Three Trustees Complete Total of 43 Years of Service on Board
Members of the Chaffee Class of 1960 at their 55th Reunion: (standing) Joanne Hartman Madsen, Linda Walkley Kipnes, and Lee Walkley; and (sitting) Deborah Crehan Andrews, Arsine Rustigian Oshagan, and Susan Sobuta McMurry. Photo: Wayne Dombkowski
Creating New Memories: Chaffee ’60
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HE memories were remarkably clear. As the women of the Chaffee Class of 1960 celebrated their 55th Reunion in 2015 in late evening conversations in Carter Hall and over dinner in the Hubbard Music Center, a beautiful renovation of Chaffee Hall’s former gymnasium, they recalled how special their intimate all-girls school on Windsor’s Palisado Green had been. They remembered the elegant but firm leadership of Barbara Erickson, legendary headmistress of The Chaffee School (“Chaffee girls do not make spectacles of themselves.”); the excellent education provided by women teachers and role models like Dodie Britton, Elizabeth Speirs, Mildred Finley, Agatha Gray Cabaniss, and Helen Parker; Latin graces before lunches; bus rides; Greyhounds and Pelicans; chapel talks by classmates; trips to Bart’s; and participation in various clubs and on various playing fields. They also shared stories about their lives after Chaffee, as professionals and as members of families and communities. They had a very good time. They also talked about what seemed to be the gradual loss of a Chaffee identity in Loomis Chaffee, a title often shortened to “Loomis.” After the reunion, on her drive to her home in Maine, Debby Crehan Andrews ’60 mulled over a gift she was considering making to the school, something that might preserve the traditions of Chaffee ’60. In an era when tuition is vastly higher than when she was a student, it could help confirm the Founders’ vision that the school serve its neighbors. Shortly thereafter, she contacted the school to propose a challenge to her class to endow a scholarship named for the Chaffee Class of 1960 in support of a day girl from the Hartford area. Collaborating with Associate Head of School for External Relations Nat Follansbee, Debby crafted a letter in August 2015 announcing the challenge and the fundraising effort. Within weeks, 13 classmates, about half of the living 1960 alumnae, whose names will appear in this fall’s annual report, had responded enthusiastically to the challenge. Their commitments easily surpassed the $100,000 milestone to create the scholarship. Thanks to this generous response from the class, Loomis Chaffee will award the scholarship to generations of bright, inquisitive, talented day girls from the Hartford area, providing them with the opportunity to benefit from a superb education and to create remarkable memories of their own in the tradition of Chaffee ’60.
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HREE distinguished Trustees concluded their service on the board in June: Nancy Walbridge Collins ’91, Kimberly Kravis Schulhof ’93, and Peter M. Seigle ’65. Their fellow Trustees honored their combined 43 years of service to Loomis Chaffee at a celebratory dinner during the May board meeting. Nancy served on the board for 11 years. She co-chaired the Salaries & Benefits Committee, served as a vice chair of the Education Committee, and provided valuable insight as a member of the Admission & Financial Aid, Audit, Head’s Evaluation, and Head’s Search committees. She also served as co-chair of the Annual Fund from 2004 to 2006. Kimberly served on the board for 12 years. During her tenure, Kimberly chaired Nancy Walbridge Collins ’91 the Admission, Financial Aid, and College Guidance committees; served as vice chair of the Finance Committee; and was a member of the Committee on Trustees and the Audit Committee. In addition, Kimberly volunteered as a leader of various reunion committees for her class and hosted a number of receptions in New York City. Peter served on the board for 20 years, Kimberly Kravis Schulhof ’93 including eight years as a vice chairman of the board. He chaired the Buildings & Grounds Committee for almost his entire tenure and was instrumental in overseeing the construction of Richmond Hall, Cutler Hall, and the athletics center as well as the renovations of Chaffee Hall, the Clark Center for Science & Mathematics, the Hubbard Music Center, and the Katharine Brush Library. He also served as vice chair of the Investment Committee and as chair Peter M. Seigle ’65 Photos: Wayne Dombkowski of the 2020 Financial Strategic Planning Task Force. Devoted to the school, Peter spent more time on the campus in various meetings than any other Trustee in the school’s history. Closing out the celebratory dinner, Chairman of the Board Christopher Norton ’76 thanked Nancy, Kimberly, and Peter for their service to the school: “You have graced us with your stewardship. I hope you have been fulfilled by your service. I hope everyone here feels that same special bond to this special place. Sitting together, here tonight, we are all indeed a part of a greater whole.”
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