CULVER – James P. Power, Ed.D., will officially be installed as the 13th Head of Schools of Culver Academies during a special ceremony in Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22. The Installation Ceremony will be followed by the Culver community welcoming 255 new students to campus during its annual Matriculation Ceremony at 8:30.
Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding high school comprised of Culver Military Academy (founded in 1894) and Culver Girls Academy (1971). The Academies’ enrollment consists of 815 students from 36 states and 22 countries.
An experienced educator who has led a number of private institutions for nearly 30 years, Power succeeds John Buxton who led the northern Indiana institution since 1999. A native of Philadelphia, Power comes to Culver after serving as the Principal of Upper Canada College in Toronto and Headmaster of Georgetown Preparatory School near Washington, D.C.
Following the Installation, new students will be welcomed into the Culver Academies community at the Matriculation Ceremony. Every new boy and girl walks through the Logansport Gate and is welcomed by Head of Schools Jim Power, and his wife, Mary Power, CGA Dean Lynn Rasch, CMA Commandant Capt. Mike Neller, CGA Senior Prefect Claire Martinez (Lowell, Ind.), and CMA Regimental Commander Nicholas Cefalu (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.). Passing through the gate represents the beginning of each student’s Culver experience.
A campus landmark, the Logansport Gate was a gift in 1914 from the city of Logansport in gratitude for the rescue efforts provided by Culver cadets in March 1913. Logansport officials asked Culver Military Academy to assist in rescuing residents trapped by the flooded Eel and Wabash rivers. CMA sent 60 cadets, 40 who were experienced in handling the summer Naval School’s four cutters, to take approximately 1,500 people to safety, many of whom were stranded on rooftops and second stories.
