Forging Unimaginable Pathways

“The potency of the unpredictable in human affairs.’ I love that phrase,” shared Dr. Raynard S. Kington, during his first visit to All-School Meeting. “Mainly because my entire career has been absolutely unpredictable.”

He was quoting Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe while discussing his own path to becoming Andover’s 16th head of school. “That is the wonderful consequence of having a great education,” he continued. “Once you open a mind, it might go anywhere if given the opportunity.”

Kington will arrive from Grinnell College, which he has led as president for the past 10 years, though his expertise extends well beyond higher education. He’s served as both principal deputy director and acting director of the National Institutes of Health. Kington earned his BS and MD from the University of Michigan and received his MBA and PhD from Wharton.

“He is an intellectual force and a strategic thought partner whose core principles align with Andover’s mission and institutional values,” said Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, president-elect of the Board of Trustees.

Kington will officially join the school this summer, but in December left his ASM audience with these words: “Once you teach an individual to explore the world, the world offers the individual previously unimaginable pathways. I know that is precisely the type of education that Andover provides, and it is one of the reasons why I found this position so appealing.”

Learn more at andover.edu/HOS16.

Originally printed in The Vista: Views from the Knowledge & Goodness Campaign, spring 2020.