Chris Angel
photo by Med Dement
Chris Angel was known as one of the fastest runners to ever set foot on the Baylor School campus when he was a student there in the 1980s.
But during his return to school this summer to begin his new role as headmaster, he took a little extra time to deliberately enjoy his surroundings again before the students began arriving.
“It is awesome in so many ways,” the 1989 graduate said about returning after being away for nearly 20 years.
“My mind is often flooded with memories as I turn a hallway or walk across campus.
“Having spent 14 years of my life here (as a student and teacher/coach), there are so many memories that come flooding back as I walk these beautiful grounds,” he continued, pointing out he appreciates the setting by the river and mountains even more after being away. “It’s a little surreal coming back in this role.”
As was announced more than a year ago, Mr. Angel is returning to his former school as Baylor’s 10th headmaster following the retirement of Scott Wilson from the class of 1975. Along with Herb Barks, Mr. Angel is the third alumnus to lead the school.
It is an honor he said he does not take lightly. “Baylor is the ultimate dream for me,” he said. “To return to my alma mater and have a powerful impact on the students that Baylor had on me as a student is great.”
As he recently talked about his past connection to Baylor and his future hopes for the school from his Hunter Hall office, he said that he and his family were quite happy at the Hammond School before his alma mater called. Hammond is an independent college preparatory school in Columbia, S.C., that has had in administrative leadership positions several Baylor alumni, including Mr. Barks and Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Angel had served as headmaster there since 2009 after working as head of the upper school from 2002-2009.
“This (Baylor) is the only school I would have left Hammond to work at,” he said. “We were all very happy at Hammond. It is a wonderful community and we enjoyed it thoroughly. It was hard to leave. But once we made the decision, it allowed us to get excited about the transition.”
Mr. Angel had enrolled at Baylor as a seventh grader in 1983 from the Bright School and jokingly recalled initially being intimidated by the discipline-focused geography teacher Fred Hubbs until later learning he was a big teddy bear.
Challenging academic subjects, participating in sports, attending pep rallies and hearing diverse visiting artists and speakers brought in by Mr. Barks are among his other cherished memories.
This former student and multi-sport athlete, who could run a 100-meter dash in a head-turning time ranging from 10.6 to 10.8 seconds, especially recalls one day that he said captured his overall Baylor experience perfectly.
“One day I took the SAT in the morning, played in a baseball game and ran in a track meet that day, and went to the prom that night,” he recalled with a laugh.
He was also at Baylor as an eighth grader when the announcement was made that Baylor would become coed in the fall of 1985. Although varying opinions were offered among students, alumni and others at the time, he thought the school made the right choice, adding that boys and girls push each other in positive ways.
Despite all these vast student experiences, it was a brief job he had at Baylor working with the administration as a student that perhaps best gave him future insight into leading the school.
“During lunch I got to go out to eat with Herb Barks, (admissions director) Jimmy Duke, (administrator) Ray Deering and (busines operations official) Hugh Huddleston,” he recalled. “These guys were all larger than life.”
Although Mr. Angel had briefly considered walking on as a pinch runner on the University of Georgia’s baseball team, which won the College World Series during his freshman year, he instead became a regular student at Athens.
But he did quickly find his heart pumping like a college athlete’s when early in his freshman year, he laid eyes at a social function on a fellow student from Greensboro, N.C., named Peggy.
“I saw her and I was head over heels from day one and knew this was who I wanted to be with,” he said.
They would eventually marry and have three daughters, University of Georgia students Rosemary and Lilly, and Baylor ninth grader Abigail.
Mr. Angel, who also loves the Georgia Bulldogs football team as predecessor Mr. Wilson does, majored in biology and began teaching biology and chemistry at Baylor in 1994 and later took on administrative roles before leaving in 2002. He said it was neat to get to live in the late Jimmy Duke’s former apartment in Lupton Hall, saying he admired him greatly as a student.
He also did some coaching early on, working under Ralph Potter, who is now the successful head football coach at McCallie.
“I really enjoyed coaching with him,” he said. “I was really impressed. I learned a lot coaching with him and had a lot of respect for him as a coach.”
Mr. Angel, who also received an M.A. degree in private school leadership from Columbia University in New York City, said he was also looking forward to meeting new Girls Preparatory School head Megan Cover and becoming better acquainted with McCallie head Lee Burns.
“I think there are some things the three schools can do together to help support independent education in Chattanooga,” he said, adding that he is also looking forward to enjoying again the rich rivalries between the schools in sports and other areas.
Regarding his immediate plans for Baylor, he wants to continue building upon the school’s traditional focus on academics, the arts, character, athletics and service.
“We don’t just want to educate smart students,” he said. “We want to create good citizens as well. We want to make a positive impact on the world. We want to create the kind of culture that Baylor fosters and allows students to develop into who they are in a comfortable environment.”
He also thinks Baylor can continue to improve, whether it is with academic research opportunities, global student exchange and study abroad opportunities, outdoor learning, or getting all sports teams competing at the highest level.
“It’s important to remember the past, but not be afraid to evolve,” he said.
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net
Chris Angel
photo by Med Dement