Kathleen “Kathy” Carroll Giles became the Fourteenth Rector of St. Paul’s School on July 1, 2019 after serving as head of school at Middlesex School since 2003. Before that, Rector Giles held a variety of roles at the Groton School, including dean of academic affairs, college adviser, English teacher, and coach.

She holds a Master’s in Education degree, a Juris Doctor degree, and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Rector Giles earned her A.B. with highest honors in English and American literature and languages at Harvard/Radcliffe Colleges, graduating magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She subsequently received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Rector Giles is married to Ralph Giles, also a long-term former faculty member at Groton School, who most recently was head of the Mathematics Department at the Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts. They have three children, Kaitlyn, Daniel, and Eileen. Throughout her life, the Rector has enjoyed athletics as a competitor and as an avid fan. Her interests and hobbies include psychology and child development; spirituality; intellectual history; all kinds of music and art; gardening; and reading (everything and anything). She is also known for her devotion to her dogs and makes the rounds of campus early each morning with them, regardless of the weather.

Rector Giles speaking during Winter Convocation 2023

During this season of the year, we have a special reverence for the light in which we can really see each other — light we have to seek to find others and to find our way, and light we have to show others to help them find us and find their way.

Read Rector Giles' full remarks

73 Questions with Kathy Giles

From her favorite books to what she likes to binge watch and her bucket list, get to know Rector Giles.