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University of Chicago Lab Schools Director Resigns

By Joe Ward | May 25, 2016 5:00pm | Updated on May 25, 2016 5:30pm
 Robin Appleby will step down as the director of the University of Chicago Lab Schools.
Robin Appleby will step down as the director of the University of Chicago Lab Schools.
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University of Chicago

CHICAGO — The director of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools has resigned two years after taking over the schools.

Robin Appleby, Lab Schools director, said in a letter to school stakeholders that the "time was right" for her to step aside, allowing for a new leader at the school. Her resignation will be effective June 30, two years after she was named to the post.

"As the schools ready for a new strategic planning process, the time is right for me to step away to focus on my family and pursue other professional opportunities aligned with our global interests," she wrote. 

University of Chicago spokesman Jeremy Manier confirmed Appleby's resignation. He said she decided to step down and shared her decision with the staff Tuesday.

"She has made many contributions to the Lab over the last two years and is looking forward to pursuing a new chapter in what already has been a distinguished career," Manier said in a statement.

In her time as the head of the schools, Appleby worked to complete the "Lab+" strategic plan, signed a new labor contract with the school's faculty and built new programs and partnerships, Appleby wrote.

Manier said the Lab schools will be headed in the interim by Beth A. Harris, a 30-year employee of the University of Chicago, including 13 years as vice president and general counsel.

A search for a new director will be held over the summer, Manier said.

In July 2014, Appleby took over the private school that serves preschool through high school-aged students, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel's children.

Before taking the Lab Schools position, Appleby led the Global Education Management Systems American Academies, which has campuses in Dubai, Egypt, Switzerland and Uganda, according to a University of Chicago news release.

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