Built by Women for the Future: Inside Foxcroft School’s Mars STEAM Building

Written by Shayda Windle

This January, Foxcroft School students returned to campus with a remarkable addition to their learning environment: the new Mars STEAM Building. The milestone was marked with a small ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 6, 2026, followed by students stepping inside the state-of-the-art space, many attending their first classes in the new labs and classrooms that very day.

Then, on January 23, 2026, Foxcroft’s board, leadership, and the greater Middleburg community gathered alongside members of the Mars family (Victoria Beth Mars ’74, Pamela Mars Wright ’78, Bernadette Victoria Russell ’03, and Charlotte Audrey Rossetter ’12) to officially cut the ribbon on a building that had been years in the making.

The Mars STEAM Building highlights women-led philanthropy, education, and the innovation shaping Foxcroft’s future. Part of the Building for Our Future campaign, the new building provides modern facilities that empower students and teachers alike. The building was made possible by an extraordinary $22 million contribution from the Mars family.

At the ceremony, the Mars family spoke about their commitment to education and to Foxcroft. Wright said, “Foxcroft is a place where girls discover who they want to be. With a new building encouraging exploration beyond ‘supposed’ strengths, combined with the school’s spirit, it has all the ingredients to inspire magic… Those of us connected to it know just how special it truly is.”

The multigenerational nature of the Mars family’s gift underlines the deep connection Foxcroft alumnae maintain with the school. The Mars women hope that their support for Foxcroft will inspire future philanthropy.

Dr. Lisa Kaenzig, Foxcroft’s head of school, reflected on the project’s long journey and thanked everyone who made it possible: the Mars family; former Head of School Cathy McGehee, who launched and guided the campaign; Chief Financial and Operating Officer Tom Gorman and Director of Institutional Advancement Hayley Munroe; and alumnae, board members, administrators, and staff, all of whom, in Kaenzig’s words, “helped make this literal dream come true.”

The Mars STEAM Building itself reflects a deliberate, values-driven approach to learning, one rooted in Foxcroft’s founding philosophy. As Kaenzig explained, the school followed the educational vision of Miss Charlotte Noland, who founded Foxcroft in 1914 and believed that girls learn best by working in small groups and engaging in hands-on experiences. From Foxcroft’s earliest days, Miss Charlotte made a promise: “Give us the tools we need, and we will give the world fine women.”

More than a century later, Miss Charlotte’s mission continues to guide Foxcroft’s approach, now expressed through spaces, tools, and opportunities designed to prepare young women for fields related to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics), where women remain underrepresented. 

Inside the building, a striking mural greets visitors, featuring scientific illustrations created by students over the years. Alumnae attending the ceremony paused in awe, asking, “Where’s my frog?” as they searched for familiar artwork. “They were connecting their own history at Foxcroft to this brand-new, beautiful space, where they can literally see their own mark on their education,” Kaenzig said. 

The desks in the building are not arranged in rows facing a single instructor. Instead, the space is designed for collaboration, experimentation, and active learning, an approach supported by research from the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools. The coalition reports that students at all-girls schools are six times more likely to major in STEAM fields. 

The building features fully equipped biology, chemistry, and physics labs, two STEAM classrooms, and a 1,700-square-foot garden with an outdoor blackboard and composting bins, accessible from the biology lab. It also includes a modern darkroom with spaces for both digital and film photography, a construction shop with engineering machinery, and a finishing shop with a spray booth and drying cabinet, enabling students to take projects from concept to completion. 

The darkroom was donated by Diana Hardin Walker ’59, Foxcroft’s 2026 Alison Harrison Goodyear ’29 Fellow, who attended Foxcroft and later served as a White House photographer for more than 30 years. On February 17, the school welcomed Walker back to campus, where she led a presentation and hands-on workshop with students. 

As part of the project, the school also offers a for-credit seminar and speaker series, Project STEAM Build, which provides students with real-world learning experiences led by project managers from Hord Coplan Macht and Coakley and Williams Construction. Many of the project leads are women. 

“The seminars expose students to design and construction fields with a focus on hands-on learning experiences, including making and pouring concrete with women who are current engineers and project managers,” Munroe says.

Foxcroft’s future-focused approach is perhaps best captured by student Raqeeqah K. ’29. “To me, the Mars STEAM Building isn’t just a space for learning. It’s a perfect example of what happens when creativity and technology come together. Knowing that the same kinds of tools and ideas we use in class helped build the place where we learn makes it feel even more inspiring.”

Together, the voices of alumnae, educators, and students reflect a shared legacy at Foxcroft, one that Women’s History Month invites the community to celebrate and carry forward. ML 

Featured photo by Michael Butcher.

Published in the March 2026 issue of Middleburg Life.