Introducing the 15th Head of Phillips Academy
John G. Palfrey Jr. When John G. Palfrey Jr. takes over the leadership of Andover from Barbara Landis Chase on July 1, 2012, he will step back into a world he has described as the best period of his life—high school. His formal investiture will take place on the Andover campus on Sunday, September 23. Palfrey currently holds the positions of the Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Harvard, and an MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge. In addition to his work in the classroom and at the law library at Harvard, Palfrey is a faculty codirector of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, where he served as executive director from 2002 to 2008. As executive director, he secured funding for and oversaw programs to examine the far-reaching effects of the Internet and digitized information. He has great interest in the intellectual development of students, particularly the intersection of adolescents, technology and access to information. Peter Currie ’74, president-elect of the Board of Trustees, described the 39-year-old teacher, author, and scholar as an “engaging leader and visionary educator” with an insatiable appetite for understanding how today’s students—from grade school to graduate school—learn, lead, and serve in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Palfrey and his family will move into Phelps House this summer, and, he says, they look forward to joining “a spirited, dedicated, and inquisitive community whose long-held values are lived each day.
Dave White
Dave White
“Core values—non sibi, goodness and knowledge, youth from every quarter— form the bedrock of Andover. How can we build upon these precepts to prepare students for a world marked by globalization and innovation? Andover is the kind of place that can ask and answer these questions,” he says, “and it’s exciting to think about where those conversations may lead…” Palfrey is married to Catherine Carter, and they are the parents of two children, Jack, 9, and Emeline, 6.
Samuel Phillips had no idea… …that his vision would grow into the Phillips Academy of today. Armed with a newly written constitution and financial support from his father and uncle, Phillips opened the new school in an old carpenter’s shop at the corner of Phillips and Main streets on April 30, 1778, a Thursday. The Academy’s first students, 13 boys of varying ages, were greeted first by a sermon from the Reverend John French and given their initial lessons by Eliphalet Pearson. It was an auspicious beginning, and during his lifetime Phillips saw the school grow to more than 100 students. Committed to helping his fledgling namesake succeed, Samuel Phillips remembered Andover in his will. In the two centuries since, countless alumni, parents, and friends have followed Phillips’s non sibi example by making their own estate provisions for the Academy. Madame Sarah Abbot, Melville Day (Class of 1858), and Thomas Cochran (Class of 1890) are but a few of the esteemed individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to educational excellence through their estate planning. Bequests have ranged from modest to monumental, and each serves as a tribute to Samuel Phillips’s vision. The true beneficiaries of these thoughtful bequests are generations of Andover students and faculty. Provisions for Andover should be made for “Trustees of Phillips Academy.” To learn about including Andover in your estate or to notify us of an existing provision, please contact David A. Flash, P’14 (978-749-4297 or dflash@andover.edu) or Connie Pawelczak (978-749-4529 or cpawelczak@andover.edu). Information also is available through the Academy’s gift planning website: www.andover.edu/giftplanning.
Recognizing the important role that estate gifts historically have played in strengthening Phillips Academy, the Board of Trustees recently approved the inclusion of documented bequest provisions in The Campaign for Andover for donors age 65 or older by the end of the campaign (December 31, 2012). This new opportunity provides another way for alumni to play a meaningful role in the campaign as well as preserve the long-term financial health of the Academy.