90 Seconds with Dr. Bruder

Q: What are you most excited about becoming Head of School at Hotchkiss?

A: I’m interested in ensuring that Hotchkiss becomes the most exciting school it can become, and that means getting to know what’s working really well there and imagining with faculty and students what it could become. I like the vast range of unusual and usual challenges in schools and am excited to think about those challenges. It’s wild because in schools, challenges can be as simple as what you do when weather gives you massive snow storms in January—and can be as complex as reimagining learning in the age of AI and questioning how we can ensure that kids learn skills of teamwork and passion. How do you make the best humans? I like the pivot between all of those: the questions that are wildly philosophical and imminently practical and dogmatic.

Q: What will you miss most about Deerfield?

A: I will miss so many things about Deerfield—the exuberance of my students and the hardworking, compassionate colleagues I spend every day with. I will miss the people more than anything.

Q: How would you describe the school character of Hotchkiss and Deerfield?

A: I was given very good advice by Hotchkiss’s prior Head of School, Skip Mattoon, who was also Dean of Faculty at Deerfield. He said whenever I’m asked this question, I should respond with: “Deerfield is a school on a river. Hotchkiss is a school on a lake.”

Q: Is there anything on your bucket list that you would like to accomplish before the end of the year?

A: I have a very deep bucket. I want to ensure that I leave all the projects I have been working on in the very best hands of my Deerfield colleagues, and that they can grow even a"er I leave. One initiative is the Classroom Insights Program, which trains observers to enter classrooms and provide short, frequent feedback to teachers.

Q: What has been the most surprising thing about DA that you have found?

A: Honestly, the most surprising thing about Deerfield is the fun I have in my job, and the fun everyone else around me has as well. Until I came to Deerfield, I didn’t know schools could be as joyful as this.

Q: What’s a hobby of yours that most people don’t know about? A: I absolutely love to cross-country ski. Sometimes, when the snow is good, I like to think of the farmlands as a superhighway for my cross-country skiing.

Q: Favorite place to work on campus?

A: My favorite place is my corner once in the library, where I can look out over the trees and be surrounded by my dearest friends in academic a$airs.

Q: If you could coach one cocurric, which one would you pick?

A: I have been asking to coach ever since I got here, but I guess my athletic prowess has always been questioned. I would happily coach any team, but the ones I have repeatedly volunteered for— and been rejected—are soccer and cross-country. I would also love to coach the ski team.