Hackley Review Summer 2016

H AC K L E Y H A C K L E Y R E V I E W S U M M E R 2 0 16

The Walter Johnson Years

Honoring Character on the Hilltop The Hackley Lifers’ Endowment At the end of the 2014–2015 school year, Doug and Maripat Alpuche, whose daughter Dominique ’13 and son Doug Jr. ’15 were both Hackley Lifers, wanted to make a gift in honor of the tremendous role Hackley plays in the character development of those fortunate enough to have attended the school since kindergarten.

The Alpuche family

The Alpuches established The Hackley Lifers’ Endowment, which funds The Hilltop Award, a cash award presented to a member of the faculty, administration or staff, or any subcontractor of the school. Chosen by majority vote of members of the graduating class who have attended Hackley since kindergarten, the awardee is someone who has best inspired and promoted Hackley’s three fundamental mottos—“United, We Help One Another;” “Enter Here To Be And Find A Friend;” and “Go Forth and Spread Beauty and Light.”

This endowment also generates income that will provide incremental funding to a program at Hackley chosen by majority vote of the Lifers in each graduating class.

The inaugural winner of The Hilltop Award was Rhonda Mair, a 22 year employee of Flik, Hackley’s food service provider.

The 2016 Lifers surprised Rhonda with news of the award in the Lower School Dining Hall.

One Lifer noted about Rhonda: “She is a woman I will never forget due to her ceaseless energy and smiles.

In Lower School, she taught me the importance of teamwork outside of the classroom, the notion that everyone deserves kindness and the selflessness required to be a kind and supportive member of a community. To this day whenever I see her she greets me with the biggest smile on her face and an embrace. I really believe she embodies Hackley’s three fundamental mottos.”

Lifers in any graduating class and all members of the community are welcome to contribute to The Hackley Lifers’ Endowment.

The 2016 Lifers with Rhonda Mair

HACKLEY REVIEW SUMMER 2016

Contents 4

32

Hackley Board of Trustees Names Johnson Center for Health & Wellness

2015–16 Performing Arts

Walter Johnson Receives Medal of Honor

2015–16 Visual Arts

By Greg Cice 2015–16 Athletics

6 The Life of a School: 21 Years of Leadership 8

by Bettie-Ann Candelora

he Sculptor’s Vision: 21 Years T of Walter Johnson’s Leadership

By Philip V. Havens ’49

by Jason Edwards

40 Hilltop Updates

44

12 S trength in Partnership: 21 Years of Trustee Leadership

By Suzy Akin

Commencement 2016

18 T he Spirit of Welcome and Partnership: 21 Years of HPA Leadership

By Suzy Akin

Character is Higher than Intellect

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By William G. Davies

20 U nited, Helping Each Other: 21 Years of Alumni Partnership

By Suzy Akin 26 T he Fabric of Learning: 21 Years of Academic Program Evolution

By Philip J. Variano

Editor: Suzy Akin Primary photography: Chris Taggart On the cover: Portrait of Walter C. Johnson by Everett Raymond Kinstler, 2016. The portrait now hangs in the Lindsay Room at Hackley with those of Hackley’s previous headmasters.

Hackley Review: More color, less weight!

We have redesigned Hackley’s publications to allow us to share content more effectively with our audiences—alumni, current families, parents of alumni, grandparents, and friends. “Class Notes” is now its own alumni-specific magazine, and Hackley Review, with stories about Hackley people and programs, now comes to you twice a year in full color.

Suggestions? Email us at communications@hackleyschool.org. Happy reading! © Copyright 2016 Hackley School. All rights reserved.

O

n June 16, as we prepared to print this

issue of Hackley Review, we

received word that Walter Johnson had died peacefully that morning from cancer.

We can think of no more fitting memorial than the celebration captured in these pages of his 21 remarkable years as Headmaster of Hackley School. This spring, the School commissioned this original drawing as a gift for Walter, showing the Hackley Quad as it is today, restored and re-imagined through his vision. If you look closely, you will see Walter, walking home to Gage House, as he did every day for over two decades.

With gratitude from all of us at Hackley School.

Artwork by Karl Tanner

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Board of Trustees Names

Johnson Center for Health & Wellness This June, John C. Canoni ’86, President, Hackley Board of Trustees, announced the Board of Trustees’ decision to name Hackley’s newest project the Johnson Center for Health and Wellness in honor of Headmaster Walter C. Johnson and his 21 years of leadership.

Mr. Canoni notes, “Through all these years, Walter’s vision has transformed our beloved campus and our programs, and instead of stopping as many would have with what he had already accomplished, he continued to look forward, guiding the creation of our Health and Wellness programming and envisioning the facility that would become its home. It is in appreciation for his vision for Hackley, today and in the future, that we dedicate the new building in his honor.”

The new Johnson Center for Health & Wellness, made possible

by Ethel Strong Allen’s extraordinarily generous gift and the proceeds from the paintings she donated to Hackley, will be a 100,000+ square foot facility that will include: a cardio fitness center, three basketball courts, an eightlane pool, eight squash courts, a fencing studio, a wrestling room, a free weights room, a modified indoor track, three classrooms and a wellness studio, a teaching kitchen, concession stand, and of

Rendering of The Johnson Center for Health & Wellness, from the south.

course locker rooms, office space and common areas.

The facility will provide a new home for Hackley’s exceptional physical education and athletics programs as well as an expanded platform upon which the School’s important initiatives in Health and Wellness will continue to grow. Beginning with the creation of a new position for Director of Health and WellBeing, Hackley has embraced a wide array of programming, ranging from mindfulness and meditation practices at all grade levels, nutrition education, and fitness

activities including yoga and walks in Hackley’s own woodlands. Our Lower School teachers established a garden where students learn to plant and cultivate vegetables which they later enjoy and share, and faculty partake in a full range of wellness and well-being practices in partnership with colleagues.

The Johnson Center for Health & Wellness extends Walter’s commitment to our founders’ vision for a community “where it should be easy to be good” into our second century.

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Walter Johnson Receives Medal of Honor As the school year concluded, the Hackley Board of Trustees and the Hackley Alumni Association awarded the Hackley School Medal of Honor to Walter C. Johnson. Fittingly enough, he concluded his 21 years as Headmaster of Hackley School as the 21st recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor accorded by Hackley to those who have served the School and its community in extraordinary ways.

He is only the second Headmaster to receive the honor—the previous recipient, K.C. MacArthur, reshaped Hackley School forever with the creation of the K–5 Lower School and the move to co-education.

Other recipients include former trustee Herbert Allen and his son, Herbert A. Allen ’58, whose philanthropy across generations first saved and then transformed Hackley, as well as board presidents across decades who have guided Hackley with dedication and vision.

Legendary Hackley History teacher, historian and author of Where the Seasons Tell Their Story: Hackley School’s First 100 Years, Walter Schneller—himself a recipient of the Hackley Medal of Honor—wrote that Walter Johnson “…exhibited outstanding leadership qualities; clearly he would be a headmaster for the twenty-first century.” He predicted that Hackley under Walter Johnson’s leadership would bring “not only a return to glory but a vision of dazzling heights of institutional growth and development beyond the founders’ most expansive dreams” (Schneller 233). Mr. Schneller, too, would be amazed

by Hackley School today.

But it is Walter’s own words that capture the essence of these last decades best. In 1998, he wrote, “The key to belonging, the key to education of self, the key to loving this place, is to give oneself without stint.

Distinguished accomplishment attained without effort

The Hackley School Medal of Honor

earns less respect here than a wholehearted commitment and discipline motivated more by love than by talent. […] Hackley’s culture honors those who make this investment of self, whether they be students, teachers, parents or alumni. To make such an unreserved commitment is an act of faith and hope.”

The Medal of Honor scroll presented to Walter Johnson honors this unreserved effort, and the gift of faith and hope: You challenged us all to rise to our founders’ lofty aspiration that Hackley should be a place of beauty, “where it should be easy to be good.” Your moral vision, ethical leadership and intellectual rigor have transformed both Hackley and our community’s impact beyond the Hilltop in countless ways. You have led us to see the view from the Hilltop with hope and possibility, and we are grateful.

Medal of Honor Recipients 1965 Herbert Allen

1975 Thomas E. Zetkov

1990 Robert M. Akin III ’54

1966 Laurence M. Symmes

1975 Kenneth C. MacArthur, Jr.

1998 Philip C. Scott ’60

1967 Lawrence W. Newell

1977 George M. Whitmore ’45

2000 Jack M. Ferraro H ’63

1968 Carl de Ganahl ’19

1980 Herbert B. Grant ’35

2002 Walter L. Schneller

1969 Maurice H. Lindsay

1982 Robert W. Rowen ’22

2006 Herbert A. Allen ’58

1972 Daniel L. Monroe ’22

1987 Richard G. Rosenthal

2010 Thomas A. Caputo ’65

1974 Adolph Herrmann’29

1989 G. Carl Buessow

2016 Walter C. Johnson

The Life of a School: 21 Years of Leadership Schools are living organisms. Complex and dimensional. They breathe. They grow. They thrive on nourishment drawn from their roots, their history. They evolve, celebrate accomplishments, learn from mistakes, and strive to do better for the next generation.

We who are close to a school come to understand this intuitively, and we are protective.

We nurture it as it nurtures us. Through long relationship, we come to breathe together. The institution evolves, guided by a continuity of values, of spirit.

Former students see this when they return to the Hilltop. They admire the changes just as they are reassured by a certain constancy of vision with which they resonate. Parents choose it for their children because they connect with the sense of community this constancy engenders.

We talk often at Hackley about “culture,” about the shaping force of sustained commitment to core values. That culture seems organic, yet we know it’s the product of hard work. Times change, new people and

new agendas emerge, and it takes conscious effort to sustain a clear sense of who we are.

Across these last 21 years of leadership, in what will surely come to be known as “the Walter Johnson years,” the single most significant aspect of Hackley has been the commitment to the best of what Hackley is and always has been even as we evolve toward what more we can be.

Walter Johnson is the first to refuse credit for the good work of these last 21 years, pointing instead to the teams of effective leaders—trustees, alumni, parents, teachers, administrators and staff—whose vision, collaboration and commitment have made so much possible. We keep trying to applaud him, and he keeps reminding us that he did his part along with so many others, that leadership is about partnership—trustees, parents’ association, and alumni association synergistically working in tandem with faculty and the administration. And that is, we admit, the Hackley way. We are not a “star” culture; we are a community.

Iuncti Iuvamus: United, we help one another.

Pictured left: John Canoni ’86 and Tom Caputo ’65, Board presidents present and past, in the Lindsay Room. photo credit: Haleh Tavakol ’84

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By Philip V. Havens ’49, Former Hackley Faculty and Trustee

21 YEARS

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The Sculptor’s Vision: 21 Years of Walter Johnson’s Leadership Twenty-one years ago, Walter Johnson began his work as Hackley’s new Headmaster. A school includes all manner of materials—physical as well as the human resources of faculty, parents, students, and assorted others. Some tasks were simple and obvious. But building a first class school is a complex task. And build a first class school, he did.

When you become a new Head of School, there is no manual, no clear steps to follow to help you know how best to support the faculty, staff, trustees, parents, and alums. The challenge confronting a new Head is similar to the one confronting a sculptor. In front of the sculptor is a large block of marble. There are no lines or markings to guide your carving.

There must be an idea in your head—from that, you create the design. Confronting his own block of marble, Michelangelo envisioned the figure of David in all its details—the stance, the cock of the head, the look in the eye.

Like the sculptor, the Head needs a design and a plan, but also needs the skills with which to communicate with everyone in the organization and the ability to recognize that the challenges will constantly change. Fortunately, Walter had the skills and clearly relished the challenge. He has lived Hackley.

His paramount concern was our students. Hackley students entered here to be and find a friend. They needed the culture to support and challenge them. This had to begin with the commitment to building

a financial aid program that made it possible for talented students to attend Hackley regardless of their families’ ability to pay. It needed, also, to provide a thoughtfully planned curriculum that provided students both the skills and foundation upon which to grow, the scaffolding to support this growth, and new levels of challenge for them to explore as they achieve mastery.

He set forth to motivate students to reach for high standards under the direction of the talented faculty.

If he chose the right faculty and helped those teachers set the correct targets and standards, the students should prosper. Along with this work, he found ways to rebuild a necessary sense of cohesion, mutual purpose and shared direction among students and faculty. As I visit the School during celebrations or during class time and observe the students, it is clear that Walter has helped Hackley reaffirm and deepen its mission of community.

Walter gave faculty opportunities to rethink academic schedules and to learn from and support each other. He created traditions that celebrate and honor them.

Only in a school that really cares about teachers and teaching would a Head give senior teachers the prominence of literally carving their visages into stone by creating gargoyles in their likeness on the new buildings. Such a gesture tells us a great deal about the School and the Head.

Walter has found ways to showcase other Hackley talent. He

has invited Hackley alumni and parents to play an important part in the campus community, inviting them to speak at significant events, such as graduation. The message he sends to the community is clear: these Hackley grads and parents deserve our respect. Members of the community, particularly students, gain a sense of admiration for the institution to which they belong. This is done in a few other schools but it is certainly not universal.

Walter appreciates Hackley history deeply, learning more about Hackley’s history, values and traditions than most graduates.

The invitation carved over the front door—Enter Here to be and Find a Friend—had often been celebrated but he made it central to our understanding of the traditions inherent to our heritage. The Latin motto on our seal, Iuncti Iuvamus, had little resonance until he reminded us that it translates to “United, we help one another.”

By honoring these intrinsically Hackley themes and tying them to our community’s codes of expected behavior, he helped shape a more respectful and caring culture.

The caring culture was also reflected in the School’s commitment to a strong ethical core. Rules were enforced even-handedly and he helped faculty, student, parent and trustee leaders carry forth an unwavering moral code. Long before concerns about bullying became a visible public topic, Walter led Hackley to reinforce a commitment to caring, mutual respect. Recognizing the ownership students took of their school,

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Walter helped them build their sense of pride in the community they create and protect. Watch the way Hackley Upper School students gather and socialize.

They are enjoying their School.

During Walter’s tenure there have been disasters. The fire that gutted Goodhue looms as one of the largest and most memorable of the challenges that faced Walter and the trustees. Yet the strong administration had carefully built the philanthropic resources that made it possible to protect and enhance critical assets beyond that which insurance would cover.

Walter, the Board and others managed the crisis well and we emerged a stronger, better, more beautiful school.

It seems as though Walter has always been looking ahead, always preparing for the next challenge, always making the School ready for what is to come. Hackley’s development department is one of its great strengths. Before Walter, alumni giving was weak, endowment was poor, and the percentage of parent giving was substandard. Walter led the School to accept a challenge grant leading to significant improvement.

Think of everything the current campus community can now take for granted, having never known Hackley without them: the new Lower School, the new Middle School, the science building, new track, fields and cross-country trails which used the acreage acquired from the Rockefeller family to beautify and enhance our programs, Allen Hall and Akin Common, the redesigned and expanded dining hall and all the added space that supports expanded programs and increased flexibility, making the academic

program the priority. Plans for the new Johnson Center for Health and Wellness will extend this vision. In addition to physical enhancements, today’s students benefit from Hackley’s expanded global education opportunities, including the Casten Travel Program, the Wendt Visiting Scholar series, and all the international cultural exchange made possible through Hackley’s membership in Round Square.

Walter saw all this as enabling a much augmented educational program.

Now Goodhue Hall and its cousin, the old Raymond Scientific Hall, which now seem so naturally connected as a result of the most recent renovations, make a beautiful statement. Goodhue, like the Phoenix, grew out of the ashes of the dreaded fire. Now the figure of Arthur Naething is celebrated there, just as others important to the history of Hackley are honored around campus. All of this was a product of Walter Johnson’s fertile imagination, his amazing vision for the remaking and celebration of a school whose history had suffered—a school whose grand rebirth Walter Johnson managed.

This is all the achievement of a gifted and visionary leader who has given heart and soul to the enterprise. He personifies that essentially Hackley element of our mission statement: unreserved effort. He has given us his talent, his boundless energy, and his imagination. Somehow, like a sculptor, he saw what was possible. He saw how to create it.

And he saw how to harness the energy and talent of the many who love Hackley to join together, chisels in hand, in this grand and beautiful project.

The Walter Johnson Years:

Landmarks and Accomplishments 1995

Walter Johnson named Hackley’s 11th Headmaster

1996 Alumni & Development office expanded Parent Giving: 39% Alumni Giving: 14% Endowment: $8M Annual Fund: $637,415 Financial Aid: $956,447

1997 Peter McAndrew named Director of Finance

1998 Long Range Planning study launched, led to creation of the Master Plan that has guided all campus development as well as program initiatives

Purchased 172 adjacent acres from Laurance S. Rockefeller The historic opportunity to purchase 172 contiguous acres—an unfathomable opportunity in rapidly developing Westchester County, increased the size of Hackley’s campus from 113 to 285 acres and made way for all the campus improvements and expanded facilities made possible since, including the Johnson Center for Health and Wellness now under construction.

The addition of 172 acres to campus enabled Hackley to create expanded athletics facilities— five new fields, cross country trails and the new Johnson Center for Heath & Wellness—while protecting and stewarding a magnificent outdoor classroom for nature study.

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1998 continued Akin Family Chair first awarded

Since 1995, 37 individual faculty members have been

The Akin Family Chair was the first of six endowed

awarded terms with endowed chairs. Among these

chairs newly awarded during Walter Johnson’s

are three faculty members who have been twice

tenure. These joined four existing chairs to bring

honored as chair recipients. Two more first-time

the total of endowed chairs to ten (in the order

recipients and one previous chair holder have been

they were established):

named to chairs beginning July 2016. Endowed chairs serve two important functions: they support

• The Alumni Humanities Chair, created in 1987

the School’s effort to attract and retain the best

through the generosity of the Hackley Alumni

faculty by providing additional compensation, and

Association.

they allow the community to honor the great work of

• The M.H. Davidson Chair in History, established

the recipients by celebrating these awards.

in 1987 through the generosity of friend and trustee, Marvin H. Davidson P ’77.

• The Wallace W. McLean Chair in Mathematics, established in 1988 through the generosity of Wallace W. McLean ’35.

• The Headmaster’s Chair, created in 1989 through the generosity of James Dryer ’24 and Rufus Dryer ’27.

• The Akin Family Chair, established in 1998 through the generosity of trustee Robert M. Akin III ’54 P ’83, ’90, GP ’12, ’14 and members of the Akin family.

• The Parents’ Chair, established in 1999 through the generosity of the Hackley Parents’ Association.

• The Ferraro Family chair, endowed in 2002 by

Lambos Award first awarded Since 1984, with the creation of the Oscar Kimelman Award, Upper School teachers have been recognized for excellence in teaching annually at Class Day. The 1998 introduction of the Mary Lambos Excellence in Teaching award, the gift of the Lambos family, extended similar honors to a Lower or Middle School teacher. This honor rotated between Lower and Middle School honorees until 2010 when, with the creation of the DelMoro Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Lower School, the Lambos Award became the Middle School teaching award.

trustee Jack M. Ferraro H’63, Marianne Ferraro

1999

and Jesse ’94 and Melissa ’95 Ferraro.

Centennial Celebration

• The Caputo Family Chair, established in 2002 through the generosity of Thomas A.’65 and Janet V. Caputo P ’93.

• The Sternberg Family Chair, endowed in 2004 by trustee Sy Sternberg, Laurie Sternberg, and Matthew Sternberg ’04.

• The Allstrom Chair in Foreign Affairs, established in 2006 in honor of Lenore and H. Williard Allstrom, endowed by Peter Allstrom ’71.

Centennial Campaign launched Parents’ Chair first awarded Herbert Allen ’58 makes $10 million gift

By Suzy Akin

21 YEARS

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Strength in Partnership: 21 Years of Trustee Leadership: Anyone who knew Hackley in 1995, when Walter Johnson became Headmaster, let alone in previous decades, can see the transformative impact of these last 21 years.

The campus itself, of course, reveals the most visible changes. Back in the decades when Hackley struggled financially, new carpets, let alone new buildings, were less the priority than sustaining dayto-day operations. But the story of transformation goes far beyond bricks and mortar to the intellectual, philosophical and ethical core of the community that is stronger than ever.

Long known as a good school in the decades since its founding, Hackley earned the deep affection of alumni across its first century despite financial ups and downs and through the transition from seven- to five-day boarding and to K–12 co-education. Through the 1980s and ’90s, Headmasters Donald Barr and Peter Gibbon strengthened academic programs, attracted strong students and cultivated a loyal and beloved faculty that included legendary teachers— from Walter Schneller and Arthur Naething to Doug Clark and Kerry Clingen. When Jack Ferraro was named President of the Board of Trustees in 1990, Hackley School was, for the first time since its founding decades, in the position to look forward and build on Hackley’s great potential.

Choosing Hackley’s Next Headmaster

Jack Ferraro, father of two Hackley students in the classes of 1994 and 1995 who joined the Board of Trustees in 1985, was the first non-alumnus to lead Hackley’s Board since 1969. Jack recalls his initial reluctance to serve as President, as he knew Hackley’s next years would be a time of significant change.

He believed the alumni on the Board sustained the School’s traditions, and as such, should be the ones leading change, not a parent. Bob Akin ’54, his predecessor in the role, liked the ideas Ferraro presented in his work as chair of the Educational Programs Committee, and also his recommendations for raising expectations for trustee responsibilities, and said, “You’re going to be the guy to carry them out.”

As Board President, Jack Ferraro balanced what he calls his “activist” approach with a strong appreciation for the importance of protecting tradition, working in close partnership with the Board’s senior alumni leadership, Bob Akin and Phil Scott ’60. He established a committee structure for the Board and clearer expectations regarding meeting attendance and preparation. He recalls, “It was to be understood that being a member of the Hackley Board was an honor, and came with responsibilities. That these included making Hackley one of your philanthropic priorities.” As some trustees, whose level of commitment may have diminished or who were otherwise unable to make their Hackley role the priority it required, moved off the board, it made room for new nominations, now vetted and recommended by the Committee on Trustees. Overall, under Ferraro’s leadership, the Board gained strength and professionalism.

Still, when Peter Gibbon in 1994 announced his decision to retire at the end of the 1995 academic year, “graduating” along with the Gibbons’ youngest child, the Board took on the single most important job a Board possesses: to choose Hackley School’s next Headmaster.

Trustees Dan Celentano, Tom Caputo ’65 and Jack Ferraro H ’63 with Walter Johnson at the Founders Ball, April 2000.

The Board established a Search Committee, chaired

by Tom Caputo ’65 and Diane Rapp P ’91, ’94, ’98, and hired Educators’ Collaborative, a national search

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2000 The Founder’s Ball raises $566,000 Jack M. Ferraro H ’63 steps down as Board President after 10 years’ service Thomas A. Caputo ’65 named President

2001 Walter and Tracey Johnson with Meg and Will, 1995. photo credit: New York Times

firm, to run the search. Walter C. Johnson, then head of the Upper School at The American School in London, emerged as one of three finalists, the youngest of the three and the only one not a sitting Head at another school. The Search Committee, which represented all the School’s constituencies, met the three finalists, and Jack recalls that he came out of those meetings sure that Walter was the right candidate. He hoped the Committee would agree. “If they don’t choose Walter,” he recalls thinking, “I’ll see them through a year, and then resign.”

They chose Walter.

Jack Ferraro considers hiring Walter Johnson to be the Board’s proudest accomplishment during his tenure as President. As Jack and each of his successors have said time and again, it’s the Board’s job to choose the Head, support the Head’s ability to achieve his or her vision for the school, and otherwise, stay out of the way. Current Board President John Canoni ’86 remarks, “The level of commitment by my recent predecessors, and their degree of professionalism, is surpassed only by the strength of their partnership with Walter Johnson. It is through that key relationship that Hackley has been able to consistently improve while the entire community has grown closer, more engaged and more fulfilled.”

Casten Travel Program created Inspired by Hackley’s 2000 trip to Cuba, the Casten Travel Program was launched through the generosity of Tom and Judy Casten P ’93, ’04 and the Casten family. Since then, 33 studentfaculty groups have traveled to destinations as varied as Machu Picchu, Thailand, Malawi and London. Casten Travel Grants support faculty travel, assuring a low student-faculty ratio, while also providing financial aid to qualifying students so these opportunities can be accessible to all students. Hackley further extended its commitment to global education with the addition of the annual Wendt Visiting Scholar lecture (endowed

by Henry Wendt ’51), creation of the Allstrom Chair in Foreign Affairs, and membership in the Round Square international consortium of schools.

2002 Where the Seasons Tell Their Story: Hackley School’s First 100 Years,

by Walter Schneller Hilltop field and Alumni Drive completed Ferraro Family Chair and Caputo Family Chair first awarded

2003 Alumni dinner at the Tower of London, part of Walter Schneller’s book tour

21 YEARS

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Hackley’s central pedestrian campus, made possible with the completion of the new Middle School and science buildings and subsequent demolition of older facilities.

Preparing for the Next Century

“September 1995 was the beginning of a new era,” Ferraro reflects. In hiring Walter, the Board made it possible for Hackley to move ahead and to attract the caliber of teachers Hackley needed. Hackley’s strength was and always has been rooted in the strength of its faculty, and during the lean years, the faculty came to represent a barbell of sorts. Campus housing and tuition remission assured retention of revered senior faculty who devoted their lives to Hackley, raising their children on campus, at a time when salaries were far below those at peer schools, but made it difficult to attract and then retain the high caliber young teachers who would become the next generation of teaching legends. Hence, the faculty comprised a group of longtenured senior faculty and a great number of young, new teachers just starting out—few experienced, midcareer faculty. And the senior generation, beginning with Arthur Naething in 1995, was starting to retire.

With its Centennial just ahead in 1999, how would Hackley compete for that next generation of teachers?

How to keep the strong young teachers already on the faculty from leaving as they gained experience, started families, and sought better paying jobs? Hackley needed to offer better pay, more housing, and facilities that rivaled those of peer schools.

Sure, a school is about so much more than its buildings, and Hackley ran strong programs despite shortcomings in the physical plant. But facilities that mirror the strength of the program help strengthen it that much more by attracting the teachers and

students who want to work and learn there. As Hackley’s first Headmaster, Theodore Chickering Williams, wrote, Hackley’s environment should create a place “where it should be easy to be good.” We rise to the expectations set by our surroundings.

To help Hackley move forward under Walter’s leadership, the Board approved the hiring of professional staff in key positions. In 1996, Kathy Valyi, with her extraordinary skill in non-profit development, took over as Alumni & Development Director, and Peter McAndrew, a Harvard B.A./Stanford MBA with a background in hotel management, was named Director of Finance in 1997. Peter brought the skilled finance leadership that made so much of the progress yet to come possible, while Kathy rebuilt the alumni & development effort. The addition of professional staff made it possible to create and manage a strong and growing annual giving program, which in turn allowed Peter McAndrew to plan and support effective budgets, schedule deferred maintenance, and otherwise assure a solid foundation for Hackley programs.

At the same time, the Board reviewed Hackley tuition policies. Unless a school is heavily endowed, tuition is the largest source of income, and Hackley’s tuition—and therefore its compensation resources— were below those of the very peer schools competing for talent. Renewed focus on active fundraising and competitive tuition pricing enabled Hackley to begin to do the work ahead.

Stronger administrative staff support also enabled the Board to more fully execute the committee structure

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2004 Centennial Campaign closes at $50,176,108 Sternberg Family Chair first awarded

2005

photo credit: Zan Variano ’09

Allen Hall, Saperstein Middle School, science building, courtyard, dining hall, loop road and central pedestrian campus, and squash courts completed Between 2005 and 2008, Hackley completed the first phase of the

Jack Ferraro had put in place. Peter McAndrew staffed the Finance Committee, which oversaw budgets, tuition, and endowment investment strategy, while Kathy Valyi staffed the Development Committee, as well as the Committee on Trustees, which identified and vetted new candidates for Board membership. Having the right people, structure and process in place, Walter and the Board could make their ambitious vision for Hackley a reality.

campus redesign envisioned by the

Under Jack Ferraro’s leadership, the Board of Trustees approved the purchase of 172 adjacent acres from the Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund in 1998, creating the unmatchable opportunity to reshape the campus, and launched the Long Range Planning project. Led by Trustee Dan Celentano and Assistant Headmaster Phil Variano, the project led to the creation of the Master Plan that has guided the vision for Hackley—both in terms of program and the campus redesign—since its approval in 1999.

trian campus. The result: a newly

When Ferraro stepped down from the Board presidency in 2000, after ten years, he knew Hackley’s ambitious plans would require significant fundraising, and that wasn’t his area of expertise. “Tom Caputo and Walter Johnson were the right guys to lead that effort,” he notes.

Jack reflects, “It’s such a pleasure, arriving at the School now,” given how far it has come. When his children come back to campus, “they can’t believe what they see.” He once told fellow trustee Phil Havens ’49 that though he didn’t have a lot of personal experience with independent schools, he believed “we have the best headmaster in North America.” Phil, himself a former headmaster with extensive experience as an independent school administrator at schools including Hackley, responded, “You do. And I DO have the experience to know this.” Jack Ferraro, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2000, earned a recognition he prizes even more highly: in 2003, the Hackley Alumni Association named him Jack M.

1998 Master Plan, which also included new Middle School and science buildings, dining hall, Kathleen Allen Lower School, Akin Common and the loop road that created the central pedesre-centered K–12 campus.

Board of Trustees approves new Hackley mission statement A committee representing trustees, alumni, faculty and parents considered the core values and goals of Hackley School and proposed this new mission statement, which was approved by the Board of trustees in 2005: “Hackley challenges students to grow in character, scholarship and accomplishment, to offer unreserved effort, and to learn from our community’s varying perspectives and backgrounds.” Subsequently, with Hackley’s admission into Round Square (2012), the last clause was revised to “and to learn from the varying perspectives and backgrounds in our community and the world.”

21 YEARS

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On August 4, 2007, lightning started a fire that gutted Goodhue Memorial Hall.

Ferraro H ’63, honorary alumnus of Hackley School— the only non-faculty member to earn that recognition.

Through the Centennial and Beyond

Tom Caputo ’65 took over as Board President in 2000, and his devotion and gratitude for Hackley, born of his days as a Hackley student and as the parent of a Hackley alumna, set the tone for his leadership, as he consistently deflected credit to others in a manner consistent with our motto, “United, we help one another.” Yet his warmth and self-effacing humor belied the extraordinary intensity of his work ethic.

As Walter Johnson noted in Hackley Review after Tom stepped down from the presidency, “These last three years [2008–2010], from lightning strike to economic collapse, have been like the last miles of a marathon, the toughest of all, and I’m more grateful than I can say that Tom has stayed the course.”

Tom Caputo and his Board led Hackley in a dramatic, multi-dimensional transformation. Under Tom’s leadership as President, Hackley’s Centennial Campaign raised over $50 million. The Lower School Initiative that immediately followed the Centennial Campaign raised over $8 million to support the creation of our new Kathleen Allen Lower School, which opened in 2007. And with this good work

photo credit: Tom Sobolik

nearing completion, the Goodhue fire created the urgent need to launch the Goodhue Initiative, which led to the opening of the new and improved Goodhue in 2010.

Reflecting on the most significant aspects of his tenure, Tom characteristically highlights the work of others. He recalls, “I remember everyone was so sad in the morning [of the fire], but by the middle of the afternoon Walter was talking about how we can rebuild Goodhue and it will be better than ever.” He also highlights Hackley’s purchase of the northern acres, which gave way to the Long Range Plan, the Centennial Campaign, and the transformation that occurred “under Walter’s watch,” including the buildings but also of the community itself, while maintaining Hackley’s distinctive “Enter here to be and find a friend” culture. Like Jack Ferraro, Tom was recognized with the Medal of Honor for his outstanding contributions when he stepped down from the Board leadership in 2010.

Tom’s successor, John Torell ’80, whose daughters also attended Hackley, shared and continued this commitment to Hackley culture while leading the School through a further round of campus transformation: the creation of an athletics fields and cross-country complex unmatched by any of our peer

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schools. The $90 million Legacy Campaign, launched in 2010, which John co-chairs, extends beyond the literal aspects of physical plant to questions of culture: what do we mean by “well-being”? How do we inhabit these spaces? How do our facilities support the quality of life of our students and teachers? How do we assure this remains “a place where it should be easy to be good”?

Kroeger Arch, created as part of the renovation of Raymond Hall and dedicated in honor of Keith Kroeger ’54 in 2014, is one such physical manifestation of a community value. Hackley’s beloved Quad historically formed a kind of embrace, enclosing the Upper School as a place of beauty and of welcome, a place to which alumni return and still feel is “home.” Yet Hackley expanded decades ago to include the Middle and Lower Schools—and the Quad buildings seemed to turn their back on the other divisions, essentially walling the younger students off from the heart of campus. The creation of the arch and the staircase that connects it to Akin Common, the new center of the K–12 campus, creates a unified campus. Stand on the Quad, and you can look right across to the Lower School, and wave.

Walk through, and join younger children at recess. United, we help one another.

Hackley historian Walter Schneller once commented that the mission of a school can be, at any time, “up for grabs,” depending on which voices and agendas were allowed to dominate. Two-thirds of the 23 current members of Hackley’s Board of Trustees has been shaped by long relationship with Hackley—nine are Hackley alumni, and six are parents of Hackley alumni whose appreciation of Hackley transcends their own parental concerns.

With experience extending back to the Hackley of 1951 and voices from every decade since, the Board’s collective leadership sustains a commitment to the long view, and to the core identity of Hackley that transcends the moment, while also appreciating the needs of the School in the 21st century.

John Canoni ’86, who assumed the Board presidency in July 2015, is well positioned to appreciate the continuity of Hackley, then, now, and in the future. Reflecting back over these last 21 years, he notes, “In my conversations with other Board Presidents going back to Jack Ferraro, there are two constant themes. First, the obvious good fortune of working with Walter Johnson and a talented Board.

Second, and less apparent, is the joy and satisfaction that accompanies the awesome responsibility. We have all achieved success in our various careers and through our families. But we consider leading the Hackley Board to be a seminal achievement and great source of pride.”

2005 continued E.E. Ford Fellows program initiated The E.E. Ford Fellows program was initiated in 2005 through the generosity of the Hackley community with a matching grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation to support Hackley’s goal of increasing the diversity of our faculty. Between 2007 and 2012, five teaching fellows joined the faculty for a two-year fellowship, two of whom were offered full teaching positions at the conclusion of their internship.

2006 Allstrom Chair in Foreign Affairs first awarded

2007 Goodhue Memorial Hall fire Kathleen Allen Lower School completed As the Lower School program evolved, the original Kathleen Allen Lower School, home to Hackley’s Lower School program since its creation in 1970, could no longer support its programmatic needs.

Opened in 2007, the new Kathleen Allen Lower School offers classrooms for music, Spanish, science, technology and art, space for students to work on Balanced Literacy, a beautiful all-purpose room that is home to most Lower School Physical Education, a dining hall, a beautiful, light-filled library, and—in addition to classrooms for grades K–4—a central courtyard containing what might just be the best school playground ever!

Chinese language program established

By Suzy Akin

21 YEARS

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The Spirit of Welcome and Partnership: 21 Years of HPA Leadership “ We serve the Hackley community through volunteerism in the HPA. All the HPA-sponsored activities and events that contribute to the vitality of the Hackley community would not be possible without our parent volunteers, who, through their volunteerism, make this all possible. ” —jayne lee, hpa president 2015–16 The Hackley Parents’ Association, born of the Fathers’ and Mothers’ Associations that merged in 1989, has long been a strong presence at Hackley. In these last two decades, the HPA has harnessed the tremendous vision and energy of the parent body to further Hackley’s mission of community, welcome and inclusion. The HPA has also been a philanthropic leader, providing more than $2.5 million of philanthropic support, as Leadership Donors to The Centennial Campaign, The Lower School Initiative, The Goodhue Initiative and The Legacy Campaign.”

HPA programs and events increase the channels of communication for and among parents.

Morning and evening “coffees” hosted by each division and regular meetings with the Headmaster create more opportunities for exchange of information and ideas, while electronic communications help parents find out how to get involved.

Placing a priority on welcome, the HPA works to make sure that Hackley is a safe, welcoming and accessible community for all. The annual Parent Socials and the seasonal Athletics dinners hosted at Hackley assure that all families feel comfortable participating, regardless of means. The Hackley Hosts program pairs each new family with a host to help them negotiate newness and challenges.

The on-campus Pre-Prom party has become a safe, inclusive community-wide celebration of students as they head off to the dance. Hackley Appreciation Day affords the HPA the opportunity to show gratitude to not only the teachers, but to the administrative staff and buildings and grounds staff who do so much to keep Hackley running smoothly.

Over the past 21 years, in addition to its philanthropic leadership in The Centennial Campaign, The Lower School Initiative, The Goodhue Initiative and The Legacy Campaign, the HPA has created: • The original Dave Allison Trails • On-campus Pre-Prom Reception • Hackley Appreciation Day • Hackley Reads Together and Hackley Hilltop Series programs • Parent Socials • Divisional Parent Coffees • Athletics Varsity Team Dinners • Annual Interlude Luncheons • The Fall, Winter, and Spring Stings (festivals tied in with home athletics games) • Holiday Boutique • Hackley Hosts • Lower School & Middle School Special Programs • Upper School Coffeehouses HPA volunteers also consistently support all of these programs and aspects of school life: • The Tuck Shop • The Hornets’ Nest (clothing and other Hackley gear) • The Book Fair • The Stings • The Libraries • Grandparents’ & Special Friends Day • Middle School Grade Captains • Lower School Class Parents

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2008 Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational Teaching Award first awarded Each year, the senior class chooses a faculty member to speak at their Senior Dinner. This individual receives The Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational Teaching Award created in memory of the parents of Anton H. Rice III ’56, Donald S. Rice ’57, William P. Rice ’62, and John R. Rice ’64.

Past presidents of the HPA, gathering to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hackley Parents’ Association. From left: Linda Holden-Bryant, Maria Docters, Mary Dell Berning, Anne Myers, Connie Zuckerman, Diane Lowry, Ann Brooks, Mara Baror, Daniela Crispi and Jan Blaire.

Akin Common & Pickert Field dedicated

2009 Each of these initiatives underscores the value Hackley places on community, and on the theme, “United, we help one another.”

The HPA is a tremendous force in Hackley’s culture, engendering a spirit of welcome and teamwork, and embodying the motto, “Enter here to be and find a friend.”

We often call the HPA the mortar or glue that holds the Hackley community together. Its success in leadership is built on its great partnership with the faculty and administration, as well as its capacity to liaison with the parent body. Through its broad array of extensive programming, we as a community get to know one another better—uniting to help one another in so many different ways.

The HPA President serves as a resource, and is both a partner and liaison to the Headmaster, the Board of Trustees, and the parent community. We are grateful to the following Presidents of the HPA whose partnership has made so much possible these 21 years.

Janice M. Blaire Anne R. Myers Mara Ellen Baror Lynda Chyhai-Sirota Faith C. McCready Kathleen M. Marsal Maureen D. Wright Connie A. Zuckerman Theresa Beach Kilman Mary Dell Berning

Susan K. Knox Marie Vandivort Sandra P. Harbison Laurie Billings Maria A. Docters Daniela V. Crispi Ann J. Brooks Linda Holden-Bryant Carolyn E. Carr-Spencer Jayne Lee

Goodhue Gala raises over $1.2 million to support the rebuilding of Goodhue Science faculty, led by Andy Retzloff, launches survey of Hackley’s arboretum

2010 Ron DelMoro Award in Teaching first awarded Goodhue Memorial Hall renovation completed

Sternberg Library dedicated Following the devastating 2007 fire, the beloved Goodhue Hall was rebuilt, saving the historic exterior while creating within it a library, additional classrooms and technology labs, offices and a space for student gathering. Consistent with Hackley’s commitment to sustainability, the LEED Gold-certified building integrates geothermal heating and cooling.

Legacy Campaign solicitations begin, July 1, 2010

21 YEARS

By Suzy Akin

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United, Helping Each Other: 21 Years of Alumni Partnership What matters most in the life of a school? The kids or the alumni?

To whom does the school belong?

school’s “present” and the alumni representing its past—particularly if the alumni feel handled, managed as necessary but inconIf you have returned to your college venient. That’s what makes the alma mater when classes are in partnership between the Hackley session, you have probably felt the Alumni Association (HAA) and odd awareness creep upon you Hackley School so extraordinary. that the campus, which you and “The work of the Hackley Alumni your peers once dominated, now Association is to perpetuate the belongs to a new generation. Buildconnection we have with one ings change, teachers change, the another in support of our alma faces of the students (or, at least, mater, but it truly is fueled by the their hairstyles) have changed. It students. I am continually astonfeels familiar, yet different. Why ished by Hackley students (of all do they all look so young? Does ages). They are bright, funny, this place still belong to you? You articulate and engaging kids. Their return for a reunion, your old crowd energy and enthusiasm is contais back (hair thinner, waistlines gious, and every time I interact thicker) and you feel “at home.” The with them, it makes me love campus belongs to you again.

Hackley even more,” says Christie Philbrick-Wheaton-Galvin ’00 It’s not uncommon for an “us” vs. current President of the HAA. “them” feeling to arise between a

This exact sentiment is widely shared, as the alumni leadership has always recognized and reinforced the connection between alumni and Hackley today, and remained focused on today’s students. The students feel the presence and the unwavering support of the alumni.

Perhaps this is because so many alumni return to teach at Hackley or because so many send their kids to Hackley. Perhaps it’s because so many teachers remain at Hackley long enough to know families across generations. Maybe it’s all these factors combined.

When John Van Leer ’65 looked over his glasses at a student, at so many points across his 39 years in Hackley’s History department, and said, “Your mother expects better of you,” he had reason to know.

At the 1999 Centennial Celebration, Past Presidents of the Hackley Alumni Association: (front) Berkleley Johnson ’49, John Canoni ’86, John Cooney ’76, Charlie Bates ’49, Bob Akin ’54. (Back) Nick Stewart ’59, Tony Crookshank ’57, Conrad Roberts ’68, Belinda Walker Terry ’76, and Larry Stewart ’68. photo credit: Armando Passarelli

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2010 continued

2012

Networking Initiative launched

Hackley becomes Round Square regional member

Hackley’s Networking Initiative helps forge connec-

Sustained commitment to global education,

tions across generations, as alumni and parents

community service, the environment, leadership,

share career guidance and, on occasion, professional

and democracy earned Hackley regional, and then

opportunities, with Hackley alumni of all ages. Since

in 2015, global membership in the Round Square

the program’s launch in 2010, over 1100 informational

international consortium of schools, the first in the

interviews have been arranged for alumni.

New York metropolitan area and one of only 11 in the United States. Membership provides expanded

Tom Caputo ’65 steps down from Board Presidency after serving 10 years

opportunities or international and cultural exchange for Hackley students and faculty.

John Torell IV ’80 named President Hackley School receives largest gift in school history—$49,268.000 Ethel Allen bequest

2011 Alumni Archives Room dedicated

Hackley launches bus service for students in NYC

As part of the project to rebuild Goodhue Hall, the Hackley Alumni Association committed its support to the creation of the archive rooms—safe and well-indexed storage space as well as a work room where visitors can view and explore the Hackley archives. The Alumni Archives Room makes palpable

Alumni Association establishes Alumni Financial Aid Endowment Fund

that which Hackley alumni embody—the living

Growth of the financial aid budget, which has

history of Hackley School.

increased from $956,447 in 1996 to over $4.7 million in 2015–16, has been a key priority under Walter Johnson’s leadership. It’s a priority shared by the

New turf fields complex and Dave Allison Cross Country trails completed

Hackley Alumni Association, which created the

With two new turf fields, a baseball diamond and

ence going to the children of alumni, in recognition

softball diamond, and cross-country trails joining the

of the importance of ongoing alumni relationships in

Pickert Field complex as well as the older Benedict

sustaining the School’s culture and traditions.

Avenue and King Field facilities, Hackley’s athletics

DelMoro Baseball Field and new softball field completed

facilities now rivalled those of nationally-known

Alumni Financial Aid Endowment Fund, with prefer-

boarding schools and small colleges.

2013 F.M. Kirby Foundation endows a financial aid fund for two boarders in memory of Fred M. Kirby II ’37 Public launch of the $90 million Legacy Campaign at the Harvard Club with approximately 650 attending

21 YEARS

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“ I am continually astonished by Hackley students. They are bright, funny, articulate and engaging kids. Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious, and every time I interact with them, it makes me love Hackley even more.”

—christie philbrick-wheaton-galvin ’00, president, hackley alumni association

Hackley alumni are involved. They teach and mentor current students and help young alumni build professional networks. They return to campus as lecturers and visiting artists. They host student-faculty trips in faraway places. And upon returning to campus for reunions, they are hosted by student ambassadors, sit on the stands cheering the teams alongside students and their families, and the message is clear: it’s not “us vs. them,” it’s “we.”

The Hackley Alumni Association has consistently fostered this sense of cross-generational community, affirming a Hackley identity that recognizes that whether you are Class of 1945, Class of 1975, Class of 2005 or 2015, or a one of the coming year’s new 9th graders (Class of 2020) or kindergarteners (Class of 2029), you are all part of Hackley, custodians of its past, present and future. You have all been and will be part of making this incredible community what it is, and you are all responsible for helping it continue to thrive.

Belinda Walker Terry ’76 was President of the Hackley Alumni Association the year Walter Johnson became Headmaster—the first woman to hold this position and a member of the fifth Hackley class to graduate women. With her extraordinary sense of community and fun, she brought wonderful energy to the Alumni Association

Board of directors and its efforts to engage the broader alumni community, from the 50+ Club to our newest graduates. John Canoni ’86 (current President of the Board of Trustees), Bob Kirkwood ’71, Bill Roberts ’75 and Christie Philbrick-WheatonGalvin ’00 continued to build on the Association’s efforts in their successive presidencies.

The addition of professional staff at Hackley helped forward their efforts; with solid staff support, the HAA leadership could look beyond just running phonathons to increasing outreach and volunteerism to an extraordinary level.

It didn’t hurt that members of the staff brought their own deep connections to the alumni community—Haleh Tavakol ’84 is part of the single largest family to attend Hackley, so connections come naturally. Margie McNaughton Ford ’85, daughter of Hackley Gargoyle Randy McNaughton, literally grew up on campus. Other alumni have joined the team over the years— including Niki Doufekias ’90, Kate Caputo ’93, Ana Venturas Ripp ’98, Jason Rizzi ’03, and Neil Jaggernauth ’06—and each has extended the easy relationship that assures that Hackley is accessible to all.

Overall, the team’s energy, passion for Hackley, and willingness to try new things has assured that the alumni relations program literally

“buzzes” with welcome. Through the creation and active maintenance of social media feeds (follow “Hackley Alumni” on Facebook and LinkedIn!), mentoring and networking facilitation, camaraderie-building giving challenges, and humor (did you see those awesome Hackley/Poly challenge videos last year?) Haleh and her team have created excitement about Hackley life that has brought a whole new meaning to alumni engagement. Thinking back to her first years working at Hackley, Haleh notes, “We weren’t afraid to take a step back, look at things, reassess, and be willing to take risks and try new things. It was important to engage our alumni in the School’s daily life, show them they are relevant in today’s Hackley and Hackley’s relevant in their lives.”

As the Alumni Association has worked diligently to weave a stronger web amongst alumni and Hackley, they have remained focused on two core principles, “United we help one another” and “Enter here to be and find a friend.”

Alumni events attract larger crowds and loyal followings each year. Better staffing and database management allowed Hackley to track down lost alumni and overall, stay in touch more effectively. Participation in Class Notes skyrocketed, and a redesigned Hackley Review became more

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2014 Renovated Raymond Hall opens The renovation of Raymond Hall continued the effort to modernize Hackley’s historic Quad buildings and extended the benefits of geothermal heating and cooling beyond Goodhue A unified campus: Kroeger Arch, with its the new second floor that joins Goodhue and Raymond, brought the K-12 campus together by creating visual and pedestrian connection between the Quad and Akin Common.

Hall while replacing drafty old windows, adding a much-needed fire escape, upgrading lighting, bathrooms and overall, the quality of life in these

impressive, inclusive and engaging than ever, helping alumni feel more connected, more excited, and more proud to be part of Hackley.

John Canoni led a revision of the Association bylaws during his presidency, and the bylaws were revised again under Bill Roberts’ leadership.

The Reunion Committee expanded Participation is one impressive its role and became the “Outreach” measure of the dramatic increase in Committee, through which Board alumni engagement: from hovering members and class volunteers around 14% in 1996, nearly onecould support Hackley in a wide third of all living alumni (a base that variety of ways—attending campus grows annually) now participate events, visiting classes and offering in alumni giving each year, almost lectures, and significantly, engaging triple the national average. And, as in Hackley’s incredibly active impressive as this figure is, if all mentoring and networking initiaalumni who had made a gift in the tives, which have arranged more past five years gave annually, we than 1,100 informational interviews. would have a participation rate in excess of 50%!

Most recently, the HAA created a financial aid endowment that gives We’d argue that’s just another way priority to the children of alumni— Hackley shines brighter than its an important recognition of the peer schools. Hackley matters to its degree to which our alumni carry alumni, generations who recognize and pass along the ethos and heart its formative impact on their lives of Hackley School. “We wanted and their relationships. to help make sure that qualified Over the last 21 years, the HAA has children of alumni could benefit expanded its scope to better execute from the exceptional education its mission. Active committees were and the wonderful experience that Hackley provides just as their created, and expectations assured parents had done. Establishing the that the strengths of individual Fund also reaffirms the commitBoard members were consistently ment of the HAA for the School,” leveraged to grow the capabilities explained Bill Roberts. and reach of the leadership team.

hallways. The renovation added beautiful, sun-filled student gathering spaces, faculty offices, as well as new faculty apartments on the top floor beyond the boarding corridor. Meanwhile, the renovation and landscaping of the main entrance and Quad restored a gracious elegance to welcome all to campus, and Kroeger Arch, by inviting pedestrians to cross from the Quad to Akin Common, or to just stop and enjoy the view, unified the K–12 campus both visually and practically.

Kroeger Arch dedicated in honor of Keith Kroeger ’54

21 YEARS

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Women of Hackley launch event, May 3, 2016

In 1995, the Alumni Association was sharply aware that Hackley’s Centennial was just five years away, an important opportunity to celebrate Hackley’s first 100 years and to prepare the School to enter its second century. During John Canoni’s presidency, the HAA sponsored a series of regional alumni receptions, bringing Hackley to alumni all across the country, and as far away as London, in celebration of the School’s centennial and sharing the Long-Range Plan’s vision for the future.

In addition, the HAA celebrated Hackley’s centennial by funding the writing of Where the Seasons Tell Their Story, Hackley School’s First 100 Years, hiring the legendary Walter Schneller, 42 year veteran of the Hackley faculty, master teacher, and longtime chair of the History department, to take on this labor of love as he eased his way toward retirement.

This monumental project did more than just honor Hackley’s history.

In his research, his investigations into the history of the School’s founding and the perspectives and goals of its founders, as well as through his many conversations

with alumni, faculty and trustees, Walter Schneller surfaced and affirmed the core values on which Hackley was built—values that resonate consistently across generations. This affirmation assured that Hackley moved into its second century with a deep appreciation for what makes this community unique, helped us embrace and forward what we most appreciate about the Hilltop.

Increasingly, also, over these two decades, the Hackley Alumni Association has helped forge a cohesive relationship with the current campus community.

Alumni are a regular presence in the School, helping in classrooms when a teacher needs an expert on a given topic. Several Board members, past and present, are also parents of Hackley students and alumni, bridging the distance between “Hackley then” and “Hackley now” such that it’s all just the “Hackley” we share.

Students gain a greater awareness of the alumni community and alumni have a meaningful sense of the day to day of student life.

Haleh Tavakol brings her own alumni relationship to that

day-to-day in her role as Director of Alumni Relations and Alumni Giving. She and current HAA President Christie PhilbrickWheaton-Galvin “really work as a team,” she reflects. “We text each other, constantly communicating as we think through our goals.”

The partnership has never been better. Haleh notes, “The general sentiment is positive; it’s fun being a Hackley alum. We have an extremely engaged alumni body.”

Looking forward, the HAA is focused on expanding the mentoring and networking programs to connect alumni with each other and current students. Building crossgenerational bonds amongst alumni is an incredibly powerful tool in helping our constituency navigate their careers, but also life in general.

The Hackley Veterans Association, spearheaded by Mike Halas ’98, has united our bravest alumni who have served at home and overseas dating as far back as World War II. Next on the horizon: the celebration of 50 years of Women at Hackley in 2020. “The energy and engagement of Hackley women is just amazing,” Haleh says. “Our next 100 years are going to be great.

We recently launched Women

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of Hackley with an event at the University Club last May.” The group, spearheaded by Haleh, Christie and HAA Vice-President, Sally Parker Nichols ’87, as well as other Alumni Board members and Trustees, was formed to “highlight, celebrate and engage our amazing Hackley women to help each other and the Hackley community.” The first keynote speaker was TIME Managing Editor, Nancy Gibbs.

The work of the HAA over these two decades has had transformational impact on the community. Leading the alumni body to greater and greater engagement, the HAA has helped advance Hackley’s mission immeasurably.

It’s hard to imagine a more moving tribute to Hackley’s traditions and its past than the vision for the future this makes possible.

Across 21 years of leadership, the Hackley Alumni Association has: • Funded the creation of Alumni Drive

2015 Hackley athletics teams win seven state championships in the 2015–16 year Long a source of pride at Hackley, the School’s athletics programs have achieved at increasingly high levels over these 21 years. Between Fall 1995 and Spring 2016, Hackley has won 113 Ivy League Championships (out of a total 202 since the league began tracking) and 50 NYSAIS championships (since the championship’s creation in 1999).

Walter Johnson announces his retirement Hackley becomes Global Member of Round Square Plans for new Center for Health & Wellness presented to Board of Trustees John Torell ’80 steps down as Board President

• Funded the annual W.E.B. du Bois Institute lecture and the EE Ford Teaching Fellowship in partnership with the HPA.

John Canoni ’86 named President

• Contributed $1 Million to The Centennial Campaign.

Alumni Giving: 32% (national average: 11%)

• Supported the rebuilding of Goodhue Memorial Hall and the creation of the Hackley Alumni Association Archive room

Parent Giving: 91% (vs. a national average among similar schools of 66%)

Endowment: $37.8 million Annual Fund: nearly $3.4 million Financial Aid: over $4.7 million

• Created the HAA Financial Aid endowment fund

Faculty Compensation increased 2X–3X over 1995 levels

• Created the Alumni Service Award created

2016

• Bestowed 23 Honorary Alumnus Awards • Supported the Senior Class Trip every year

Construction begins on the Johnson Center for Health & Wellness and four new faculty housing units Since 1995, including the four units currently underway,

Last year (2014–15):

Hackley has added 11 faculty housing units, bringing its total

• 367 alumni volunteered for Hackley

to 48, further augmented with a few local rentals. When the

• 407 alumni attended reunions

current construction is complete, Hackley will be able to

• 350 alumni attended the annual holiday party

house 54% of the faculty/administration.

• 175 alumni contributed class notes

Women of Hackley group, supporting connections and mentoring among Hackley alumnae, launched

• 1411 (a third of alumni body) gave to the alumni fund • 259 participated in Hackley’s mentoring/networking program as mentors or mentees.

Legacy Campaign raised $86.4 million (as of June 15).

Hackley Alumni Association names Walter Johnson Honorary Alumnus of Hackley Walter Johnson retires, June 30, 2016

21 YEARS

By Philip J. Variano, Assistant Headmaster and Chair, Academic Committee

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The Fabric of Learning: 21 Years of Academic Program Evolution In 27 years as a member of the Academic Committee I’ve voted on countless curriculum proposals. Yet even having witnessed the fabric of the “learning” we offer being created, I’m still hard put to define, delineate, or pronounce what makes our curriculum as powerful as it is.

Hackley’s curriculum is a blend of tradition and innovation. Yet the words “traditional” or “college preparatory” don’t come close to defining the complexity of charting the best possible choices to assure the curriculum remains meaningful, challenging, and relevant. Over the last two decades the school has evolved from a rigorous “reading and writing” curriculum focused on traditional methods (60-minute composition periods, “classic” literature, long homework assignments, Latin and Greek classes) to a more far-reaching and modern model. At the same time, school enrollment and selectivity have increased, steadily resulting in a series of changes that added more challenging options and paths to success for students. The constant throughout this process was Walter Johnson, Headmaster.

It’s important to note that writing, for instance, has taken on more relevance, not less, over the years,

The way we were: Pop Lindsay’s math classroom, ca. 1950.

despite, or more accurately, in concert with the growth of technology. Technology has allowed our English teachers to spend more time effectively commenting on student work, and history, science, and even math require higher written content than ever before. Overall, though, it’s fair to say that analysis and problem-solving have become the dominant themes department-wide, having carved space from more content-driven exploration. Upper School Director Andy King describes Upper School curriculum this way on the school’s website: A Hackley graduate will possess knowledge in a wide array of fields, but also important skills such as how to write analytically and persuasively, how to conduct careful and responsible research, how to participate actively and constructively in discussions and debates, how to solve problems, how to work with a group, and many other important academic and life skills.

This kind of balanced, process-centered approach came from years of Academic Committee discussion and debate, forward-looking leadership, and the work of many department leaders and teachers who have discovered and promoted the best possible learning options for their students.

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That kind of deliberate discussion has been common over the last 21 years, and Walter Johnson was normally in the middle of those thoughtful conversations. For instance, we have spent much time debating the merit of the AP program and how that program can overcontrol the direction of the curriculum. The result was a series of changes whereby English and History moved away from AP classes but not the exams themselves.

Similarly, a series of committees allowed us to carefully rethink what the schedule should prioritize. Our revised schedule gave us 70-minute periods, community time, and drop periods, all of which allowed us to moderate homework and amplify that which was meaningful to students. The change to a trimester system gave students more time to develop and address challenge areas before grades became final. The change to a more humane exam period allowed students to prepare thoroughly and perform better.

We often refer to the “aspirational” nature of our mission statement and consider how it relates to the type of student we want to cultivate. How do we encourage “character, scholarship, and accomplishment?” How can we learn “from varying backgrounds and perspectives?” Having some kind of tested framework within which to organize our thinking has proven to be a good model for institutional debate on curricular choices.

The science curriculum has seen a major recalibration over the last decade, and was literally turned upside down when we decided to begin with Physics in the 9th grade. In the old curriculum—a sequence still followed by many schools—many students never got as far as physics, and so missed out on that valuable and in many ways most practical of sciences. Our Physics 9 course is a non-math based, inquiry-driven, hands-on class in which students experiment and explain what they see. This prepares them well for the more inquirybased approach to science necessary in the upper level courses. All sophomores take chemistry, and then most students take biology in 11th grade—a biology course that reflects the increasing complexity and depth of the biological sciences today, for which students need the grounding in physics, in experimental processes, and in chemistry to succeed. The field of biology changes rapidly, and our older students are now better poised to best learn in this fast-paced area of study.

In addition, the Science department has developed STEM programs in grades K–12, and offers researchbased and “maker” initiatives across Lower, Middle and Upper School.

Even students who didn’t think of themselves as “science types” love what they learn. Katherine Hannon, Science department chair, states; “It makes a big difference when you are ‘doing’ science rather than just studying it. Students test ideas, troubleshoot them, and act on the information they acquire. They move beyond the theoretical to actual application.”

Recently, the Upper School launched an Independent Science Research elective, in which, over the course of two years, students engage in hands-on research, get to solve real problems, and work with corporations and universities beyond the walls of the classroom, reaching outcomes that can lead to published papers.

Our dominant position in the visual arts came about because the Board of Trustees and Walter Johnson recognized that Hackley School needed to be strong across all disciplines—including the arts. Across these last 21 years, the art program has evolved from an “activity” to a program with equivalent weight and strength to the other disciplines.

Visual Arts department chair Greg Cice remembers Walter telling him that Hackley is a place where students like to be challenged, and pushed hard. With this in mind, he began to design a program similar to a college undergraduate foundations program, with meticulously high standards and expectations.

What the Headmaster had recognized was that the visual arts could be as much an intellectual experience as a practical experience. The arts, therefore, are not a respite from intellect and challenge, but a means to extend that intellectual experience visually.

Significantly, the Upper School art program takes place almost literally at the center of the Upper School—a metaphor, perhaps, for the centrality of visual arts to education at Hackley. This assures that even nonartists see and experience the energy of visual arts just by walking down the hall and seeing artists at work.

In math, while each of the three divisions focus on the needs of their age group, over the years we have dramatically increased partnership and continuity between divisions. With Eva van Buren, who previously taught in the Middle School, as Lower School Math Coordinator, and Dianne Fahy, who has taught math in both Upper and Middle School, as Middle School Math Coordinator, the department has the perspective to respond to student needs at every point in the spectrum. Searching for a strong, well-sequenced Lower School math curriculum in 2008, Eva Van Buren

21 YEARS

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Ninth Grade Physics class.

Adventure learning: Hackley students and faculty at the Round Square conference in Canada about to try their skill at dog-sledding.

found the Singapore Math program, which is now firmly established in grades K–7, with each year building effectively on the previous year’s curriculum.

One outcome of the Singapore style is that all students are now prepared to begin Algebra in the 7th or 8th grade. This, in turn, supports more advanced curriculum in Upper School. Eighty students this year took one of three levels of AP Calculus Hackley now offers (AB Calculus, BC Calculus and a one-year AB/BC Calculus). And, since some students will complete that curriculum by junior year, we offer the option of continuing to Multivariable Calculus. Hackley now also boasts three levels of Statistics courses—AP Statistics, Calculus-based AP Statistics, and an Introductory Statistics course for students who want to gain math-based critical thinking skills but don’t intend to continue on the Calculus track.

Overall, as Hackley students have excelled more consistently in Math, the department has phased out not only “8th grade Math” (all 8th graders take Algebra or Geometry) but also the old two-year Algebra II course. Diana Kaplan notes, “We just didn’t have enough students to fill those classes.”

This comes in part from the increased selectivity of our Upper School admissions, but also from our trust in the work done in the earlier grades.

Bettie-Ann Candelora, our Chairperson for Performing Arts, will tell you that growth in these programs is rapid, and that this is only the beginning. We’ve moved from drama clubs in the ’90’s to having full-time acting teachers in both the Middle

and Upper divisions. Our Lower School strings and band programs, launched two years ago, now boast a membership of nearly half the 3rd and 4th grades.

Similarly, a shift several years ago to arts “majors” and “minors” in the 7th and 8th grades allowed each student to choose from a wide array of music, drama, or visual arts and then concentrate on the area they most love. The result was a greatly increased yield in participation in the Upper School. Along with a slate of acting classes in the Upper School we’ve also added Music Theory, Musical Theater, a mentoring program that pairs Upper and Middle School performers, and re-launched the male a capella group.

Technology has dramatically changed the way we teach English, and also the way students interact with language and analysis. Nearly all student writing is created and submitted online, with teacher comments coming back to students in a digital form as well, either through Google Drive, in the margins of Word documents, through the Turn It In platform, or by other means. Because these tools facilitate active feedback over time—in contrast to the old model in which a student would turn in a “finished” paper (perhaps in a Blue Book) and the teacher would provide one set of written comments with a grade—the writing process becomes more of a conversation, as students propose ideas and ask questions to which their teachers may well respond throughout the drafting process.

Students learn to view writing as a process through which ideas are refined and developed, in which editing and revision are essential. Further, students

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Members of the Class of 2014, the first to be able to start Chinese in the sixth grade, as seniors in their seventh year of Chinese language study.

are able to pursue writing through a variety of formal and informal means—classroom blogs, for example, support “real time” discussion that continues beyond the classroom.

With so much information readily available on the internet, the department has increased its focus on teaching students how to evaluate and distinguish between valid and invalid sources. Students typically evaluate a wider range of sources, need to know how to properly cite them, and how to adhere to standards of academic integrity. Technology vastly widens the range of material teachers can bring into the classroom. For example, students can explore Transcendentalism by considering Emerson and Thoreau while analyzing Romantic Period landscapes by Thomas Cole illustrating parallel themes via high resolution images made available online by the New York Historical Society. Similarly, students can simultaneously view and compare eight different versions of actors performing Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, on their device or the classroom smartboard. We still read widely and deeply but the “canon” has expanded to a wider range of work, both more contemporary and representing more diverse perspectives. Yes, we still read “the classics”—Gatsby, A Passage to India, Shakespeare—yet students may now consider these in a more varied and multi-dimensional literary context.

Major writing assignments are designed to equip our student writers for the challenges that lie ahead. For instance, the senior theory paper—the culminating project of the English curriculum which replaced the

“Tragedy” paper and its various successors—is in many ways an exercise in resiliency. Thought leader Richard “Doc Rob” Robinson reflects that Hackley didn’t used to teach “theory”—that field of methods and ideas that seeks to reveal what literature can mean. “Theory” isn’t an answer in and of itself; it’s a tool. Students learn that literary analysis is a problemsolving exercise through which they may find insight, using the tools available to them. The theory paper helps students come to understand that we are always interpreting and analyzing the world around us, that we always bring predispositions, and that there may always be another lens through which to view the world.

In History, a significant and deliberate change was the elimination of AP courses. While this might seem counterintuitive, the elimination of “AP” courses has allowed the curriculum to enlarge, deepen and strengthen in scope. Our students still take AP exams in American and Modern European History if they choose to, but without the constraint of a year-long AP class.

This began with the redesign of the Upper School History sequence. The traditional 11th grade “American History” course was redesigned to become the new sequence usually taken by 10th and 11th graders: American History through 1900 followed by 20th Century World History. With this came the recognition that it is no longer possible to study 20th Century America in isolation from the rest of the world, a perspective that encouraged us to promulgate global education.

21 YEARS

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It’s fair to say that while the school’s rigorous curriculum of 21 years ago has changed considerably, the change came deliberately and carefully, committed to finding the best context within which our master teachers can do their work. Our students are drawn to challenges, stimulating ideas, debate, and analysis, and the program continually pushes them to new levels of curiosity and challenge.

As in all humanities, the need to memorize lots of facts has been replaced by the need to know how to interpret and use these facts. Veteran History department Chair Bill Davies observes, “Robert McNamara got us into Vietnam using ‘knowledge’ based entirely on data. But no one was interpreting that data in a broader context.” Since the advent of the web, the priority has shifted to understanding and analysis of the relevance and impact of facts in the contexts that make them meaningful. History itself can change over time. Mr. Davies notes, “There is no static understanding.”

The emphasis on research and writing skills yields gratifying results: Hackley juniors come through the (sometimes grueling) process of developing an independent research process realizing that they like the process of pursing an area of interest in this way, and young alumni return to campus attesting to the value of this experience as part their college readiness.

Mr. Davies observes that today’s Hackley student body is, generally, stronger than ever before, yet they have grown up with different priorities and different “inputs” created by our increasingly digital culture to which teachers must adapt. Their lesser maturity as readers translates as well to their writing, he notes.

“You used to expect the stronger part of your student group to intuit the use of structure, vocabulary and syntax because all they almost unreflectively translated what they experienced as readers in their writing.”

Bill also noted that under Walter Johnson’s leadership, Hackley affirmed its commitment to the importance of the Humanities, a stance mildly countercultural in a society that increasingly sets this aside.

The endurance of our Classics program over the last 21 years begins with the recognition that, yes, Hackley students still commit to (and thrive when they) learn Latin and Greek, and that we acknowl-

edge Latin and Greek every day as we speak English.

They’re sometimes called “dead” languages, but the ways of teaching them are very much alive. Classics is a broad and deep field of study, encompassing language and literature, history, art and archaeology, philosophy, and linguistics, and all of these diverse facets are addressed in our Latin and Greek classrooms daily. The challenges of discipline and order that push students to adapt to a new way of considering language promote the ability to negotiate other linguistic and cultural challenges. Also significant is the way in which Classics invites students to embrace the language of a living culture, in which the structure, rules, moral and ethical codes, and deep humanitarian appreciation for who we are connect across the centuries.

The teaching of Modern Languages at Hackley has expanded in two very obvious ways: At Walter Johnson’s insistence, Hackley extended Spanish to the Lower School and birthed the Mandarin Chinese language program that commences in Middle School.

Now, Spanish students coming up from Lower School have the proficiency to advance to the Spanish IV AP level in the 10th grade, as well as two years of post-AP Spanish Literature and Language by senior year, both collegiate level courses. By 2018 we will offer AP Chinese, and we note with pride that we’ve already seen some graduates majoring in Chinese in college.

Anne Burns, our Lower School Director, credits her incredibly reflective faculty for bringing the Lower School curriculum to its current mature state.

“Change happens somewhat organically, owned and run by the teachers who are constantly evaluating what we do and how we can do things better” she noted recently. She agrees with Diana Kaplan that Singapore Math has yielded considerable progress in both skills and achievement in K–4. Meanwhile, student reading and writing skills similarly have

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First grade students engaging in hands-on math challenges using manipulatives, part of the Singapore math curriculum in Lower School, which builds confident problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

soared under our Balanced Literacy program, which begins by assessing each student’s individual needs four times a year and then tailoring their reading and writing instruction accordingly.

program that it’s hard to remember when it wasn’t there. Our decision to hire native Spanish speakers and to hold classes nearly entirely in Spanish accustoms students’ flexible brains more rapidly to the language.

The Social Studies program, recently rewritten by a Social Studies Committee, has also expanded its focus around the core values of Hackley’s Round Square membership—a program that may be unique among Round Square member schools, which generally only focus on the Middle and Upper School levels. Anne notes, “The Committee looked at the Round Square ‘pillars’—Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service—identified where we were, and then drew a map towards where we wanted to be.”

To say technology instruction is always changing and growing is to state the obvious. For any school, just keeping up with technology is a challenge. An ad hoc Technology Committee formed by the Board and the Headmaster in 2009 concluded that the school should find a Director of Instructional Technology, and the hire of Erich Tusch signaled the start of expansion in our tech classes. Our one-to-one iPad initiative is now in year two, and growth in coding education and in curricular offerings is rapid. Technology education from six instructors begins in Kindergarten and extends through to the Upper School, which offers 12 different computer science classes.

Even before we started talking about “Health and Wellness” at Hackley, the Lower School had begun work on nutrition, a topic that blends our students’ learning about health, sustainability, science and nature. In addition to teaching plant biology in our community garden, the science program actively focuses on experiential learning through hands-on experimentation as students test hypotheses and gain familiarity with the scientific method. STEM units are reinforced annually at our STEM night—a wonderful learning event that is also a community building event, as Upper and Middle School students plan and run various projects with the Lower School students and their parents.

The addition of Spanish to the Lower School program is one of the most significant points of evolution over these 21 years; it is so thoroughly integrated into the

It’s fair to say that while the school’s rigorous curriculum of 21 years ago has changed considerably, the change came deliberately and carefully, committed to finding the best context within which our master teachers can do their work. Our students are drawn to challenges, stimulating ideas, debate, and analysis, and the program continually pushes them to new levels of curiosity and challenge. We hope and believe we are offering our students and their families the best we can offer, even as we know full well that soon enough, we will be looking toward the next phases of evolution as our program continues to grow.

F E AT U R E

By Bettie-Ann Candelora, Performing Arts Department Chair

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Hackley Performing Arts 2015–16 The growth of the Middle and Upper School Drama programs continued as Upper School students extended their range with performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale in the fall. The Katrina Project in March featured a New Orleans band. The annual Senior Showcase performed in the NYC Theater District in May. Middle School students performed the 5th/6th grade play Once Upon A Wolf, the Middle School Acting Intensive Workshop, the Middle School Acting Intensive, and a series of original in-class sketches.

Our Middle and Upper School Bands tackled a variety of challenging and fun music this year, and the Jazz Band and Jazz Combos featured gifted musicians and vocalists. Upper School band students mentored Middle School students in the new Musical Mentoring program, and a new Lower School Band Program was initiated to provide woodwind, brass and percussion group instruction.

In the spirit of a Hackley tradition, The choral program added an all boys a cappella group in the Upper School. Middle School students featured an original student song in their winter concert.

The Hackley Middle and Upper School strings students successfully tackled ambitious repertoire of Dvorak, Handel, Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. A new Lower School strings program now trains 3rd and 4th grade students on string instruments.

Lower School students presented their annual grade level performances including the Cinco de Mayo celebration, which is performed in Spanish.

By Greg Cice, Visual Arts Department Chair, and members of the Visual Arts department

F E AT U R E

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Hackley Visual Arts 2015–16

MS Middle School AP Upper School AP Studio Art

Hackley artists K–12 had another tremendous year producing high caliber works in every discipline.

Upper School AP Studio Art Show

Kindergarteners developed understanding and appreciation of the visual arts as they learned about lines, shape, color, texture and more. The theme in Grades 1–4 art studio has been “Community.” Students drew vegetables and created mosaic planters in honor of the new Lower School garden, and comic strips inspired by a caterpillar discovered in the corn. They recreated “Hackley” with paper bag buildings, and then drew portraits of the people who work inside. Through mosaics, sculpture and quilts, they told the story of the Hackley Community.

In the Middle School, the students did a lot of looking, which led them to find new ways of seeing and understanding the world around them, and thereby, more ways to view themselves within

this world. Some students dove into reality, others into textures or processes. They learned techniques and skills to more clearly express their ineffable experiences. They experimented and discovered new approaches and effects.

Their efforts in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, plaster, mixed media, collage, photography and Photoshop (among others) were successes in and of themselves, but they also led to the completion of many thought-provoking works of art.

The expansive Upper School program emphasizes drawing, with students gaining confidence and skill across a broad range of formal issues, techniques and media, culminating in the AP Studio Art program. We will let the artwork speak for itself.

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LS

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LS

LS

MS

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MS AP

AP

By Jason Edwards, Athletics Director

F E AT U R E

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Hackley Athletics 2015–16

The 2015–16 Hackley Athletics year resulted in six league titles and a record breaking seven state championships, with two All-Americans, 17 new school records, and nine students reaching significant milestones. Especially given the outstanding attitude of our players and coaches, it was a great year for Hackley Athletics.

Fall Field Hockey went undefeated in league play for the third consecutive year, and captured the team’s first NYSAIS championship since 2003, knocking off the five-time returning champions Rye Country Day in a thrilling one-on-one shootout.

Football went 6–2, led by a strong group of offensive threats including first team All-League and All-State player Elijah Ngbokoli ’16 at running back, and second team All-State wide receiver, Winston Britton ’17.

Girls’ Tennis looks to build on what the graduating seniors created with a strong group of younger players, and we look forward to watching this program grow.

All members of the Boys’ Cross Country team ran personal records that showed the true grit and determination of the team. Will Crainer ’19 medaled in the Ivy Championships, placing 15th out of 115 runners.

Hackley Girls’ Varsity Soccer had an incredible run to cap off the fall season, earning its first NYSAIS title since 2009. Though led by a great group of seniors, the team’s success was built on everyone playing key roles through the latter half of the season—a great team effort!

The Boys’ Soccer team went 10–2 in the league and earned the number one seed in NYSAIS, and its final record of 13–3–3 underscored the team’s toughness.

Girls’ Cross Country won its fifth consecutive League championship and third consecutive NYSAIS title—the latter won by over 25 points, with six runners in the top 40. Julia Stevenson ’16 (1st team All-State), is our first Individual NYSAIS Champion in over a decade.

Winter Hackley Boys’ Varsity Squash brought home a share of the Ivy League title—the team’s first, with a 9–1 record. Led by a large group of underclassmen including first team All-League recipients Wyatt Khosrowshahi ’17 and Willy Ezratty ’19, the team looks to build on this exciting season moving forward.

The Girls’ Squash team, led by seniors Katie Bogart, Kelly Saxton, Arielle Stern, Elana Stern, Laura Seebacher and Meghan O’Keefe, placed second at the Squash Team Nationals in their respective division.

The Wrestling team brought incredible dedication and heart to a season with many ups and downs, and prevailed in the end to place third at both Ivies and States—congratulations! Elijah Ngbokoli (109 wins), placed 8th at the Prep Nationals to become just the 4th wrestler in the history of the school, and the first since 1998, to be named All-American.

The Boys’ and Girls’ Winter Track & Field teams, led by a great group of seniors, finished third at Ivies. Gabriella Zak ’16, Sabina Thomas ’16, Anthony Roderick ’16 and Amin Mustefa ’17 were crowned Ivy Champions.

F E AT U R E

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Boys’ Basketball persevered through multiple injuries to end the season in the top four at the very difficult Collegiate Tournament.

competition in over 5 years. Placing third in the league with an 8–4 record, the team was led by standout freshman pitcher Dana Van Buren.

Boys’ Fencing continued to gain strength through a great season, and Girls’ Fencing placed second in the league in foil. The Girls’ epee and girls’ saber teams also placed in the top three within the league.

Boys’ Tennis placed 5th overall in the league, playing well despite the loss of many players from the previous season. With all but two players returning, the team looks forward to a great season next year.

Margaret Scarcella ’84 returned to coach the Girls’ Basketball program, taking the team to a third place league finish and to the semi-finals of NYSAIS.

Girls’ Golf finished the season 4–1–1, led by a great group of seniors as well as some great underclassmen. Coach Catalano has done an exceptional job building the program.

Hackley Swimming produced an astounding number of impressive individual performances.

Three new school records were set this season, including one that broke Geoff Seelen ’77’s longstanding 100 backstroke record set in 1973. A number of top competitors are returning to make some serious noise in years to come.

Spring Hackley Baseball earned a bid to play in the NYSAIS tournament, led by four players batting over .300: Danny Hernandez ’18; Second Team All-League, Chris Wahrhaftig ’17; First Team All-League, Ryan Smith ’17; and First Team AllLeague, Steven Wahrhaftig.

Hackley Softball took home the championship in the Second Annual Hackley School Softball Tournament and received its first bid to NYSAIS

Hackley Boys’ Golf earned Hackley’s first Ivy League Championship and went undefeated in the league with a 12–0 record. Bobby Hite ’19 was a Federation qualifier, placing fourth overall at the NYSAIS championships.

Girls’ Track & Field brought home its fourth NYSAIS championship behind a great team effort, including first place finishes by seniors Julia Stevenson, Gabriella Zak and Sabina Thomas.

Hackley Boys’ Lacrosse won the Ivy League with an 11–1 record, and earned the two seed in NYSAIS. After out-scoring their opponents 23–8 in the Quarters and semifinals, the team faced RCDS in the championship. Down at the half, the Hornets rallied in the second half to bring home the NYSAIS championship with a 12–9 win.

Girls’ Lacrosse continued to dominate the Ivy League, going undefeated for a 4th consecutive year and ultimately posted an 18–1 record including a NYSAIS championship win, the first in three years.

In a true team effort, Hackley Boys’ Track & Field set multiple school records and claimed its 8th consecutive NYSAIS title. Anthony Roderick ’16 won the 100 M, 200 M, Long Jump and 4x100 meter in both the Ivy Championships and NYSAIS. The boys’ 4x100 meter team won the Loucks Games, running the fastest time up until that point in New York State.

Finally, at the NYS Federation meet, the Boys’ 4x100m Relay (W. Britton, A. Roderick, D. Inzar, E. Ngbokoli) was named Division 2 State Champions (41.98) and placed 2nd overall vs. all public and private schools in NY State (41.81).

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School Records

Notable Accomplishments

Cross Country

Cross Country

Julia Stevenson ’16 4 K (14:48) and 5K (17:44)

ulia Stevenson ’16 J 5K NYSAIS Record at Van Cortlandt (18:37) Con Ed Athlete of the Week

Soccer Sammy Mueller ’16 Season Scoring record (23)

Football Will Cotter ’17 Single Season Passing record (1,601 yds)

Swimming Sarah Schlesinger ’16 500 Free (5:04.68) Garrett Towne ’18 100 back (53.16) L. Bogart, Y. Tsukikawa, G. Towne, R. Schaum 400 Free Relay (3:18.19)

Outdoor Track & Field

Football Elijah Ngbokoli ’16 Super 11, Golden Dozen Honorable Mention Nick Gutfleish ’16 Golden Dozen Honorable Mention

Field Hockey Ally Petitti ’16 100 career points (108) Arielle Stern ’16 100 career points with (103)

Wrestling Elijah Ngbokoli ’16 Over 100 career wins (108) All-American, Con Ed Athlete of the Week

Anthony Roderick ’16 Long Jump (23' 7.5")

Boys’ Basketball

Anthony Roderick ’16 100 Meter Dash (10.65)

Darius Inzar ’16 1000 Point Scorer (1,139)

Anthony Roderick ’16 200 Meter Dash (21.75)

Girls’ Basketball

Onye Ohia-Enyia ’18 400 Meter (48.66)

Sammy Mueller ’16 1000 Point Scorer (1,321) Con Ed Athlete of the Week

O. Ohia, E. Ngbokoli, A. Roderick, D. Inzar 4x100 Meter Relay (41.59) W. Britton, A. Roderick, D. Inzar, E. Ngbokoli 4x200 Meter Relay (1:28.34) D. Inzar, A. Roderick, E.Ngbokoli, O. Ohia 4x400 Meter Relay (3:21.03)

Girls’ Lacrosse Sammy Mueller ’16 Back to back 100 goal seasons Kat Cucullo ’16 103 career goals

O. Curran, G. Zak, L. Stalman, Julia Stevenson Distance Medley Relay (12:22.3)

Softball

G. Zak, N. Momani, S. Thomas, L. Stalman 4x400 Meter Relay (4:06.02)

Dana Van Buren ’19 102 Strike outs this season

Gabriella Zak ’16 100 Hurdles (15.12)

Baseball

Julia Stevenson ’16 3200 Meter (10:38.8), 3000 Meter (9:52.34), 2000 M Steeplechase Alexis Arnold ’16 Discus (99' 9")

Girls’ Lacrosse Sammy Mueller ’16 Career Goals record (289)

Steven Wahrhaftig ’17 .511 season batting average

Track & Field Julia Stevenson ’16 All-American

Hilltop Updates 40

Andy Retzloff Retires

Andy Retzloff retires this year after 31 years on the faculty, ranked fifth in seniority among current faculty. Andy began his career on the Hilltop as a Lower School Science teacher. He has taught in each division since then—5th grade Science, Upper School Ecology, 7th grade Life Sciences, after-school nature club, faculty advisor for the HEAL group—bringing his love of the outdoors to scholars of all ages. Andy has worked as a coach and a boarding associate. He helped construct the Carl Buessow Nature Trails with Dave Allison. Andy never simply “taught the facts”—he consistently brought an unrivaled level of knowledge and enthusiasm to studying and exploring nature, appreciated by students of all ages. Most recently, Andy has also served as coordinator of Upper School sustainability efforts. Andy truly makes the world a better place. Andy and his wife, Hackley Kindergarten teacher Beth Retzloff, raised two children, both Hackley lifers, on campus. The Retzloffs will continue to live on campus so we look forward to seeing Andy often! We are grateful to him for leaving such a remarkable impression on our students and our community.

Julie Lillis Retires

Julie Lillis retired this year after 30 years. She joined Hackley in 1986 as a History teacher, supervisor of The Dial, and a writer for Hackley Review.

In 1989, she became Assistant Director of Admissions, and in 1992 Co-Director of College Counseling. While shouldering these administrative roles, she continued to be much admired as a distinguished teacher, particularly in Modern European History. In 1989, the senior class dedicated its yearbook to her and in 1991 she received the Kimelman Award for distinguished teaching. As Co-Director of College Counseling for 23 years, Julie earned the deep gratitude and affection of countless Hackley students and parents. Her empathy and insight made her an exceptional counselor, forging connections not only within our community but in the broader professional world of her fellow counselors and Admissions Deans. She has tempered student and parent anxieties with an astute balance of candor and diplomacy, and has been a powerful advocate in support of Hackley students to colleges. A campus resident all these years, she raised two daughters, both Hackley lifers now graduated from college. She and her husband, Dick, are moving to the Washington, DC area to be near her parents. We wish her all the best in her next adventure and count on her staying in touch!

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Kathie Szabo Retires

Lower School teacher Kathie Szabo leaves Hackley this year after 22 years of service. Kathie has taught third and fourth grade since joining the Lower School faculty in 1994. Under her quiet, steady guidance, students have expanded their love of reading, learned to draft, edit and write their first research papers, and moved confidently onward with the skills needed to become a Lower School “senior” in the 4th grade.

Kathie also helped create, launch and for many years manage the Lower School after school programs, in which more than a generation of Hackley children have flourished. She is also the mother of two Hackley alumni. We are grateful to Kathie for all her good work over these last 22 years and wish her the best in her retirement.

Eliot Smith Heads West

Upper School teacher Eliot Smith leaves Hackley this June after twelve years as a member of the Upper School History department. He is moving to Houston, TX where his wife, former Hackley French teacher and Upper School Dean, Anne Longley, takes on a new challenge as founding head of a new Upper School at St. Francis Episcopal Day School.

Since joining Hackley’s History department in the 2004–2005 school year, Eliot has been one of the Upper School’s most respected and effective teachers.

In his time at Hackley, he has taught a wide range of history courses, including two, History 9 and Media and Culture, for which he led the development. Eliot’s classroom is a special place, welcoming students with music every day, and full of purpose, focus and playfulness where students are engaged, challenged and supported, and where they become better writers. Eliot’s teaching excellence was formally recognized in 2011 with the M.H. Davidson Family Chair in History, and he has been a dedicated academic advisor as well as a mentor to fellow teachers. He also developed Hackley’s student Coffeehouse tradition, events that also afforded us opportunities to see Eliot’s musical talents on display. In a 2012 Hackley Review profile, his former student Peter Barrett ’11 said, “Doc Smith is the Hackley Dos Equis man: ‘The most interesting man on the Hilltop!’” We are grateful to Eliot for his distinguished service to Hackley and wish Eliot and Anne well in their latest adventure.

H I L LT O P U P D A T E S C O N T I N U E D

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Lauren Sheng Leaves Board of Trustees

Lauren Sheng P ’11, ’13 steps down from her role as a Hackley trustee this year after six years of service. Elected to the Board in 2010, Lauren’s exemplary service to the Board includes her long-running tenure as a member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Audit Committee, and a former member of the Educational Programs Committee. She has played an active and integral role in Hackley’s Alumni Networking program. Lauren’s philanthropic leadership has been remarkable during her tenure, helping to inspire many to support our Legacy Campaign. The Board of Trustees deeply appreciates her dedicated service.

Marvin Neuman ’63 Steps Down as Advisory Trustee

Marvin Neuman ’63 conveyed his decision to resign his role as an Advisory Trustee. Elected in June 2010, Marv’s dedicated service to the Board includes his tenure as a member of Buildings and Grounds Committees.

His exemplary philanthropic leadership has contributed greatly to the vibrancy of the physical environment in which our students thrive. The Board express its deep thanks for his dedicated service.

Jumaane Saunders ’96 Named to Board of Trustees

Jumaane Saunders ’96 has been appointed to the Hackley Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2016. He will serve as an Alumni Trustee for a three-year term concluding June 30, 2019. He is the first to fill a new board position, the Alumni Under 40 Trustee, created by the Board to bring the perspective and experiences of our younger alumni to the Board’s discussions and policy deliberations.

Similar to the Young Alumni Trustee position (currently filled by Sarah Unger ’03), candidates considered are alumni who are actively engaged with the school and who are under the age of 40 at the time of their appointment. This position will fill one of the three Alumni Trustee positions mandated under Hackley’s by-laws.

As an alumnus of Prep for Prep, Jumaane Saunders attended Hackley as a boarding student from the 7th to the 12th grade, participating in NEALSA (Hackley’s Diversity Club), and playing lacrosse and football throughout his Hackley career. He received his BA in Biology and Religious Studies from Macalester College in 2000, and his MA in Educational Politics and Finance in 2005 and his Master of Education in School Leadership in 2012, both from Columbia University Teachers College. Jumaane is the founding Elementary School Principal at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, which was opened in 2013. Prior to this role, Jumaane worked as a biology teacher with Teach for America, a chemistry teacher at The School of the Future, a Senior Manager at Kaplan Inc, and as the Director of External Programming at The School at Columbia University.

Jumaane and his wife, Mónica Amaro, who is Director of Admissions at Manhattan Country School, have three young children and live in New York City.

Hackley School

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2016–2017 Officers

John C. Canoni ’86, President Theodore A. Mathas, Vice President Sy Sternberg, Vice President Susan L. Wagner, Treasurer John R. Torell IV ’80, Secretary Board of Trustees

David A. Berry ’96 MD, Ph.D. Christopher P. Bogart Roger G. Brooks John C. Canoni ’86 Thomas A. Caputo ’65 * H. Rodgin Cohen Maria A. Docters Dawn N. Fitzpatrick Jason J. Hogg ’89 Linda Holden-Bryant Keith R. Kroeger ’54 Kaveh Khosrowshahi ’85 Michael H. Lowry Theodore A. Mathas Timothy D. Matlack ’70 Diane D. Rapp Harvinder S. Sandhu, M.D. Jumaane Saunders ’96* Sy Sternberg John R. Torell IV ’80 Sarah Unger ’03* Susan L. Wagner Pamela Gallin Yablon, M.D. *Alumni Trustee Honorary Trustees

Herbert A. Allen ’58 Daniel A. Celentano John T. Cooney, Jr. ’76 Marv H. Davidson Jack M. Ferraro H’63 Berkeley D. Johnson, Jr. ’49 Philip C. Scott ’60

Hackley School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, religion, gender identity, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship or athletic and other school-administered programs.

Advisory Trustees

James L. Abernathy ’59 John J. Beni ’51 Harold Burson Mark R. Gordon Robert R. Grusky ’75 Koichi Itoh ’59 Michael G. Kimelman ’56 Jonathan P. Nelson ’64 Conrad A. Roberts ’68 Lawrence D. Stewart ’68 HACKLEY PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Priya Krishna, President Lisa Torell, Executive Vice President Pallavi Shah, Administrative Vice President Maggie Walker, Upper School Vice President Michelle Dhanda, Middle School Vice President Chitra Dhakad, Lower School Vice President Debbie Linnett, Secretary Torrie Pizzolato, Treasurer Erica Napach, Assistant Treasurer

HACKLEY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. Officers

Christie Philbrick-WheatonGalvin ’00, President Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87, Vice President Daniel E. Rifkin ’89, Treasurer Board of Directors

Marc S. Brodsky ’86 R. Raleigh D’Adamo ’49 Patricia M. Raciti DeCenzo ’02 Henry E. Dunn III ’58 Nordia A. Edwards ’99 David E. Friedman ’95 Bernard M. Gordon ’03 Jedd A. Gould ’85 Eric B. Gyasi ’01 Michael P. Halas ’98 Michelle Annunziata Hambright ’94 Richard C. Hodgson ’51 James Holden, Jr. ’66 Thomas S. Karger ’63 Timothy L. Kubarych ’06 Joseph P. Marra ’86 Lauren E. McCollester ’82 Tanya N. Nicholson Miller ’90 Nicole R. Neubelt ’91 Sallyann E. Parker Nichols ’87 Angelique E. Parnell ’10 Christie Philbrick-WheatonGalvin ’00 Neal R. Pilzer ’74 Daniel E. Rifkin ’89 Anastasia E. Venturas Ripp ’98 Conrad A. Roberts ’68 William G. Roberts ’75 Jasmine C. Swann ’96 Belinda L. Walker Terry ’76 Honorary Directors

John C. Canoni ’86 Philip C. Scott ’60

HACKLEY SCHOOL

Michael C. Wirtz, Headmaster Communications Office

Steven D. Bileca, Assistant Headmaster Susan Akin, Director of Communications and Community Relations, Editor, Hackley Review Waits May, Director of Online Communications Development and Alumni Affairs Office

John P. Gannon, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Haleh Tavakol ’84, Director of Alumni Relations and Alumni Giving Cindy Urick Stickles, Director of Annual Fund Marjorie G. McNaughton Ford ’85, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Marlene Myhal, Event Coordinator and HPA Liaison Jen Bisschop, Alumni and Development Associate Kara Forcelli, Development Assistant

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On June 11, 2016, Hackley graduated its 116th class. Congratulations to the Class of 2016!

Commencement 45

Cum Laude Induction 2016 On June 6th, 2016, 17 members of the Class of 2016 were inducted into Hackley’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society.

Katherine O’Connell Bogart Maximillian Kang Gene Chen Karina Maria Franke Irene Eunbe Kim Eugene Alexander Linden John Charles Peruzzi

Mackenzie Lee Price Marc Elliott Rod Zachary Samuel Shalett Akira Shindo Arielle Anna Stern Elana Irene Stern

Julia Anna Stevenson Jason Daniel Traum Basia Nicole Van Buren George Nelson Wangensteen Gabriella Maria Zak

Excerpted from the Cum Laude Address In my brief experience, I’ve noticed that part of being good at whatever you do—artist, investor, lawyer, doctor—is having a flexible mind, to be constantly learning and growing. Said differently, the smartest people I know are often the ones who say “I don’t know,” and then figure it out anyway. As an example, at my job today, I pick stocks. The hardest part of the job is knowing how to allocate my time as there are 500 companies in the S&P alone. There are plenty of things I don’t know as I research. So, bouncing new ideas off friends and debating the pros and cons of investments allows me to be a more efficient and more effective investor. Learning from others and harnessing collective brainpower helps fill gaps in my own knowledge and highlight what new questions need to be asked.

—Noah Silver ’06

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED

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Class Day Awards On Class Day and Commencement, Hackley honors students for character and accomplishment as it bestows an array of traditional awards, many of which have been awarded annually for decades. These are just a few highlights of the recognitions that resonate across generations.

To request a full list of this year’s awards, contact alumni@hackleyschool.org

Oscar Kimelman Award Chosen by vote of the Class of 2014 to recognize the teacher who has most contributed to their own subsequent progress Jenny Leffler

Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational Teaching Award > Chosen by the Class of 2016 Vladimir Klimenko

Yearbook Dedication > Chosen by the Class of 2016 Seth Karpinski

Bruce F. Roberts Scholar-Athlete Award Julia Anna Stevenson ’16

Richard Perkins Parker Memorial Cup > For the student who epitomizes the Hackley ideal Joshua Ryan Greenzeig ’16

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED

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Commencement 2016

Excerpted from the Salutatory Address

Excerpted from the Valedictory Address

Encouraged to take those risks, we grew accustomed to the discomfort that ultimately breeds success. We live in a world where comfort has become a value and a life goal. But the security of our comfort zone can limit us. Research indicates that we can perform at our best by finding that sweet spot just beyond our personal comfort zones, where we tap into our potential and creativity.

I see my friends passionate about things because they want to be, not because they feel obliged to be. This culture of individuality is not only tolerated, but encouraged and celebrated. We occasionally slip into being the mindless sheep that high school students usually are, but we have escaped this label more than any group of students I have encountered.

Hackley has encouraged us to push beyond our comfort zones and to grow and develop new areas of strength. You see this with the ballet dancer who decides to run cross country and then shatters school records, the non-confrontational student who becomes a nationally recognized debater, the student government leaders and athletes who take the stage at coffeehouse and blow everyone away with their immense talent, or perhaps the least likely public speaker in the grade addressing hundreds of you today.

In my mind, we have always been the grade that didn’t care. When I say this I mean that pretending not to care about something just to fit into some mold of how you are supposed to be is the ultimate form of caring. […] The most “successful” people are the innovators and the rule breakers who did not find success by doing what others said they should, but rather by forging their own paths, finding their niches in the world, and doing the things that they truly wanted to do.

As we leave the Hilltop, this culture of encouragement stays with us as we transition into a new phase of our lives to remind us not to shy away from that which makes us uncertain or uncomfortable.

— Jason Daniel Traum ’16

To me, the beauty of life is that it ultimately falls upon you to determine its meaning. […] The path to mediocrity is to do everything that is expected of you.

— John Charles Peruzzi ’16

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED

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Commencement Address

Ben Ratliff ’85, jazz and pop critic for The New York Times, and author of four books, most recently Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty, offered this year’s Commencement Address.

First I would like to say that I feel gratified and surprised to be here speaking to you today.

As I stand here I am remembering the last time I got up and felt mildly scrutinized in front of Hackley School, which was almost exactly 31 years ago. I’m not counting the blurry day of graduation itself. There was a day near the end of the school year called Awards Day. I was notified in advance that I would be receiving an award: the Alan Seeger Prize, for writing. I did some writing for the school newspaper, and thought of myself as a writer, and I cared about being recognized as one a lot more than I would have let on—in fact, this was a rare case of having your wishes understood without saying them out loud.

Awards Day took place at an afternoon assembly in the gym. I think that I wore some kind of dark blazer, and I know I wore an old pair of tan pants.

As someone recently reminded me, we took our English exams in the morning in our coats and ties.

After that, and a few hours before the assembly, I was talking with some friends in the Upper School hallway, outside of the study hall. I bent over and ripped the seat of my pants, a total vertical tear from the middle back belt loop all the way down to near the bottom of my zipper.

My jacket didn’t go down far enough to cover the tear—not even close. It seemed that I was going to have to walk up to the podium and accept an award with my underwear hanging out. As perhaps many of you have done in awful dreams. Perhaps they would cancel they award? No, they wouldn’t.

Here is what I assumed: that nobody would help me in this situation, because everyone is locked into a role. Every year there is a blank line next to the school’s writing award, and the role of the school is to fill it. The role of the populars is to point and laugh at a ripped-pants calamity. The role of the less populars is to say “uh oh!” and then walk away quickly. The kid who goes in front of the school with his pants ripped in half also has a role. In Scotland and Wales, until the 19th century, members of local communities were selected as sin-eaters. They would eat a piece of bread that had been placed on the body of someone recently deceased, thereby absorbing that person’s sins. I felt that I might be providing a service like that for the school.

I went close to a bitter, extreme place of not wanting the stupid award anyway, and turning against the school for its awards and rituals and occasions. None of it was about me, anyway, I started to think. This is about a prep school carrying on its narrative of greatness. Why don’t they give us what we want most and let us go home?

But my friend Marco Ranieri, who was and still is tall and thin, offered me his jacket, with a longer cut in the back, which basically covered the tear. In fact, I think it went like this: A good friend helped out; a couple of people laughed, because it was funny; a few others were sympathetic; nobody else really noticed because they were thinking about their own problems, in a perfectly non-selfish way.

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I thought, this isn’t going to be so bad. And then I thought: who cares. There is a negative and destructive who-cares, and there is a positive whocares. The positive one is a liberating and creative force. You tend to feel it more naturally as you get older, but older people shouldn’t be deriving all the benefit it of it. You can choose to access the positive who-cares right now.

I accepted the award, which was the Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892–1935, edited by W.B. Yeats.

There was a bookplate pasted to the inside front cover with my name and the name of the award in calligraphy, probably written by my Latin teacher, John McAuliffe, who took these things wonderfully seriously. I loved that bookplate. I couldn’t really make peace with the book. Pre-World War II modern English poetry felt moldy to me and categorically not in my line, because at the time I understood myself to be interested in Miles Davis, James Baldwin, Sam Shepard and punk rock, none of which, in my experience, was taught at Hackley then. I’m sure they are now.

Here my story turns. A few years ago a really brilliant and funny writer told me about something that can only be found in that book. I looked in the book and found it on page 1. I had never gotten that far. Yeats, the poet, who was the compiler of the book, took a famous passage of prose written by the 19th century essayist and art critic Walter Pater about the Mona Lisa, and rearranged that piece of prose into a short poem, making it the first poem of his anthology. The poem begins: She is older than the rocks among which she sits.

Like the Vampire, She has been dead many times And learned the secrets of the grave.

Yeats called no attention to the fact that he did this and made no apologies for it. He just did it. He turned a piece of criticism into a piece of poetry and called it one of the best poems of the past fifty years. What an amazing and daring thing to do. It fits in with what I came to care about in my line of work, which is writing about music, describing a piece of art, considering its essence

more than its form, and trying to make the reader understand it in a new way. I had been so sure for so long that this book I’d been given was the great backwards, a symbol of a stuffy and outdated club I would never allow myself to join.

And there on the first page of it was my Miles Davis, my punk rock.

And what about Alan Seeger, for whom the writing prize was named? He was a poet. He was the brother of the musicologist Charles Seeger and the uncle of the folk singer Pete Seeger. He went to high school at Hackley—he graduated in 1906.

He fought in World War I in the French Foreign Legion. Three weeks from now it will be 100 years since the day he died in battle. After graduating from Harvard and before the war, Alan Seeger hung out in Greenwich Village, where he met and made a great impression on Yeats’s father, the artist John Butler Yeats, who wrote about him to his son. “In conversation he is eager, yet never vehement or imperious,” the older Yeats wrote about Seeger. “He had no desire to affect the minds of others, though so eager for the truth.”

John Butler Yeats also said this about Alan Seeger: “I think he is the only solitary I met in America, that is to say its most interesting man.” I would like to take this moment to note that in high school, if you were solitary, you were generally presumed to be not interesting.

I think high school is the period of time when you are most tempted, or even forced, to categorize yourself, just as I categorized myself in my reaction to the events surrounding that excellent award book and even the book itself, and as I am sure I categorized my place in the school as a social being and a scholar. You are much less locked in than it may appear. You have energy and brilliance, and your choices are wide open. Some of you may know this and some of you may not. You will all start to see it.

— Ben Ratliff ’85

By William G. Davies Chair, Hackley History Department

F E AT U R E

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“ Character is Higher than Intellect” Early in his tenure as Headmaster, Walter Johnson posited the ideal that Hackley believes, with Emerson, that “Character is higher than intellect.” The idea has resonated so well with our sense of mission at Hackley that we claim it as part of our vernacular.

In the following text, adapted from a Chapel Talk offered to Hackley seniors in January 2016, History department Chair Bill Davies explores the active mandate inherent in this idea—what it demands of us, and its implicit charge to our students to “Go forth and spread beauty and light.”

My advisees somehow uncovered the fact that, a long time ago now, I was a monk, and they began demanding that I “tell everyone about being a monk.”

Well, I’m not really the person who’s going to do a chapel talk based on personal revelation. And, sad to say, there’s not much to reveal even if I were that person. No scandals, and not even a really good life lesson to pass on to you. But, I began to wonder if there was anything in my long-ago monastic experience that might be thought-provoking for you at this moment, and I came up with something.

It’s possible that you remember from some history class or other that St. Benedict was the guy who basically started western monasticism. And you may remember that he wrote a Rule for monks to follow.

Out of that Rule emerge the three Benedictine vows, which aren’t the ones you think they are. They’re not poverty, chastity and obedience. They are stabilitas, humilitas and conversatio morum.

The first is stability—you stay in one monastery, rather than moving around; the second could actually be implied to be obedience, and often is; but it’s the third that I want to talk about. “Conversatio morum”— loosely, conversion of manner—is a Latin translation of the Greek word metanoia. Metanoia, in turn, refers to turning around, most profoundly a turning around of the inner person. It would be easy to say, as some sloppy monastic thinkers do, that one “turns around” by doing what the Rule tells you to do. But that’s not what the Rule actually says.

The first word of the Rule’s Prologue is ausculta: listen. “Ausculta, O fili, praecepta magistri.” “Listen, my son, to the precept of the master…” And the very next phrase is, “et inclinam audis cordis tui;” “incline the ear of your heart.” That is not an admonition to

Bill Davies

photo credit: Gabriel Cooney

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rule-following, though it must be said that lots of rules do follow. This is, rather, a call to become a new person, and to do so constantly throughout one’s life. Beyond that, it is not a call to passive receptivity, but one to employ the heart—the very being—as an organ of understanding, to do that not singly and alone, but in the company of a community, and then constantly to transform what one has “heard” to action. This is metanoia.

Most of you have been at Hackley for at least four years, and some of you have been here for thirteen.

If you’ve been listening, you have heard the phrase “Character is higher than intellect.” That statement came from the pen of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who uttered it in a famous speech, given in 1837, called “The American Scholar.” The speech is an attempt to define the particular nature of the American scholar, as well as his duties as a thinker. Oliver Wendell Holmes called Emerson’s speech our “intellectual declaration of independence.”

Hackley is a secular institution, so it doesn’t actually have a “sacred text” to which we can all, by common agreement, refer as a source of received wisdom.

But I would go so far as to suggest that, should the Trustees ever be casting around for something like a sacred text, “The American Scholar” is a good

candidate. Like Benedict, Emerson impels us toward listening, toward metanoia and toward action.

Emerson argues in his speech that men as individuals are parts of Man, or mankind. He is passionate in his assertion that we fail to reach a state of sublimity or divinity if we remain merely men and fail to achieve oneness with Man. Early in his argument he says: Man is thus metamorphosed into a thing, into many things. The planter, who is Man sent out into the field to gather food, is seldom cheered by any idea of the true dignity of his ministry. He sees his bushel and his cart, and nothing beyond, and sinks into the farmer, instead of Man on the farm. The tradesman scarcely ever gives an ideal worth to his work, but is ridden by the routine of his craft, and the soul is subject to dollars. The priest becomes a form; the attorney as statute-book; the mechanic, a machine; the sailor, a rope of a ship.

The danger for the American scholar, in Emerson’s view, is that, like the farmer, the tradesmen or the mechanic, he will be “a mere thinker,” and not Man Thinking. That is, he will become, again in Emerson’s words, an isolated “… parrot of other men’s thinking” and not a creative agent at one with mankind. He will be passive, not active, listening

F E AT U R E

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Building and rebuilding a self requires more than “parroting other men’s thinking.” The stream of the self must have a source to which it may return. Do not forget to “incline the ear of your heart,” and to let that heart be set aflame.

perhaps with his literal ears and his brain, but not with his heart, not creating in his being. “The one thing of value in the world,” says Emerson, “is the active soul.” “The soul active sees absolute truth; and utters truth, and creates.”

“Listen,” says Benedict, “and incline the ear of your heart,” in order constantly to create a new man. “The soul active,” says Emerson, “…utters truth, and creates.” In both cases, a turning around of the inner person—a metanoia—a kind of learning, but one that goes beyond receiving information to transformative creativity. Both learning and listening are, for both men, active undertakings. “Character is higher than intellect” asserts Emerson: The mind now thinks; now acts…When the artist has exhausted his materials, when the fancy no longer paints, when thoughts are no longer apprehended, and books are a weariness—he has always the resource to live. Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function, living is the functionary. The stream retreats to its source.

A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think…. Time shall teach him that the scholar loses no hour which the man lives.

Emerson does not dismiss received knowledge— knowledge of the past as found in books is an important source of education for him. It is important, then, to remember that the assertion “Character is higher than intellect” is not intended to denigrate intellect, but to elevate character. For Emerson, though, action in relation to experience—“living”— is the path to becoming Man Thinking, in oneness with mankind, and thus the path to the sublime.

“Action” is not, for him, found in frantic activity. He warns constantly against “intellect” as a collection

of harvested ideas; against, as it were, memorized genius. “Genius” he writes, “is always sufficiently the enemy of genius by over influence.”

Here you sit in January of your senior year. This might be a good time to emulate Janus, after whom the month is named, and to look both forward and back. In a few months’ time, you’ll head off to college, to another institution of education. I wonder what you will take from Hackley to that new experience. Of course you should take the “stuff” you’ve learned—conjugations, formulas, the names of treaties, the plots of novels. You’ll need those, and I certainly hope we’ve honed your intellect in the study of languages and math and history and English, and everything else. But these are the bushel and cart of the student, the tools of mere thinkers, not of Man Thinking. Here is one more quotation from “The American Scholar”: History and the exact sciences [the wise man] must learn by laborious reading. Colleges, in like manner, have their indispensable office,—to teach elements. But they can only highly serve us, when they aim not to drill, but to create; when they gather from far every ray of various genius to their hospitable halls, and, by the concentrated fires, set the hearts of their youth on flame.

Yes, you will take from Hackley much of history and exact science, and you head off to more “laborious reading,” but you have more important work to do.

Building and rebuilding a self requires more than “parroting other men’s thinking.” The stream of the self must have a source to which it may return. Do not forget to “incline the ear of your heart,” and to let that heart be set aflame. It’s the work of metanoia, the work of character. And “Character is higher than intellect.”

Walter C. Johnson Headmaster, 1995–2016 Those of us who remember Hackley before Walter, and those of us who know the facts about what he’s accomplished here, know that without a doubt he is the best Headmaster this school has ever seen. He raised money so we could have a real endowment, he rewrote the salary scale to enable us to attract and retain the best teachers, and he built or rebuilt half the buildings on campus…and he did thousands of other things.

But he did something else for Hackley, something a lot more important. He imposed a moral vision on the school. Before Walter we were a good school, but we didn’t really stand for anything. We really didn’t know who we were. Now, after 20 years we have a palpable mission and not only do we have a moral vision, it’s a shared vision. We know what we stand for. And we owe that to one person.

In order to impose a moral vision you have to have one.

And that was Walter. He always knew what the right and the wrong of a situation was, and what roadmap he was going to follow to get to an ethical outcome. And if it was hard, or inconvenient, or if it got people mad, it didn’t matter. We were going to do the right thing.

— Philip J. Variano Acting Headmaster

A leader is not somebody who takes you where you want to go. That’s a tour guide.

A true leader is someone who takes you to a place that you didn’t even know existed, and along the way explains why you’re going there, so when you get there you cannot imagine being anywhere else.

With his transformative vision for Hackley, Walter has been that for all of us, and more.

— John C. Canoni ’86 President, Board of Trustees

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