The Arrow Fall 2022

Ed Patton: Humble Servant, Thoughtful Mentor, Reluctant Icon

appealing, and after a 20-hour drive he arrived on The Hill for the first time. During his visit, an incident arose in one of the boys’ dorms which required the involvement of the Dean. Ed was asked if he wanted to “come along for the ride.” He agreed, and together they were able to successfully manage the situation. In recounting this story, Dr. Patton said, “It was at that very moment when I was immersed in the lives and issues of the students in that dorm that I realized that Oak Hill Academy was the place I was supposed to be. It was as if God spoke it directly to my heart.” The rest is history. Ed Patton and his wife Carolyn reported for duty at Oak Hill Academy in time to begin the 1967-68 school year. His first role was as a Bible and history teacher, and Carolyn soon became the secretary to the school President, a post she would hold for 14 years. The year after their arrival, the very friend who had first invited him to The Hill stepped down as Dean of Students and Ed was tapped to replace him. For the following 16 years, Ed impacted countless young people in his new role. Some would describe him as the perfect blend of compassion and sternness. All would agree that his heart was always for the students. He truly loved them, and for many he became a proxy father figure. He and Carolyn labored faithfully and sacrificially in their roles until 1985, when the next big step in his career unfolded. In 1986, Ed Patton was appointed as the 12 th President of Oak Hill Academy, and Carolyn took on the role of Administrative Assistant to the President. Over the next 16 years, the campus and program evolved tremendously. Under his leadership, in 1988 the English Academic Building and the Equestrian Facility were both constructed. That same year the school purchased a vintage farmhouse and land adjacent to campus- -referred to lovingly as the “Halsey House.” Today the school Principal lives in that home. Eventually, the campus footprint would nearly double in size during Dr. Patton’s presidency. Also in 1988, Oak Hill Academy gained entrance to the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) and was thus recognized as a fully accredited school. The school has remained fully accredited ever since. The Academy’s food service was first outsourced in 1989, thereby improving the quality of students’ dining experience. Ingram Hall, still the largest

Each school year, less than one percent of American high schoolers attend boarding schools like Oak Hill Academy. Despite this relatively small fraction, the positive and memorable outcomes realized by this bold sliver of students are numerous. Ask any graduate what makes boarding school so unique and you’ll hear about lively classrooms, great friends, and distinctive programs. And no doubt these are all important. But what makes the biggest difference in the lives of boarding school students is the abundance of mentor-quality adults that young people can find at places like Oak Hill Academy. These are the kinds of people who are custom-made to work with youth. They’re available, invested, tireless, empathetic. Unaffected by teen angst or adolescent awkwardness, they work hard to know the names and stories of their students, and are eager to share life with them. Ed Patton is and was just such a person. In 1966 LBJ was in the White House, the Packers and Chiefs were months away from playing in Super Bowl 1, and no person had ever walked on the moon. In those days, Ed Patton was a newly minted seminarian from Memphis who was serving as a youth pastor in Texas. One day he received a phone call that would change the course of his life. The call was from a friend who was teaching and serving as the Dean of Students at Oak Hill Academy, and who invited Ed to come visit him on campus. The invitation sounded