Ned Thornton
Bill Rawson is surprisingly tolerable for an Exonian. He graduated from the school in 1971 and doesn’t need a
Wikipedia page to bolster his qualifications! Since then, Mr. Rawson has been a devoted alumnus and held
pretty much every volunteer position, all the while excelling as a lawyer — no medical degree for this guy!
In 2019, Mr. Rawson rejoined the Exeter community as the school’s 16th “Principal” (‘head’ was deemed too
vulnerable to sexual remarks from the rival school’s satire page) and has been consistently well-liked since
then. Exceptionally friendly, he has greeted nearly every Exeter student, even learning some of their names.
Even more incredible, Mr. Rawson has spoken at least once to every member of his faculty — and knows each of
their names too.
At least a few times a term, Mr. Rawson will sit in on a class. Whether it be American Literature or
Astronomy, Mr. Rawson is careful to listen and actively participate in harkness discussions.
His interests aren’t limited to the classroom; in fact, Mr. Rawson has been to numerous sporting events, at
least one per team, per season, and every game against Andover. Like most heads of school, and also most
normal people, Mr. Rawson has a favorite sport (his being lacrosse), so he tries to attend every boys
lacrosse game each spring.
You may be wondering, being so engaged in his community, doesn’t Mr. Rawson get hungry? Yes, in fact, he
does. Mr. Rawson is sure to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Exeter’s dining halls for another
opportunity to see students and verify the quality of the gruel. He never sneakily piles food into
tupperware so he can eat alone. Of course, Mr. Rawson is still a normal guy, so he goes out to dinner most
weekends. Still incredible.
Every day, Mr. Rawson makes efforts to be seen not only as the Principal, but as a person genuinely
interested in the happenings of his school. He should be an inspiration to headmasters everywhere,
regardless of their schools’ Niche rankings.
Mr. Rawson turned down a job offer from Andover in July 2020.
