About the Head of School

Welcoming Dr. Peter Folan as Head of School

Dr. Peter F. Folan is a long-tenured school leader with a track record of leadership in secondary independent and university settings. A proponent of student-centered and interdisciplinary learning, Dr. Folan begins his role as Dexter Southfield’s fifth Head of School on July 1, 2025. His work as a student advocate and his commitment to academic, athletic, and co-curricular excellence have been hallmarks of his professional career.

Dr. Folan spent 11 years as the President at Catholic Memorial (CM), where he spearheaded a schoolwide renaissance from academics to fundraising to campus facilities improvements. Dr. Folan led an expansion of the school’s performing arts program with its speech and debate team winning seven state championships. His passion for athletics helped CM renew its focus on athletic excellence resulting in many individual and team Conference and State Championships, including three Superbowls. He rebuilt the urban campus including the Yawkey Center for Integrated and Applied Learning, The Walsh Field House, and the James P. Healey Athletic Complex.

Dr. Folan served in administration at Boston College (BC) in the Office of First Year Experience, where he oversaw orientation and academic advisement for thousands of freshmen students and wrote the First-Year Academic Convocation Reading Guide. He also worked as a student advocate in the Office of the Dean of Students and the Women’s Resource Center. His significant impact on students was recognized by Boston College with the Mary Kaye Waldron Award in 2014.

An accomplished English teacher and coach, Dr. Folan began his career at Avon Old Farms where he served as an advisor, dorm parent, and head varsity wrestling coach. Dr. Folan also taught at Belmont High School where he was voted “Teacher of the Year” during his second year. Returning to his alma mater, Belmont Hill, he taught English and coached three seasons, while serving as Director of Boarding Life and Associate Director of Admissions. Dr. Folan was recognized for his coaching tenure in 2008 with the ISL Athletic Association Excellence in Coaching Award and NEPSAC’s Bill Van Order Wrestling Award.

Dr. Folan earned his Doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in Higher Education Management, and his dissertation researched the impact of single-sex education in New England boys’ schools. He has taught and lectured at Boston College and Merrimack College. Dr. Folan earned his master’s degree from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education where his studies concentrated on curriculum and instruction. His undergraduate degree in English is also from Boston College where he was a scholar-athlete, member of the varsity wrestling team, and lead volunteer in the Boston College Campus School. At BC, he was awarded the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Memorial Scholarship and Orrie Scarminach Memorial Athletic Scholarship. Dr. Folan also completed the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Folan has served as a trustee at the Fessenden School and Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. He is a Corporator of Cambridge Savings Bank and serves on a Board Member of its charitable foundation board. Dr. Folan is also a member of the advisory board of the Boston College Carroll School of Management and is an active member of the Boston College CEO Club. His reflections have also been published by the Boston College Press, C21 Magazine, and the Boston Herald.

Dr Folan is married to Karlyn Marini Folan, a former elementary school teacher and current reading specialist. They are the proud parents of two children, as well as Bella, the golden retriever.