After 35 years of dedicated service, Upper School Principal Mamadou Guèye retired from Sidwell Friends School at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. His legacy will live on through the profound impact he has had on students, colleagues and families. That legacy is being honored in two exciting and tangible ways: the African & African American Studies Chair will be named for Mamadou as will the principal’s suite in the new Upper School on the Upton Street campus set to open in the 2026-27 school year.

Mamadou’s journey at Sidwell Friends began as a faculty member and head of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in 2000. He then served as the Upper School academic dean from 2008 to 2014 until he was named Upper School principal. His tenure in that office is the longest and most successful in the School’s history.

Reflecting on Mamadou’s impact, Head of School Bryan Garman said, “Mamadou’s goal was always to deepen understanding of and appreciation for both cultural differences and our shared humanity. I have never seen anyone teach this lesson with such passion, conviction, and success. Put simply, Mamadou is a gifted educator and dear colleague. I have been fortunate to be his friend and to learn from him for many years.” 

In his post-Sidwell life, Mamadou will split his time between the United States and his home country of Senegal. He plans to open a Center for African Studies and the first Senegalese Quaker elementary school. His new students and colleagues will be very fortunate indeed. As generations of Sidwell Friends students can attest, those who study under his leadership and tutelage will have a life-changing experience.