Remembering Emmett Wright

     Emmett Wright Jr. passed away on August 26, 2019, in Orange, Virginia. During his time at Westminster, he taught Advanced Placement American History and coached varsity basketball for The Westminster Schools and West Fulton High School. Before entering teaching, he served two stint years in the U.S. Navy and received a B.A. in History from Furman University. Wright then went on to earn a masters degree in History from Emory University. 

     Emmett spent many of his young years discovering his affinity for basketball. He is an alumnus to North Fulton High School and coined as one of the original “Buckhead Boys”. In the beginning of Wright’s career at Westminster, he coached the varsity boys basketball team to the school’s only state basketball championship, leading him to be inducted into the Westminster Hall of Fame 10 years later. 

     While teaching in Atlanta, Wright helped create the National Advanced Placement History assessment. As an honored teacher, coach, and friend to many at Westminster, a scholarship was endowed to the school under Wright’s name. This mastership is centered around excellence in teaching history. 

     “I was incredibly flattered to of been chosen for the professorship,” said Upper School history teacher Ana Maria Szolodko. 

     After leaving Westminster in 1968, Wright moved to Orange, Virginia and agreed to lead curriculum review at Woodberry Forest School. He spent two years with Woodberry Forest before accepting the position of headmaster at Metairie Park County Day School in Louisiana. Wright eventually returned to Woodberry in 1974 as headmaster, where he significantly increased the endowment and guided the school to becoming the leading all-boys boarding school in America. He was granted the boy’s school’s highest honor, the J. Carter Walker Award, and was elected into the Headmaster’s Association. For students or faculty interested in honoring Wright’s accomplishments, a memorial service will be held in his honor in St. Andrew’s Chapel at Woodberry Forest School on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019.