Chattanooga education veteran Lanny Witt to lead high school at Lipscomb Academy
Kim Chaudoin |
Secondary school veteran Lanny Witt has been named high school principal at Lipscomb Academy in a joint announcement from L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb University president, and Mike Hammond, university vice president and Lipscomb Academy headmaster.
Witt, who is head of school at Boyd-Buchanan School in Chattanooga, brings a range of leadership experience in the public and private school sectors. He was selected following a rigorous national search and selection process. He will assume the duties of principal on July 1.
“We intend for Lipscomb Academy to be one of the best private schools in Nashville. Lanny brings substantial experience at a number of public and private institutions in three states. He has a very clear idea of what academic excellence is and fully understands the spiritual formation component that is so vital to our community,” said L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb University president. “He is a leader in education and in the community. We’re thrilled that someone of his caliber is joining us to help carry out our mission. We are excited about what can happen when someone who has great experience brings new ideas that will launch us into an exciting future.”
Witt, who has led Boyd-Buchanan for the past five years, began his career teaching history and Spanish as well as coaching football in public schools in east Texas for 10 years. Following that, Witt was president of East Texas Christian Academy in Tyler, Texas. In 2000, he was named president of Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to joining the Boyd-Buchanan administration, Witt served as secondary school principal at Alabama Christian Academy in Montgomery, Ala.
“Lanny’s leadership depth at multiple levels of education thoroughly impressed the selection committee,” said Mike Hammond, university vice president and headmaster for Lipscomb Academy. “He was a standout, and I know he will be a valued addition both to this academy and the teaching profession in Middle Tennessee.”
Witt is a member of the National Christian School Association accreditation commission, the Southeast Christian School Consortium steering committee and the Chattanooga Downtown Rotary Club. He is past president of the Brainerd/East Brainerd Chamber of Commerce and has served as a deacon at Alta Mesa and Shiloh Road Churches of Christ. Witt currently serves as an elder at Clear Creek Church of Christ where he has led mission trips to Mexico and taught adult Bible classes for four years.
He holds an undergraduate degree in secondary education from Abilene Christian University and a Master’s of Education in educational administration from East Texas State University. He and his wife, Carol, who also is a career educator, have two daughters, Haley, a graduate of Harding University’s School of Nursing, and Heather, who will be a freshman at Lipscomb University this fall.
Lipscomb Academy is the largest private K-12 school in Middle Tennessee with an enrollment of nearly 1,400 students. It is divided into three divisions — the elementary, middle and high schools. It is the only independent school in Middle Tennessee and one of the few in the nation that is operated by a university.