Lawrence H. Bullis, a son of Bullis School co-founders, William F. and Lois H. Bullis, was Headmaster at the Potomac school from 1981 to 1991. Bullis is a 1958 graduate of the United States Military Academy and retired as a colonel, United States Army Reserves. He joined the Bullis staff during the 1964-1965 school year in the business office. The following year he became a full-time teacher of math, history, and Spanish I at the Silver Spring campus. Bullis and his wife, Judy, have three children, and have retired to Gettysburg, Pa. He recently returned to Bullis on April 2 to celebrate the schools 25th anniversary.
Where did you get your education and in what areas?
Prior to entering Bullis as a ninth grader in 1950, I attended St. Albans for grades four through eight. In 1954 I graduated from Bullis and entered the USMA, West Point, N.Y. from which I graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1958. For nearly six years I served on active duty and reverted to the United States Army Reserves upon my employment at Bullis.
What do you consider to be your biggest achievements?
In the almost 27 years at Bullis, I served in a myriad of positions, the most challenging of which was as its head of school. I have to believe that my greatest contributions to the school are the relocation of the school from Silver Spring, the development of the physical plant on Falls Road in Potomac, adding lower grades, making the school co-educational, expanding the curriculum and faculty, and significantly increasing the number of students on campus.
Activities/interests/hobbies?
My lifelong hobby has been singing — college glee club, church choir, barbershop chorus and quartet, and other choral groups.
What have you been doing since you left Bullis?
In retirement, I reverted to raising beef cattle on my small farm in Gettysburg, Pa. — something which I had done as a youngster on our farm in Rockville. It is something from which I derive substantial pleasure.
What do you miss most about the School?
What I miss most by not being involved at Bullis is the interaction with the children, both inside and outside of the classroom.
What historical figures would you like to meet?
Historical figures whom I would like to have known are Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman.
What Bullis School "hidden treasure" do you think more people should know about?
I always believed that Bullis' "hidden treasure" was the caring and nurturing atmosphere that faculty and staff created. Some schools say they "have it" and I can't dispute their assertion, but at Bullis it was REAL.
Favorite movie and book?
My favorite contemporary author is David McCullough, whose historical research is so wonderful it brings to life the likes of John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, and Harry Truman and in other works develops the agony of the Johnstown flood or the frustrations in building the Panama Canal.
Describe who you would most enjoy spending a single day with?
If given only one day to spend with someone I would choose Jesus Christ.
Do you have a favorite quotation?
My favorite quote comes from Milton's Paradise Lost — "The mind itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven." That’s how I approach life — if one has a positive attitude and remains diligent, success will surely follow.