Few names are so widely known among the Peddie community as James A. Hamilton, who became Peddie’s 17th head of school on July 1, 2025. His unanimous appointment by the board of trustees was announced on Sept. 26, 2024, and his installation took place just over one year later, on Sept. 27, 2025.
Since arriving on campus, what has the new head of school thought of Peddie so far? Mr. Hamilton sat down with us to discuss his daily routines, his experience so far and his vision for the school’s future. The 30-minute interview also touched on Mr. Hamilton’s advice for current students and what he believes sets Peddie apart for prospective families.
After spending most of his career in independent schools, including as head of school of Berwick Academy from 2018-25, Mr. Hamilton began considering where the next leg of his journey would take him. “As I thought about the last big chapter of my school career, I was drawn to Peddie because of the majority boarding population and” … “because of the strength of the campus,” he recalled.
As he became acquainted with Peddie, he admired the commitment of the professional community. Another major appeal was the “energy and excitement” of the students, in addition to “a level of character that I thought was extraordinary.”
With that energy and character, combined with Peddie’s resources, Mr. Hamilton stated that “Peddie is a place where you can excel … this is a place where you can go anywhere you want to go.” And students at Peddie do excel after high school; as he put it, they “take their knowledge of citizenship to colleges all over the world,” thereby “opening new doors for themselves in their lives.”
When asked for three words that define Peddie, Mr. Hamilton offered “citizenship,” “collegiality” and “talent.” To him, citizenship means being academically, morally and ethically ready for the world beyond Peddie. He defines collegiality as the talent and commitment that faculty members often show. “I’m blown away each and every week by both my colleagues and their talents in the classroom,” Mr. Hamilton reflected.
Mr. Hamilton also shared advice for current students. First: “Control the things that you can control … If you are working hard and being resilient and iterating, you will present yourself with options continuously.” His other piece of advice was to stay curious. “Oftentimes, we can be so sure about something that we end up being close-minded. And so I would urge folks to be curious … not only towards academics, but about the people around you.”
