Chestnut Booth

Chestnut Booth (C'74) joined the College staff after graduation. She started the College's Academic Advising Center and served as registrar and personnel coordinator.

After two years as a Journal-listed practitioner and serving as staff support on a Principia Abroad to Vietnam, she returned to the College from 1994 to 2008 as dean of students. During those years in administration, she was also a regular Summer Session faculty member and Principia Club speaker, including two trips to India. All told, she worked for the College for 33 years.

As dean, Chestnut initiated the development of the Community Board and introduced restorative justice. She taught the Moral Reasoning Seminar and workshops for faculty, staff, and student leaders on Mary Kimball Morgan’s "Methods of Character Education."

In 2009, she returned to the public practice of Christian Science as a Journal–listed practitioner and began serving on the Peace Haven Board of Trustees.

Chestnut’s undergraduate degree from the College is in geology and education, and she has a master's degree in counseling from Southern Illinois University. She is married to Richard Booth, who was formerly Principia’s chief technology officer, and they live near the College campus. Their son, Michael (US’94, C’98) was a Principia graduate and College faculty member with a doctorate from Yale University in forest restoration and biodiversity.