At a staff meeting this afternoon in the Hartness-Thornwell Memorial Presbyterian Church, Thornwell Home for Children President Robert W. (Skip) Stansell announced his plan to retire from Thornwell at the end of 2010. Stansell, who has served as president of Thornwell since February of 2001, said he and his wife, Peggy, made the difficult decision after a significant period of prayerful consideration. He expressed his profound gratitude to the Board of Trustees for the honor and privilege of serving as the seventh president of Thornwell.


In his announcement to the staff, Stansell expressed his heartfelt love and admiration for the excellence of the work of each staff member and thanked the staff for its loving and nurturing work on behalf of Thornwell’s children.


During his tenure as president, Stansell was instrumental in transitioning the residential program at Thornwell from its traditional houseparent model to the nationally certified Teaching-Family Model. He also worked to strengthen the program of Christian nurture.


Thornwell closed its private schools and the residential students were successfully assimilated into the District 56 system. The Thornwell Learning Center was developed to insure that Thornwell students received the highest possible level of academic support.


The Thornwell farm was transitioned from a working dairy farm into the Thornwell Agricultural Education Center where students from both School Districts 55 and 56 take agricultural courses. The Thornwell farm also supports a cross-district 4-H program for Thornwell residents and students in the two school districts.


The Stansells plan to retire to their home in Black Mountain, North Carolina and spend more time with their family.


Dr. John Lown, Chairman of the Board of Trustees said that the board accepted Stansell’s decision to retire with regret. He went on to commend Stansell for his leadership of Thornwell during years of tremendous economic challenges. “Skip has worked long and hard to insure that the quality of services provided Thornwell students have remained excellent, even as necessary budget cuts were implemented. We will miss his leadership.”


Lown reported that a transition committee will be appointed in the very near future. The committee will have the responsibility for naming an interim president and searching for a new president.




Contact: Lorain Crowl, Communications Director
Thornwell Home for Children
PO Box 60 – Clinton, SC 29325
864-938-2713
lcrowl@thornwell.org