Eric Benke was appointed Upper School Director in 2006. Baldwin's remarkable combination of high academic standards and close community interaction was particularly appealing to him when he was first contacted about this position.

 

He has been teaching since 1972, and has years of experience as an Upper School head at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass., and St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas. Eric has been for many years a teacher of ancient and modern world history. Currently, he teaches a section of Grade X Comparative Modern World History. He is directly involved in fostering innovation in the Upper School curriculum. Recent initiatives include a new daily schedule, a new Mandarin Chinese language option, and  new computer science electives. This year he is supporting the development of new senior-level courses to replace the AP program (which the school has decided to drop) as well as a new college-level independent research track for motivated seniors.

 

He earned his BA at Haverford College and his MLA at Southern Methodist University.