September 11, 2012
Dear Gow Families and Friends:
With 32 years of service to The Gow School and hundreds of his students, Director of Admissions, Mr. Rob Garcia, officially informed me last week he is planning to retire at the end of this school year. Rob has successfully worn many hats at Gow including teacher, dorm parent, athletic director, our first basketball coach, and of course twenty years as our Director of Admissions. We all know and appreciate the fantastic work Rob has done at Gow over the decades. One mom recently told me that Rob has literally saved many lives – true.
Rob joined our team in 1980 and he hit the ground running. Rob’s natural teaching and coaching instincts were immediately noticed. Since that start, Rob has been a key contributor to the overall quality of the academic program as well as the athletic department. Rob and his wife, Leslie, continue to open their hearts and their home to current and past students. While raising his own family on campus, Rob was the type of dorm parent to help raise many other teenage boys. In the eyes of many, Rob is the gatekeeper of our student population. A successful Admissions Director is warm and firm while he strives to keep true to the mission and student profile. Rob has successfully done this for twenty years. Today, Gow is enrolled to capacity with a waiting list in specific grades, and we can thank Rob Garcia once more.
For the past two years, Rob has suggested his pending retirement. Rob and I have been working together on a succession plan by mentoring and training our Associate Director of Admissions, Mr. Doug Cotter. Doug has been shadowing Rob for quite some time in his travels and speaking engagements. In Rob’s words, “Doug is prepared to step into the Director of Admissions position.” I fully agree and therefore I proudly announce Doug Cotter will become Gow’s next Director of Admissions starting July 1, 2013. We greatly appreciate Rob’s considerate efforts for this smooth and seamless transition.
Doug began his Gow years as a student in 1983 in grades 9 and 10. He later graduated from the University of Buffalo with a B.A. in Modern European History in 1993. At that time, Doug was hired as an R.L. teacher, dorm parent, and coach, to name a few. He has been working in the Admissions Office as Associate Director of Admissions since 2003. Doug continues to lead our Headwaiters, Crimson Key Club, and he also oversees The Gow School Summer Program admissions and enrollment management. Doug and his wife, Kelly, have two sons and he is an avid sailor.
Rob is a familiar face in the LD schools circuit and well known by our feeder schools. He is closely networked with educational consultants and widely respected by the independent school community. Rob has even helped orient admissions directors at other schools. The teacher in him wants to see those around him flourish. Many alumni seek him out first when they come to visit South Wales. Rob will be missed next school year, and many of us greatly appreciate the professional model he has built here at Gow. We suspect Rob will embrace this phase of life as an active grandparent and a golfer with his clubs in the trunk of his car ready to go. Please join me in expressing our gratitude and honor to Rob Garcia as he approaches the finish line for an outstanding career at Gow.
Sincerely,
M. Bradley Rogers, Jr.
Headmaster
