Alfasi ’18, Katherine Belbusti ’18, Sophia Thomas ’19, Annika Pan ’18, Kaleigh Bryden ’17, Maya Welch ’10

impact has been felt in small group activities and in school-wide assemblies, through informal interactions and at traditional ceremonies. After school hours, Eileen moderated the Warm Hands, Warm Hearts Club. Every month, she gathered with a small group of students in the school kitchen and together they prepared food for delivery to the Community Service Associates of Mount Vernon soup kitchen. Even during the pandemic, they continued this service initiative in modified ways. Perhaps Eileen’s most well-known and far-reaching tools of inspiration have been her annual Ring Day speeches and commencement addresses that are eagerly awaited by students and parents alike, and certainly taken to heart. She consistently integrated contemporary themes with the wisdom of saints and established authors as she recalled school values such as service.

At Ring Day 2016, Eileen exhorted the assembly, “In the words of St. Augustine: ‘The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.’ As you journey through life, may you be inspired to not only photograph what you see to post on social media, but to engage deeply with the people you meet and truly appreciate the richness and diversity of this world. May you be empowered to be brave enough to travel alone and do good for others in unfamiliar places.”

At Commencement 2015, Eileen cited a new trend in academia of redirecting our measurement of academic success and that schools should focus on elevating the importance of character. She referred to “The Road to Character” by David Brooks, and pointed out, “Brooks inspires us by encouraging us to celebrate the fact that extraordinary people are made, not born, and that you have already started that construction project. Be better than you used to be - not better than others. Be ready With 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate for moral adventures. Ask: Leymah Gbowee after Ms. Gbowee’s What is life asking of me? Not inspirational presentation. merely: What do I want out of life? In the words of Aristotle: ‘Excellence is never an accident... choice, not chance, determines your destiny.’ ”

In 2020, Eileen did not shy away from difficult topics, with these words, at commencement, “I lived through the 1960’s. I was your very age, in fact, when Newark was burning. I remember the marches and the riots and I am saddened that so little meaningful progress has been made. Educators at girls’ schools, especially those like myself, who identify as white, must embrace our obligation to learn so that we may more fully and inclusively lead. Why have we failed to make a bigger difference? We have not done enough to educate

With Visiting Author Delia Owens, Kyla Golding ’20 and Violette Cadet ’20

our young people and rid this wonderful country of racism. 2020 is bringing a new dawn and it is not mere optimism to say that I feel this time is different. This time, the world is united and standing up together to say, ‘Enough.’ This time, both individuals and institutions are committing and recommitting to equity and inclusion. This time, we have alumnae and students leveraging their networks and using social media to protest and speak out against injustice. Discrimination must not stand - as each and every human being has equal dignity and value in the eyes of God. Living according to this principle is our moral imperative. Ursuline will be better and, yes, Kyla, we will say their names. Inculcating our students in the values of strength and wisdom is hollow unless a commitment to social justice is held equivalent.”

As President, Eileen also turned her focus toward school fiscal responsibilities. It became an institutional priority to increase Ursuline’s scholarship endowment to ensure that qualified students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to attend The Ursuline School. Since Eileen assumed the role of President, scholarship endowment has more than doubled from $2.3 million in 2012 to $5.8 million in 2020.

Eileen worked with the Advancement Team to close out, in 2013, the five-year $8 million capital campaign known as Fulfilling the Promise for Generations of Women. And as Eileen retires, she leaves our school well on its way to completing the current $8.5 million capital campaign Building on the Tradition of Innovation #TUSTimeIsNow! This Innovation Campaign will achieve three goals for Ursuline students: to build new spaces in line with 21st

On the construction site during the Innovation Campaign.

century learning approaches, to improve general campus functionality, and to incorporate new security features.

Years ago, a couple met with Eileen to explain that they had to withdraw their daughter from the school because they were moving to Asia for work reasons. At the end of the conversation, Eileen asked, “Which one of you got the job in Asia?” Absolutely no assumption that the father had the job offer. In fact, it was the mother who had the new job. Eileen’s staunch advocacy of women permeates her perspective on the world. Her commitment to the empowerment of young women is unwavering. Her dedication is unparalleled as she has lived out the mission to educate Ursuline students to learn, to lead, and to serve.

Warmest wishes to Eileen Davidson as she embarks on her well-deserved retirement. May she enjoy long healthy years, many joyous moments, and the time to return to Ursuline for frequent visits.

Eileen Davidson was recognized in 2018 with the United Hebrew Community Service Award in recognition of commitment to enhancing the lives of those in the Westchester community and dedication to programs and services therein. She was awarded in 2015 the NY State Senate Proclamation for her commitment to Women’s Education and her work at The Ursuline School. In 2009, Eileen was honored by the City of New Rochelle with a Woman of Excellence Award for Business and Professional Achievement in Education.