When walking through the Stuart campus, there is a high chance that you will encounter Darren Malone. Perhaps you’ll see him at the crosswalk greeting students as they walk into the building, at a sports game, or making sure that Stuart’s facilities and spaces are working as beautifully as they appear. As Director of Facilities and Sustainable Planning, Malone has been a key part of the Stuart community for 11 years, and in that time, he’s become not only known for his work on the campus’s architecture and sustainability projects, but also for his friendly and approachable presence.
Malone’s path to Stuart began with a chance connection. While working as an architect at the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Malone met Ms. Neubert, who would later invite him to join Stuart. ”Part of what drew me here was the architecture,” Malone explained. “As an architect, I thought it would be an honor to work on such a beautiful campus.” Eventually, what started as a simple architectural draw quickly became something more. “The reason I’ve stayed is because I’ve grown to love Stuart—the students, the families, the people. I think we do important work here, and it’s meaningful to me to be part of that.”
Family is a key part of Malone’s life. He and his wife, Kimberly, have two children: Riley, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, and Dylan, a senior at La Salle College High School in Pennsylvania who is heading to Duke next year. At home, their Labrador retriever Denny keeps things lively. “We had a cat, too,” Malone recalls, “but now it’s mostly Denny who runs the show.”
While not working at Stuart, Malone enjoys spending time outdoors. Growing up, he played ice hockey and has continued to stay active through cycling and water skiing whenever he can. “Water skiing is my favorite thing in the world to do,” he said with a smile. Not only is he an athletic person, he is also a woodworker, with a particular fondness for the hand plane, a centuries-old instrument used to smooth and shape wood.
At Stuart, Malone has overseen projects both big and small, with each leaving a lasting impact on campus. From Millie’s Garden to the newly renovated Cor Cordis, his work has balanced modernization with the preservation of Jean Labatut’s architectural vision for the school. One of the projects he is most proud of is the Zen Garden, which transformed a once unused corner of campus into a peaceful, welcoming space. “It used to be completely unusable,” he said, “and now it’s a beautiful place that everyone enjoys—as long as the yellow jackets stay away.”
Day to day, his work is as varied as the community he serves. A typical morning starts around 7 a.m. withchecking in on the school’s systems and heading to the crosswalk for morning drop-off. From there, no two days look alike. His time might be filled with planning future projects, addressing maintenance needs, or simply chatting with students and faculty. “I know almost every student here,” Malone reflected. “That’s not something you see at every school, and it’s one of the things I love most about Stuart.”
The hardest part of his role, he admits, is focus. With constant interruptions like an air conditioning malfunction or wasps terrorizing students in the Zen Garden, long stretches of uninterrupted work can be difficult to achieve. However, for Malone, those interruptions are also part of what makes his job so meaningful. “Even when I’m pulled away from projects, I know I’m supporting the people and the work that matter most here.”
For Malone, Stuart is much more than just a workplace. It’s a community and a mission. “I think we’re doing important work in girls’ education,” he said. “And to me, it’s important that my own work supports that.”
From maintaining the integrity of Stuart’s architecture to cheering on students at games, Darren Malone’s presence is felt all across campus. His work may be quiet, but it is essential to the shaping of both the spaces students learn in and the experiences they carry with them. As Stuart continues to grow and develop, it’s clear that Malone’s hand will remain steady in guiding its future, always with an eye toward beauty, sustainability, and community.
