KnightTimes Fall 2012

THE MA GA Z I NE O F PA CE A CA DE MY

THE MAGAZINE OF PACE ACADEMY BACK

KnightTimes TO SCH OOL 2009

FALL 2012

A SPACE THAT INSPIRES: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE

NEW UPPER SCHOOL

• THE BLANK FAMILY MAKES LEAD GIFT • SANDY COOPER ’79 DESIGNS NEW BUILDING • ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE

GLOBAL EDUCATION GOES

Up, Up and Away!

The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School Double the space. In the footprint of the current building, the fourstory Upper School will increase the space to 75,000 square feet and allow for a more comfortable environment condusive to learning.

Advanced technology. The new building will be equipped with stateof-the-art computer labs; a 3,800-square-foot Academic Resource Center; and math, science and foreign language labs that will allow students access to the most advanced technology.

Enhance the campus and foster community. Attention to exterior and interior design details will instill pride in our campus. The Student Commons will stimulate conversation and discussion among students. Modern design features and thoughtful planning will inspire students to become confident citizens of the world.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VOLUNTEERS FOR GIVING THEIR TIME AND TALENTS TO THE FALL FAIR.

THANK YOU TO THESE COMPANIES AND FAMILIES FOR SPONSORING THE 2012 FALL FAIR.

LEGENDARY DRAGONS - $10,000

KEEPER OF THE KEYS - $5,000

Contributors

Anne Alexander

Contents

Anne is the mother of WILSON ʼ14 and JULIAN ALEXANDER ʼ17. An experienced educator with 15 years of teaching experience in both the public and private sectors, she is currently teaching fourth grade in the Pace Lower School.

Her passion is teaching sustainability from an elementary-school perspective, and her blog, Back to Basics for Our Youth, is a forum for both educational, environmental and nutritional issues to empower students.

Mary Logan Barmeyer Bikoff ’01

After graduating from Pace, Mary Logan earned degrees in magazine journalism and international affairs from the University of Georgia. She interned at Atlanta magazine and then moved to New York, where she worked for the National Geographic Green Guide, Paper magazine, and Condé Nast publications like Glamour and Style.com. While in New York, she earned a master’s degree in American studies from Columbia University and worked on a permanent exhibition at the New-York Historical Society museum. She and her husband, David, lived in Chattanooga for one year and returned to Atlanta after their May wedding.

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Letter from the Editor POTION MASTERS - $2,500

MYSTICAL CHARMERS - $1,000

The Alkire Family . The Aronson Family . The Bell Family . Deep Blue Insight The Karamanolis Family . Patrick Malloy Communities . Stone Summit CASTER OF SPELLS - $500

Atlanta Orthodontics Specialists . The Bethel Family . Michele and Patrick Boushka . Brown Bag Marketing . The Cleveland Family The Cochran Family . The Crawford Family . The Curtin Family . The Flint Family . The Frooman Family . The Funston Family The Haydon Family . The Hingst Family . The Hobbs Family . The Hood Family . The Lalaji Family . The LaMastra Family The Luetters Family . Jenny and Miles Marks . The Mathias Family . The Ritchie Family . Roberts & Daughdrill, P.C The Schuessler Family . The Shippen Family . South of Market . The Stamoulis Family The Stebbins Family . Upchurch/Allen Family . Heather and Rod White

KNIGHT OWLS - $250

The Brown Family . The Costanzo Family . The Ferro Family . The Janki Family . The Irvin Family . The Litvak Family . The Lubin Family The Maske Family . The Nuckols Family . The Chris Payne Family . The Owens Family . Peachtree Smile Center The Swann Family . The Tanasa Family . The Thompson Family . The Zubari Family

MAGICIAN'S APPRENTICE - $100 The Baker Family . The Caton Family . Sandy and Rob Farinella . The Gash Family . Sarah and Bill Gray . The Hashim Kids . The McCall Kids Kweli Moyo . Brendan, Andrew & Hannah Pace . Jennifer and Brian Queen . Pattie Simone and Rob Schreiner The Snyder Family . South of Hampton . The Yang Family . The Zhao Family

IN KIND Brightway Insurance . Coca-Cola . Lanier Parking . The Paper Route . Performance Orthopeadics . Southeast Site Services

Our apologies to the sponsors whose names were not included due to our early print deadline.

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

I first visited Pace as a prospective student during my eighth-grade year. ThenAdmissions Director GEORGE MENGERT had arranged for me to spend a morning attending classes with CATHERINE WOODLING ʼ00, and I was nervous.

Back then, Pace had no Middle School— the seventh and eighth grades went to class on the lower levels of the current Upper School building (now the history hallway), and the sixth grade was still part of the Lower School. Lockers lined the walls, making the already narrow hallways even more difficult to navigate; the space was CATHERINE WOODLING ’00 and I have poorly lit; and you could smell lunch from been friends since she hosted me as a just about anywhere in the building. prospective student in 1996.

I had visited a number of independent schools during the admissions process— many with nicer facilities, more bells and whistles. But there was just something about Pace. More than the building, I remember Catherine’s warmth, BEN THORPE’S ʼ00 insightful comments in KELLY HAMMOND’s English class, thinking SCOTT KOHLER ʼ00 was super-cute and the familiar, welcoming atmosphere I encountered all over campus. According to my mother, I climbed into the car that afternoon and proclaimed that Pace “just feels like home.”

The current Upper School has been home to generations of Pace students, but walk its halls today and it’s clear that IT’S TIME for something better. It’s been exciting to watch the plans for The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School unfold and to contribute to the Aim High campaign as an alumnus and staff member. The new facility will look very different than our current space, but I have no doubt that prospective students who visit the Upper School in the years to come will experience the same Pace Academy I encountered more than 15 years ago.

22 8 NEWS What you need to know 10 AROUND PACE A look at what’s happening at Pace 18 UP, UP AND AWAY Students travel the world this summer, and we announce the 2013 Global Education study tours 22 IT’S TIME TO AIM HIGH A look at the The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School 32 THE ALUMNI CHALLENGE Alumni are asked to invest in tomorrow’s leaders to help build the new Upper School 36 ALL IN THE FAMILY Architect SANDY COOPER ’79 is behind Pace’s new building 38 ALUMNI Where are they now?

Caitlin Goodrich ’00

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

KnightTimes | Fall 2012

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LET T ER F R OM TH E H E A D O F S C H O O L

Booster

Bash

11.3.12

KnightTimes Fred Assaf H EA D OF SC H OOL

Division Heads Michael Gannon H E A D OF U PP E R SC H OOL

John Anderson

Celebrating all Pace Athletes and coaches

Past, Present and Future

H EA D OF MID D LE SC H OOL

Anna Valerius H E A D OF LOWE R SC H OOL

Communications Department Caitlin Goodrich '00 D IR EC TOR OF C OMMU N IC ATION S

Jessica Castleberry C OMMU N IC ATION S AS S OC IATE, GR A P H IC D E S IGN E R

Bonni Bigler-Sokolsky WE B MA N A GER

Our Mission

2012 Booster Bash Saturday, November 3 7 p.m. in the Inman Center Casual attire—blue and white, if you like.

Live and silent auction.

Food by Local 3 and King of Pops.

To create prepared, confident citizens of the world who honor the values of Pace Academy and who will preserve the legacy of our school for future generations.

Pace Cares Are you aware of a member of our community who is experiencing an illness or loss or is blessed with a new arrival? Pace Cares would love to help by delivering a home-cooked meal prepared by our dedicated volunteer cooks.

Please call the Pace Cares hotline at 404-926-3727.

To purchase tickets and to pre-register online for the auction, please visit www.paceacademy.org/boosterbash.

Please purchase tickets by October 25.

Ticket Info: General Admission: $50 per ticket Club Level: $250 (two tickets and a special Pace gift) Suite Level: $1,500 (includes a banner* at the event, two tickets and a special Pace gift) *Learn more about the banner when you register online.

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

966 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta, GA 30327 www.paceacademy.org To contribute ideas for the KnightTimes, please email Caitlin Goodrich at cgoodrich@paceacademy.org.

Ushering in a New Era Dear Pace Family, This issue of the KnightTimes has been six years in the making. In 2006, the Board of Trustees identified a new Upper School as the final piece of its Long-Range Master Campus Plan. And now, IT’S TIME. On Aug. 13, two days before the start of school, we launched the Aim High campaign to build The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. Colorful banners, balloons and Aim High-themed games greeted students when they arrived on campus that first day. It was a wonderful way to kick off a new year and celebrate what’s to come for Pace.

As we go to print, Aim High has reached the $23-million mark—more than 70 percent of our $32-million goal. Every Board member has made a four-year pledge, and faculty giving is at 100 percent.

Our Facilities team (also at 100-percent participation!) has begun preparing the

campus for construction, and our students are busy making plans commemorate the existing Upper School. It’s an exciting time!

In this issue, you’ll find everything you need to know about The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. We talk to lead donor ARTHUR BLANK and architect SANDY COOPER ʼ79, provide a timeline for construction and our plans for the Academic Village, and acknowledge our campaign leadership.

We also take a look back at this summer’s Global Education study tours and celebrate the accomplishments of our students.

Finally, we remember PAT HOWELLS and her incredible contributions to our community.

She is missed.

Thank you for investing your time, talent and treasure in Pace. It’s going to be great year. I hope you’ll join us as we Aim High!

IT’S TIME!

Fred Assaf

HEAD OF SCHOOL

P.S. Be sure to visit www.paceacademy.org/ aimhigh to take a virtual tour of The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School.

KnightTimes | Fall 2012

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N EWS NEWS Sole Sisters

From left, TAJ GILLANI, ANDREW SCHETTINO, MICHELLE YANCICH, JORDAN EPSTEIN, MARYSE LAPU, LAUREN SCHAFFER and MORGAN LAMBERT. Not pictured, TIGER BROWN, JON ADELMAN and KATJA MARTIN.

Seniors Earn National Recognition The National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) is an academic competition among the more than 1.5 million high school students who take the PSAT each year. The Pace Class of 2013 includes eight National Merit Semifinalists, two National Achievement Semifinalists and 11 National Merit Commended Scholars.

NMSP names approximately 16,000 Semifinalists each September. These students are the highestearning entrants in each state and advance in the competition for National Merit Scholarships. This year’s Semifinalists are seniors JON ADELMAN, JORDAN EPSTEIN, TAJ GILLANI, MORGAN LAMBERT, KATJA MARTIN, LAUREN SCHAFFER, ANDREW SCHETTINO and MICHELLE YANCICH. In addition, seniors TIGER BROWN and MARYSE LAPU have been named National Achievement Semifinalists. This distinction honors Black American students for academic success. Only 1,600 of the 160,000 students who enter the National Achievement Program each year are named Semifinalists and advance in the competition. National Merit and National Achievement finalists will be announced in early 2013.

NMSP awards Commended Scholar status to approximately 34,000 high scorers in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. This year’s Commended Scholars are seniors JACK ASSAF, JACK BOWEN, MEREDITH BRADSHAW, PAULA CHENG, BEN HIRSCH, BRIAN KLARMAN, ALEX NASH, ANDREW MCCALL, SUZANNE MONYAK, ZACH STEINFELD and GEORGIA TSE.

Service Learning Receives President’s Volunteer Service Award Atlanta Community Food Bank 2011-12 service leaders ANDREW HARTON ʼ12, JOHN HOFFMAN ʼ12, ZACH LAMB ʼ12 and junior WILLIAM RUSHTON, were recognized over the summer for their service to the organization.

As a result of these students’ leadership and enthusiasm, Pace received a Bronze Presidential

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

Volunteer Service Award. The award recognizes young adults who are committed to serving the nation and making a difference through volunteer service. The Bronze Level award is given to individuals or groups who commit between 100 and 174 hours of service to a nonprofit organization over a 12-month period.

On Sept. 8, Middle School teachers HOLLY JIMÉNEZ, TARA HARRIS, EDNA-MAY HERMOSILLO and EMILY CAMP, also known as the Pace Academy Sole Sisters, competed in the Ekiden Relay in Piedmont Park. During the 27K relay race, each team member ran a 3.5-mile loop.

Unfortunately, EDEN TRESIZE was sick, but Jimenez stepped up to the plate and ran two legs of the race. The team placed first in the Corporate Small Women category with a time of 2:03:35.

St. Martin’s Honors Eden Third-grade teacher CHRISTIAN EDEN’s former classroom at St. Martin’s Episcopal School was dedicated in his honor at a ceremony on Aug. 22. The parents who participated in the ceremony told Eden that this renovated room would always be his.

He was named Teacher of the Year during his last year at St. Martin’s and joined the Pace third-grade team in 2011.

The varsity cheerleading team. Not pictured, TESS DILLON.

We’ve Got Spirit!

PACE’S GROWING CHEERLEADING SQUADS SHOW DEDICATION OVER THE SUMMER To many, cheerleaders simply lead our classmates and parents in Rock with the White and Roll with the Blue. However, Pace cheerleading is becoming so much more than that.

In May, more than 40 girls crammed into the wrestling/ gymnastics room, full of butterflies and jitters. As the afternoon progressed, we learned material that would decide who made the varsity or junior varsity teams. As the week came to a close, the team division list was posted with the summer conditioning workout schedule.

Weeks upon weeks of runs, weights and tumbling practice led up to a four-day UCA cheer camp at The University of Georgia.

Eighteen girls from Pace attended, and our partial squad competed against teams from all over the state of Georgia with a dance and cheer routine that we put together.

Pace came home with all “Superior” ribbons, the highest accolade a team can achieve. We won a trophy, a spirit stick and the sacred banana on day one. The banana is an award given to the squad with the most spirit

throughout the entire camp of 500 athletes, and only two out of approximately 30 teams earned the banana each day.

While at camp we learned many new stunts, dances and cheers and, on the third day, four Pace cheerleaders tried out for All American Cheerleader, the most prestigious award in high school cheerleading. Two of our very own athletes, freshman SYDNEY SOMMERVILLE and junior SYMONE SOMMERVILLE (daughters of longtime physical education teacher MARK SOMMERVILLE and Pre-First associate teacher KAREN SOMMERVILLE) were named All American Athletes—another great triumph for Pace!

A few short weeks later, all Pace cheerleading squads joined together for a work week. There we learned cheers, new stunts, taught others dances learned at camp and refined skills from last year. All in all, the Pace cheerleading squad is climbing to new heights and levels! Come out to a game this season so we can show you what we have been working so hard on! Go Knights!

– by Elizabeth Willis ’15

Already All-American

SOPHOMORE RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCLAIM This summer, the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association named sophomore HARRISON MONCINO a Diving All-American for the 2011-12 season. Moncino is one of 100 high school divers and one of nine athletes nationwide to receive this honor as a freshman. Moncino is the 2012 State 1-4A runner-up in diving and was selected to Third-Team All-State this past season.

KnightTimes | Fall 2012

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A R O U N D PA C E

What’s Happening at the Academy 1. Welcome Back!

5. APES Goes Bananas!

There’s never a dull moment on the first day of school! From the Pre-First classrooms to the Senior Cellar, students celebrated the arrival of a new year with energy and fun.

The 47 students in Advanced Placement Environmental Science took a field trip to Zoo Atlanta with Pre-Firsters on Sept. 25.

2. Fall Sports Festival

The sixth grade traveled to High Harbour, a YMCA camp on Lake Burton, from Aug. 2224. The group spent three days navigating ropes courses, eating delicious camp food, swimming, boating, tubing and catapulting off the famous blob, a large inflatable raft.

On Sunday, Aug. 25, the Pace community gathered for the Booster Club’s Fall Sports Festival, which celebrated all athletes and the launch of the Aim High campaign.

Everyone enjoyed food, family-friendly activities, football agility drills, a Middle School scrimmage game and a performance by the Pace cheerleaders. Aetna, Community & Southern Bank, Southeast Site Services and J+J/Invision sponsored the event, which was chaired by Pace parent TOM BETHEL.

3. Freshmen Go to Camp

PACE ACADEMY UPPER SCHOOL THEATRE PRESENTS THE FALL MUSICAL,

november 8-11, 2012 FINE ARTS CENTER TICKETS GO ON SALE OCTOBER 21.

WWW.PACEACADEMY.ORG/ PERFORMINGARTS

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Just before the start of school, the ninth grade traveled to Camp Skyline in Mentone, Ala. With 29 new students, the grade spent time participating in team-building activities led by the senior Peer Leaders and the camp staff. Students stepped out of their comfort zones to tackle daunting challenges on the ropes course, and Class Dean BROOKS FLEMING commended the entire group for its leadership and spirit.

4. Seventh Grade Heads Into the Woods Camp Kanuga played host to the seventh grade for the first time Aug. 27-29. Situated on 1,400 mountain acres near Hendersonville, N.C., Kanuga was the perfect place for students to kick off the year and bond as a class while enjoying all kinds of outdoor adventures.

6. Bonding on the Blob

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7. Random Acts of Kindness Day This year, the Lower School has embraced the incredible power of giving and instituted monthly Random Acts of Kindness Days as part of its Pillars of Character program. The first day took place Aug. 22, and several classes made cards for new students, office staff and former teachers. One student even wrote a note and snuck it into her mother’s suitcase as she was leaving for a trip.

8. Former NBA Star Addresses Students Former NBA standout Chris Herren, left, with freshman OWEN MONCINO, visited Pace on Sept. 11 and spoke with Upper School students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Herren played for the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics while struggling with substance abuse that nearly killed him.

Drug- and alcohol-free since 2008, Herren founded Hoop 8 Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc., a basketball player development company, and released his memoir, Basketball Junkie, in 2011. He is also the founder of The Herren Project, a non-profit foundation that assists individuals and families struggling with addiction.

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N EWS

AROUND PACE

Pacesetters

HONORING STUDENTS WHO SET THE PACE FOR THE SCHOOL filmed two movies, Ring of Fire, a Lifetime Network production in which she played young June Carter Cash and a short film called Porcelain. Sullivan also appeared as Virginia in Yes, Virginia the Musical, a Broadway-style musical based on an animated, nonmusical television special, Yes, Virginia, that Macy’s has sponsored on CBS since 2009 as part of its Christmas advertising campaign. Macy’s will share the musical with schools through a website, www.yesvirginiamusical.com.

Seniors Celebrate All Things Vintage

KAMERON UTER, left, and JAROD DATOC

Datoc and Uter National Champions

In July, juniors JARED DATOC and KAMERON UTER, together with their teammates on the 16U East Cobb Titans Baseball Club, defeated the 17U New Jersey Tigers 15-0 in the finals of the AAU Underclass National Championship at Jet Blue Stadium, the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla. Right-handed pitcher Uter helped the Titans advance out of pool play with three critical relief appearances in the grueling Florida heat. Datoc had four appearances in relief, including a save and win in crucial win-or-go-home quarterfinal and semi-final games respectively. When not on the mound, Datoc played second base and boosted the Titans offense by hitting .476 with nine RBI over the six-day tournament.

Datoc was identified by Perfect Game as a class of 2014 top prospect and traveled to San Diego in August to represent the east coast in the 2012 National Games. Datoc’s team beat the USA team in the championship.

Superstar Mary Stewart Sullivan

Fifth-grader MARY STEWART SULLIVAN had a busy summer. The aspiring actress

Seniors SARA MULLALLY, MADISON SNYDER and ELLIE WEBER (daughter of JAY BURDETTE WEBER ’77) recently teamed up with BEE, a sustainable and non-toxic home furnishings and gift boutique owned by Pace parent JILLIAN PRITCHARD COOKE, to introduce the store’s newest front-window vignettes.

Mullally, Snyder and Weber studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City this summer, where they took classes in sewing, styling and merchandising.

The theme of the vignettes, Bar-BEE, played on mid-century and vintage Barbie fashion. The collaboration reinforced that eco-friendly and non-toxic designs can be equally creative, beautiful SARA MULLALLY, MADISON SNYDER and safe. In September, and ELLIE WEBER BEE and the seniors collaborated once more to hold a clothing donation drive for Threads, the All Saints’ Episcopal Church mission devoted to clothing children in need with dignity.

MARY STEWART SULLIVAN with co-star Jewel in Ring Of Fire.

Jewel played the adult June Carter Cash.

PACE ACADEMY AND ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY PRESENT

A SENSE OF PLACE ON DISPLAY UNTIL NOV. 2 IN THE FINE ARTS CENTER

A juried exhibition featuring the work of photographers from the SlowExposures group, which celebrate the complexity, beauty and contradictions of the rural South.

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

What’s Eating Katie? Takes the Stage COMBATTING EATING DISORDERS BECOMES A PACE FAMILY AFFAIR A talented playwright can communicate an important message by mixing compelling stories, music and even dance. And when a theatre production connects a multigenerational audience, the experience lives on beyond the stage. With What’s Eating Katie?, Pace parent DINA ZECKHAUSEN has created a powerful piece of theatre that tackles ZECKHAUSEN, left, with husband GERALD and sons the touchy and often misunderstood SCHUYLER and COOPER. subject of teen eating disorders.

A psychologist, founder of The Eating Disorders Information Network (EDIN), and mother of COOPER ’15 and SCHUYLER DROSE ’18, Zeckhausen wrote the play What’s Eating Katie? in 1996 after attending a conference on narrative therapy. It was first performed at a neighboring school where it became a regular event due to its long-lasting message and the opportunity it afforded students to direct and perform.

But for Zeckhausen, What’s Eating Katie? wasn’t quite finished.

“A year ago, after years of watching the amazing musicals at Pace, I decided the show would be much more powerful as a musical,” she says. “So I rewrote the dialogues, made them rhyme and found a composer to write the music under the words.”

The musical version of What’s Eating Katie? debuted this summer at the Alliance Theatre and was something of a Pace community event, with Schuyler Drose, freshman RYAN DUVALL and sophomore ALYSSA CALLOWAY all playing parts. The students, motivated by their theatre training at Pace, had auditioned for the Alliance Theatre Summer Drama Camp and discovered that their two-week experience would culminate in a live performance of What’s Eating Katie?.

The two-act musical centers around the teenage Katie and Ed (aka Eating Disorder), the voice inside her head. Ed convinces Katie that she’d be happier and more popular if she just shed a few pounds. What starts out innocently enough quickly takes a destructive turn, and Katie turns from starving herself to binging and purging. By Act II, Ed, the lascivious, almost seductive voice at the beginning of the play, reveals himself to be an obsessive,

abusive character that Katie must separate herself from in order to survive.

Though teens often know that eating disorders are dangerous, What’s Eating Katie? illustrates how serious the problem has become. It doesn’t take long for the teenage audience to see Ed for what he is and realize it’s up to them to fight any messages their own voices might be sending.

For the Pace students involved in the production, What’s Eating Katie? was an unforgettable experience that encouraged them to explore the creative process.

“Instead of basing the roles off of someone else who previously portrayed it, we got to take the characters in any direction that we and the director saw fit,” Duvall explains.

But more than that, the experience taught a powerful lesson. “It’s extremely important to watch your actions and words around people, because everyone has [his or her] own personal issues,” says Calloway. “Your SCHUYLER and COOPER DROSE actions and words have the with sophomore ALYSSA CALLOWAY power to either help a person or hurt them. And we all need to do a little more helping.”

“I was really motivated to try to help [Zeckhausen] and everyone associated with the musical to get its message out there,” says Duvall.

Zeckhausen and her husband, GERALD DROSE, established Powers Ferry Psychological Associates, a practice that includes 20 psychologists with a variety of specialties. In 1996, Zeckhausen founded EDIN as a non-profit devoted to raising awareness about eating disorders.

For more information about What’s Eating Katie?, visit www. whatseatingkatie.com. For information about Dina Zeckhausen and EDIN, visit www.dinazeckhausen.com.

— by Anne Alexander

PACE ACADEMY AND ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY INVITE YOU TO

INDIA: THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

NOV. 1-30 IN THE FINE ARTS CENTER A group of Pace Upper School students participated in the Global Education trip to India this summer. This exhibit showcases their photography.

KnightTimes | Fall 2012

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AROUND PACE

IN MEMORIAM

Faculty Focus on Diversity

A Better Boyd

The new campus store, located in Boyd Gym lobby.

Summer was anything but sleepy at Pace. The facilities team worked hard to prepare for the school year and the changes necessary to begin construction on the Academic Village and The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. Crews renovated the Boyd Gymnasium lobby, creating a new campus store and updating the restrooms to allow for handicap access. The basketball court was refinished and, thanks to the generous support of the Booster Club, the gym is now air-conditioned. The store is open Monday through Friday from 1-4 p.m. and from 7:30-9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Pace faculty and staff from all divisions started the 201213 school year with a professional development session focused on diversity.

Dr. Robert Covert of the University of Virginia and Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, led the group through exercises and facilitated discussion about the value of diversity in the classroom and ways to build value and learning into our differences.

A Summer Without Limits In July, Pace hosted the inaugural session of Verano Sin Límites (translated Summer Without Limits). Part of the school’s Hispanic/Latino Initiative, the four-week educational experience promotes academic excellence for Hispanic/Latino middle school students.

The program, in partnership with the Brookhaven Boys

Calling All Scientists!

& Girls Clubs and funded by a generous grant from The Goizueta Foundation, included workshops in sports, art, health and nutrition, math, science, leadership and language study, as well as cultural activities and off-campus excursions. Sixteen campers took part in Verano Sin Límites, and Pace students and faculty served as camp coordinators and counselors.

The Upper School is looking for Pace parents, alumni and friends who work in scientific fields to partner with students to take science education beyond the classroom and provide relevant, real-world experience. Partners would leverage their expertise and create contacts for field trips, internships, guest lectures, mentors, seminars and other needs. All types of scientists are needed: engineers, chemists, doctors, nurses, biologists, computer scientists or anyone with a company that employs scientists. If you are interested and willing to lend your professional experience and time, please contact Science Department Chair JONATHAN DAY at jday@paceacademy.org.

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

Remembering Pat Howells If you have called or stopped by the Castle front desk in the past 23 years, chances are you have spoken to PAT HOWELLS. A beloved staff member, she cheerfully greeted visitors, manned the intercom system and generally held the school together for more than two decades. Howells, the voice of Pace Academy, tragically passed away on July 31 after a fall at her home.

Howells began her service at Pace as a parent and volunteer extraordinaire. Mother of BETH HOWELLS THOMPSON ’90, BARBARA HOWELLS BOUKATER ’92 and JOHNNY HOWELLS ’95, she, with her husband JOHN, was a fixture at Pace activities and events.

Before beginning her work at the Castle front desk, Howells chaired the Auction, served as president of the Parents Club and played multiple roles within the school’s parent organizations.

As an employee, Howells helped Pace grow into a truly 21st-century institution. “When Pat came to work at the front desk, only a few people had phones and messages were delivered on pink slips,” recalls longtime staff member PAM TISDALE, whose sons carpooled with the Howells children during their Pace Lower School years.

“She was responsible for modernizing The Howells family the phone system. She was always looking for a better way.”

Howells also was part of the team responsible for creating the school’s first database and printed directory—a major improvement over the typed index cards that once held families’ contact information. “You could drive by Pace at 7 p.m. and Pat’s car would still be here,” says Tisdale. “She always had a new project or was learning a new version of the latest technology.

She was fascinated by all of that. The newest bestseller, the latest movie or iPhone—everything in the world around Pat was interesting to her.”

Over the years, Howells’ varied interests led her beyond the Castle and onto the Fine Arts Center stage. A theatre major at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., Howells performed in 10 Pace Fall Musicals. “Pat and I attended [St. Pius X Catholic High School] together and were involved in the theatre program there,” says Upper School Theatre Director GEORGE MENGERT. “We reconnected when her children came to Pace. Her husband, John, later suggested that Pat might like to get back onstage, and I cast her in The Fantasticks in 1986.”

The Grand Dame of Pace Theatre, Howells would go on to play Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music, Lady Brockhurst in The Boyfriend, Ethel Merman in Red Hot and Cole, the voice of the Giant in 1991’s Into the Woods, Widow Paroo in The Music Man,

General Cartwright in Guys and Dolls and Aunt Eller in 1999’s Oklahoma!

“As an actress, she always knew her lines ahead of time,” says Mengert, who fondly remembers Saturday-night post-musical parties at the Howells’ home. “She was very organized and calm under pressure. You never had to tell her anything twice.”

Howells brought that same attention to detail and composure to work every day. “Pat very patiently taught me how to use the computer, and I watched in awe as she juggled the many responsibilities of the job she made look so easy,” says SUZIE DONALDSON, former Pace parent and Howells’ other half during the 11 years she spent at the front desk. “[In her role], you have to be a counselor, admissions representative, ticket salesman, phone repairman, party planner and receptionist all at the same time. Pat was a master of them all.”

But Howells was more than just business—she was fun. She, Tisdale and Donaldson planned the “Castle Crew” holiday party every year, a tradition that includes an always-hilarious white elephant gift exchange. She loved to laugh and always enjoyed a good glass of wine. “She was a great friend,” says Tisdale. “And she absolutely adored her family—John, her children and their spouses, and her [six] grandchildren.”

“To know Pat Howells was to know her heart,” her family wrote following her death. “She loved so many and so much and was so loved. Pat loved her family and her faith, St. Mary’s and Pace, her book club and her Castle Crew, smushed-face dogs and Notre Dame football. She could always be found passionately discussing movies and books, organizing family gatherings or playing bocce with bubbly on the beach at Hilton Head.”

And for Pace, the school she loved, Howells was always there.

“Pat wasn’t working on Sept. 11, 2001,” remembers Donaldson.

“Late in the morning, when we all knew our lives had changed forever, she called. She said she was coming in to help. We were in the midst of trying to figure out how to dismiss the kids and what to tell the anxious parents when they came to get their children. And even though there was nothing we could do, when Pat came around the corner, we all felt better. We always did …”

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Holy Spirit Catholic Church of Atlanta, Ga.; St. Maryʼs College in Notre Dame, Ind.; or the Aim High campaign.

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Costa Rica

2013 UppER School tRiPS

Ce A P E H t G BrIN S R u O T Y D STu L o o H C iFE S L R O t M UPPe u L CuRRICU

GERMANY - Jan. 12-22 BOLIVIA - March 1-11 BIG BEND, TX - March 2-9 BAJA, MEXICO - March 2-9 CHINA - Feb. 28-March 10

Pace Upper School students continue to traverse the globe, traveling to cities near and far through the Global Education program. This summer was no different. Upper School students and faculty members journeyed to Costa Rica, England, India, Japan and South Africa.

ALASKA - May 25-June 8 RUSSIA - May 25-June 8 SPAIN - May 25-June 8 ITALY - June 22-July 2

Check out the student travel blog at knightlife.paceacademy.org/travel/.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY AND LONDON - July 21-27

>

Up Up, and Away

TURKEY - July 20-30

Costa Rica Ten Spanish-language students increased their proficiency while studying at a Spanish-language school, living with Costa Rican families and exploring the natural beauty and biodiversity of the island.

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England Pace is privileged to be part of Cambridge University’s Society of International Business Fellows summer program. Students participated in an array of lectures and seminars while exploring Britain.

India This arts/photography-focused study tour explored the art and culture of modern and ancient India. The eight participants’ resulting artwork will be showcased in the India – The Golden Triangle exhibit from Nov. 1-30 in the Pace Fine Arts Center.

Japan Designed in conjunction with the math and science departments, this study tour allowed 13 students to explore the dichotomy of modern and ancient Japan.

South Africa Through this service-focused study tour, 29 students and five faculty members partnered with Ubuntu Education Fund and Coca-Cola Fortune, a Coca-Cola bottler in South Africa, to work with children at the Sivuyiseni Intermediate School.

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Greece

MiDDLE SChOOL GLoBAL EDuCATiON GRoWS “I’m really interested in ancient history, and going to Greece was the perfect way to learn more about it,” says freshman TORY DANCU, who participated in a Middle School Global Education study tour to Greece this summer. “Whenever we went to a ruin site, we would learn a lot because our chaperones knew so much about the history of the places. I learned that people can be different from you but you still have to respect them and learn from the experiences you had with them.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the goal of Pace Academy’s Global Education program. Mission accomplished.

Since the program launched, international study tours have been frequently offered for Upper School students, but students in the Middle School have had few to choose from. That’s all changing. With the appointment of KIM PETERSON as director of Middle School Global Education and an increased focus on the travel experience, Middle School students may choose from four study tours in 2013, and the number of future trips is sure to grow.

“We realized the demand was there when 90 students showed up for an informational meeting about the Greece trip,” says Peterson. The solution was to offer two trips, and both quickly filled.

In June, Peterson, along with sixth-grade history teacher GRAHAM ANTHONY and an additional chaperone (Head of School FRED ASSAF on the first trip and Middle School Administrative Assistant/Registrar DEIRDRE ABRAMS on the second), traveled to Athens with 21 students. From Delphi and Thermopylae to Olympia, Corinth and Crete, the group explored Greece, walking in the footsteps of history. Students

ran foot races in Olympic stadium, visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis, and saw a plane, submerged since World War II’s Battle of Crete, via a glass-bottomed boat.

“My favorite site was the theater at Epidaurus, where if you stand in a certain spot and speak just louder than a whisper, people in the back row can hear you,” says seventh-grader ANNA STONE. It’s that combination of educational activities and fun that makes Middle School Global Education successful. “[Peterson] and I tried hard to create a balance between visiting historic sites and allowing students time to enjoy the modern culture of each place,” says Anthony. “The kids did enjoy navigating the Palace at Knossos or exploring the Oracle at Delphi, but we tried not to overwhelm them by simply going from site to site all day.

Instead, we would couple a long stay at a historic site with a stop at the beach or free time. Even during their down time, students build important traveling skills—ordering in restaurants, settling bills, negotiating prices and following their budgets.”

And while major life lessons abound on trips like these, sometimes more practical knowledge makes an even bigger impact: “Don’t wander!” seventh-grader DANIEL BLUMEN says emphatically.

“And don’t forget you can’t flush toilet paper in Greece,” advises Stone. “If you do, you are in a bad situation.”

Greece

Visit www.paceacademy.org/globaled for more information about upcoming study tours.

KiM PETERSoN DiRECTOR Of MiDDLE SChOOL GLoBAL EDuCATION

2013 Middle School Study Tours

Puerto Rico March 2-7, led by HOLLY JIMÉNEZ and PETE POPE

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Italy Feb. 28-March 9, led by GRAHAM ANTHONY and KIM PETERSON

France Early June, led by EDNA-MAY HERMOSILLO and ANDREW HEACOCK

Pacific Northwest July 21-31, led by EMILY CAMP and TARA HARRIS

The travel bug bit Middle School Latin teacher KIM PETERSON early. “As a seventh grader, I went with my school to England, France and Italy,” Peterson says. “And once I started traveling, I couldn’t stop.”

That love for foreign people and places has taken Peterson all over the globe. As an undergraduate student at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., she spent a semester in Crete and a May-mester in Greece, experiences that inspired her to ditch medicine and pursue classical studies. Peterson went on to earn her M.A.T in secondary Latin education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and, as part of her degree requirement, participated in the American Academy in Rome’s summer program, which examined the history, culture and topography of ancient Rome.

FPO-FRED TOOK Since then, Peterson has traveled to Australia, Austria, Barbados, Germany, France, Belgium, ALBUM DOWN Luxembourg, England, Ireland, Canada and Mexico. She has taken Pace students to Italy three times, and led two groups of Middle Schoolers on trips to Greece this summer (see opposite page). Peterson’s talent for logistics, easy-going attitude, extensive knowledge and passion for her subject matter make her the ideal trip leader, and her skills have not gone unnoticed. She was recently named director of Middle School Global Education and now assists other Middle School faculty members in making their study tours a reality.

“I love planning trips,” Peterson says. “There’s a creative aspect to the process. I get to create a product that people will enjoy—and our study tours are not standard tourist trips.” It helps that Peterson is incredibly detail-oriented and understands what interests the typical Middle School student. “I try to put myself in a Middle School mindset,” she says. “We plan activities that are hands-on and interactive. We visit academic sites that students can relate to, and we cater to the Middle School attention span.”

It works. “We keep the kids so busy, they don’t even have time to think about being homesick,” Peterson says.

And while logistics and details are Peterson’s forte, she never fails to see the bigger picture. “Our mission at Pace is to create global citizens, and that’s constantly in our minds when planning study tours,” she says. “I want Middle School students to look beyond themselves as individuals, to explore and appreciate other cultures, and to understand what it means to be a good traveler.”

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THE ARTHUR M. BLANK FAMILY UPPER SCHOOL

Ushering in a NEW Enter the Pace Academy Upper School from the entrance closest to the Castle and the building looks much as it did 10, 20, 30—even 40—years ago. Through a set of thick glass doors sits a poorly lit atrium with floor-to-ceiling display cases that, over the years, have showcased student artwork and debate and athletic trophies.

A view of the the Gardens and The Arthur M. Blank Upper School.

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Stroll toward the main hall and you’ll see an old, gray water fountain hanging between the boys and girls restrooms. To the right are science labs and math classrooms, outfitted with much of the same equipment used by students in the 1980s. To the left, a short set of stairs leads up to HELEN SMITH, DON DUPREE, RICKS CARSON and MARSHA DURLIN’s classrooms, each more unique than the next. Walk through the hall and you’ll reach another set of stairs. Follow them up to the Academic Resource Center, a space that has served as JASON SMITH’s math classroom, Spanish and French classrooms and the building’s first art room. Follow them down and you’ll enter the Foreign Language hallway where students sit in windowless rooms with low ceilings and listen to toilets flushing above.

This space is familiar to generations of Pace students. It’s changed over the years—new coats of paint, new carpet.

ERA at Pace Academy Rooms have been added, divided and redecorated; walls have been torn down and doorways filled in; the lockers that once lined the halls have been removed.

But wooden plaques engraved with the names of award winners from years past still hang on the cinderblock walls, and occasionally you’ll catch a whiff of pizza or hot wings or French fries, a reminder that the cafeteria once sat on the ground floor and played host to The current Upper School countless lunches, school plays, service projects and class meetings. There’s no doubt that the building is tired, but to the faculty members and the 3,132 alumni who grew up in its halls, it’s home. As they say, “If walls could talk.”

But if walls could talk, even those in the Upper School would agree that new paint and carpet and ceiling tiles can only go so far; that at some point, duct tape and yarn from 1997’s Spirit Week needs to come down; that a fire sprinkler system and handicapaccessible classrooms are probably a good idea.

And so … IT’S TIME for a new Upper School.

THE PLANNING PROCESS In 2006, Pace Academy’s Board of Trustees created a Long-Range Master Campus Plan that called for an Upper School that would embody the school’s high academic standards and inspire continued excellence among students and faculty for years to come.

Following the completion of the SHINE campaign, which provided satellite athletic facilities at Riverview and Warren Roads and the expansion of the Lower School, the Board turned its sights to its next project: a new Upper School.

“We’ve spent more than two years in the planning stage,” says Head of School FRED ASSAF. “We looked carefully at options and evaluated our needs. We realized that the best and most effective solution was to create a whole new space that will better serve our teachers and students and reflect the values of our institution.

And we realized we could really do something special.”

To create that “something special,” Assaf assembled a team of experts to shepherd the new Upper School project from concept to

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What’s in a Name?

The family of Arthur Blank contributes Aim High’s lead gift

THE WOODRUFF LIBRARY • A two-story, 1,000-square-foot reading room will include a fireplace and comfortable study spaces

• State-of-the-art tools and technology for

research and learning will be incorporated throughout.

• A large meeting room on the upper level will

provide meeting spaces for faculty, parents and student groups.

completion. At the helm was former Board of Trustees Chair JEFF SEAMAN, who passed the reins to current Board Chair TIM WALSH ’81 last year. Parent and Board member DARON PAIR leads the Properties Committee, a group of Board members charged with recommending the new Upper School’s architect, project manager and general contractor. The Committee selected University Development Services, led by President and COO BOB MILLS, also a Pace parent (CAROLINE ’15 and BOBBY ’18), to manage the project, and chose New South Construction as the contractor.

And, because no one knows the ins and outs of the Pace campus better, Assaf enlisted the assistance and sound counsel of Director of Facilities DAVE FORTIER and his hard-working crew.

With a game plan in place, members of this leadership team set about gathering information that would lay the groundwork for the new facility. “We traveled to schools of similar sizes that

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had completed Upper School projects within the last three years,” Assaf says. “We wanted to understand how their faculty and students designed, lived and learned in their buildings, and that really helped us determine what would be best for us.”

The team then reached out to architects to request proposals for the new space. “We started the design process when the building industry was really depressed,” Assaf recalls. “Given the economic situation, many architects competed for the project, which led to many great ideas.” Ultimately, SANDY COOPER ’79 of Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Inc., emerged victorious (for more on Cooper, see page 34).

“Sandy is an amazing artist,” Assaf says. “This was a tremendous design opportunity, but not everyone had the skill to create a building that would reflect the ethos of Pace while complementing the Castle and serving the needs of a 21st-century school. Sandy knows Pace, and we owe him a great debt for his design.”

Those who know Pace know that student-teacher relationships are the heart of the school’s educational experience. At Pace, collaboration and input from all sides are vital, and this project would be no different.

“We worked really hard to try to let everyone’s voice be heard [throughout the design process], particularly the voice of our faculty,” says Head of Upper School MICHAEL GANNON. “They know what they need to be successful, and so we spent some time thinking in a really high-minded way. As a faculty, we prepared a statement of principles that we gave to [Cooper and his team]—the things we care about in the building, the values that should be expressed.”

Student feedback also played a key role in the building’s

Pace parent ARTHUR BLANK fondly remembers his days at New York City’s Stuyvesant High School. “I had a great football coach, Murl Thrush,” he says. “He developed my football skills, but also taught me about things like teamwork, focus, dealing with adversity, and managing physical and mental stress.”

The lessons Blank learned from Thrush and his teachers at Stuyvesant, one of U.S. News and World Report’s 2012 Gold Medal Schools, served him well: “They instilled self-confidence in me as a young man,” he says. That self-confidence, coupled with his keen business instincts and generosity have made Blank one of the country’s leading businessmen and philanthropists.

In 1978, Blank co-founded The Home Depot, where he worked until retiring in 2001 as cochairman. When he retired, the company was a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and one of Fortune magazine’s “Global Most Admired Companies.” Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise in 2002 and has distinguished himself as one of the most innovative and progressive owners in all of professional sports. And while Blank’s position with the Falcons allows him to combine his love of football and business, he finds even greater meaning in the work of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

Founded in 1995, the foundation promotes innovative solutions to improve the lives of youth and their families, seeking results that move communities beyond what seems possible today. It invests in early childhood development, education, greenspace and the arts. Through the foundation and his family’s personal giving, Blank has granted more than $250 million to various charitable organizations.

The Blank name has long been synonymous with great Atlanta institutions, and the family can now add Pace Academy to its list of beneficiaries. Upon the launch of the Aim High campaign, it was announced that Pace’s new Upper School will be named The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School in honor of its lead donor.

“Atlanta has no greater philanthropic citizens than Arthur Blank and his family,” says Head of School FRED ASSAF. “Pace is blessed to have gained his support and the support of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. To give the naming gift for the new Upper School is truly transformational for the Pace community. The building will be a monument to Blank’s belief in a quality education in a family setting.”

That family setting is something Blank weighed heavily when considering a school for his children. “My family and children are the most important part of my life,” says Blank. Four of Blank’s six children have attended Pace: daughter DANIELLE ’96, who now works in public land advocacy in the Western United States; son JOSH, a sophomore; and KYLIE and MAX, both in the sixth grade. “Pace provides educational opportunities at the highest levels through a very talented and capable faculty,” Blank says. “There’s a good balance between academic, social and extracurricular activities.”

But more important to Blank are the principles Pace holds dear. “[The school’s] core values are very much in line with our family’s core values,” he says. “Pace is committed to giving back to others and, importantly, teaches children the importance of doing the same. And Pace reinforces inclusion and respect for others through diversity and other programs. All of these are important principles and values—at work, at school and at home.”

Pace has been a good home for Blank and his family. He has fond memories of watching Danielle play soccer and basketball and perform in Pace theatre productions. And Blank is a frequent visitor on campus and a fervent fan of the Pace Knights, often spending Friday evenings in the stands at Riverview Road Athletic Complex.

So, when it came to making a gift to the Aim High campaign, Blank was eager to help. “I think every parent wants to do as much as possible to be sure their children get a top-notch education,” he says. “I’m fortunate that I have the capacity to make this gift, and I think it will make a difference to the quality of my children and other children’s experience at Pace.”

Blank is excited about what the new Upper School will mean for Pace. “It will provide state-of-the-art facilities … such as high-quality science and language labs that are long overdue,” he says. “The most current technology will be integrated into the classrooms, and the new facility will provide a wide range of different settings for students to learn and socialize. The new building is terribly important to Pace’s growth and its ability to maximize the educational experience for every student.”

But Blank is quick to point out what has become a common theme throughout the planning process for the new Upper School: the people make the place. “At the end of the day, the success of the school depends on its students and the caliber of education that is delivered in the classroom,” he says. “No matter how wonderful the building, it can never replace the caring, committed teachers.”

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Building the Upper School: A Timeline “This is as logistically complex a project as I’ve seen or

In certain instances, we’re going to have to use tweezers

experienced in Atlanta in the last 20 years,” says BOB MILLS,

where sledgehammers might otherwise have been used, and

President and COO of University Development Services, project

that’s fine. Our goal is to deliver an exceptional facility on time

manager for The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. “We’re

and on budget, and we want to thank the Pace community in

building extremely close to existing and historical structures

advance for its cooperation.”

in zero lot-line conditions, and we will be surrounded by very

Assaf echoes Mills’ message of thanks. “All progress

active and curious spectators on the ground. This is more than

has a little bit of pain,” he says. “We’re eager to reach our

just a building project—it’s first and foremost about site safety

fundraising goals, break ground and a keep a sense of humor

and security.”

about the discomfort of construction. We know the 14 months

Rest assured, University Development Services, New South Construction and the Pace Facilities team have left no stone

[of construction] won’t always be easy, but we also know that the outcome will be amazing.”

unturned when planning for the construction of this new facility.

The Pace Facilities staff and New South Construction crews

“We want a zero-accident project site,” says Mills. “Every

have already been hard at work preparing for the construction

decision the project team makes takes into consideration the

of The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School, which will begin

safety and comfort of the Pace family. We’ll adjust activities on

immediately following the 2012-13 school year. Here’s a look at

the site to accommodate the ongoing activities of the school.

what to expect in the coming months:

LEARN THE CONSTRUCTION LINGO Slab-on-grade Foundations: A structural engineering practice whereby the concrete slab that is to serve as the foundation for the structure is formed from a mold set into the ground.

The concrete is then placed into the mold, leaving no space between the ground and the structure. This type of construction is most often seen in warmer climates, where ground freezing and thawing is less of a concern and where there is no need for heat ducting underneath the floor.

Building System Rough-in: All building systems (plumbing pipes, heating and air conditioning ductwork, etc.) have two distinct phases during their installation.

During the roughing stage, piping, conduit and ductwork is installed “roughly” to its final position/location. The term is usually limited to that portion of work that is concealed by walls and ceilings during the later stages of construction.

During the “trim-out” stage, visible finished materials (faucets, electrical devices, lighting fixtures, etc.) are installed.

Exterior Building Envelope: The building envelope is considered everything on a building’s exterior that keeps water, air and water vapor out of its finished interior.

Windows, bricks, stucco, siding, roofing, exterior doors and exterior wall assemblies are all critical components of the exterior building envelope.

into the building. This allows for the contractor to proceed with interior finishes generally unimpeded by exterior weather conditions.

Building Dry-in: A very important milestone activity for a project. “Dry-in” designates the point of the project cycle where the exterior building envelope has been sufficiently completed to prevent water intrusion

systems, fire lines, sanitary sewer lines, etc.). It also includes both landscaping and hardscaping (concrete pavers, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).

Exterior Sitework Package: The sitework package includes all work items that involve the moving of earth or the installation of exterior electrical (i.e. site lighting) or site utility work (storm water

Construction By Month The main entry drive is straightened and widened to accommodate two-way traffic; Parking in the rear parking lot is increased; An underground storm water-retention facility, required for the new building, is installed; Utilities are extended to the back practice fields in anticipation of the Academic Village; Boyd Gym is renovated and the Campus Store is moved to start transitioning faculty/athletic offices in preparation for Inman Center renovations Summer in the summer of 2014; A new practice field is 2012 installed at Riverview Road Athletic Complex to allow for the Academic Village to be installed on the back field.

April-May 2013

are moved out of the Upper School and into the Academic Village; Move-out of the Library begins.

The learning cottages that make up the March 2013 Academic Village begin rolling onto campus during Spring Break; Athletic teams are transported to Riverview Road Athletic Complex for practices.

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Following construction of the Academic Village, materials not necessary for day-to-day operations

Following exams, all remaining materials are moved into the Academic Village; The contractor mobilizes; Site fencing is installed; Demolition begins immediately and continues through the summer; Temporary shoring is put in place to protect adjacent structures during mass excavation and the installation of foundation systems.

May-Aug. 2013

Underground piping systems Sept.-Nov. are installed 2013 in preparation for the slab-on-grade placement; Foundation walls and structural footings are completed and vertical construction begins; The building’s structural steel frame is now visible.

Roof framing is completed Jan.-Feb. and roofing 2014 installation begins; Temporary “dry-in” is achieved; Interior drywall and ceiling framing starts; Installation of building systems is on-going; Masonry installation is at full speed.

The slab-on-grade is poured Nov.-Dec. and vertical construction/ 2013 elevated slabs quickly follow; Building system (mechanical/electrical/plumbing/sprinkler) roughin starts; Exterior building envelope framing starts; Structural steel is “topped-out”; Roof framing, interior wall framing and masonry operations begin.

Building “dryin” is achieved and the building exterior completed; All interior finishes are underway; Exterior sitework package begins; Finished building systems are installed; Remaining Inman Center renovations start (Summer 2014).

All building finishes and June-July sitework 2014 activities are completed; All building systems are commissioned; Furnishings and equipment are installed.

Feb.-May 2014

The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School opens for business!

Aug. 2014

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“I’ve always worn the Upper School building as a badge of honor in that I knew everyone was here because of our teachers. No one was coming for the building. It will be nice to have a building we don’t have to apologize for, a building we can be proud of.”

Campaign Leadership

INTRODUCING THE AIM HIGH CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

—Michael Gannon, Head of Upper School

design. “The Student Council met with the architects to talk about what they valued in the space,” says Gannon. “Not surprisingly, the student input was similar to [the faculty] input in that we need spaces where we can collaborate and focus on the facultystudent relationship. We all want a building that enables that.”

With feedback in hand, Cooper got to work.

A SPACE THAT INSPIRES Situated on the footprint of the current Upper School, The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School will honor its lead donor, the family of Atlanta Falcons Owner & Chairman and The Home Depot Co-Founder ARTHUR M. BLANK (for more on Blank, see page 25). The building will nearly double the usable space of the existing structure and, at $32 million, four stories and 75,000 square feet, will be Pace’s most ambitious project to date.

The Woodruff Library, a gift of Pace grandparent JANE WOODRUFF and Pace parents BUCK and ANN WOODRUFF, will be the building’s crowning jewel. Overlooking West Paces Ferry Road and the Castle, the three-story space will serve as a central gathering spot for students and faculty both during the academic day and long after the last bell rings.

“For the past 40 years, we’ve manufactured collaborative spaces,” says Gannon. “In the current Upper School, students and teachers meet at chairs and tables that we’ve set up in hallways or closets. In the new Library—and throughout the building—we’ve thoughtfully and carefully planned collaborative spaces.”

In that spirit, The Woodruff Library will feel very familiar, almost cozy. A fireplace and comfortable seating areas will create a relaxed atmosphere. “Fostering the concept that facilities must create close relationships between the buildings and their occupants, the team’s goal is to build an institutional space that has somewhat of a residential feel,” says Mills.

The stacks, located on the Library’s first floor, will allow students to access any volume in Pace’s extensive collection, and librarians at the central circulation desk will direct students toward any needed resource. On the Library’s upper level, a large meeting room will host group gatherings for parents, faculty and students.

And from the meeting room, interior bay windows will overlook the main library’s two-story reading room. Warm wood finishes, rough-hewn timbers and stone will evoke the architecture of the Castle and create a sense of warmth throughout the space.

Those involved in the project are especially excited about the

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tim Walsh ’81

ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE

Laurie Ann Goldman

CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR

CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR

Elizabeth Richards

LIFE TRUSTEES

Paul Garcia

LOWER SCHOOL PARENTS

Allyson & Jim Maske Natasha & Chris Swann

MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS

UPPER SCHOOL PARENTS

Jenny & Tom Bethel Cathy & Reid Funston

Bonnie & Jay Harris

SIXTH: Terri & Dan Janki. Kim PRE-FIRST: Lynwood & Laura

Mallard, Andrea & David Amar FIRST: Catherine & Ted McMullan SECOND: Jing & Wenke Lee,

Melissa & Lee Loree

THIRD: Allison & Mike Arenth

& Pat Thomson

SEVENTH: Rachel & Bob

McCullough,Julie & Scott Thompson

Robert Sheft

PARENTS OF ALUMNI

ALUMNI

John Inman ‘83 Charles Wellborn ‘83

GRANDPARENTS

FACULTY/STAFF

Barbara & Jim Lager Ruth & Garry Schaefer

Josh Belinfante ’95 Quill Healey ’86 Bo Heiner ’84 Jessica Sutherland Levenson ’93 Austin McDonald ’97 Catherine Woodling ’00

LOWER SCHOOL: Laurie Elliott,

Sally Forb, Becky Jones, Cheryl Lassiter, Catherine Skeen MIDDLE SCHOOL: Jane Sibley,

Larry Ivens

UPPER SCHOOL: Bailey Player,

Julie Hall

STAFF: Kevin Johnson

EIGHTH: Sabrina &

David Duncan, Melissa & Ed Trimble

FOURTH: Jane & Scott Butler FIFTH: Berry & Jason Kendall

NINTH: Cindy & Drew Pickman TENTH: Amy & Allen Nelson ELEVENTH: Mindy McGlaughlin TWELFTH: Ruth & Charles ’83 Wellborn

STUDENT COMMONS • The 1,500-square-foot space will serve as a space for socializing and collaboration.

• Large walls of glass visually connect the space to the Gardens outside.

• A presentation room will be equipped with audio-visual equipment.

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Student Commons, a 1,500-square-foot room that will provide additional meeting spaces for students and faculty. Multiple points of access will allow entry from the building’s second and third floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows will overlook the Gardens. “To me, the Gardens are really what give the Pace campus a unique, almost cloistered-like feel,” says Mills. “Thoughtfully designed with access to the Gardens, the Student Commons will allow Pace to finally have a large, comfortable gathering space connected directly to the experience of the Gardens. That is something we don’t have with any of the existing buildings.”

Situated above the Student Commons on the building’s top floor, the Gardens Terrace will provide structured outdoor space, complete with Wi-Fi capabilities. “There’s been a good deal of consideration and thought given to creating academic spaces that are flexible in terms of teaching styles and evolving technologies,” says Assaf. “With the Gardens Terrace, we’re bringing the educational experience outside.”

Down the hall, a remarkable Academic Resource Center will overlook the back practice fields and the Gardens. Professional and student tutors will meet with students in private rooms, and a

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?

The Big Question is …

Where Will Upper School Students Attend Class During Construction The answer? The Academic Village.

Located on the back practice fields, the Academic Village will be composed of a group of modular “learning cottages” assembled under one roof that will enable all Upper School students to remain on campus during construction.

“We’re kind of excited about the Academic Village,” says Head of School FRED ASSAF. “When we see it go up, it will be a very significant moment in our progress. We’re going to count on our students to make it feel like Pace.”

Head of Upper School MIKE GANNON has no doubt that the Upper School students are up to the task. “I think school is fun because it’s school,” says Gannon. “The move to the Academic Village won’t be that substantive in terms of the student experience. The Inman Center and Fine Arts Center will still be up and running. Instead of going to the classes in the Upper School building, they’ll walk to the Academic Village. And there are lots of fun things we can do … I mean, a trailer theme is one you can run with. There are some pink flamingos coming our way!”

And what will happen to the relics of the Upper School— those posters, clocks and pieces of art that adorn each classroom and make them unique? “Everything that the faculty wants to move to the Academic Village will move to the Academic Village and, if they want, into the new Upper School,” says Gannon. “Anything left in the building will meet the wrecking ball. [HELEN SMITH’s] guillotine has to come. That’s a great thing about Pace—each room has its own personality. I don’t see that changing.”

learning lab will be available for larger group meetings.

For the first time in decades, the College Counseling office will live in the same building as the students it serves. The new College Counseling suite will provide additional space for family meetings and a more welcoming environment for visiting college admissions representatives. The deans’ offices and office of the Head of Upper School, now located in the Inman Center, will also relocate to The Arthur M. Blank Upper School. “We’ve always been spread out around campus,” says Gannon. “This new building will certainly unify us.”

While the latest in wireless technology will be available throughout the new Upper School, computer labs on the building’s lower level have been designed to allow students spaces for individual and group work. State-of-the-art science labs will ensure that hands-on learning takes place in a stimulating and safe environment. And all classrooms will be outfitted with SMART Boards, overhead projectors and other advanced teaching tools. “When the building is completed, all of

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building will welcome students back to school in the fall of 2014 (see sidebars for more on the construction timeline and the Academic Village).

IT’S TIME … TO AIM HIGH Assaf’s American Literature course meets in the current Upper School. “I teach students,” he says. “Those students could be anywhere. The secret of a Pace education is not the building; it’s what happens in the classroom. That being said, our teachers and students deserve better spaces.”

Those better spaces will be made possible by Aim High, the $32-million capital campaign launched in August 2012. The support of the Pace community has already been overwhelming.

Prior to the campaign launch, Pace families, alumni, foundations and other friends of the school pledged more than $22 million.

Every member of the Board of Trustees has made a four-year pledge, and the Facilities staff and faculty reached 100-percent participation just two weeks after the campaign launch.

But the work is far from over. In the coming months, a campaign committee led by Pace parents and Board of Trustees members ELIZABETH RICHARDS and ROBERT SHEFT and comprised of current parents and parents of alumni, grandparents,

alumni, and faculty and staff will reach out to members of the Pace community who have not yet participated in Aim High.

“Pace is a small school, and it takes participation at every level to accomplish such an important project,” says Pair, father of EMILY ’13 and WILLIAM ’15. “For my family, supporting such a worthy cause was an easy decision.”

In Assaf’s mind, participation is the name of the game.

“Everyone in our community will benefit from The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School and The Woodruff Library,” he says.

“We feel as though everyone can give back at a level that is comfortable for them. If everyone does that, we’ll be able to reach our goal.”

For Gannon, giving to Pace is personal—he is now in his 17th year at the school, and his three children are current Pace students. “This is a place that is about its people—not bricks and mortar,” he says. “It’s about the Pace community supporting each other. I love the Pace community. It’s done an enormous amount for me personally and professionally. It’s done an incredible job educating my children, and I want to continue to support institutions that do good work. This is an institution that does good work. It’s earned our support. Giving to Aim High is a tangible way to express that support.”

THE ACADEMIC VILLAGE • The “learning cottages” will roll onto campus during spring break 2013.

• Once construction on the Academic Village is complete, move in will begin.

• Class will be held in the Academic Village during the 2013-14 school year.

its technology will be state-of-the-art,” says Mills. “Data systems will be built with redundancies and expansion capabilities so that, as technology evolves, the pathways and infrastructure for evolving technologies will already exist. It will be non-invasive to go back and update systems at a later date.”

A fundamental tenant of the building’s design was a focus on creating an educational environment that actively promotes health, wellness and learning, all while reducing operating costs and meeting desired sustainability goals. The building also will include many responsible energy-saving features such as a variable refrigerant heating and cooling system; translucent roller shades to control heat gain; Solarban glass window systems; 100-percent recyclable carpet made from recycled materials; water-saving plumbing fixtures; and sensors to reduce energy consumption in unoccupied spaces. Every decision made has taken into account sustainability and sustainable practices.

Construction will begin immediately following the 2012-13 school year, and The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School

THE GARDENS TERRACE • The Gardens Terrace will be one of the many

spaces in the building for student-faculty meetings.

• It will sit above the Student Commoms and overlook the Gardens.

• The space will bring the educational experience

outside and create a unique learning environment.

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A small group of Pace graduates has issued a challenge to all alumni as part of the Aim High campaign for The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School. These alumni have committed $400,000 to Aim High and have challenged the alumni community to raise an additional $600,000 to meet a $1,000,000 goal.

YOUR CHALLENGE ...

SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT

Ask Pace Academy’s 3,132 alumni to recall a favorite experience in the Upper School building, and you’ll receive more than 3,000 different responses.

Some will remember a class discussion that influenced a future career choice. Others will reminisce about legendary faculty members, particular assignments or cafeteria lunches. Still others will recollect catching the eye of their future spouse across the Gardens or the first conversation with a lifelong friend.

Fifty-one years make for a lot of memories, and—from crushes and demerits to academic breakthroughs and senior pranks—the current Upper School has played host to them all.

The Alumni Challenge provides an opportunity for Pace graduates to celebrate the people who made those memories possible and those who continue to shape the school today. Your gift to the Alumni Challenge will ensure Pace students create memories for years to come.

“When my class started at Pace in 1979, that building was not the Upper School—it was THE school. The entire school. We had kindergarten in the basement and worked our way up from there.” — JOHN CRITZ ’91 “Sitting on the steps of the Senior Cellar while watching [history teacher] SHIRLEY MAST get annoyed with us for not ‘doing anything productive’ outside her class.” — JOE SOWERBY ’93

MAST

“Mr. [RICKS] CARSON’s classroom: English class, Knight Gallery ... he had the craziest, most awesomely decorated room in the whole Upper School.” — LAUREN FOWLER ’03

I Remember …

“In fifth grade I had SALLY FORB (now I enjoy teaching with her!) in what is now the current Upper School Library. The new Lower School was built behind the Randall House while I was in school, so I had NEIL DEROSA for science in my old first-grade classroom and math in my old third-grade classroom. I have spent at least 2,200 days of my life in that building! I will miss the memories, but I look forward to watching my son [EVERETT, a fifth grader] make his own way in our new Upper School.” — RHONDA PECK O’GORMAN ’88 and Pace Pre-First associate teacher “Mr. [FRANCE] DORMAN’s DORMAN photography classroom, learning the tradition of mayo on PBJ’s from EDDIE GARLAND ’89 and lockers being decorated before big games. The Upper School was my only experience at Pace, and it was amazing. [My] time there was transformational for me, and I’m certain without it—and some amazing teachers—I would never have achieved what I have in my life.” — TOM KALETA ’89

CARSON

“I am a Pace lifer, so I have several favorite memories, but what stands out the most is decorating the hallways every year for Spirit Week. It was such a wonderful time for class bonding, and I loved searching for every nook and cranny to put decorations. I am excited to come home and see the new school!” — CAITLIN FEARING ’05

Share your Upper School memories with us!

Email alumni@paceacademy.org.

IT’S TIME ... to Invest in Tomorrow’s Leaders The Alumni Challenge will honor both current and former Pace faculty and staff, and alumni may designate their gifts to honor specific teachers and staff members. The Challenge group is also suggesting that alumni give according to their graduation year.

For example, the Class of 2002 would make gifts of $2,002, $200.20, $20.02 … you get the idea. Of course, if you wish to make a larger gift, it would be greatly appreciated!

Visit www.paceacademy.org/challenge to learn more or make a gift.

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“The important thing to remember is that you’re designing this building for the students coming through these doors.”

NORTH ELEV

All in the Family

ARCHITECT SANDY COOPER ’79 CREATES NEW SPACES FOR PACE STUDENTS TO THRIVE SANDY COOPER ’79,

the architect behind The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School, had a special advantage when it came to understanding what makes Pace tick and incorporating that knowledge into his proposed design for the school’s newest building.

Cooper’s secret? He started as a Pace student in sixth grade.

“I just kind of knew what I thought felt right, architecturally speaking,” says Cooper, of Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Inc. During a walk around campus, he reflects on his days as a student: “There are really more common elements than differences. Pace is still a very intimate community; it’s still very interactive, it’s comfortable and it’s a nice-looking place.”

It’s true. When Cooper was a student at Pace in the 1970s, he performed science experiments in the same labs that students work in today. He remembers the excitement of winning soccer championships and the frenzied five seconds of socializing between classes, and he recollects being “scared to death” of history teacher HELEN SMITH. Some things on campus haven’t changed.

But the facilities have continued to improve. “I think that all of the buildings and all of the improvements that have happened over time have been crowning achievements in their own right,” Cooper says. “But when you look around campus,” he points to the current Upper School, “this is a tired-looking facility.” His

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plans for the impressive new building, slated to open for the 2014 school year, will transform the campus.

Aesthetically, The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School will match the historic Tudor style of the Castle, but inside students will find modern, cutting-edge features and the most advanced learning technology. It will double the size of the current Upper School and connect with both the quiet of the Gardens and the outside community on West Paces Ferry through large windows, which will soak the building with natural light. The designs show an environment that is warm, stimulating and comfortable.

But Cooper emphasizes again and again that he only deserves a fraction of the credit, citing a whole team of architects and interior designers who have dedicated themselves to making this project a success.

Cooper is markedly modest. He claims to have been “an average student” who was “easily distracted” in high school, but he was always interested in art and science, a combination that he channeled into a successful career in architecture. During his third year of architecture school at the University of Florida, Copper realized being an architect was something he “could be good at.”

After college and a master’s degree in architecture from North

Carolina State, he moved to New York City, where he worked for a large architectural firm and discovered his interest in “big” projects. Schools, civic centers, religious institutions and urban development projects have been Cooper’s preferred domain ever since. While in New York, he met his wife, Wendy Miller, and they now have two daughters, Natasha and Liliya. In 1992 the couple moved to Atlanta, where Cooper opened up his current practice, and in 1996, it merged to become Collins Cooper Carusi. He competed for a design commission to be the architect for Pace’s new Upper School and, as he puts it, he “happily prevailed.”

When asked about his career highlights, Cooper responds humbly and must be coaxed to reveal pride in a few key achievements: new buildings for Atlanta International School, projects for Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs, and a classical-style triumphal arch at Atlantic Station called the Millennium Gate monument, which houses a Georgia history museum.

Cooper hasn’t been back to Pace much since his days as a student, save for a few Fall Fairs and a ball game here and there.

But he is visibly pleased to return and his fondness for Pace is evident. “A lot of people I know didn’t enjoy their high school years. Mine were phenomenal,” he says. “I just loved being here.

Sometimes I was doing well; sometimes I wasn’t, but it was just a great place to be.”

Copper had this positive student experience first and foremost in his mind in the design for the new Upper School.

“The important thing to remember is that you’re designing this building for the students coming through these doors,” he says.

And it’s clear that he has. “I think this building has the potential to be more than just a building,” he says. “I think it’s a place where long-lasting friendships will be formed; a place where a variety of interests are explored and talked about; I think it’s a place where kids will just be exposed to concepts and ideas that perhaps they weren’t prior to coming here.”

Cooper also emphasizes that the design of the building is intended to foster the one-on-one student-teacher relationships that distinguish Pace from other schools. Head of School FRED ASSAF, he says, started the design conversation with this vital concept, and the result was a model with spaces that are

conducive to comfortable interactions.

“We’ve created places inside this building where teachers and students can hang out together or study together or debate together,” he says. “There are parts of this building whose essence is based on establishing that student-teacher relationship.”

Those spaces include a spacious library and reading room with bay windows and a wide, welcoming circular staircase in a stone turret; a rooftop terrace for hosting classes outdoors overlooking the iconic Gardens; an Academic Research Center; top-of-the-line science labs; and a videography room. One of the most salient features is a Student Commons, which Cooper notes the campus currently lacks.

But the small spaces matter too. In the academic corridors where you’d expect to find lockers will instead be shelves for displaying student artwork. This clearly excites Cooper. “It’s a really cool thing,” he says. “A cross-pollination of disciplines. Finding a shared environment is such a nice feature of this building.”

Despite trying to encourage one-on-one interaction between students and teachers, he also insists that it’s up to the students how to use the spaces. “That’s one of the things about architecture,” he says. “You try to create spaces that people enjoy and want to hang out in, and invariably they do, but invariably they also find the nooks and crannies that kids have always hung out in. We’re not trying to control behavior; we’re just giving options, a variety of spaces for people to choose from.”

And ultimately, he says, it’s the people who make a place.

Cooper remarks many times on the meaningful friendships made on the Pace campus and the myriad personalities that populate it.

He’s big on the idea of architecture facilitating relationships and positive experiences.

“The gauge, I think, of a successful building is sometimes the smiles on peoples’ faces when they come and go and when they get home. Hopefully we will be able to capture that.” With typical modesty, he adds, “It has such promise to be such a special place. I hope we have done it justice.” It seems likely he will happily prevail.

— by Mary Logan Bikoff ’01

WEST ELEV

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ALUMNI

Where Are They Now?

Andrew Henderson with his wife, Kathleen.

ALUMNI UPDATES

In the article The Pace Debate Dynasty in the Spring 2012 KnightTimes, BILL MABE ’87 is incorrectly identified as Sam Adler.

Bill was a captain of the 1985-86 Pace debate team. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1990 and served as president of the Georgetown debate team. He went on to earn his master’s Phi Kappa Phi from the University of Maryland, College Park, and was a MacArthur Foundation Scholar as well as a teaching assistant to Dr. Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics. While at Maryland, he served for a year as co-director of the Georgetown debate team. He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University and is now director of Research and Evaluation and a Faculty Fellow at Rutgers’ John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development.

In June, BRIAN RANCK ’93 joined the Atlanta office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank as vice president. In this role, he is responsible for delivering the firm’s investing, wealth transfer, credit and philanthropic services to ultra-high-net-worth clients in the Southeast.

He previously served as a director of Business Development for BNY Mellon. Brian is a Brian Ranck member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, Birmingham Estate Planning Council, a Board Member of Leadership Ministries, Inc., a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, Inc. Atlanta Chapter, Planned Giving Committee chair for Visiting Nurse Health System and a member of the

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Advisory Council for the Mount Pisgah Foundation. He received his bachelor’s from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Brian and his wife, Sherry, have two children.

BEN THORPE ’00, now a second-year law student at the University of Georgia, has been selected to the Editorial Board of the Georgia Law Review. In addition, Ben took first place in the class-wide Richard B. Russell Moot Court competition last spring and is looking forward to more Moot Court opportunities in the coming year.

ANDREW HENDERSON ’05 and his wife, Kathleen, live in Denver and, throughout the year, are climbing the dozen or so 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado. Andrew is with the accounting firm of Ernst and

PHOTO CREDIT: PAM FREED; FORBES.COM

was recently featured on Forbes. com in an article entitled “Having It All”: Finding Profit and Purpose with Tahira Dosani. Tahira is the director of Global Engagement and Strategic Projects at LeapFrog Investments in Sydney, Australia. She leads the company’s global growth as it works to link capital and sector expertise between developed countries and emerging economies to scale pro-poor businesses.

LeapFrog’s $135-million impact investing fund invests in companies that provide insurance and related financial services to low-income consumers in emerging markets in Asia and Africa. It has pioneered the “profit with purpose” model that posits that there doesn’t have to be a trade-off between financial returns and social impact.

Tahira previously has worked at Bain & Company; The Bridgespan Group, a non-profit consulting firm; Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications operator; and with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. She received her bachelor’s from Brown University and an MBA from INSEAD. In the article, Tahira discusses finding a career that encompasses money and meaning. “When it comes to the question of profit vs. purpose or money vs. meaning, I do believe it is possible to have it all!” she says. “Figure out what you want and what is meaningful for you. Once you know what ‘having it all’ means to you, you can pursue those priorities.”

TAHIRA DOSANI ’00

’ Clockwise from top left: Jason Kasilus, William Griffin, Jackson Knight, Tate Meyer, Cash Miller, Lucas Larson

Young in Risk Management and Consulting and recently passed his final CPA exam. Kathleen just received her Master of Sports Psychology from the University of Denver.

BRIAN ABRAMS ’07, a second-year law student at the University of Georgia, was selected to the Editorial Board of the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law. JEFF HATHCOAT ’07 graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts in May 2011 with a degree in acting. During his senior year, he portrayed Adolph Eichmann in Good with the Boston Center for American Performance and, before leaving Boston to live in New York, he had his first professional role in My Future Boyfriend at the Factory Theatre.

Since living in New York, he has performed in the Fourth Arts Block Festival and in two roles with the New York Shakespeare Exchange: Hans in Spring Awakening and Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet. Jeff was selected to be an apprentice this past summer with the Williamstown Theatre oat Jeff Hathc Festival, where he worked

behind the scenes on shows, took classes and won dual roles in Valley of Fear. Jeff also was selected to sing in the Late Night Cabaret. He recently began work on two play readings in New York.

LIZ NELLIS ’07 recently accepted a job as program associate at the Tiger Foundation, an organization that strives to break the cycle of poverty in New York City by investing in local nonprofits that focus on education, employment, youth/families and criminal justice.

She looks forward to learning about and from the great povertyfighting organizations Tiger Foundation funds. Liz was previously a fundraising and volunteer coordinator at the Yorkville Common Pantry, the largest community-based food pantry in New York City.

The organization provides emergency food and social services to hungry and/or homeless New Yorkers.

BIRTHS

KATIE MAYER LARSON ’97

and her husband, Tim, welcomed Lucas Maverick on July 15, 2012.

Gabriel Stephen was born on July 16, 2012, to Leigh and CHRIS TOLLESON ’98. He weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces. Chris works at Vanderbilt University as a neurologist specializing in movement disorders, and Leigh is a teacher.

JENNA CRUTCHFIELD KNIGHT ’99 and her husband, Ramsey, welcomed son Jackson Ramsey on March 7, 2012. Jackson enjoys reading, playing with Winnie the Pooh and taking boat rides at the lake. The family lives in Atlanta, where Jenna is a senior development director for the Boy Scouts of America.

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BRITT JACKSON GRIFFIN ’00 and ANDREW GRIFFIN ’99 welcomed son William Harrison on March 23, 2012. He weighed 7 pounds and was 19 ¾ inches. The family lives in Atlanta, where Britt is a multi-market account executive at Univision Communications, and Andrew works as an account executive at IngeniousMed. Jason Adam was born to Amanda and DAVID KASILUS ’00 on June 1, 2012. Jason joins big sisters Sarah Grace, 4, and Miranda Nicole, 12. The proud grandmother is longtime Pace faculty member MARTHA KASILUS. Jackie and JONATHAN KORT ’00 welcomed daughter Bronwyn Hilton on July 2, 2012. She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces. The family lives in Menlo Park, Calif. Jonathan is in his residency at Stanford and recently completed the New York City Ironman, and Jackie works as a lawyer.

ALISON WOOD MEYER ’00 and her husband, Charlie, welcomed daughter Elizabeth “Tate” on May 19, 2012. She weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces and joins big sister Frances, 2. The family lives in Houston, Texas, where Alison owns Alison Meyer Interiors. She started the company in 2011 and specializes in high-end residential interior design, including architectural design for renovations and new construction.

Cash Owen was born to KELLY OWENS MILLER ’00 and her husband, Craig, on June 19, 2012. He weighed 10 pounds, 11 ounces. Cash joins big sister Cadence. The proud grandfather is longtime Pace faculty member CHARLIE OWENS.

1

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MARRIAGES

SUSAN MCLESTER KEMMERLIN ’78

Top, Lauren Linder Grunberg with her husband, Jonathan; Bottom, Mary Logan Barmeyer Bikoff with her husband, David.

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married Rudolph “Dolph” Kemmerlin, Jr., at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C. on June 23, 2012. The couple resides in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Since her father passed away in 2010 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Susan has become an active advocate for The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) and raised more than $2,000 for the organization in wedding donations. In September, she traveled to Capitol Hill with CPF during National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month to meet with Congressional legislative assistants to gain support for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act. Susan encourages others to learn more about CPF and its important work.

BRENT EDEN ’98 married Pace Upper School Counselor SARA SIEGEL EDEN at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta on June 16, 2012. JASON EDEN ’92, MICHAEL GOOT ’98 and PARKER HUDSON ’98 served as groomsmen.

CECILIA JUNG ’00 married Aaron Lee in Atlanta on May 12, 2012. STEPHANIE CONRAD ’00 and MARY LIEBMAN ’00 served as bridesmaids. The couple resides in St. Louis, where Aaron is a thirdyear ophthalmology resident at Washington University in St. Louis, and Cecilia is doing a uveitis fellowship. Uveitis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye. Next year, the couple will move to London for a fellowship in medical retina.

LAUREN LINDER GRUNBERG ’00 married Jonathan Grunberg at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art on June 9, 2012. The wedding incorporated aspects of both the bride and groom’s cultures and

3

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1. The McLester/Kemmerlin wedding. Susan is pictured with her mother, ANGELA MCLESTER, a former Pace faculty member. 2. The Siegel/Eden wedding.

3. The Jung/Lee wedding. 4. The Bollman/Cockey wedding.

integrated African-American, Chilean, Christian and Jewish customs. A number of former Pace students, parents and teachers were in attendance. DANIELE BOURGET ’00 served as maid of honor, and KEVIN LINDER ’94 was a bridesman. CELENA COACHMAN ’00 and JEANEVA HOLLINS ’00 were hostesses. Hazel Bourget (wife of MARC BOURGET ’97) of Blu Bungalow coordinated the wedding.

Other guests included Marc Bourget, former Pace parents MARC and MICHELLE BOURGET, former faculty member DR. ANNEMARIE BATAC, parent and former Board of Trustees member DR. MARSHALYN YEARGIN-ALLSOPP, MARY MARGARET MURPHY ’00 and TRACEY STEELE ’02. The couple lives in Atlanta, where Jonathan is finishing a clerkship with Judge Steve C. Jones, who officiated the ceremony. This fall he will join the law firm of Wood, Hernacki & Evans. Lauren works as counsel in the legal department at Turner Broadcasting.

MARY LOGAN BARMEYER BIKOFF ’01 married David Bikoff (Lovett Class of 2001) on May 12, 2012, at her family’s farm in Havana, Fla., just south of the Georgia line. SPENCER BRUMFIELD ’01 served

as an usher. JEFF WESTERLUND ’98, PARKER JOHNSON ’01, CLAY PHILLIPS ’01 and HALEY BRUMFIELD ’03 also attended. Mary Logan recently moved back to Atlanta from New York, where she worked as a freelance writer and editor and received a Master of American Studies from Columbia University.

LAURA BOLLMAN ’02 married Preston Cockey at the Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta on May 5, 2012. ELISABETH “BETSY” KULINSKI ’02 was maid of honor, and Pace Upper School faculty member GUS WHYTE was a groomsman. GENNA GADDY FRANCONI ’02, LINDSEY WILLIAMSON ’04, ELIZABETH WESTBROOK ’02 and AMANDA ROGERS INMAN ’00 attended. The couple lives in Atlanta, where Preston is the National Accounts Manager at Ogden Forklift.

Laura works with the CF Foundation as the director of Planning and Implementation for the new Charles R. Drew Charter School High School, located in East Lake.

On July 7, 2012, JOEL WITHROW ’02 married Kirsten Tellam Withrow at Domain Margelle Vineyards outside of Portland, Ore. Joel and Kirsten met at Northwestern University, where

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ALUMNI

ALUMNI

Top, the Sedlack/Prittie wedding; Bottom, the Tellam/Withrow wedding.

BUTLER ’07, ANDREW GARCIA ’05, CASEY SHUSTER ’05 and FRANK WOODLING ’05

1

2

3

1. The Grant/Whitehead wedding. 2. The Jones/Pratt wedding. Pictured from left to right, Katherine Rankin ’06, Ashley Lohmann ’06, Anna Rhodes ’06, Victoria Foxgrover ’06, Emily Hishta Cohen ’06, McKinsey Bond ’06, Kelsey Jones Pratt ’06, Elizabeth Cason ’06, Claire Rock ’06, Lindsay Ford ’06, Rachel Pocock ’07 and Joel Cohen ’06. 3. The Desocio/Stachowiak wedding.

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they both completed their Master of Sciences in Journalism.

The couple lives in Los Angeles, where Kirsten works as a web editor for Mind Over Media, a media consulting company. Joel is the product manager for Indiewire, a leading news site for the independent film industry.

ELYSE GRANT WHITEHEAD ’03 married Todd Whitehead at Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, Ga., on Oct. 15, 2011. BRANDON GRANT ’06 and JESSIE GRANT ’09 were in the wedding party. The couple resides in Oakland, Calif., where Elyse is an attorney at a San Francisco law firm. Todd is a post-doctoral scholar in public health at the University of California, Berkeley, and works as part of a childhood leukemia study. Elyse is the daughter of Assistant Head of Lower School PHYLLIS GRANT. NATE PRITTIE ’05 married Rachel Sedlack-Prittie at the Trolley Barn in Atlanta on May 27, 2012. CHARLIE BUTLER ’05 and SCOTT KOHLER ’00, the groom’s stepbrother, served as groomsmen. SARAH

attended. Nate is the project manager for Hawthorn, Inc. Design and Construction. Rachel works in Price Waterhouse Cooper’s healthcare advisory department. The couple lives in Atlanta’s Candler Park neighborhood.

ALYSSA DESOCIO STACHOWIAK ’05 married Matthew Stachowiak at the Church of Notre Dame in New York City on June 2, 2012.

Alyssa graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University in 2009 with a degree in history. She is completing her final year of medical school at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and applying for residency programs in pediatrics. Matthew received his Ph.D. in biophysics from Columbia in 2011 and is currently a post-doctoral research scientist at the university. The couple lives in Manhattan.

KELSEY JONES PRATT ’06 married Tyler Pratt at Atlanta’s Biltmore Hotel & Ballrooms on May 26, 2012. Attendees included LIZ CASON ’06, ASHLEY LOHMANN ’06, CLAIRE ROCK ’06, VICTORIA FOXGROVER ’06, LINDSAY FORD ’06, EMILY HISHTA COHEN ’06, JOEL COHEN ’06, ANNA RHODES ’06, MCKINSEY BOND ’06, KATHERINE RANKIN ’06 and RACHEL POCOCK ’07. Kelsey and Tyler met at the University of Georgia, and Tyler received his master’s from Stanford University before the couple relocated to Washington, D.C. There, Tyler was employed by the State Department, and Kelsey worked as a healthcare consultant for Avalere Health. Following a seven-week honeymoon in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, the couple moved to Princeton, N.J., where Tyler is pursuing a Ph.D. in political science.

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ALUMNI IN MEMORIAM MARDI GLASS,

From left, Head of School FRED ASSAF, Chairman of the Board of Trustees TIM WALSH ’81, CHARLES WELLBORN ’83, xxxx, XXX Chambers, BOB CHAMBERS, xxx and CHARLIE OWENS.

RETIRING

Former Upper School Principal BOB CHAMBERS recently announced that he will retire after the 2012-13 school year. Chambers came to Pace in 1963 as a Biology teacher and coach. He later served as Athletic Director, Assistant Headmaster and Upper School Principal.

Chambers has been headmaster of Athens Academy since 1983.

Under his leadership, the school’s enrollment has nearly doubled and the campus has expanded significantly. This year marks his 50th in education.

Pace honored Chambers when the Knights took on the Athens Academy Spartans on Sept. 7. Head of School FRED ASSAF presented Chambers with a Knights jersey signed by the varsity football team.

The number “80” on the back of the jersey represented the year in which Chambers’ late son DAVID ’80 graduated from Pace.

mother of FRED GLASS ’89 and grandmother of third-grader KATHLEEN GLASS and sixthgrader MERRITT ANN GLASS, passed away Aug. 15, 2012. Gifts may be made in Mardi’s memory to the Aim High campaign.

CHARLENE BROCKETT, beloved mother of CAROLINE BROCKETT-LIBS ’93, passed away after a battle with cancer.

Alumni Party in the Nation’s Capital More than 30 Pace alumni gathered at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 19 to mix and mingle with friends and former classmates. BOB ALLEN ’02 hosted the event, along with Head of School FRED ASSAF and Head of Upper School MICHAEL GANNON, Chairman of the Board TIM WALSH ’81, JOHN GAY ’81, JOHN INMAN ’83, CHARLES WELLBORN ’83 and Alumni Association President JOSH BELINFANTE ’95. Longtime Middle School faculty member B.J. HAYES was an honored guest.

Far left, MATT HICKEY ’10, CHARLES WELLBORN ’83, BOB ALLEN ’02 and NAOMI GUILLAUME ’12.

Right, NAOMI

GUILLAUME ’12, TIA POTSKHVERASHVILI ’10,

Head of the Upper School MICHAEL GANNON, SIMON WU ’12, MATT HICKEY ’10 and ERIC ESTROFF ’12.

WHITNEY RYBERT ’99

passed away Aug. 27, 2012, following a brief battle with a rare and aggressive form Whitney Rybert of cancer. “Whitney’s loving spirit always uplifted friends and family,” her family wrote. “Her battle was fierce, yet her faith never waivered. She was clearly a blessing to her family and her friends. Her infectious laugh and lively sense of humor, inherited from her mother, were gifts lovingly received by all who met her.

Her boundless energy and go-go attitude, inherited from her father, kept everyone on their toes.”

Whitney graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Corporate Communications and spent time working in New York City and Charlotte. She is survived by her parents, JEAN and FRITZ RYBERT, brother TOMMY ’96 and sister JENNIFER ’02. The family has asked that donations be made in Whitney’s memory to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

JOHN GAY ’81, Board of Trustees Chairman TIM WALSH ’81, and Board of Trustees members CHARLES WELLBORN ’83 and JOHN INMAN ’83.

Alumni Association President JOSH BELINFANTE ’95, XXXX ’XX, XXX ’XX, longtime faculty member B.J. HAYES.

XX ’XX, and XX ’XX

Atlanta Alumni Root for the Home Team

Let us know what you are up to!

On July 28, Pace alumni in the Atlanta area headed to the Ted to watch the Braves take on the Philadelphia Phillies. The team won 2-1, and a good time was had by all.

Email alumni@paceacademy.org with all your exciting news and life events.

ALLI ’XX and Mitch Allen with daughter Amanda ’XX (in yellow) and a friend.

Join us on facebook for updated news from the school and your fellow alumni! www.facebook.com/PaceAcademyAlumniAssociation

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KnightTimes | Fall 2012

ALUMNI

Members of the Class of 1996, BRIAN BEEGLE, JULIE NEWMAN and BRANDON BELL.

XXX ’XX, KATIE ABRAMS ’10 and BRIAN ABRAMS ’07.

LINDA and CHAD CARTWRIGHT ’67

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

IT’S TIME ... for a New Upper School!

Opening 2014.

Visit www.paceacademy.org/aimhigh to take a virtual tour, learn more about The Arthur M. Blank Upper School and Alumni Challenge or give.