AROUND THE QUADS OF NOTE | FACULTY & STAFF Dean of Students Michael Donegan completed a master’s degree in leadership last summer at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated with honors. English teacher William Eggers was awarded a Ph.D. in English Literature last summer from University of Connecticut. His dissertation is titled “‘Misticall Unions’: Clandestine Communications from Tristan to Twelfth Night.” Arabic teacher Ludmila Zamah and her husband, residential faculty member Kasumu Usman, welcomed twin boys, Saleem Abraham Zamah Usman and Yaseen Solomon Zamah Usman, on January 7. Sculptor Jennifer McCandless, head of the Visual Arts Department, was one of six artists featured in “The Art Educators Show: Inspiring the Next Generation of Artists” at the Windsor Art Center in January and February. Scott MacClintic ’82 (below), director of the Henry R. Kravis ’63 Center for Excellence in Teaching, and history teacher J.R. Zavisza presented at a Connecticut Association of Independent Schools conference in January. Scott’s presentation, “Professional Development in the Twittersphere,” taught attendees how to use Twitter to enhance their professional knowlScott McClintic Photo: John Groo edge and skills. J.R. shared his experience with an open-ended project on 9/11 that he assigned to juniors in his American Civilization class last spring. William J. Hoppe, business manager at Loomis from 1958 to 1973, reports that he and his wife, Margaret, became great-grandparents in September, when their granddaughter gave birth to twin girls in Delaware. Chief Philanthropic Officer Timothy Struthers ’85 was a panelist at a conference on international fundraising sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in February. Speaking on the topic “Being All Things to All People: The Challenges and Rewards of Wearing Multiple Hats in International Fundraising,” Tim and panelists from University of California-Berkeley and Amherst College discussed their varied roles as the primary faces of their institutions overseas.
READERS’ VOICES Equestrian Message
I
was surprised and disappointed to see the cover and 12 inside pages of the winter issue of Loomis Chaffee ("At the Barn," page 36) devoted to the equestrian program. Now I have nothing against horses that, after all, were partners to human endeavor for millennia. And I know that horses can be important to young people who may be struggling to find their way. What I do find surprising is that an academic powerhouse would chose to showcase its equestrian activities in its primary alumni fundraising vehicle. Really, is this the image school leaders wish to project? For me, the story reinforces my suspicion that the little school I joined as a 5-year-old in Mr. B’s final years, which my two brothers and I attended and where our father taught for 25 years, has become largely a place for the wealthy and the privileged. The school always had its very wealthy, of course, but I don’t remember them ever being headlined. Despite my many years in the corporate world I remain an unreconstructed progressive democrat and I like to think that some of the idealism still pumping through these septuagenarian veins was instilled in the Loomis classroom. I suppose the Loomis constitution, as represented in the words of the founding fathers, is a living document, but I have always liked the notion that boys and girls could originally attend tuition-free and that there were special places for local day girls and boys. I always liked being different and I thought more egalitarian than Hotchkiss, or Taft, or Choate, though maybe not than Mt. Hermon. —John H. Howard ’56 with Peter B. Howard ’54
The Mason Name
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t was hardly a surprise to read that some current students were having qualms about John Mason, on account of his leadership role in the “Pequot Massacre.” (Loomis Chaffee Magazine, Winter 2016, "When a Hero Falls from
Grace," page 15) After all, much better known early Americans such as Robert E. Lee and even Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Jackson have come under attack of late. It seems that hardly a week goes by when a statue is not pulled down, or a street, mountain or building renamed. It might be valuable to consider that John Mason did not act alone. He had the support not only of the nascent Connecticut settlements but of Uncas and most of the native inhabitants. For his success, Mason was not only rewarded with honors and financial remunerations, but later became governor of the colony. I would suspect, absent evidence to the contrary, that his actions were supported by the Rev. John Warham, the Loomis family, and my ancestor John Porter, whose home was a stone’s throw from the old Chaffee campus. Furthermore, the Pequot had earned a reputation as fierce fighters and oppressors of other native groups within present-day Connecticut. This does not justify their massacre, but it should give us pause. Young people always suppose they are more enlightened than those who came before us. Later generations may find in them flaws of which they are not now even aware. Knocking historical figures off of their pedestals is heady stuff, and allows us to feel so, so superior. The problem is, like Pandora’s box, once you open this process it is hard to stop. It is instructive to understand the flaws of historical personages. That doesn’t necessarily mean we banish them to the “outer darkness.” —the Rev. Alan B. Hooker ’68 To read more letters to the editor, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.
We welcome and encourage your opinions and reactions. Although letters may be edited for clarity, length, and accuracy, they always reflect the opinion of the writer and not necessarily that of the school. Please submit comments to Loomis Chaffee Magazine Editors, The Loomis Chaffee School, 4 Batchelder Road, Windsor CT 06095; or magazine@loomis.org.