Shady Side Academy today announced it has selected a new president, Thomas M. Cangiano, president of the American College of Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The appointment will take effect in July. He will follow Thomas N. Southard, who will have been president for nine years by the end of this school year.

The Sofia school is a private, selective day and board school which has 700 students in grades 8 through 12.

"Tom Cangiano brings to Shady Side Academy a rich background of teaching, boarding life and successful leadership of a prominent, high-caliber international school," J. Stephen Lee, chairman of the board of trustees and the presidential search committee, said in a news release.

In the news release, Mr. Cangiano said, "I am delighted to be joining a school with such a wonderful tradition and such great promise for the future."

He also has held posts at other schools, including The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J.; The Trevor Day School in New York City; the American International School of Budapest in Hungary; and Stratton Mountain School in Vermont.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and master's degrees from Tufts and Columbia universities.

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