CONCORD ACADEMY MAGAZINE

fall 2015

C O N C O R D ACA D E M Y M AG A Z I N E

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Editor

Editorial Board

Heidi Koelz Associate Director of Communications

Ben Carmichael ’01 Director of Marketing and Communications

Design

Karen Culbert P’15, ’17, ’19 Director of Engagement

Concord Academy magazine 166 Main Street Concord, MA 01742 (978) 402-2200 magazine@concordacademy.org

Irene Chu ’76

John Drew P’15, ’19 Assistant Head and Academic Dean

Letters to the Editor Do you have thoughts on this issue? We’d like to hear your suggestions and responses. Please write to us at magazine@concordacademy.org.

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Hilary Wirtz Director of Development: Individual Giving and Campaign Planning Billie Julier Wyeth ’76 Director of Development: Stewardship and Donor Programs

Committed to being a school enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, Concord Academy does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, creed, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in its hiring, admissions, educational and financial policies, or other school-administered programs. The school’s facilities are wheelchair-accessible.

fall 2015

2 Message from the Head of School 4 Campus News 10 Commencement 12 Reunion 16 Athletics 20 Faculty 24 Arts 27 Creative Types 30 Alumnae/i Profiles ► Nick Axelrod ’02 ► Alex Klickstein Glazier ’89 ► Benjamin Kennedy ’95

34 In Memoriam 35 Alumnae/i Association 36 Last year we announced the Centennial Plan for Concord Academy, sharing a vision for the school in anticipation of its 100th anniversary in 2022. In this issue, we’re excited to unveil create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy and share the groundbreaking on the campaign’s first major capital project: CA Labs. CA marked a milestone on October 2 with the unveiling of create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy and the groundbreaking ceremony for CA Labs. The celebration continued into the evening in the upper SHAC. For more photos from the event, see pp. 46–47. Photo by Kristie Gillooly

48 Impact Report 51 New Trustees

Cover photo by Ben Carmichael ’01

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m es s ag e f ro m th e h e a d o f s c h o o l

Kristie Gillooly

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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ast month a colleague and I traveled down to Rhode Island to have lunch with Janet Eisendrath, a member of the Concord Academy faculty from 1952 to 1990. Janet shares a birthday with Concord Academy, and though the years have slowed her walking pace, they have had no effect on her quick mind, her clever wit, or her warm smile. I found myself thinking back to the first time I met Janet, shortly after I arrived at CA in the summer of 2009. Nancy Howard, my then-assistant, who had also worked for Tom Wilcox and Jake Dresden before me, told me that Janet had called, saying she wanted to “meet the new guy.” Then one day she appeared in my office for a chat. Janet, then just past her mid-80s, told me that she would be leaving soon for a teaching stint in the Czech Republic; I had no doubt that she would be up to the task. We talked that day about teaching, about the first time she met Elizabeth Hall (who would become one of Janet’s most important mentors), about the evolution of the school during her time there, and, of course, about the pleasure of working with young people, whether they hailed from New York or West Concord or Beijing or Prague. In a Convocation talk she gave in September 2003, Janet spoke about what happens between a teacher and her students: “There is magic in a class. In a class you accomplish things that cannot be done alone. It is hard to sing a quartet by yourself, to play a soccer game by yourself. The magic, however, lies not in numbers alone. Our combined selves produce a kind of communication that is beyond conversation, that is made clear by the look in the eye, by the grace of the body, and by extraordinary moments of silence….” As our lunch drew to a close, Janet reflected on a question that every teacher will recognize: Was I a good teacher? In keeping with her typically indirect approach to such inquiries, Janet told a brief story about one

of her students, a story that left the question hanging in the air. Was I a good teacher? In that question, I thought, is the essential quality of not just a good teacher, but a truly great one. In that question is the willingness to be self-critical, the absence of assumptions, the comfort with a question hovering, the feeling of necessary tension. All are present in a good teacher. At the heart of Concord Academy’s future—still— is what happens between students and teachers in the classroom. We will need technology, we will need facilities to support the work of teaching and learning, but most of all we will need motivated students and talented, committed teachers, like Janet Eisendrath. Well into the future at Concord Academy, they will create, as Janet put it, “a rich, pulsating environment in which teachers and students make meaning together.” We are thrilled about the possibilities that CA’s future holds for our students and our teachers. create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy (see page 36 for details) is a vital step toward that future. The loyal and supportive CA community, like our teachers and students, is poised to make a powerful difference together. I invite you to read about the plan, to join us for an upcoming event, and to share your thoughts about the future of CA. That future is both exciting and, true to Janet’s question, deeply rooted in our history of dedicated teaching and learning. Sincerely,

Rick Hardy Head of School Dresden Endowed Chair

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Cole + Kiera Photography

CONVOCATION 2015 Music teacher Michael Bennett leads a student ensemble at Concord Academy’s opening ceremony for the 2015 – 16 school year.

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campus news Convocation 2015

Cole + Kiera Photography

READ MORE and hear the remarks at www.concordacademy.org/convocation-2015.

o begin Concord Academy’s 93rd academic year, George Larivee, a long-standing member of the mathematics faculty, addressed the entire school community as this year’s Convocation speaker. In describing CA’s ethos, he cited “a positive energy that fills the air,” playful and spirited, yet focused and engaged, which sets the school apart. “It’s welcoming and considerate. It’s optimistic and ambitious. When people talk glowingly about CA, it is this energy that they admire. It’s subtle, yet its power to shape all who dwell here is unmistakable. It is probably the most important thing you will take with you when you leave this place. And it is precisely what the rest of the world needs. While you’re here, soak up as much of it as you can, so that wherever you go, you can pass it on.”

Spring Session: New Short, Intensive Spring Courses

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

hat new insights might studying immigration in Boston from a Spanish-speaking perspective yield? How will a two-day exploration of mindfulness carry over into the rest of the semester? What practical skills can students pick up from following our Operations crew for two days? This spring, Concord Academy students and teachers will find out during the first-ever Spring Session. Whereas some schools offer January Sessions, CA worked with faculty to identify a week of better weather, to allow

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for classes out in the field — in between cocurricular seasons, in order not to overlap with sports and other programming. According to John Drew, assistant head and academic dean, the new weeklong session will give students a chance to do interdisciplinary work or to “switch gears.” With topics ranging from finance to our criminal justice system, students will engage with teachers in in-depth discussions over two consecutive twoday sessions. These courses will be held both in the classroom and out in the field,

bringing CA students into the world beyond CA’s campus and CA’s curriculum. Drew said the Spring Session came about through constant exploration of new ways of teaching at CA. Interestingly, however, many have noted that the new session actually harkens back to a philosophy and current events class called Stuff (& Nonsense) originally taught by Elizabeth B. Hall.

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Inspired by InSPIRE by Julia Shea ’16

or more than a century, the fountain in front of the town of Concord’s correctional institution has stood dry, cracked, and sometimes hidden by weeds. Having grown up in West Concord, Alek Lyman ’16 had driven by hundreds of times. The building, constructed decades ago, shows its age, but according to Alek the fountain always bothered him. He felt we could — and should — do better by this 142-yearold landmark. Galvanized by an architecture class taught by Chris Rowe, Alek took the matter into his own hands and partnered with the Department of Corrections and the Town of Concord to secure grant money to restore the fountain. He was successful in his efforts and is currently collaborating with both a foundry in Alexander City, Ala., and a landscaper to fully revive the fountain. We will share photos as the project progresses.

Writing Accolades

ohn Vernaglia ’18 recently received a Scholastic Art and Writing Regional Silver Medal as well as first-place honors in the high school division in the Southwestern Illinois College, Red Bud Campus annual poetry contest for his poem “Blending In.” A second poem, “Spark of Life,” won the ninth-grade division in the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association’s annual poetry contest as well as the grand prize in the Lee Library Association teen poetry contest. John has published other poems as well and, this summer, was named a senior contributor to Creative Kids Magazine, having served on its advisory board for the past two years. Katherine Yoojin Oh ’14 was selected as a recipient of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize for 2015 from the Concord Review for a research paper she wrote on 19th-century sanitation reformer Edwin Chadwick.

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Restoring a Landmark

Allison Fraske

or five weeks this summer, I rode the M2 bus into the Longwood Medical Area along with hundreds of other students and professionals. The bus dropped me off outside a mammoth glass building — the home of the Colaiacovo Lab at Harvard Medical School — which I would walk into, ID badge looped over my neck to show that, despite my age, I belonged there. As a participant in Concord Academy’s InSPIRE (Interested Students Pursuing Internship and Research Experiences) program, I had the rare opportunity to delve into scientific research as a high school student. Coordinated by science and math teacher Amy Kumpel, the InSPIRE program matches rising seniors (and the occasional rising junior) with labs and engineering firms in the greater Boston area for summer internships. I have always been a science enthusiast, but I had only a vague idea of what a career in science might be like. The word research is so often tossed around on college tours and in conversation, yet it was shrouded in mystery for me. Working alongside a graduate student, I finally came to understand just what research entails. A cartoon pinned to multiple lab bulletin boards of a frog halfway digested by a pelican yet attempting to strangle the bird anyway was telling of the intense perseverance required of a successful scientist. I learned in great detail about meiosis and chromosome missegregation, but equally interesting to me were aspects of science I had previously overlooked: the attitudes of scientists, and the politics, collaboration, and trust involved in research. I had a preconceived notion that research was isolating, which could not have been further from the truth. The lab was a hub of people, ideas, cultures, and knowledge. I said goodbye to my mentors and new friends in mid-August with a few tears, for I was leaving behind a community I had grown to love.

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Nando Martinez ’15

campus news

Learning from the Innovators

braham Lyon ’16 This year, Dennis and Abraand Dennis Miao ’16 ham’s idea has developed into a approached David Rost, dean full-fledged program of evening of students and community conversations, with one speaker life, last year about starting an who will be hosted during the entrepreneur speaker series, daytime assembly block for the given their interest in hearing benefit of the whole community. stories from CA alumnae/i and Their goal, Abraham said, parents about their experiences “is to facilitate conversations and their careers. Their idea between CA students and took root, and last March Tom parents or alums about the different paths taken by CA grads, First ’85, P’18 returned to campus to kick off the new initiative. and to highlight the nimble A founder of Nantucket minds that demonstrate a CA Nectars and current managing education.” Dennis added: partner of the First Beverage “We’re interested in learning Group, First was the center of from problem solvers and want an engaging conversation with to know how, as entrepreneurs, students in the Great Room. they have navigated new He told of how he discovered industries.” a peach nectar during a trip to Spain that inspired his entrepreneurial drive and helped him eventually transform the juice drink industry in the United States.

Cofounder of Nantucket Nectars Tom First ’85, P’18 kicked off a series of campus talks by entrepreneurs from the CA community.

Global Online Academy

Kristie Gillooly

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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he means of collaborating — remotely, and even across great distances — have been changing radically with technological advances. But many of the online learning platforms in existence today fall short of independent schools’ high standards and community values. In contrast, Global Online Academy (GOA), founded by 10 leading independent schools from across the world, was built to meet the rigorous standards students and teachers at schools like CA have come to expect. This spring CA will offer GOA courses to seniors, and faculty will take advantage of professional development opportunities throughout the year. Made possible by a gift as part of create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy, this resource will enhance the school’s course offerings, facilitate global collaboration, and help prepare the CA community for the future.

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Joel Haskell

Refreshed Visual Identity

Ben Carmichael ’01

n preparing for CA’s centennial in 2022, the administrative staff has been working with input from faculty, board members, students, and alumnae/i on ensuring that the school’s brand is as clear and as strong as it can possibly be. Central to this effort has been the belief that CA’s history as an independent school is distinctive, and that we should plan for our future by reinforcing the values and identity of our past. To that end, CA unveiled a refreshed version of the Haines House seal this fall. This seal represents CA’s first building, one that has housed classrooms, a dining hall, and residences throughout its long and storied history. The seal itself is an updated version of the logo CA used on its earliest diplomas and admissions pamphlets. The newest version of the seal will complement the chameleon, the school’s long-standing mascot. For a video of the Haines House seal over time, please visit www.concordacademy.org/haines-house-seal.

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Ben Carmichael ’01

campus news

Wilcox Fellows Program CELEBRATES 15 YEARS OF SUPPORT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Science Department Head Andrea YañesTaylor was CA's first Wilcox Fellow.

by Lucille Stott

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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hen Thomas E. Wilcox began his tenure as Concord Academy’s eighth head of school in 1981, one of his primary goals was to strengthen the school’s “diversity of backgrounds and perspectives,” a central pillar of CA’s mission. Throughout his pivotal 19-year tenure, Wilcox broadened the school’s outreach, significantly increasing the representation of students, faculty, and trustees of color and spearheading a community-wide commitment to diversity and inclusion. So it was fitting that on his departure in the spring of 2000, the Board of Trustees honored his work by establishing the Wilcox Leadership Fund, an endowed fund intended to ensure future outreach efforts and launch a new initiative for inexperienced teachers from diverse backgrounds: the Wilcox Fellows Program. “It was a complete surprise and more than I could have ever dreamed of,” said Wilcox, who went on to become president and CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation. “They endowed something that

had—and continues to have—deep meaning for me.” Over the ensuing 15 years, CA has welcomed 29 fellows, who have served internships under the guidance of an experienced mentor. Typically, fellows teach two classes and engage in limited activities of their choosing, a model the school developed to place the focus squarely on the classroom. Fellows who are granted a second year are encouraged to take on additional responsibility to broaden their learning experience. “I’ve found over the years that Wilcox Fellows create a locus of positive energy in the school,” said Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean John Drew. “It’s important for students to have role models of all ages to introduce them to the life of the mind.” Most Wilcox Fellows move ahead with teaching careers, graduate school, or related work in their fields. But a few have joined the permanent faculty, including current Science Department Head Andrea Yañes-Taylor, CA’s very first Wilcox Fellow. “There was not a lot of definition to the program when I became a fellow,” said Yañes-Taylor. “I enjoyed helping shape what it would eventually become, and

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‘There is nothing more valuable in your early years of teaching than being part of a community dedicated to guiding your evolution as an educator.’

Kristie Gillooly

Community and Equity and Student Support teams and has chosen to coach and become a house parent. “The Wilcox Fellows Program was essential for me, an aspiring teacher fresh out of grad school,” said Fields. “I left my graduate program energized by complex theories and texts, but I was hungry for pedagogical instruction. There is nothing more valuable in your early years of teaching than being part of a community dedicated to guiding your evolution as an educator. I now feel fully prepared for the opportunities and challenges that emerge in the classroom and beyond.” Tom Wilcox recalls a recent visit to campus when he had lunch with Fields and other fellows of that year. “It was so rewarding to meet those vibrant, capable young people,” said Wilcox. “They had been given reasonable working lives as they were learning what it means to teach in rigorous classrooms like those at CA. My hope is that the Wilcox Fellows Program can serve as a beacon for educational outreach, leading the way for CA and other independent schools to become ever more welcoming to a wider world.”

English teacher and former Wilcox Fellow Courtney Fields; former Wilcox Fellow and film teacher Christopher Rhodes Jr. ’07

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because I chose to advise the Alianza Latina, I had the opportunity to work with a wonderfully diverse group of students outside the classroom.” John Drew was Yañes-Taylor’s mentor. “She was amazing from the start,” he recalled. “As a young, high-powered professional dedicated to her field, she became a role model for students.” Yañes-Taylor has worked beside one Wilcox Fellow and served as mentor to another. Though both went on to non-teaching careers, YañesTaylor believes their fellowship experience helped them understand science from an important new perspective. “Teaching forced them to think about science in ways they’d never imagined before. They had to explain why it happens, how it works,” she said. “Learning how to explain scientific principles gave the knowledge more meaning in their own lives as well as in the lives of their students.” In 2010, the mentoring component of the program was enhanced by the addition of a group seminar, led by veteran English teacher Abby Laber. These gatherings allow Wilcox Fellows to share ideas and concerns in the presence of a master teacher. “I love doing it,” said Laber. “The fellows inspire me with their desire to grow, and I like to show them that I’m always working on my own practice. It’s important for teachers to share the challenges of the classroom with other people.” Laber’s seminars were so successful that Dean of Faculty Jenny Chandler chose to offer similar group support to all new faculty members. “My approach to faculty orientation has been directly informed by the Wilcox seminars,” said Chandler, who invites fellows to join these larger gatherings as well. “Wilcox Fellows are an important presence and voice in the school, and they are treated as true colleagues, which helps them thrive. They may not go on to teach in the future, but they could. They become teachers here.” English teacher Courtney Fields joined CA as a Wilcox Fellow in 2012 and was subsequently hired as a full-time faculty member. In addition to her classroom teaching, she has served on the

Ben Carmichael ’01

English teacher and former Wilcox Fellow Courtney Fields

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Cole + Kiera Photography

SARAH KOENIG ’86 invited the class of 2015 be to open to new ideas. Sharing her path toward becoming the host and executive producer of Serial, the most popular podcast in history, she recalled a long period of uncertainty. “For many years, I had no idea what I wanted to do, except everything I did led me forward and taught me things,” she said. She attributed Serial’s runaway success to her willingness to talk about what she didn’t know or understand —an instinct that runs counter to journalistic training and that made the show, in her words, a “triumph of the question over the answer.” She urged students to exercise and enjoy their curiosity.

COMMENCEMENT 2015

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Sarah Koenig ’86

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Photographs by Kristie Gillooly

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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Reunion Weekend TALK AMONG alumnae/i on campus June 5 â€“ 7 centered on making a difference in the world. Panels were held on women in science, entrepreneurship, and the experience of students of color at CA. A memorial service

honored community members who had passed away. The weekend celebration included a wine and craft-beer tasting, dancing, and opportunities to reconnect with classmates, reminisce, and look toward the future.

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Ben Carmichael ’01

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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Peter T. Michaelis ’74

2015 JOAN SHAW HERMAN DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

ARSENAL OF COMPASSION SHARMIN ESHRAGHI BOCK ’80, the recipient of the 2015 Joan Shaw Herman Award for Distinguished Service, is a 26-year veteran prosecutor in California and a nationally recognized leader in the modern-day fight against human trafficking. In addition to prosecuting human traffickers, Bock created a support system for the girls and young women they exploit. She also wrote California Proposition 35, the toughest antihuman-trafficking law in the United States. In her speech accepting the Joan Shaw Herman award, Bock said the education she received at Concord Academy is the primary reason she has succeeded in her path-breaking

career. “Concord Academy students do not accept the status quo,” she said. “It made us rigorous thinkers. The only reason I can do this is because of the start I got at CA.” The Joan Shaw Herman Award for Distinguished Service was created by the Alumnae/i Association in 1976 to honor the example of service set by Joan Shaw Herman ’46 during her life. In introducing Bock as the recipient of the award for 2015, Head of School Rick Hardy noted that CA’s core value of common trust challenges our community to “balance individual freedom with responsibility and service to a larger community.” In addition to writing Proposition 35, Bock also started the Human

Exploitation and Trafficking Unit, the first program of its kind in the country dedicated to prosecuting human traffickers and rescuing victims. In 2008, the Oakland Tribune praised Bock as an “arsenal of compassion” who is “leading a statewide charge to spare teenage prostitutes and jail their pimps.” Bock was on campus to celebrate her 35th reunion with the class of 1980. She advocated for working hard to change the world for the better. “CA teaches us to be trail blazers,” she said. “It is an amazing experience with a purpose.” You can listen to Bock’s acceptance speech during Reunion Weekend at www.concordacademy.org/jsh.

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An advocate for the victimized blazes a trail in prosecuting human traffickers and empowering young women

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athletics

RINGING THE VICTORY BELL The boysâ€™ varsity lacrosse team celebrates on the Moriarty Athletic Campus. Visit www.concordacademy.org for team records and additional photos.

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Lisa Aciukewicz

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Kellie Smith

Cole + Kiera Photography

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Cole + Kiera Photography

athletics

Kellie Smith Kellie Smith

BRINGING THEIR BEST The winter and spring seasons featured outstanding performances by student athletes, who excelled on many fields of competition. Visit www.concordacademy.org for season highlights.

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faculty

‘

I went into coaching because I loved teaching.’

Sue Johnson CA’s new athletic director

Bryan Gallagher

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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New Athletic Leadership sport-specific skills, and foster values such as dedication to team, accountability, and respect for others. As director of athletics, Johnson has inherited a strong program. CA teams have been enjoying successful seasons at the Moriarty Athletic Campus and on the courts and trails around the main campus. The CA athletics department includes five administrators and 55 seasonal coaches who oversee 16 sports including crosscountry, field hockey, golf, soccer, volleyball, Alpine skiing, basketball, squash, wrestling, baseball, lacrosse, sailing, softball, tennis, track and field, and Ultimate Frisbee, as well as many physical education and intramural offerings. Johnson is also the president of the District III board of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and serves on the NEPSAC executive board of athletic directors. Recently, Johnson hired Laurie Baker, a two-time Olympic medalist, as assistant athletic director at CA. Johnson expects she will need some

time to identify the areas where the CA athletic program can grow. She is certain, though, that she will “focus on supporting a culture in which the athletic department takes a lot of pride in what we do and works to teach values and life skills through sport,” Johnson said. “I am excited about leading the athletic department of such an outstanding New England independent school,” Johnson said. “And I look forward to providing programming that is consistent with the educational mission and culture of Concord Academy.” Jenny Chandler, dean of faculty, described Johnson as “a seasoned and visionary AD” who emerged from a remarkably strong and experienced pool of candidates. “Her background as an accomplished athlete, coach, and athletic director positions her to build on the strengths of CA athletics and to partner with all constituencies to develop and initiate a strategic vision for the school’s program,” Chandler said.

Meet Laurie Baker Two-time Olympic ice-hockey medalist

LAURIE BAKER is new to CA’s campus but no stranger to the area. Growing up in West Concord, Baker began her career on the ice on figure skates but soon switched to hockey after spending hours watching her older brother in the rink. Medaling at the Winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002 taught her how “the power and strength of each individual team member plays an important role in a group.” As the assistant athletic director at CA, she’s glad to be part of a community that encourages students to pursue all facets of campus life. She hopes to create an atmosphere at all team levels that’s “competitive but fun.”

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Ben Carmichael ’01

SUE JOHNSON, the new athletic director at Concord Academy, spent 20 years as a Division I college basketball coach. She loved her career but found that women’s college athletics was changing dramatically. “In many ways,” she said, “a win-at-all-costs mentality began to dominate.” That’s not what she wanted. “I went into coaching because I loved teaching,” Johnson said. “But midway through my tenure as the head coach of women’s basketball at the University of New Hampshire, I felt more like the CEO of a small company than an educator.” Additionally, on a personal level, Johnson wanted to have more time to spend at home with her family. “I was traveling all the time and when not traveling, I was home on the phone with recruits or reviewing game film,” Johnson said. When Johnson added it all together she decided a new career was in order. Johnson, a cum laude graduate of Yale and recipient of a master’s from Rider University, was selected as the athletic director at Gann Academy in 2007, a 300-student Jewish high school in Waltham, Mass., where she spent eight years building the school’s athletic program. She also became increasingly involved with diversity and inclusion work at the school, co-advising the Gann Gay Straight Alliance for three years and cofounding the Gann Inclusivity Committee. Once again, however, the desire for a new challenge began to grow, and Johnson started to think about finding a new school. Like Gann, CA’s “focus on a valuesdriven and balanced high school education” was appealing. In addition, she liked how athletics fit into the overall educational mission of the school. “I wanted to be at a school where athletics were important, but in proper perspective, and seen as intrinsic to the overall educational experience of the students,” Johnson said. Johnson began work at CA in early July and quickly immersed herself in a “summer of listening and learning” to best understand how she could help the CA athletic program continue to inspire students to pursue an active lifestyle, learn

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faculty Ben Carmichael ’01

OUR MISSION

Concord Academy engages its students in a community animated by a love of learning, enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, and guided by a covenant of common trust.

Laura Twichell ’01, English teacher and assistant dean for Community and Equity, in conversation with student Somerset Gall

A Steward of CA’s Mission The Community and Equity Office

by Laura Twichell ’01

UNSURPRISINGLY, the Community

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and Equity Office is responsible for delivering upon the vision of the second tenet of CA’s mission statement (above). We help the school think about the composition of our community and organize regular all-school programming and small-group discussions related to diversity and equity. However, I believe that the C&E office is equally responsible for upholding the other two tenets of CA’s mission. We do so by ensuring that our diverse group of students has the resources necessary to gain complete access to the promises made in CA’s mission. What might impede access to the full promise and offerings of a CA education? To name a few factors, coming from a less rigorous academic background, experiencing homesickness, feeling out of place in the community, spending valuable

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energy and time on acculturation, or living and learning next to peers managing these stressors. Knowing this does not imply that we have figured everything out. As CA seeks to nurture the diverse community of students and adults that its mission statement identifies as essential, it must continue to examine and adapt the ways it helps its members find and express themselves and their place in the community. CA is known to be ahead of the curve in community and equity work, perhaps in part due to our relationship-driven community, the value our mission places on diversity, and our commitment to seeing our students as individuals rather than to turning them into “Concord boys and girls.” Earlier than many other schools, CA began to have difficult and critical conversations about our community, creating the space necessary

for respectful and productive discussions. Our open atmosphere allowed Concord to found the first Gay-Straight Alliance in the nation, to be among the first schools in the country to create a task force to consider the experience of our transgender students, and to set aside Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to discuss civil rights for approximately 30 years. These achievements are our foundation, not our endpoint. The C&E team believes that learning about oneself as an individual and in a community is a critical element of secondary education. Because our society and school evolve over time, our work is infinite and ever-changing, but our continued efforts to improve our community help keep CA’s mission alive.

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Outwitting Counterfeiters A summer sabbatical helps John Pickle develop technology to counter fake drugs

COUNTERFEIT DRUGS are an

counterfeit, and even whether they contained the prescribed dose of medicine. In essence, Pickle and CDC scientist Michael Green created image analysis software to analyze pills illuminated with an inexpensive laser-based tool to determine whether any pill is safe, deadly, or expired. Pickle, who based his program on work he first developed more than a decade ago, said the program can be used on any type of medication, doesn’t require software updates, and can be developed for about

Science teacher John Pickle at the 2015 Convocation

$100 per unit (laser included). “Developing countries are being hammered right now with counterfeit antimalarial drugs,” Pickle said. “These counterfeiters are hurting people. Our tool will help get the counterfeiters and their pills out of the system early.” His groundbreaking work on the image analysis program and tool is typical of this scientist and teacher. Pickle came to teaching after a full career as a meteorologist and typhoon forecaster for the U.S. Air Force and 10 years as a scientific researcher for a commercial business. Before coming to CA in 2007, Pickle worked at Boston’s Museum of Science as the principal investigator on a NASA-funded project that developed ways to use plants to monitor the health of the environment. In 2010, Pickle was selected as a Teacher of the Future by the National Association of Independent Schools, one of 20 teachers selected from a large nationwide pool of teachers who inspire academic excellence in students and serve as a leader among their colleagues. Pickle said his summer sabbatical project has expanded his creative approach to teaching at CA and will help his work with the school’s DEMONS (Dreamers, Engineers, Mechanics and Overt Nerds) Club. “In our department, science is a process, and not focused predominantly on content,” Pickle said. “My work this summer reinvigorated my belief in how we teach science.” And after a summer deeply immersed in code writing and scientific development, Pickle said he was reminded that “as much as I love science, I love working with people more.”

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Pickle’s program was found to be 100 percent effective in detecting whether pills were genuine or counterfeit, and even whether they contained the prescribed dose.

Cole + Kiera Photography

escalating problem around the world. In developing countries, experts estimate that as many as a third of the pills reaching hospitals may be counterfeit. A recent World Health Organization alert warned of counterfeit antimalarial drugs in Cameroon, Ghana, and Liberia that contained less than 2 percent of the active ingredients needed to fight the mosquito-borne disease. Concord Academy science teacher John Pickle spent his 2015 summer sabbatical working with a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control on software to help find fake drugs and capture counterfeiters. By the end of the summer, Pickle said his program, which runs on portable devices such as the iPhone and the iPad, was found to be 100 percent effective in detecting whether pills were genuine or

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arts

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Icelandic Stills THIS SUMMER, I had the opportunity to travel to Iceland for a photography program with National Geographic. While only a few hours’ flight away from Boston, I was taken aback by how desolate the landscape was. Never had I seen something this empty before: There were few cars, many rocks, some sheep, and huge, far-off clouds of steam venting out of the barren plains. I heard people speaking a language unlike anything I had ever heard before, something akin to a mix of Danish and Russian. I was excited, albeit nervous, about what my adventure would entail. Over the next two weeks, we explored Iceland, taking photographs along the way. The diversity was staggering: One day I was on a volcano, the next on a glacier, and another in a cave. In my travels around the country, I tried to capture the somewhatconflicting influences of the Icelandic people on their landscape, and the impact of the landscape on their urban aesthetic. I saw buildings as strikingly simplistic homages to their landscape, and captured photographs of harsh, geometric exteriors to reveal the Icelandic perception of utilitarian design, as well as the role that so-called unintentional art plays in everyday life. I seldom captured the people themselves, as they weren’t as present throughout the country as they were in the capital city of Reykjavik. Even urban areas there felt more natural than the urban settings that I was used to. A fortnight of sunny, almost nonexistent summer nights later, I found myself back in Reykjavik, in front of my companions, about to present a final project that distilled my experience with the country into a few images. Just a few days earlier, I had been sitting on a glacier, and while pristine water trickled underneath me, I thought about how nobody else would ever experience that place, or that instant, in exactly the same way. After seeing other people’s images, my thoughts were confirmed. Perhaps photography is nothing more than a way of experiencing life’s transience.

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by Sam Barton ’17

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arts

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BOOKS

FILMS

CDS

M U LT I M E D I A

Have you published a book or released a film or CD in the last year? Please contact martha_kennedy@concordacademy.org and consider donating a copy to the J. Josephine Tucker Library’s collection of alumnae/i authors.

creativetypes by Library Director Martha Kennedy

Lily Geismer ’99 Don’t Blame Us: Suburban Liberals and the Transformation of the Democratic Party Princeton University Press, 2014

Jane Debevoise ’72 Between State and Market: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Post-Mao Era Brill, 2014

The liberal tag has stuck hard and fast, ever since Massachusetts stood alone in its support of George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. Intervening years witnessed significant changes in the Commonwealth’s political landscape as Democratic majorities that were formerly city-based and strongly aligned with unionized labor moved out to the suburbs, increasingly populated with white-collar professionals. Although outnumbered by urban-dwelling Democrats, this

China’s emergence as a major global player in the spheres of commerce and politics paved the way for advances in its modern art community. The late-20th-century period is marked by a movement away from the former statesponsored system that housed, supplied, and directed artists and instead enabled new freedoms of expression. By bridging the divide between the state and market systems, visual artists began to push beyond the boundaries of traditional forms,

as well as challenge the rigidity and constraints of the Maoist era. Fast-forward to today, where Chinese artists loom large in the art market, earning them and their work critical and financial attention.

Huntley Fitzpatrick ’81 The Boy Most Likely To Dial Books, 2015 Tim has hit rock bottom. Expelled from three prep schools, fired from numerous jobs, and finally kicked out of the house, he finds refuge in a friend’s garage apartment. His father’s ultimatum: Get your act together by December or

you’ll be cut off entirely. Then there’s Alice, who’s making personal sacrifices to keep her own family together following a car accident that nearly destroyed them. Despite knowing each other’s past, the attraction between Tim and Alice is too powerful to deny. As their romance blooms and their chaotic lives are getting back on track, a mysterious girl shows up at Tim’s door claiming her red-headed infant is his, leaving Tim stunned and with the shared responsibility for the child. In a zero-to-60 blur, Tim builds a surprising bond with baby Cal, discovering latent child-rearing skills, and bringing him redemption from his troubled youth in a most unexpected way.

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new wing of the party wielded great power and influence, garnered through effective grassroots organizing and coalition building. Don’t Blame Us explores the complexities of the Democratic Party’s evolution in the progressive and often contradictory climate that is Massachusetts politics and how it has informed the national party’s platform.

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Photos by David R. Gammons

arts

‘Drood was a huge and wonderful undertaking. Along with singing, dancing, and acting, we mastered different English dialects and learned about Victorian-era theater.’ Maddie Hurley ’16

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VIBRANT ARTS

Photos by Cole + Kiera

Facing page: In November 2014, the Performing Arts Department presented The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a musical whodunit styled in tribute to a bygone theatrical age. Please visit our website for more photos and stories about the performing and visual arts on campus.

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Nick Axelrod Class of 2002

ALUM NAE I PRO FILES by Nancy Shohet West ’84

In the Digital Age T H I S

I S S U E

Styling brands through storytelling

Nick Axelrod Class of 2002 Alex Klickstein Glazier Class of 1989 Benjamin Kennedy Class of 1995

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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ick Axelrod ’02 is quite familiar with the traditional journalism rules in which editorial is in one silo and advertising is in another, and any crossover between the two is seen as suspect at best and malfeasance at worst. After all, he cut his teeth as a journalist at Women’s Wear Daily, which, as he pointed out, is a 100-year-old print newspaper. It’s just that he sees no reason for the next generation of media to stick to the old rules. And those are rules he has been successfully testing for years now, ever since he left his job as senior fashion news editor at Elle to cofound Into The Gloss, a beauty and fashion website that under Axelrod’s co-leadership attracted 800,000 unique visitors each month, generating over 10 million monthly pageviews. Now, having left Into The Gloss in

mid-2014 to start his own eponymous brand development company, he believes his foremost role is as a storyteller. “What’s so exciting right now is how the ways in which brands can tell stories have expanded with the Internet, with social media, with all the places and ways you tell stories,” Axelrod said. “You can do things very differently based on your specific audience.” One of the first projects to catch Axelrod’s imagination when he went into business on his own was the challenge to help create a style brand for Yahoo. “We were starting from scratch; previously there was no Yahoo fashion website,” he said. “The questions I was interested in answering were, how do you create a unique voice and vision? What is Yahoo’s point of view when it comes to fashion and style?”

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‘If we had an audience asking to see more advertising, we were clearly succeeding.’

Axelrod created a video series called “I Yahoo’d Myself,” in which he sits with a celebrity and together they read news items about that celebrity. “It plays off the company’s heritage as a search engine, but it’s also a fun way to do an interview,” he said of the segments he conducted with celebrities including P. Diddy, Eva Mendes, Jessica Biel, Kelly Osbourne, and Natalie Dormer that typically received 1 million views each. “My style is to make them feel comfortable while also pushing them just a little bit out of their comfort zone; that’s how I get quotes they haven’t given to any other interviewers.” For example, with some easygoing banter and diplomatic wording, he famously coaxed the actress Courteney Cox into “saying she couldn’t deny that David Schwimmer is the reason there hasn’t been a Friends reunion.”

Axelrod developed his perspective on branding and media while he was publisher and editor-in-chief at Into The Gloss. “Traditionally, publisher and editor-in-chief are roles that would be separated. In my case, they were combined,” he said. “I could look at editorial from a business perspective and say ‘If we want to write about X, how can we incorporate an advertiser to sponsor it?’” Although he acknowledges that this perspective might raise eyebrows at more traditional publications, Axelrod is unapologetic. “I’m a firm believer that good content is good content,” he said. “If you’re sponsored by an advertiser, you have more money to spend on good visuals, good writing, resources you might not otherwise be able to afford. I think there’s a way to combine the two—editorial and advertising—and be honest and

straightforward about it. Sponsorship shouldn’t be a dirty secret.” And the corporate realm is clearly impressed with Axelrod’s approach. In 2014, he was honored by a Webby Award in the branded-content category for an Estée Lauder campaign promoting a new scent called “Modern Muse.” “The campaign theme was ‘Who’s Your Muse?’” Axelrod explained. “We hired an eccentric stylist we knew in LA and had her dress up and do her makeup as three of her biggest inspirations: Bianca Jagger, Sade, and French actress Anna Karina. After those three installments were broadcast, we received comments asking if there would be more. It seemed to me if we had an audience asking to see more advertising, we were clearly succeeding.” 31

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Frances Denny ’03

— Nick Axelrod ’02

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Alex Klickstein Glazier Class of 1989

Human Impact Saving lives through the New England Organ Bank

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

“I

f you’d told me early in my career that I would someday be CEO of a bank, I would never have believed you,” joked Alex Klickstein Glazier ’89. “But put that one word, organ, before bank—then maybe.” In fact, though, being CEO of New England Organ Bank (NEOB), the position to which she was named last April, may have seemed almost equally improbable to Glazier back when she was a newly minted attorney at the top-drawer global

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law firm of Ropes & Gray. It was the late ’90s, and “like everyone else, I was doing mergers and acquisitions,” Glazier recalled. But always on her mind was a fascination with bioethics. It was a passion that first took hold in an ethics class at Concord Academy taught by Kevin Jennings. Glazier went on to major in bioethics at Brown University and obtained her master’s degree in public health while at law school. At Ropes & Gray, she expressed interest in projects involving bioethics, and the

firm responded by giving her opportunities, including in the emerging field of stem cell research. The New England Organ Bank was a client of Glazier’s firm, and eventually hired her as vice president and general counsel. Even so, it was a big transition when the board of trustees tapped her to be CEO last spring. “The work I do on a daily basis and the types of decisions I’m responsible for are different, but knowing what an incredible organization it is with the ability to impact a public health need made me sure that taking on the job was the right decision,” she said. “Our mission is to save lives through donation and transplant. It’s life or death, or actually death and life, every day. An organization doesn’t get more missiondriven than that.” Part of her individual mission as CEO is to find ever more powerful ways to get the message out about organ donation. Polls show that most Americans support organ donation, Glazier said, but “it’s about action as much as awareness. If you want to be an organ donor, it’s critical that you take the step of registering to be a donor.” In fact, the number of registered organ donors in New England has doubled in the past eight years, Glazier said, from about 3 million to 6 million. But demand continues to exceed supply, because only certain medical circumstances allow for the possibility of organ donation at death, and because with the increase of diseases such as diabetes, the need for organs is ever-increasing. Despite the challenges, Glazier never doubts that the role is right for her. “There are a lot of great days in this job,” she reflected. “Recently at NEOB we received a letter that an organ recipient had written to thank his deceased donor. It was incredibly moving to be reminded of what the human impact is of saving one life as we read about the meaning it had for his family, for his professional life, for his future. The circle is so much bigger than any one recipient.” To register to be a donor, go to www.donatelifenewengland.org.

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Benjamin Kennedy Class of 1995

The Lessons of Detroit

fter majoring in economics at Morehouse College, earning an MBA at Harvard, and conducting fieldwork in South Africa, Benjamin Kennedy ’95 imagined he’d forge a career in facilitating economic development in the developing countries of Africa. But when the Kresge Foundation tapped him in 2009 to join its Detroit team as deputy director of its Community Development Program, he realized the opportunity to deploy his talents on the domestic front might be just as relevant. “Figuring out ways to make communities and the lives of the people in those communities function better is, at its core, the purpose of economic development,” Kennedy said. “My first exposure to this was in South Africa, working at the grassroots level. Throughout my studies in economics, it was never just numbers to me; I always focused on the real people behind the mathematical indicators. And when the opportunity in Detroit arose, I realized that it wasn’t really all that different to think about the future of individuals and communities in sub-Saharan Africa than in a major American city. We increasingly see people finding themselves in situations where they face less access to opportunity, income growth, social mobility; where

they are impeded by growing disparities. A chance to take on that challenge right here in the U.S. appealed to me.” Although he was raised in Boston’s Dorchester and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods, Kennedy has become wholeheartedly devoted to his new hometown of Detroit over the past six years, and that devotion is critical to his job success. “With its associations with Motown, the automotive industry, and jazz, Detroit is an iconic American city,” he said. “But it has also become emblematic of urban crisis and urban decay. When I arrived in ’09, Detroit was being walloped by every major crisis hitting the American economy and then some: the national economic crisis, bankruptcy in the auto industry, the foreclosure crisis, a city government in deep fiscal distress and facing the possibility of bankruptcy, and a political scandal that ended up landing the mayor in prison in one of the largest racketeering cases in recent history. I arrived to a place people were starting to write off.” But the Kresge Foundation wanted to right the ship when it came to Detroit’s economic development, and Kennedy willingly rose to the occasion. One project in which he has been particularly closely involved is the revitalization of the

Woodward Avenue corridor, which spans numerous commercial, business, academic, medical, and residential districts. But it’s not just about businesses or investing capital, Kennedy pointed out —it’s also about drawing in people who possess energy and ideas. Another part of the initiative involves recruiting mid-career professionals from other parts of the country who are then deployed across the city’s nonprofit and public sectors. “We’re working to make Detroit a place where you can roll up your sleeves, get involved, and make change,” Kennedy said. “Because ultimately, that’s what makes a community thrive: people who can make new things happen.” And Kennedy’s efforts ripple beyond the streets and neighborhoods of Detroit; the Kresge Foundation has also named him to a new undertaking it is calling American Cities. “That’s about capturing the lessons that we’ve learned here in Detroit and trying to deliver some of those lessons, along with capital, network, and all the other resources the Kresge Foundation can offer, to other locations facing similar challenges: Memphis, New Orleans, Newark, Oakland, San Antonio,” Kennedy said. “We are helping to create the cities we need in order to make this country what we all want it to be.” 33

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An economic developer brings change to American cities

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IN MEMORIAM

b Carl Aciukewicz grandfather of Aidan Aciukewicz ’15 and James Aciukewicz ’18

Henry Grunebaum father of Daniel Grunebaum ’83 Eleanor Locke ’34

Charles Minor Barringer father of Elizabeth Barringer ’70 Eugenie Bradford mother of Louisa Bradford ’69

Rose Peabody Parsons Lynch mother of Rose Lynch ’67 Michael Michaelis father of Peter Michaelis ’74 and David Michaelis ’75

Laura Bry ’79 Grace Phyllis Cohen mother of Liza Cohen Gates ’91

J. Hoyle Rymer father of John Hoyle Rymer ’14 Alice Newton Sampson ’42

Joanna Winship Crawford ’44 aunt of Margaret Winship ’63, Alice Coolidge ’68, and Sallie Coolidge Seymour ’71 Sally Cross mother of Sallie Cross Kingham ’61 and aunt of Tia Cross ’67

Susan Pickman Sargent ’64 sister of Stephanie Pickman Monahan ’70 and Elizabeth Pickman-Flanagan ’73, aunt of William Taylor ’09, and cousin of Daisy Pickman Welch ’63 and Beatrice Oakley ’65 Natica Satterthwaite, former faculty

Bradley Dewey Jr. father of Margot Dewey Churchill ’60 Reverend Andrew Finger grandfather of Kevin Ting ’08 and Adam Ting ’12

Werner Willmann father of Jennifer Willmann ’80, Eric Willmann ’82, and Heidi Willmann Richards ’82

Calvin Green ’82 CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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C O N C O R D A C A D E M Y A L U M N A E / I A S S O C I AT I O N

A CA Moment

r Pete

by Jamie Klickstein ’86, P’15, ’18, Alumnae/i Association President

so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

SENIOR SPRING , 1986 …

sunny and balmy outside. I sit in poetry class. Parkman Howe passionately recites the 16 words of William Carlos Williams. On my left Sandy Yusen, on my right Peter Zimble. We have long since stopped reading the homework for class … but that wheelbarrow, that teacher, that moment—pure CA magic. On the one hand, it was a typical classroom interaction; on the other, it became a milestone moment. Now when we refer to The Red Wheelbarrow we hold four years of memories in three words.

Many moments capture my feelings about CA then: • Entering the P.A.C. for my first announcements as a 4’ 11” freshman, Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House booming from the speakers overhead, Marcus Kuhn taking his seat complete with spiked Mohawk haircut, black leather jacket, and dog collar (my one thought: This place is way too cool for me). • Arguing passionately with Deanna Douglas that God does not exist in a Philosophy of Religion independent study; five years later Deanna becomes a rabbi. • Volunteering years later as an admissions interviewer, thrilled and amazed at an articulate 13-year-old girl in an interview, horrified when I return home to the screams of my 2-year-old in full tantrum (will she ever be that 13-year-old?). • Hearing my daughter yelp 11 years later when she gets a thick, bright green envelope from the Admissions Office. • Four years after that, listening to my classmate Sarah Koenig deliver the speech at my daughter’s graduation … the magic circle nearly complete.

This spring the New York Times reported that a scholar had located the actual red wheelbarrow in Mr. Williams’ poem, owned by Thaddeus Marshall, an African-American street vendor from Rutherford, N.J. The discovery prompted a series of excited emails among Sandy, Parkman, and me. Parkman weighed in with the following: “I thought of you all when I read this article. We’re not alone—But what does it mean, after all?” He closed in true Parkman form, channelling The Bard: “When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?” This fall my son joined the class of 2018, with the promise of yet more magic moments.

CATalks • CAService • CANetworking • CAGives • CAReunion

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INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE Kristie Gillooly

For nearly 100 years, Concord Academy has cultivated a remarkable reputation for intellectual rigor, deep engagement, creativity, and innovation. As we look to the next hundred years, we will honor this history by investing boldly in our future. We are excited to introduce to you create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy. It is a blueprint for academic, programmatic, and capital priorities that will affect every student and every teacher. It does not seek to reinvent, but builds on our strengths, expands our offerings, and focuses on enhancing CA’s distinctive living and learning environment — an environment that makes us all proud. At this moment in time, as education is shifting, we share a conviction that CA’s core values — love of learning, curiosity and collaboration, and abiding commitment to each other — have never been more relevant. Every day, from students, teachers, alumnae/i, parents, and board members alike, we witness the power of CA to shape lives, build enduring relationships, and truly make a difference in the world.

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Since the board approved the Centennial Plan in May 2014, the response to this campaign has been overwhelmingly positive. We are humbled and deeply grateful for this partnership in bringing these priorities to life. We invite you to read more, and to join the Concord Academy community across the world in this exciting work to build the school’s future.

Kim Williams P’08, ’14 President, Board of Trustees

Rick Hardy Head of School Dresden Endowed Chair

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Capital and Endowment Campaign Goal: $32 million

With a goal of $3 million per year over five years, Concord Academy’s Annual Fund constitutes 1/3 of the total campaign goal. This $15 million goal will have a direct and immediate impact, allowing CA’s students and faculty to create, innovate, and thrive in a supportive and dynamic community.

BOUNDLESS CAMPUS

3.1% RESIDENTIAL LIFE/ MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION (Building + Endowment)

25 %

34.4 %

CA LABS (Building + Endowment)

18.75 % FINANCIAL AID

18.75 % FACULTY LEADERSHIP

Rigorous Self-Examination Throughout a six-month study, members of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, and staff came together with Dewing Schmid Kearns Architects and Planners to think boldly and strategically about Concord Academy’s next 100 years. We asked students, “What do you seek as a learner?” We asked faculty, “What do you need to engage your students and ignite their curiosity?” Undertaken together, this rigorous self-examination yielded a shared vision for the school. Yes, it involves new walls and technology, but more importantly, the plan for revitalization focuses on opportunities to experiment, take intellectual risks, and expand the possibilities for teaching and learning. The result is a campaign for Concord Academy designed to ensure that our school and our students will continue to thrive well into the 21st century.

PRIORITIES > > >

Advancing Faculty Leadership

Connecting CA and the World: Boundless Campus

Expanding Discovery: CA Labs

Increasing Access: Financial Aid Enhancing Residential Life and Revitalizing Main Street

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create innovate

Cole + Kiera Photography

“

Here, you can be what you are or try out what you think you might want to be. You can take risks and try new things even if they are not fully formed.”

Susan Adams former German teacher at Concord Academy

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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ADVANCING FACULTY LEADERSHIP

Concord Academy’s teachers are known for their innovative and inclusive thinking—for their openness to new ideas, their interest in trying novel approaches, and forging new approaches themselves. They are known for keeping the flame alive. Through this process, we asked a simple question: How do we support this commitment to an evolving, engaging curriculum? The answer may lie in the 20-percent theory: Up to eight faculty and staff will have the equivalent of one day per week to devote to unbridled thinking about innovative teaching, new curricula, and refining existing courses. With support from the Faculty Leadership Endowed Fund, faculty will collaborate, test ideas, connect, and explore. Instead of teaching the typical four courses, all department heads teach three, freeing them to develop academic programs and mentor colleagues. With this endowed fund, CA will expand the program and provide all faculty with an opportunity to document their innovations, design new courses, mentor colleagues, and share their experience with other institutions around the globe.

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INCREASING ACCESS

“

I am so grateful to donors like you who, perhaps without ever meeting me, believed in both who I was four years ago and who I had the potential to be. Thank you for believing in me, and giving me the chance to learn how to believe in myself.”

“

> > >

Concord Academy seeks not only the best faculty but also the best students—from a full range of experiences and perspectives. The commitment to a community engaged in a love of learning, embracing a diversity of backgrounds, and guided by a covenant of common trust recognizes that increasing access to CA strengthens the entire community. Today, nearly a quarter of CA students receive some form of financial aid. As the costs of private education continue to rise, CA will double the endowment for financial aid by 2022.

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Kristie Gillooly

Financial aid not only allows me to go to this school, it allows me to fit in with my classmates. My older sister attended Concord Academy before me and she is now at a top college. Your donations have changed both our lives, allowing us to achieve things we had only dreamed of.”

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Residential Life CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

Our student houses are as valuable as learning tools as they are living spaces, and they feature prominently in our plan to expand the opportunities for learning outside the classroom. Over time, the houses will be renovated to improve the balance of boarding students across campus, increase the number of faculty apartments, and expand the common rooms, which will benefit the entire population. These spaces will serve as an extension of our teaching and learning, strengthening the community in meaningful ways, while preserving both the buildings’ historic character and their human scale.

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Cole + Kiera

Tom Kates

ENHANCING RESIDENTIAL LIFE AND REVITALIZING MAIN STREET

Main Street One of the things that sets CA apart from peer schools is how deeply it is embedded in the Concord community. Facing onto Main Street and comprising a number of historic homes once owned by Henry David Thoreau, a Supreme Court justice, and other distinguished families, Concord Academy is a living part of the historic fabric of Concord. With the Main Street revitalization project, CA has begun to invest in the school’s outward-facing facade in ways that will make it both more sustainable and historically accurate. Enhancements to lighting and landscaping, interconnected house lawns, upgraded safety measures, and a welcoming campus entrance have improved the living and learning experience. Work began on this project last fall, through a public-private partnership with the Town of Concord to install LED shepherd’s crook lamps along Main Street and to replace the sidewalk and add a grass strip, for water absorption and additional greenery. New signs bearing the refreshed Haines House seal now stand proudly at CA’s three gates. READ MORE about the Main Street revitalization on concord100.org/ main-street-revitalization.

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create innovate

BOUNDLESS CAMPUS Connecting CA and the World Concord Academy is guided by a belief that the school can better prepare students to make a difference in the world by blurring the boundaries of the classroom, bringing more of the world to Concord and also getting students out in the world. To facilitate collaboration with the local community and enhance students’ global competencies, CA is creating an endowment to support its Boundless Campus initiative. Two stories from this initiative can be found below.

Redefining Healthy, Local Food

Encountering Concord’s Literary Legacy

Who would have thought that a purple-lit industrial space in urban Millis, Mass., would be one of America’s burgeoning agricultural landscapes? This May, Concord Academy students in the class Advanced Environmental Science: Communities visited Pure Genius, a startup focusing on hyper-local hydroponic farming. Under the leadership of Sonia Lo ’84, the company is growing rapidly—as are the leafy greens it produces, which mature and reach market shelves in less than a third of the time it takes conventional, field-grown lettuce. Pure Genius creates ideal growing conditions for each species, monitoring water, nutrients, and light in precisely calibrated microclimates that eliminate the need for pesticides and dramatically reduce water consumption.

Leafing through Henry David Thoreau’s original notes for “Sir Walter Raleigh,” turning over one of three known daguerreotype portraits of the author to catch its iridescent sheen—this kind of firsthand contact with the artifacts of one of Concord’s most cherished authors is invaluable to the students in Leigh Gilmore’s Literature of Concord course. In addition to Thoreau’s writing, the course examines the worlds of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and a fourth major figure: Concord itself. The town is a source of historical information as well as a “living lab for encountering the place that inspired, provoked, and nurtured” these writers, Gilmore said. Thanks to the Concord Academy community, in following in the footsteps of these literary giants this spring, Gilmore’s students went a step further than most town residents. CA parents Sarah and Ken Lazarus p’15, ’17 opened their home, a few doors down Main Street, to the class: the house where Thoreau wrote Walden, and where he died in 1862. History doesn’t get much closer than this.

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READ MORE Boundless Campus stories on concord100.org/ boundless-campus.

Kristie Gillooly

Ben Carmichael ’01

Having by turns worked as an investor, a director at Google, a chef, and an angel investor, Lo has not had a typical farming career. That’s what interested Assistant Head of School and science teacher John Drew. “We spend much of the semester talking about systems, both economic and biological,” he said. “It was terrific that Pure Genius models profitability and environmental sustainability in concert. This visit brought together different threads of the course into one experience for the students, and in so doing brought the course to life.”

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Ben Carmichael â€™01

create innovate

EXPANDING DISCOVERY CA Labs Ground has been broken on a lead priority of the Centennial Campaign: the construction of a new science learning center. By reimagining the existing science facility, whose last renovation was more than 50 years ago, the new CA Labs will expand what is possible for teaching and learning at CA across departments.

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

Adding a wing onto the existing structure and creating a central school corridor will not only double the existing classroom space for science and technology, it will also create an adaptable, state-of-the-art setting for interdisciplinary exploration, facilitating collaboration among science and engineering as well as the arts and humanities. With a green roof and a sustainable design, the building itself will be a learning tool. A flexible lab with limitless configurations will enable faculty and students to experiment and test ideas. The fabrication lab, a dedicated maker-space equipped with a 3D printer, construction tools, and other cutting-edge technology, will give a home to future innovators and entrepreneurs. And from the rooftop observatory, CA students and teachers will be able to conduct physics experiments, view the stars, and explore the horizon far beyond the town of Concord.

PROJECT OVERVIEW CURRENT SPACE > 6 classrooms > 10,000 square feet FUTURE SPACE > 11 flexible, state-of-the-art classrooms > 20,000 square feet HIGHLIGHTS > Integrated science curriculum > Central campus corridor > State-of-the-art lab spaces > Flexible learning environments for collaboration and hands-on construction

> Fabrication lab > Mobile carts, furniture, and utilities > Sustainable building design

READ MORE CA Labs stories on concord100.org/science.

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UNVEILING

create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Co

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Breaking Ground on CA Labs

or Concord Academy

At the unveiling of create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy, the gymnasium was abuzz with excitement over the future of the school. The groundbreaking ceremony for CA Labs — the kick-off of the campaign and its first major capital project — took place indoors because of rain. No matter, for this evening was all about envisioning the evolution of teaching and learning.

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Photos by Kristie Gillooly

“Launching the building of this vital project a year ahead of schedule, we wouldn’t be here without your enthusiasm and support,” Head of School Rick Hardy said, speaking at the event. “On behalf of everyone at CA, thank you for your belief in this school and its future.”

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create innovate

Capital and Endowment Campaign Progress CA’s alumnae/i, parents and friends have supported create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy at an unprecedented level over the last 16 months. Such generosity at this time in the school’s history creates an opportunity for us to build new educational pathways and transform the lives of everyone in Concord Academy’s community. These gifts will improve the campus, strengthen endowment, inspire our gifted faculty, and facilitate learning. Together, we are realizing a Concord Academy well poised to lead for another century.

Goal: $32 Million Progress: $21 Million 68% of total from 7-figure gifts

Capital and Endowment Gifts May 2014–October 2015 Gifts of $50k +

BREAKDOWN OF DONORS: TOTAL #

BREAKDOWN OF DONORS: TOTAL $ 35%

ALUMNAE/I 26%

CURRENT PARENTS

FRIENDS

43%

CURRENT PARENTS 35%

PARENTS OF ALUMNAE/I

25%

ALUMNAE/I

30%

PARENTS OF ALUMNAE/I FRIENDS

“ CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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We believe that at the core of the CA learning philosophy is a deep understanding of how to achieve the very best from each and every student. CA’s talented faculty and staff create an environment that gives students the freedom of academic exploration while fostering personal growth through genuine support and respect. The new CA Labs will encourage this academic and personal growth through its state-of-the-art, flexible, and shared learning spaces.” Karen and Jeff Packman P’14, ’17

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2014–15 Fundraising Results (Including Annual Giving) GIFTS MORE THAN DOUBLED IN 2014 –15

A RECORD

HISTORICAL

$9,374,838

2012–13

$8,092,160

2011–12

$8,160,694

ANNUAL FUND FROM

2,068

DONORS $ 2,891,040

A RECORD

TOTAL RAISED IN 2014–15 (cash and pledges)

F R O M C O N C O R D AC A D E MY PA R E NTS

1,104,762

Senior Parent Gift

1,021,337

A RECORD

FOR THE ANNUAL FUND

90%

Participation in support of the Faculty Leadership Fund

of faculty and staff participated in the Annual Fund

19,888,335

OF YOUNG ALUMNAE/I (classes of 2000 –2014) gave to CA last year

of donors to the Annual Fund gave gifts from $1–1,000

A record 35% of the class of 2000 participated in their 15th reunion gift in support of the Benjamin David Hamilton ’00 Scholarship Fund. Ben’s mother, Wendy Hamilton, matched each gift for a total of $20,085, which supports ﬁnancial aid at CA.

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2013–14

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create innovate

WHY I SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN

“

CA is a ‘home’ for me and my family. Even if CA Labs were strictly a science infrastructure project, I would have been an early supporter. However, CA Labs will be much more than this. Because of the CA process, CA Labs is the next phase of support for faculty, collaboration, innovation, and community — a philanthropic priority for me because it’s funding the heart of CA.” Nina Urban ’80, P’11, ’17

“

Concord Academy is a special place. It truly values strong academics as much as it supports creative kids — whether that creativity manifests on the stage, the screen, in a studio, or through innovations in science and technology. Cultivating creative thinking in today’s young adults is key to helping them solve the complex global challenges their generation faces. Concord Academy has some of the highest-caliber faculty from both creative and traditionally academic fields, giving our kids the tools of inquiry and collaboration to meet the challenges of the future. We are delighted to support the Centennial Campaign and the CA Labs project, where a combination of innovation and creativity will flourish.” Linda Hammett Ory and Andy Ory P’16

“

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In 1998 my father and I decided to give a combined gift to CA, because it underlined what was meaningful and shared between us. It was about excellence in education and giving back. It was less about who gives, and why, and more about who benefits, and why. I felt compelled to support this campaign because, 17 years later, I don't feel that differently toward CA, perhaps just more certain: about this special place, this community, the teachers, and each and every student for generations to come. I am happy I can continue my dad’s legacy. I am happy I can help out.” Irene Chu ‘76

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NEW TRUSTEES

• • • Bridget C. Johnson is the associate executive director of Prep for Prep, a nonprofit that identifies New York City’s most promising students of color and prepares them for placement at independent schools in the city and boarding schools throughout the Northeast. At Prep, Johnson oversees the day-to-day operations of the program, which has placed more than 4,500 students since 1978. Before joining Prep, Johnson served for five years as the dean of students at Milton Academy. Johnson previously worked as the associate director of admissions at Episcopal High School in Northern Virginia. A native of Greensboro, N.C., Johnson earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. She serves as a Georgetown alumni interviewer and is active in the New York Urban League.

Rose Peabody Lynch ’67 (Podie) has over 30 years’ experience managing health, beauty, and fashion brands. She served as a chief operating officer for more than 13 years: as president of Danskin, Inc., chief operating officer of LeRoi Princeton, and senior vice president/general manager for merchandising for Victoria’s Secret Fragrance, a division of Victoria’s Secret. Lynch currently serves on the board of Steve Madden, LTD, the publicly traded fashion shoe company. She is on the board of directors of S.O.S. Children’s Villages, U.S.A. (the U.S. division of S.O.S. Children’s Villages, International), the executive committee of the Princeton University Alumni Council, and the board of directors of the Princeton Varsity Club. She is the president of the Princeton class of 1971. In addition to her B.A. from Princeton, Lynch received an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Lynch lives in New York City. Her son, Gates Peabody Torrey, is a 2013 graduate of Princeton.

• • • Carolyn Stafford Stein currently serves as the assistant director for alumni advising at Harvard Law School’s Office of Public Interest Advising, where she counsels Harvard Law alumni with respect to public service careers. As a lecturer at HLS, Stein taught government lawyering and supervised students in clinical placements. A former assistant U.S. attorney, Stein prosecuted white-collar crimes for the Department of Justice in Boston and served as special counsel to the assistant attorney general in Washington. At CA, Stein has volunteered in a variety of CA Parents programs and served as a member of the CA Parents Executive Committee, and, with her husband, Eric, served as cochair of the 2011 Senior Parent Gifts program. She is the board chair emeritus of Acre Family Child Care in Lowell, Mass., and continues to be active in nonprofits in Lowell dedicated to economic independence for women and high-quality early childhood

education. Stein is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Brown University. She lives in Carlisle, Mass., with Eric and their three daughters, Natalie ’17, Audrey ’14, and Lena ’11.

• • • Jennifer Burleigh ’85 is a retired partner of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, the international law firm. Burleigh was a member of the firm’s Private Equity and Investment Management groups. While at Debevoise, Burleigh was recognized as a leading practitioner in private equity fund formation, and was a frequent writer and speaker on developments in U.S. and international private equity. She also served on the Private Investment Funds Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and on the board of trustees of Prep for Prep. Burleigh is also a trustee of The Caedmon School. She received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a managing editor of the Columbia Law Review. She received her B.A. with honors from Stanford University. She lives in New York City with her husband, William Regner, and daughter Sarah.

• • • Sarah Faulkner Hugenberger ’94 spent the early part of her career working as an analyst, program manager, and sales engineer with information technology and consulting companies. She then returned to Concord Academy, serving as a computer studies teacher, lacrosse coach, and web editor. Hugenberger currently volunteers with the Arlington Family Connection and sits on the School Council for Brackett Elementary School in Arlington, Mass. She graduated from Brown University with a B.S. in geological sciences. She and her husband, Nathan, have three sons, Isaac, Jonah, and Micah.

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Sean M. Dalton is a general partner of Highland Capital Partners, a global venture capital firm that has raised more than $3 billion in capital and invested in more than 225 companies. At Highland, Dalton focuses on disruptive technologies in the mobile, enterprise, and media markets. Dalton has been recognized multiple times by the Forbes Midas List as one of the top venture capitalists in the industry. He represents Highland on the boards of Anova Data, CENX, ClearSky Data, ExaGrid, Infinio, and QD Vision. Dalton previously worked as venture associate at Fidelity Capital, focusing on communications and electronic commerce. Before that, he was a product manager for GTE (now Verizon), leading the nation’s first DSL trial for Internet access. Dalton holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware. He lives in Winchester, Mass., with his wife, Julie, and four children, Mikaela, Bronte ’16, Chaney ’19, and Everett.

11/4/15 8:55 AM

< CIRCA RESPONSE Visual arts teacher Chris Rowe identified Jay Golden ’88 and Maro Robbins ’88, “armed with cameras, probably heading out together on an assignment from CA’s brand-new photography teacher Cynthia Katz, or scouting locations for their equally wet-behind-the-ears film instructor Chris Rowe.”

• 1920 • 1930 • 1940 • 1950 • 1960 • 1970 • 1980 • 1990 • 2000 • 2010 •

CIRCA Readers, please pull up a chair and tell us what you can about the people pictured here. Do you see familiar faces or places? Please send names, dates, stories, or caption suggestions for the images seen here to magazine@ concordacademy.org. We’ll publish select responses in the next issue.

CON CORD AC A DEM Y M AG A ZINE FALL 2015

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“

I love teaching at Concord Academy. I’m not simply teaching the subject

material. I’m interacting with students — teaching them how to voice their opinions and respect other viewpoints, take academic risks, celebrate success, and be resilient. Isn’t that what learning is all about?” Andrea Yañes-Taylor head of the science department

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Building a CA Moment

CA faculty member Justin Bull with students in his Film History class

CREATE A CA MOMENT

Event dates

Exploring knowledge, discovering creativity, and building relationships.

What will you make possible? Invest in Concord Academy with a gift to the 2015–16 Annual Fund.

www.concordacademy.org/give www.concordacademy.org /give

December 17 Welcome Back Breakfast for young alumnae/i

May 26–27 Baccalaureate and Commencement

December 29 CAYAC Holiday Party at Meadhall, Cambridge

June 3–5 Spring Reunions for classes of 1946–2001

January 10 C&E Alumnae/i and Student Bowling at Lucky Strike, Boston

October 2016 Fall Reunions for classes of 2006 and 2011

March 13–16 Student-Alumnae/i Engagement Trip, London and Oxford, UK

Spring into Service events coming soon to your area.

Contact the Advancement & Engagement Office at advancement @concordacademy.org or (978) 402-2240.

CATalks CA Talks • CAService CAService • CA CANetworking Networking • CA CAGives Gives • CAReunion CAReunion

10/28/15 7:22 PM

CONCORD ACADEMY MAGAZINE

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID N.Reading, MA Permit No. 121 Concord Academy 166 Main Street Concord, MA 01742 Address service requested

Kristie Gillooly

fall 2015

Concord Academy magazine is printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.

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Concord Academy

Published on Nov 20, 2015

CA Magazine Fall 2015 Issue

This special issue spotlights create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy, including a campaign impact report and coverag...

CA Magazine Fall 2015 Issue

Published on Nov 20, 2015

This special issue spotlights create + innovate: The Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy, including a campaign impact report and coverag...

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