Science Teacher Ken Mills Honored with Lawrenceville’s Best for All Award

Ken Mills has spent much of his Lawrenceville career encouraging others—whether in the science lab, on the playing field, or in the House. The School recently returned that encouragement when Mills, a veteran biology and chemistry teacher, coach, and mentor, received Lawrenceville’s Best for All Award, established in 2024 through the generosity of Robert Levy and Michael P. Clifford ’83 P’26.

The award celebrates faculty who embody the essence of Lawrenceville life: teachers who excel in their classrooms, coaches who inspire on the fields, and mentors whose doors are open to students and colleagues alike. By every measure, Mills fits that description.

“Last year, as interim science department chair, Ken expertly led his department through a year of great transition in the schedule, curriculum, and teaching assignments,” said Interim Dean of Faculty Bernadette Teeley. “He’s now returned full-time to teaching and we are deeply appreciative of his good humor, kindness, and willingness to lean into challenges.”

Mills has built a career on going, as he put it, “beyond what’s written down.” Boarding school life, he believes, demands more than any job description can capture. “The students, the parents, the House, the athletics, the curriculum—going above and beyond means doing all of it, and doing it to the best of your ability, while still serving your family.”

His goal has always been to make science meaningful and relevant. “There was a time when we taught biology with a model of lecture, lecture, lab, test. Now, I want students to wrestle with data, analyze variation, and think critically. It’s not just about preparing future scientists. It’s about preparing informed citizens who can make thoughtful decisions about the world around them.”

That philosophy has shaped his decades of teaching and continues to drive his work with the Hutchins Scholars in Science Research, where students design and carry out real-world investigations. “That’s what science looks like in the real world now,” Mills explained. “Nobody works in isolation. Collaboration is key.”

Mills first arrived at Lawrenceville in 1982, eager to throw himself into every aspect of campus life—teaching science, coaching football, and supporting students in Dickinson House. After 30 years, he expanded his reach, serving in senior leadership positions at Ransom Everglades School in Miami and Gifft Hill School in the Virgin Islands. His return to Lawrenceville in 2024 was, in many ways, a homecoming, allowing him to apply decades of experience to the community he has always considered central to his career.

“What I came back appreciating more is how intensely cognizant Lawrenceville is of trying to support the emotional and physical wellbeing of the students. There are a lot of resources that go into supporting the students here [and] I've come to appreciate how hard Lawrenceville works at trying to educate students and support their education, education in the broadest sense, not just in the classroom,” Mills said.

He works to create a classroom where students feel comfortable enough to take risks. Mistakes, he emphasized, are a normal part of learning. “The first step is to make students feel safe—safe enough to try, to fail, and to grow,” he stated.

One of his proudest professional contributions was serving as science department chair during the planning, fundraising, and construction of the F. M. Kirby Science Center (now the F. M. Kirby Math and Science Center). He worked daily with architects, builders, and colleagues to ensure the building reflected a forward-looking vision of inquiry-driven science education. “We were charged with imagining what science teaching would look like 25 or 50 years into the future,” Mills recalled. “Now, more than 25 years later, I think the building has held up well and has allowed us to adapt to the changes we expected, even if we couldn’t predict their exact form.”

When asked what advice he offers most often, Mills laughed. “This too shall pass,” he said. “Keep your head up. Things happen for a reason.”

Alumni tell him how much that advice—and his example—meant to them. Some have even joined him on the faculty. “To have former students now working here, some even as my bosses—that’s something to be proud of,” he said.

But Mills insists that the real legacy is not about him. “It’s nice if students remember me, but I hope they remember Lawrenceville as a really positive experience. If I contribute to that in some way, that’s enough.”

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.