Dean A. Jacoby ‘88 of Princeton Day Appointed College Director Concludes Lengthy Search for Fernandez-Rojo, Burditt Successor
By Peter Krawczyk ‘08
News Reporter
On the evening of Thursday, May 4, Headmaster Edward Shanahan announced in an e-mail to the Choate community the selection of Dean A. Jacoby as the new Director of College Counseling.
Mr. Jacoby’s appointment marks the completion of a year-long selection process that began with the departure on sebbatical of former Director of College Counseling Rosita Fernandez-Rojo at the end of the 2005 winter term. At the end of that year, Ms Fernandez-Rojo assumed the same position at Rye County Day School in Rye, New York.
Mr. Jacoby, a member of the Choate Rosemary Hall class of 1988, is a graduate of Bates College, where he worked for five years in the admissions office, eventually as Assistant Dean of Admissions and Director of International Admissions.
After leaving Bates, Jacoby spent a year at St. John’s International School in Belgium and two years in Spain at the American School of Madrid. At both institutions he fulfilled similar college-guidance positions with a “healthy dose” of other duties ranging from emotional counseling to testing special-needs students.
“I did everything,” said Jacoby.
Following his tenure abroad, Jacoby returned to the U.S. in 2001 to assume his present position as Director of College Guidance at the Princeton Day School in Princeton, New Jersey.
Although Jacoby was not actively looking to leave Princeton, he was intrigued by the Choate job for a number of reasons “both professional and personal”.
At Choate, Jacoby will work in a larger office as part of a more diverse school community than he has at PDS where he manages a three-person office that counsels approximately ninety seniors each year.
“Being part of a larger office, working with more students ... [will keep] me learning and growing as a professional,” he said.
Beyond the potential for professional development, coming to Choate also has a personal meaning for Jacoby.
His mother Judith Haywood Jacoby, who passed away ten years ago, was a Rosemary Hall alumna who not only taught mathematics at the school, but also returned as a trustee from 1979-85 and again from 1987-93.
The prospect of following in his mother’s footsteps was appealing to Jacoby.
“It feels like I’m living out a legacy,” he said, “and I’m humbled a little bit by that.”
Other finalists for the position included admissions officers from Princeton University, Yale University and the University of Chicago as well as a former college counselor at Phillips Academy Andover.
“We looked at a lot of candidates,” said Dean of Academic Affairs Kathleen Wallace, “We’re excited to have someone as talented as Mr. Jacoby join our College Office.”
The Associate Director position has yet to be filled.
“We’re still looking,” said Wallace. “We might ask Mr. Jacoby to help us along in that.”
Interim Director of College Counseling Terri Burditt, who assumed the position after the spring term of last year, will leave Choate at the end of the year.
According to Mr. Shanahan’s announcement of Mr. Jacoby’s hiring, Burditt’s “short but inspired leadership” has led to more “individual meetings with students and increased ... communication with families.”
Burditt has decided to move on at the end of the school year, putting an end to an eight-year Choate career that includes six years in the college office.
With twelve additional years spent in the admissions offices of various colleges before coming to Choate, Burditt will leave “the business” after nearly twenty years of experience.
She plans to take a six-week, cross-country trip with her daughter, who will graduate from Wesleyan University at the end of May.
Upon her return, Burditt will explore her options for the next phase of her career, possibly drawing from her diverse experiences ranging from working overseas with the U.N. to working at a major auction company in New York City.
“I haven’t always been in the education world,” she told The News. “I have to make some choices.”
For the time being, Burditt has been communicating with Mr. Jacoby to facilitate the transition process.
Jacoby, who will assume responsibility for Mrs. Burditt’s advisees from the class of 2007, will not officially join the Choate faculty until July 1.
However, efforts are being made by both counselors and the administration to ensure a smooth transition.
“The important thing is that no one feels that there’s any ground lost,” said Wallace.
Jacoby will visit campus again most likely during the last week of classes in May in order to acquaint himself with the members of the college counseling office and with initiatives, which have proposed for the office, including more connections with lower formers.
Then again, the most important objective of Jacoby’s visit will be for him to meet the students he will be guiding through the college process next year.
Jacoby has three main goals for the college office: first, to prepare students for the college search process by helping them to be “self-reflective and expansive” as they look for schools.
His second goal is to eliminate the “ego-crushing nature” of the college search by communicating with students and helping to “process the stress associated with it”.
Jacoby’s final, long-term goal is to establish and to strengthen relationships with admission officers at colleges.
“The better we understand them and the better they understand Choate, the better served Choate students will be,” he said.
