Meet the Headmaster

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After more than 30 years of dedicated service, Father Dunnan has announced that he will retire in June of 2027, marking the end of a significant chapter in Saint James School's history. The Board of Trustees has formed a search committee and is actively planning to ensure a smooth transition in 2027. Concurrent with the search we will celebrate Father Dunnan’s transformative leadership of Saint James.

To read Father Dunnan's letter to Tod Salisbury (Chairman of the Board), Mr. Salisbury's letter to the community, and FAQs, please visit: www.stjames.edu/search

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Stuart Dunnan is an Episcopal priest who has been the Headmaster of Saint James School since July of 1992.

Father Dunnan graduated from St. Albans School, cum laude, and earned an AB, magna cum laude, and an AM with a major in history from Harvard University. He also earned a BA and a D. Phil. in theology from Oxford University and a Certificate in Anglican Studies from the General Theological Seminary in New York. Before coming to Saint James, he taught history and was a college counselor for two years at Harvard School in Los Angeles, and then later served as chaplain for an additional year. At Oxford, he served on the Chapter of Pusey House, and then as the Chaplain and a junior research fellow in history at Lincoln College.

Since coming to Saint James, Father Dunnan has doubled the size of the student body from 120 to 240, making the school fully coeducational and greatly increasing its racial and demographic diversity. During his 32 years as headmaster, Saint James has expanded and improved its academic, athletic, fine arts, music, drama, and residential programs, and built, purchased, and/or renovated every building on campus, while maintaining its distinctive Anglo-Catholic identity and its more traditional and community-oriented culture. It has also increased its endowment tenfold and purchased an additional 435 acres of surrounding farmland to protect the setting of the school.

Father Dunnan has also been very involved in leadership positions outside the school, having served as Chair of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Maryland, President of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Episcopal Schools, and Vice Chair of the Washington County Community Foundation. He is presently a founding director of the Family Heritage Trust Company, a trustee of Drew University and chair of the enrollment committee, and Vice Chair of the Meritus Health System Board and founding Chair of the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, which will open in the fall of 2025.

He has published two collections of sermons and essays from his first 17 years as headmaster: From the Pulpit of Saint James School, vols. 1&2.