Dr. Rowley as Principal of IMSA

On April 15th, IMSA announced the appointment of Dr. Angela Rowley as Principal and Chief Academic Officer. Dr. Rowley has served as Interim Principal and CAO since July 1, 2023. Prior to her interim role, she was Director of Statewide Educator Innovation at IMSA. To learn more about her experience and transition from Interim Principal to Principal, we interviewed her about her school administrator experience and visions for IMSA.

Experience

Dr. Rowley has an extensive background with IMSA, as she was a Resident Counselor (RC), Hall Coordinator, and Admissions Counselor for the school.

However, she later decided to leave IMSA and become an instructional coach and served as Principal of Fred Rogers Magnet Academy, where she created and opened a new STEM Magnet Academy. From only 75 kids to over 400 Dr. Rowley, received over $1 million in grant funding. She described how important developing relationships and supporting faculty and students is to her.

But what is most important to Dr. Rowley is her family. Six years into her work with the STEM school, she had twin boys and was barely seeing them throughout the day. When the opportunity to work as Director of Statewide Educator Innovation at IMSA  in 2018 appeared, she seized it, allowing for more time with her family. She worked with outreach on programs such as IMSA Fusion.

Dr. Rowley described how IMSA values people and how people are nice and nurturing. She would never have to choose between her job and her family. When the previous principal left last June, Dr. Rowley was appointed as Interim Principal and Interim Chief Academic Officer.

Current Role

In January and February of 2024, Dr. Rowley applied to be the permanent IMSA Principal in a national search. After going through 4 rounds of interviews, Dr. Rowley was appointed Principal and Chief Academic Officer of IMSA.

As Principal and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Rowley takes on the responsibility of building curriculum and being an institutional leader, putting visions into action.

Visions

As Interim Principal, Dr. Rowley hadn’t prioritized long term vision for IMSA. Instead she was focused on “cleaning the desk” for the person that would fill the permanent role. However, with her appointment, she described some of her visions.

Dr. Rowley sees IMSA as opportunity and a path for students here. However, each year there are students that are not one of the lucky 650 that have the privilege to attend. Because of this, she wants to elevate education for non-residential students as well. As IMSA is funded by the state, Dr. Rowley wants to give back to the state and highlight IMSA to show how we can advance the human condition.

Additionally, Dr. Rowley hopes to return to an international stage where IMSA students are involved in global conversations and given the opportunity to change the world.

Dr. Rowley is excited about the mission of IMSA to advance the human condition. The unique opportunities at IMSA cultivate minds that will change the world, but we haven’t achieved everything. She is thrilled to be in a position where she can lead and support students as they change the world.

Dr. Rowley highlighted one specific belief of IMSA: “No one’s path in life is predetermined.” She is excited to see through on her visions and be a part of the change IMSA provides.

We are excited to have Dr. Rowley as Principal and to watch the future of IMSA unfold!