New Master Teacher Named

After 35 years educating Marksmen, J.T. Sutcliffe will retire at the end of the 2018–2019 school year. As the first holder of the Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair, J.T.’s upcoming retirement opens an opportunity to recognize another member of the St. Mark’s Mathematics Department.

At a special faculty meeting on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini announced that Joe Milliet will become the next holder of the McGee Family Master Teaching Chair, beginning in the 2019–2020 school year. Joe will transition from the Thomas B. Walker III '73 Mathematics Department Chair, and focus more of his energy on classroom teaching.

“I’m excited to be able to focus on teaching as an art,” Joe said. “This move will give me more time to work with Marksmen, both in and out of the classroom. That will be a great gift that I will treasure.”

Joe is also honored to be following in the footsteps of J.T. Sutcliffe. The two veteran math teachers share adjoining offices and classrooms in Centennial Hall and have spent many years switching off rotations as junior and senior class sponsors. “She is the greatest math teacher I have ever known. It will be an honor to succeed her in this position. It will also be a challenge to try to live up to her standard of excellence.”

Prior to joining the St. Mark’s faculty in 2000, Joe Milliet taught high school mathematics at Beaumont Central High School for 22 years. During that time, he took on many roles as an Advanced Placement (AP) consultant in mathematics for the College Board. In June 1998, Joe became an associate director for the AP Program with the College Board office in Austin, Texas. After two years in Austin working with both the College Board and the University of Texas to develop AP support materials, Joe decided to return to teaching and joined the faculty at St. Mark's.

The Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair was established in 2010 in recognition of the family’s gratitude for St. Mark’s and the special relationships their family had formed with faculty members like Joe Milliet. Mr. Milliet taught both of the McGee boys, William ’12 and Patrick ’11, and he served as Patrick’s advisor.

“We have always believed in the importance of giving back to the institutions that shape your life. No other institution has played a more vital role in our boys’ lives than St. Mark’s,” said Suzanne McGee in 2010, after presenting the family’s gift. “The teachers introduced our sons to the arts, taught them important lessons in history, helped them to develop a passion for community service, exposed them to the fundamentals of leadership, and so much more. We are so grateful for what the teachers have done not only for our boys but for all of the young men at St. Mark’s.”

The School has begun a search for the next Thomas B. Walker III '73 Mathematics Department Chair.