By Sammy Roth
Brenda Anderson will replace Andrew LauGel as head of the middle school Visual Arts Department next year, and Chronicle Adviser Kathleen Neumeyer will lead the new upper school Communications Department, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said.
LauGel has taught at Harvard-Westlake for 18 years and was the middle school visual arts department head for the last nine. During that time he created the Introduction to Yearbook and Animiation classes.
He decided to step down after finally implementing a new seventh grade art course this year, Foundations in Visual Arts.
“I felt I had finally accomplished what I had set out to do when we added Foundations in Visual Arts to our curriculum this year,” he said. “Our department has achieved the course structure I had envisioned for it a decade ago, and now itâs time for a worthy colleague to take it for a drive.”
LauGel has spent two years planning the Visual Arts Department transfer to the new middle school campus. Anderson will supervise the planned remodeling of the departmentâs new facilities.
“Mrs. Anderson is a brilliant source of strength, energy, and enthusiasm for our department,” LauGel said. “Her passionate engagement, ability to innovate and caring nature are personal qualities that bode very well for the success and happiness of herself, her colleagues and most importantly, our visual arts students.”
As head of upper school Communications, Neumeyer will continue overseeing student publications and journalism classes. A middle school Communications Department was established this year.
“This just creates one department on the two campuses,” Neumeyer said.
