See the words of faculty, administrators and trustees regarding Mr. Johnson’s legacy at Hackley.

“Thanks to his fearsome intelligence, his vision and commitment to education, his ability to inspire and motivate those around him, Walter has turned a good school into a great one. His transformation of the campus during his time would almost be legacy enough but the mark he leaves on the school is much, much greater than that. He is acknowledged by his peers as one of the great Headmasters of his time and Hackley will look back on his headmastership as a golden period in the school’s history.

I’ll never forget his mentioning wrily during my interview that one of the many reasons to work at Hackley was the tip-top dirty martini available at The Castle, just across the road. This made me think that here was a Headmaster I’d like to work with and I’ve never regretted my decision to move from the UK to come to the school.” — Danny Lawrence,  French Teacher and former Modern Languages Department Chair

Given the smooth flow of our day-to-day experiences as students and teachers, we can forget just how much Hackley has changed during Walter’s time as head of school.  Institutional transformation rarely goes smoothly, so that smooth transformation is a tribute to Walter’s clear and thoughtful vision for Hackley and his ability to create an environment in which people can work collaboratively and cooperatively.  It is also a tribute to his thoughtfully retaining what is traditional and good while thoughtfully embracing what is powerful and new in education.

Walter has always impressed me for his ability to transform a negative into a positive.  His decision to exploit the Goodhue fire as an opportunity to transform the campus into the extraordinary one it is today is just one of many examples.

Walter has a philosophical turn of mind.  In Academic Committee and other meetings, Walter asks the questions that need to be asked, the questions that expose our assumptions and challenge them, and the questions I am sure more than a few of us wish we had thought to ask.

Walter has always remained grounded in teaching.  He has taught classes in many of the years of his headmastership—thereby keeping himself in touch with both students and teachers and thus keeping himself in touch with what education means today.” — Dr. Richard Robinson, English Department Chair

“Mr. Johnson is responsible for nearly every notable item of progress in the last 20 years of the school’s history. One of his first and most important accomplishments was leading the school through a two-year Master Planning process in 1998 and 1999. The resulting master plan, created by Trustees, Parents, students, faculty, and administrators helped chart the location of future buildings, which buildings we needed, where we needed to go with curriculum, school size, and admissions, and what shape our faculty should take.

During his tenure our endowment increased almost 500%, Annual Fund increased from $640,000 to $3,400,000 per year, and the yearly financial aid budget grew from $950,000 to $4,700,000. Faculty salaries rose dramatically, allowing us to attract and retain the wonderful teachers here today. We bought land and grew to 285 acres, we built new fields, a Middle School and Science Building, a Lower School, and rebuilt half the Upper School. He also put his heart and soul into changing the moral character of the school and bringing the values we stand for to life. He is without a doubt the greatest Headmaster the school has known in its 117 years.” — Phil Variano, Assistant Headmaster

It is difficult to imagine what Hackley would look like if Walter Johnson was never Headmaster.  Thankfully, we are instead able to enjoy the fruits of his tireless efforts over the last 21 years.  Walter has had a profound impact on virtually every aspect of the school.  His vision, beginning with the purchase of 172 acres from the Rockefellers early in his tenure and  through all of the building and renovation projects, transformed the physical space of Hackley into a world-class campus.  He also dramatically improved the lives of the Hackley community through increased financial aid and faculty compensation, ensuring that Hackley would continue to be a place where a diverse student body learned from each other and from talented and caring faculty.  Today, Hackley is recognized as a preeminent institution not just locally or around the country, but internationally as well.  Walter Johnson not only improved Hackley tremendously, he did so while retaining our values and our culture, thus strengthening the Hackley community during a time of intense change.” — John C. Canoni, President of Board of Trustees

“Through his writings, his words, and his vision for the campus, Mr. Johnson has affirmed, and in many ways, created and shaped our sense of identity, both as a community and as individual members within it.  So much of what we believe at Hackley, and to which we aspire, is because of what he saw in and for us all.” — Suzy Akin, Director of Communications

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The End of an Era: Legendary Headmaster Walter Johnson Leaves a Remarkable Legacy