Barbara Ferman Retires After Four Decades at SPS

Barbara Ferman came to Concord, N.H., on a whim. A city girl, she headed north “to pursue a romance, skiing, the great outdoors, and the beauty of New Hampshire.” And while she missed certain aspects of city life, the Granite State steadily grew on her, and her time as part of the St. Paul’s School community stretched more than four decades. She announced her retirement in the summer of 2020.

Ferman was born and raised on Long Island, and has fond memories of summers spent working in different corporate offices in the city. As a “Kelly Girl,” Ferman’s assignments included working for the Associated Press, the New York Telephone Company, public relations firms, the Rockefeller family, and the inauguration of New York’s first environmental commissioner. Ferman earned her A.A.S. from Orange County Community College, and relocated to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She took a job as an assistant to an American economist/journalist, gaining experience in the worlds of politics and business, all while enjoying the pace of city life. Her sojourn to New England occurred in 1976. Toward the end of that year, she landed a job as an assistant in the St. Paul’s School Admission Office. The difference, professionally and socially, between New Hampshire and New York was immediately apparent.

“I remember being startled at the end of my first day at SPS by the silence that came over the hallways in the Schoolhouse,” recalls Ferman. “It was 4 p.m., and everyone had left for the day. I then ventured to Main Street to find not a single vehicle parked on the street and all the shops had closed.”

While private school and a suburban setting were new to Ferman, the work environment was engaging and welcoming. She spent just over a year in the Admission Office, then shifted to the Rector’s Office. She recalls her prowess with the technology of the time, and what the decision-making process was like.

“When I arrived, electric typewriters and mimeograph machines were in full swing; there were no computers, and hence people communicated in person,” she says. “This made a huge difference because an issue that now takes a chain of e-mails would have been resolved with a very brief face-to-face conversation.”

Ferman became a fixture in the Schoolhouse, working as the assistant under five Rectors. After 22 years in the Rector’s Office, which included her being awarded the Toland Award for exceptional service by a staff member in 1992, Ferman determined it was time for a new challenge. She identified an area of need, and proposed the position of event coordinator to support the changing needs of a complex institution. Her request was approved, and she began creating processes to help the School both in its day-to-day operations and in hosting events, the focal point of which became Anniversary Weekend and Graduation.

“Each year brought its unique challenges,” she says, “be it excruciating heat, pouring rain, threat of thunderstorms, or catering to large crowds. It got easier as the years went on, but was never achieved without great effort.”

Ferman quickly became the champion of the annual celebratory weekend, and could be found zipping around on a golf cart, assisting workers, and engaging with alumni. Her longtime colleague, SPS staff member Beverly Moller, marveled at Ferman’s organization, professionalism, and vast institutional knowledge. Outside of work, Ferman and her beloved husband, Ed, another longtime SPS employee, who died in 2013, bred and raised black Labrador Retrievers at their beautiful property in Chichester, N.H. They also shared immense pride in their son, Edward Ferman ’98. In retirement, Ferman will continue to relish the natural beauty that brought her to New Hampshire. And, as much as she enjoyed her interactions with faculty, staff, and alumni, she says it was always the students that kept her coming back.

“The best parts of my job,” she says, “were being in an environment observing young people learning and growing into young adults.”