Today we share the passing of our beloved colleague and former Assistant Head of School Karin Clough. Karin was a remarkable person, and an unparalleled educator, mom, partner, daughter, teammate, colleague, and friend, who generously shared a sixteen year chapter of her life and family with our Proctor community.
Our mind’s eye has an image of Karin sitting at a table in the dining hall talking to a student. Her right elbow is resting on the table, while her hand supports her chin. Her eyes are fixed on the young person, listening in that moment with unparalleled intention. All of us who were taught by Karin, whether an advisee, player, dorm resident, or colleague, had the privilege of sharing a moment like this with her. While the specifics of the conversation may have been lost with time, we absolutely remember how Karin made us feel when she listened. As Assistant Head of School, she undoubtedly had a million potential distractions pulling at her attention, but in that moment, she was fully present for us. One of Karin’s most lasting gifts to Proctor was her interest in us, in who we were, who we sought to be, and how she could partner with us in that journey.
After graduating from Holderness School, Karin attended Dartmouth College where she played ice hockey, and went on to earn her JD from the University of Tennessee School of Law. She began her career in education at Deerfield Academy and then Bowdoin College. With her young family in tow, she helped run the Aga Khan School in Kenya before returning to her New England roots and settling at Proctor. When Karin arrived at Proctor in 2008 with her three young children (Luke ‘18, Finn ‘18, and Sofia) and husband, Kurt, she immediately made an impact on the lives of Proctor students and colleagues. First, as an English teacher, coach, and advisor, and then as Assistant Head of School from 2015-2022, and finally as a member of the Alumni and Development Team in 2023-2024, Karin asked questions that encouraged us to think differently, to trust in our abilities, and to try things we never thought we were capable of doing. She showed up. Always. For games and races and performances and art shows, for students and colleagues in need, for her own family, for parents during difficult conversations and in moments of joy. She taught us what it means to be present for one another and for a school community, and she showed us how to be truly interested in the lives of others.
Karin’s longtime friend, colleague, and Head of School Mike Henriques shared the following, “There are joyful educators and visionary administrators, great legal minds and minds of playful curiosity, adventurers who run mountains and travel to distant lands and those with a keen appreciation of what it means to sit in the quiet of a barn or sugar house. There are those who know how to build and sustain family and those who commit to community. How rare is it to encounter someone who possesses all of these skillsets and values while consistently radiating genuine warmth?” Mike adds, “Karin had those qualities and more, casting a delightful, professional spell on the Proctor community throughout her years. Her reach as a compassionate, caring person traveled so much farther than Andover, New Hampshire. I was fortunate to know her and grateful to work with her and be inspired by her. She made me a better person and Proctor a better school. Her inspiration will be long lasting for me as it will be for countless others.”
In 2016, Karin wrote a blog for Proctor’s website on the power of the advisor/advisee relationship in which she shared the following, “This is the gift parents give their children when they invite Proctor into their family’s life. Children will connect with a favorite advisor, teacher, or coach, and this bond will last a lifetime. I am fortunate enough to see my own three children interact daily with their advisors as Proctor students. They each have a different relationship with the adults in their lives, but the constant is the mutual respect, genuine caring, and seemingly endless positive encouragement they each receive. I see how valuable those additional adult relationships can be at a time when teens naturally seek independence from their parents. Our children need role models and advocates who can expand their understanding of the world and how to live in it gracefully.” Karin showed each of us how to be that type of adult for our students, and, in turn, a generation of Proctor students has benefitted from Karin’s leadership at Proctor.
We share in the Clough/Weber family’s grief during this time and celebrate the impact Karin had on so many at Proctor, at her previous schools, and in her wide-spanning spheres of influence around the region and globe. We invite those who would like to share a note about Karin’s influence as an educator or colleague in the comments below or to send a note to the family at: The Weber Family, 197 Old College Road, Andover, NH 03216.
A celebration of life will take place on August 1, 2026 starting at 3:00 PM at the Highland Lake Inn, 32 Maple Street, Andover, NH. The family asks that you kindly RSVP HERE if you are planning on attending.
- Alumni
- Community and Relationships
- Faculty/Staff