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CONCORD ACADEMY MAGAZINE SPRING 2012
hen the unmistakable sound of Led Zeppelin pierced the whisper quiet of the eighteenth floor of the Yale Club in New York City on the evening of February 9, it was the first indication that this gathering of Concord Academy alumnae/i, former faculty, and Head of School Rick Hardy was going to be different. And it was. More than seventy alumnae/i from the 1970s filled the room for a night of dining, discussion, and reminiscing about their years at Concord Academy during what was a transformative decade for the institution. The event featured remarks by the head of school and a panel discussion moderated by Puddie Hauge Sword ’75, with teacher emeritus Bill Bailey, former house parent and Spanish teacher, Monica Hayes, (known at Concord Academy as Monica Benjamin), and teacher emeritus John O’Connor. Before dinner, the alumnae/i guests—men and women now in their fifties, clustered in small groups and exchanged information on their lives since high school. But that kind of catching up was quickly overtaken by an animated sharing of “remember when?” anecdotes. Walking around the room one could hear, “Remember gnoming?” or, “Who started that protest—do you remember?” as the former students engaged in discussions about what it was like to be a student at Concord Academy in the 1970s. As they talked, they were bathed in the silvery glow of a slideshow that shuffled through photographs depicting their younger selves. For most the hair was a lot longer and the pant legs decidedly wider. But there was no mistaking the faces—youthful, eager, full of promise.
From left to right: Patty Chao ’73, Wendy Powers ’74, Robin Gosnell Travers ’73, and Laura Powers-Swiggett ’75; John O’Connor; Anne Dayton ’72 and Linden Havemeyer Wise ’70; Karen McAlmon ’75; Irene Chu ’76 and Robert Forbes ’76; Stow Kelner ’75; Jared Keyes ’79, Laura Drachman ’79, Richard Oh ’79, and Carey Mack Weber ’79; Wendy Klemperer ’76
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After dinner, the group discussion began in earnest. Sword opened the conversation by providing some context about the challenges Concord Academy faced in the 1970s. CA was an all-girls school in 1970—the female alternative to Groton or Andover, but by the end of decade it was a coeducational school that included 105 boys. In 1973, the energy crisis forced some classes to be held in dorm living rooms. Throughout the decade financial pressures mounted. It was perhaps no coincidence, then, that there were a total of four heads of school at CA during the seventies. Faculty emeritus Bill Bailey reflected on the enormous effect that the influx of male students in 1971 had on the school. “Very few girls’ schools went coed on their own terms . . . Concord did,” said Bailey. The change in student enrollment prompted an enormous upheaval on campus. There was a need for new facilities; a new athletic building and a student-faculty complex were planned. At the same time the old model of house mothers in the boarding houses was replaced by house families. Whether it was the era or the shifting landscape on campus, rather than seek leadership from the faculty or heads of school, students at CA started to challenge authority in ways big and small. To cite one example, Bailey said a group of young journalists took issue with building a new gymnasium on campus. “The future Woodward and Bernsteins began publishing twice a week and interrogating members of the Board about this new building,” said Bailey, to much laughter from the crowd. “I look on this as an
extraordinary experience.” And so did many of his former students, who stood one by one to share their memories. “Concord was one of those places that showed me about taking action,” said one attendee. O’Connor, who started teaching at CA in 1972, marveled at how different the relationships between faculty and students seemed at CA. He shared a story about a student who “dismissed” then-head of school Russell Mead from his role in the play Anything Goes because Mead had the temerity to miss several rehearsals. “What I learned is that there is another way to run a school. I learned it is all about you—the students,” said O’Connor. Amanda Zinsser Moffat ’79 talked about the bonds formed with her friends. “I came to appreciate CA because of the women around me. They were all so deeply supportive.” Peter Michaelis ’74 shared some of the life lessons he learned during his years at Concord Academy. “I became a network television producer because of my experience in the media department at Concord . . . We all know there are other schools where there is no chance for experimenting, no chance to make mistakes, and no chance to step up into leadership roles as a student. My experience at Concord Academy was very empowering.” Throughout the evening, the theme of student leadership and action was a constant thread. “One of the things that distinguished the relationship between students and faculty back then was the ability to have an intellectual dialog,” Beau Poor ’75 said. “We were not fearful of the teachers, and I think that was very different from most prep schools.” As Monica Hayes rose to her feet to speak
Photos by Karen Culbert
From left to right: Elizabeth Hillyer Parker ’73 and Susan Coleman ’73; Markley Boyer ’78; Monica Benjamin Hayes; Isabel Fonseca ’79, Andrew Herwitz ’79 and Amanda Zinsser Moffat ’79; Bill Bailey; Jesse Cohen ’75, Sarah Hewitt ’75, Puddie Hauge Sword ’75, and Elizabeth Emmons ’75; Renee Amory Ketcham ’75 and Beau Poor ’75