Admiral Farragut Academy is pleased to announce that Dr. Adam Holden, Ed.D., will serve as the new President and Head of School effective May 1, 2021, following an international search by the Farragut Board of Directors.
Dr. Adam Holden
Dr. Holden is a renowned British-trained educator with more than 30 years of experience teaching and leading British, American, and international boarding, day, public and private schools. He will succeed Headmaster Robert Fine who is retiring from Farragut after more than 30 years this May.
Most recently, Dr. Holden serves as the Executive Head of School for the Instituto Alberto Einstein in Panama City, Panama, an international day school where his leadership has strategically grown enrollment, developed a model of financial sustainability, and updated campus facilities to create an internationally accredited and nationally recognized academic program.
Dr. Holden has served as an Adjunct and Visiting Professor at St. Bonaventure University for more than a decade, where he teaches graduate courses in Research Methods and Human Growth and Development. Between 2011 and 2016, Dr. Holden was Department Chair and Head of Academic Development at Fort Hays State University in Kansas and Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom. Dr. Holden was previously Head of School at the Scheck Hillel Community School in Miami, Florida, where his efforts earned a U.S. Department of Education National Blue-Ribbon School of Excellence award and accreditation as an International Baccalaureate World School.
In 2020, Dr. Holden was named a Special Advisor to the Panama Minister of Education in virtual and digital learning. He is also a member of the Ministry of Education Advisory Committee in Pandemic Management and has led two of the country’s pilot programs to define the virtual operation of public schools. Earlier in his career, Dr. Holden was a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in the United Kingdom and led a Combined Cadet Force for advanced leadership and training exercises.
Dr. Holden has a Doctorate of Education from California Coast University and is in the final stages of completing a second terminal degree from the University of Cambridge. He also has an Education Specialist degree from Fort Hays State University, a Master of Education from Washburn University, and a Bachelor of Education from Southampton University.
“We are excited for Farragut’s future under the transformative and energetic vision of Dr. Adam Holden and we are confident he will build upon the legacy of Bob Fine which has been a resounding success in our community,” said Christian Wagner, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Admiral Farragut Academy.
“Dr. Holden brings a vibrant approach to academia and a global perspective to our day and boarding school program,” said Art Musicaro, Co-Chair of the Board. “We are confident he can lead our school into the next decade and create new opportunities for collaborative, experiential learning for our students.”
Admiral Farragut Academy has nearly 90 years of rich academic heritage spanning its first campus in New Jersey to present-day St. Petersburg, Florida. The coeducational K-12 day and boarding school offers a dynamic and diverse university-preparatory curriculum with leadership development, academic excellence, and community engagement.
“I am honored to join the Farragut family and I am excited to work alongside such a talented team of professionals,” said Dr. Adam Holden. “The legacy of the school is so impressive, and I look forward to being a part of the innovative and exciting vision for the coming years.”