Principal Thomas E. Hassan

Thomas E. Hassan, a nationally recognized leader in secondary education, became Exeter’s 14th principal in 2009. Prior to 2009, Hassan had served as Exeter's assistant principal for 8 years, including as acting principal fom August 2005 – March 2006.

Hassan came to Exeter in 1989 as director of college counseling, moving to dean of admissions in 1994. During his 20 years at Exeter, Hassan has also taught mathematics and junior studies, served as dorm affiliate and advised student organizations, including Best Buddies and the Random Acts of Kindness club.

Hassan has spearheaded several key initiatives, including Universal Access, which has made the campus accessible to all members of the Exeter community, and Exeter’s sustainability program, which has been a model for secondary schools across the nation. As assistant principal, he played an important role in the $305 million Exeter Initiatives campaign, and supervised the planning and construction of an on-campus child care facility.

A frequent presenter at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) conference, Hassan has spoken on “Jumpstarting Environmental Efforts at Your School” (2006), "Greening of a Boarding School: Turning Talk into Action" (2004), and "Crisis Management" (2004). He planned and co-facilitated the first NAIS Sustainability Institute in 2005.

Most recently, he authored an article about universal accessibility in independent schools for Independent School (2009). Along with Exeter’s 13th principal, Tyler Tingley, Hassan co-authored an article titled “The Administrator as Member of Your School Community” in Looking Ahead: Independent School Issues and Answers (2004).

Hassan teaches a course at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on independent secondary school administration. He is an active board member of the Town of Exeter Energy Efficiency Committee and of the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE).

Hassan received a B.A. degree from Brown University and M.Ed. and Ed.D. degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Before coming to Exeter, he served as admissions officer and associate director for alumni relations at Brown University. At Harvard, he worked as an assistant dean of freshmen, a graduate assistant, a teaching fellow and an undergraduate financial aid/admissions officer. In his final doctoral years at Harvard, he served as consultant to the philanthropic Rockefeller Brothers Fund in New York and as Special Assistant to the President of Wesleyan University.

Hassan and his wife, New Hampshire State Senator Maggie Hassan, have two children, Ben and Meg '11.

“I am deeply honored by the trustees’ selection," Hassan said at the time of his naming as principal of the Academy. "I am both humbled and excited to have the opportunity to serve Exeter and to work with the Exeter community to forge a vision that builds on the strengths and traditions established by the previous 13 principals, and that sustains the Academy into the future.”