Emilie Davis Kosoff Appointed Lawrenceville School Dean of Faculty

The Lawrenceville School has appointed Emilie Davis Kosoff, who currently serves as the School’s associate dean of students, as its dean of faculty effective July 1, 2021. In this role, Kosoff will recruit, develop, support, evaluate, and ensure the overall outstanding quality of the Lawrenceville faculty. Responsible for maintaining the morale and enthusiasm of our teachers as well as a high bar of accountability and performance, Kosoff will also partner closely with the dean of academics to oversee the engaging pedagogy practiced within each discipline, and to maintain the highest quality classroom experience of Lawrenceville students.

”I could not be more pleased to announce this appointment,” said Head of School Steve Murray, who co-chaired the search committee. “Dean Kosoff rose to the top of an outstanding and diverse field of candidates, and it was evident during the rigorous search process that over the course of her remarkable tenure at Lawrenceville, she has earned the faith, trust, and respect of this entire community. With all of her experience and expertise, she is wonderfully positioned to build on the excellent work of her predecessor, Dr. Chris Cunningham.”

Kosoff brings 28 years of experience as an independent school administrator, teacher, coach, and House leader to the dean of faculty position. As associate dean of students, a senior staff position, she manages a range of student-centered initiatives focused on facilitating student leadership training and developing residential curriculum centered on the School mission. She collaborates with 41 residential life faculty to support all students, including providing effective recognition of their efforts and affirming their successes. Kosoff is also a member of the history department and is an assistant girls’ varsity lacrosse coach.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as Lawrenceville’s next dean of faculty. I will continue to work tirelessly to create a community of professionals where all feel like they belong and have an opportunity for growth. This can only be accomplished through building trust and a positive culture that is grounded in the core values of the School. I will prioritize this work as it will help us to retain current faculty and attract new talent that mirrors the diversity of the student body,” Kosoff said. “This is not the work of the dean of faculty alone and I look forward to being part of the leadership team to further innovate teaching practices, create systems to evaluate professional work, and establish partnerships to make Lawrenceville the best school in the country.”

A past chair of the history department, Kosoff managed 16 faculty members and co-chaired a review of the Third Form history curriculum to reshape the required European History class into a more global course.

Kosoff is a member of the School’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, which oversees the strategic planning, implementation, and outcomes for DEI initiatives at Lawrenceville. She was part of the earlier DEI Task Force, where her contributions included collaboration on a revamped leadership training program for senior prefects and student council and diversity council members. She is a current member the Building Anti-Racist White Educators discussion group, which helps scaffold critical conversations about race at Lawrenceville.

Kosoff has been named to a number of strategic leadership councils at Lawrenceville, including Head of School Search; Strategic Planning; Residential Life; Athletics; Mission Statement; Student and Faculty Pace of Life; and Academic Calendar committees.

As the Big Red girls’ varsity lacrosse assistant coach since 2006, Kosoff helped lead the program to numerous state championships, and her student-athletes have been recruited to play at top Division I and III college programs. She has also been Crescent director and head of House in both boys’ and girls’ residences.

Kosoff has earned some of Lawrenceville’s most prestigious honors, including the Henry and Janie Woods Meritorious Service Award (2019), the Graham and Carol Cole Distinguished Teaching Chair (2009), and the Joukowsky Distinguished Teaching Chair (2001), and was awarded a Joukowsky Fellowship in 1997.

A graduate of Colby College (B.A. in history), Kosoff captained the Mules women’s field hockey team for two years (her number was retired) and played basketball. She earned her M.A.L.S. from St. John’s College.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.