Three to Receive Andover Alumni Award of Distinction The Alumni Council will honor three alumni on Friday, November 1, 2013, with the Andover Alumni Award of Distinction (AAAD). In its second year, the award recognizes alumni who have served with distinction in their fields of endeavor, whose accomplishments and contributions embody the values of Abbot and Phillips academies, and who have had a significant positive impact on their communities, society, or the world.
Hafsat Abiola ’92
George Church ’72
Frank Stella ’54
Human Rights Advocate, Civil Rights and Democracy Activist Founder and current executive director of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Hafsat Abiola seeks to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in her native Nigeria. She also launched China Africa Bridge and China Africa Forum to enhance women’s contributions to the economy and promote crosscultural collaboration.
Geneticist, Molecular Engineer, and Chemist Harvard Medical School Director of Genetics Dr. George Church helped develop the first direct genomic sequencing method, which enabled the commencement of the Human Genome Project in 1984. Having tackled the challenges of solving nucleic acid structures and engineering DNA microarrays, Church is now focusing on synthetic biology.
Painter, Printmaker, Sculptor, Author, and Innovator Influenced by early visits to New York galleries and the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, Frank Stella has reinvented himself in consecutive bodies of work over the course of his five-decade career. With exhibitions in galleries worldwide, he is one of the most highly regarded postwar American artists working today.
First-Ever Spring Arts Festival Delights The arts were in full bloom on the Great Lawn on a sunny Saturday in May as the Department of Theatre and Dance presented PA’s inaugural Spring Arts Festival. For two hours, students danced, sang, played ukuleles, performed short plays, practiced stage combat, and celebrated the arrival of spring. Spearheaded by Susannah Hyde ’13 and supported by department chair Erin Strong and the Student Activities Office, the festival invited the arts outside and into the heart of the community.
Mihika Sridhar ’16 studies Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance discipline. “I was dancing in a traditional dress to a song praising Shiva, one of the Hindu gods,” she explains.
Along with attending the AAAD ceremony and dinner on Trustee Weekend, Abiola, Church, and Stella will spend time on campus interacting with students and faculty in classroom discussions, lectures, and small group conversations. Alumni are invited to submit nominations for future consideration to the Office of Alumni Engagement at www.andover.edu/forms/aaawardofdistinction.
Addison Director Brian Allen Heads to New-York
Andover | Fall 2013
13
Kristin Bair O’Keeffe
In January 2014, Brian Allen, director of the Addison Gallery of American Art since 2004, will become museum director and vice president of the New-York Historical Society. Founded in 1804, the New-York Historical Society is the city’s oldest art museum, with a current collection of more than 1.6 million objects. A nationwide search was launched for Allen’s successor early this fall. Watch for a story about Allen and his many contributions to the Addison in the winter issue of Andover.