While walking through St. George’s campuses, you’re walking through decisions former Head of School Mr. Rick Ferguson made during his 23 years in the role.

When he joined St. George’s in 1984, the school had a distinctly different appearance from the one most people are accustomed to today. The entire institution was solely located on what is now the Lower School Campus in Germantown, sharing space with St. George’s Episcopal Church.

It became increasingly challenging for the church and school to manage their operations in the same small space. As enrollment numbers rose, the church and school began to grow apart.

“We had an argument with the church– they sort of wanted to take over the school. And that’s where we became more independent,” Mr. Ferguson said.

Under his leadership, in 2001, St. George’s expanded further with the addition of a lower school campus at 3749 Kimball Ave. in Memphis, funded by donors.

“I got this fabulous gift of $6 million through a former student of mine, and that money was really designed for people who really needed extra help financially to get a great education and go to college. That’s where the Memphis campus started,” Mr. Ferguson said.

A year later, the school expanded to Collierville, marking a defining milestone that would lead to the development of the middle and upper school campus. However, this was not a simple project to undertake, as money remained an issue for the school board.

After ending his time as head of school in 2007, Mr. Ferguson didn’t leave the St. George’s sphere. He then shifted to fundraising as Director of Special Gifts and Student Ambassador, using his talents with people to focus on getting St. George’s the money it needed to function and grow.

“We have these fabulous woods, water [and] the Wolf [River]. We could do a lot more with it with more money in terms of developing programs and outlining and designing the woods to be a more meaningful place, but it takes money to do all of that,” Mr. Ferguson said.

But Mr. Ferguson believes that that is not all that sets St. George’s apart.

“I also believe that [St. George’s] is unique in a community that really needs our kind of uniqueness,” Mr. Ferguson said. “The art that’s happening here, the size of the school is really good. We don’t want to be a big, huge school. We want to be in a position where we can give max attention to kids […], no matter who they are, what they’re looking for.”

And like the school, he has unique qualities that are widely known in the community: character, leadership and judgment of the character of others.

Lower School Campus Director Mrs. Andrea Ballard believes that one of Mr. Ferguson’s greatest qualities is his ability to find the right people.

“[He has] deep roots and connections in the Memphis area, a visionary belief in people and people he hired to come in and do the work. He was also really good at what he was really good at, and then recognizing who he needed to bring in to help in the areas that he wasn’t strong in,” Mrs. Ballard said.

Despite the academic challenge, love of the outdoors, and Episcopal identity, Mrs. Ballard shared how she’s seen the evolution of St. George’s since her first year in 1994.

“I think what we tried to do, which was harder in the late 1990s, was to become more representative of the city of Memphis. Being in Germantown at the time when Germantown wasn’t really fully developed, Collierville definitely was not very developed at all,” she said. “I don’t believe that we would’ve been where we are without Rick.”

Mr. Ferguson’s son, director of both Student Connections and the Outdoors Program Mr. Smith Ferguson ‘97, commented on the legacy his father left in his roles at St. George’s.

“I think a lot of it is hearing stories from other people about my dad, about how ‘you wouldn’t believe this’ or ‘he made me feel a certain way’. He really was and is very thoughtful.” Mr. Smith Ferguson said. “He’ll write you a handwritten two-page letter. You don’t see that every once in a while. I think he did a pretty good job of letting people know that he was thankful for their help with whatever it is that they were doing.”

In the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year, Mr. Ferguson gave a series of radio spots to students during chapel about the lessons he learned from previous experiences.

At the most recent one on April 7, 2026, he spoke about his bravery to wear feminine shoes in high school, which inspired his classmates to also take healthy risks.