Andover magazine Spring 2021 Issue

SPRING 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PHILLIPS ACADEMY & ABBOT ACADEMY COMMUNITY

Legacy of Leadership Andover’s first woman Board of Trustees President, Amy C. Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, takes on this historic role and celebrates those who helped pave the way.

Up First Ahhh, the simple pleasures of youth. Perhaps this young man was told to “go fly a kite!” If you have more information about this photo, taken on the Great Lawn in 1972, please email magazine@andover.edu.

1972 POT POURRI

From the Head of School

LOOKING AHEAD TO ANDOVER’S FUTURE I began this letter on March 11, one year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Information was scarce, and uncertainty and fear were mounting. Andover, like all schools, was thrust into uncharted territory that, for months to come, would force us to reimagine how we deliver our program.

By no means have we conquered the pandemic, but we have learned a lot about how to create safe learning environments. With testing, PPE, distancing, and a number of other health and safety measures in place, Andover has begun to repopulate the campus.

All along, we have adjusted our approach as dictated by scientific evidence and public health guidance. Our fundamental challenge—balancing health risks against Andover’s mission to provide an exceptional, in-person residential education.

We have stumbled at times, but we have never lost focus on the well-being of our campus community. In addition to the extraordinary efforts of faculty and staff, I am also inspired by the commitment of alumni and parents.

Philanthropy helped to offset costs for necessities like testing and new technology. Local host families were essential in supporting students.

Some alumni even returned to campus to serve as house counselors.

Alumni admission representatives pivoted to remote recruitment—every campus “visit” and every interview took place virtually. I am pleased to report that applications increased 18 percent over last year.

Not even a pandemic could diminish demand for an Andover education!

As we look ahead, we must return our school to a more strategic focus. What will a post-pandemic

Andover look like? Our vision will be informed by a number of factors, including what we experienced this past year. An assessment of what we did well and where we fell short will help us reimagine Andover for years to come.

What have we learned about our community and how we deliver education? What has the pandemic and its secondary effects revealed about the needs of our students? What changes might result in a deeper intellectual experience, a more equitable Andover?

Animated discussions around a table or next to a lab partner can never be replaced by Zoom. Still, I believe there is something to be gained from these remote interactions. Have students grown in their ability to engage in self-directed learning? If so, will that translate to accelerated learning when they return to the classroom? For those who struggled in remote settings, how might we rethink the support they need and deserve when they return to campus?

I expect the answers to these questions will guide us long after the pandemic has subsided, and we no longer have to worry about things like measuring the distance between us.

I am confident that Andover will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever. After all, what makes Andover truly excellent is its eagerness to evolve and to recreate itself in the context of education and society today.

Thank you for playing a vital role in this evolution.

Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24 Head of School

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Andover magazine reinforces the special connection alumni have with Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy. Through thought-provoking stories, contemporary design, and inspiring profiles of alumni, students, and faculty, we aim to highlight the school’s enduring values, recognize our unique history, and celebrate the rich diversity of our community.

PUBLISHER

Tracy M. Sweet EDITOR

Allyson Irish ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Rita Savard

CONTRIBUTORS

Matthew Bellico Jill Clerkin Nancy Hitchcock CLASS NOTES

Anne Marino

DESIGNER

Ken Puleo

Andover, the magazine of Phillips Academy, is published four times per year. It is produced by the Office of Communication at Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810.

Main PA phone: 978-749-4000 Changes of address and death notices: 978-749-4269, alumni-records@andover.edu Phillips Academy website: www.andover.edu Andover magazine phone: 978-749-4677 Email: magazine@andover.edu Postmasters: Send address changes to Phillips Academy 180 Main Street Andover MA 01810 ISSN-0735-5718

EDITOR’S NOTE This issue celebrates the legacy of women’s leadership at Phillips and Abbot academies and introduces Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, as the first woman to lead the Board of Trustees. Working on this story brought to mind many of the women who have inspired me over the years.

My Italian nana, whose gruff voice and stern manner often caught me off guard, taught me the value of independence. I still keep with me her charm bracelet with the “Serenity Prayer” imprinted on it. A former colleague at Simmons College taught me how to confidently share my perspectives, even if they were radically different from others’. She did so with grace and encouragement, often suggesting, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” And I’ve long been fond of Eleanor Roosevelt, whose quote “You must do the thing you think you cannot do” has felt particularly relevant this past year, when it seemed that every day has brought a new challenge.

These and other inspiring messages continue to uplift me, personally and professionally. And I have many of you to thank for that. In this second issue of the redesigned Andover magazine, we have collected four pages (“Voices” pages 4-7) of feedback ranging from appreciation of our new typography to comments on women leaders to critiques of feature stories.

Thank you for your continued engagement with the magazine, and with the Academy. We look forward to sharing more stories and more Andover inspiration in the future.

Best,

“January 6 may be an inflection point, perhaps a renewal of American democracy or a signal of its accelerating decline.”

CHRIS JONES PAGE 36

“What interests me is finding a solution to hunger that addresses the root causes instead of a band-aid solution.”

INES DURANT ’21 PAGE 12

© 2021 Phillips Academy, Andover, MA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Allyson Irish Editor airish@andover.edu magazine@andover.edu @andovermagazine

ON THE COVER: Photo by Kezi Barry ’02

JESSIE WALLNER

ALL SCHOOL 10

Buzz

104 DEPARTMENTS

18 Wander & Wonder

1 Head of School

11 Off the Wall

4 Voices

13 The World Comes to Andover

16 Faculty Profile

15 Bookshelf

FEATURES

Bob Muldoon ’77 takes us off the beaten path to find a treasure trove of inspiration scattered around campus.

30 Alumni Up Close

34 Philanthropy 36 At Issue 104 End Note

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CLASS NOTES 37

Class Notes

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Alumni Bulletin Board

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Photo Gallery

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In Memoriam

20 Legacy of Leadership JENNIFER K. PIERCE

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SPRING 2021

Volume 114, Number 2

Andover’s first woman Board of Trustees President, Amy C. Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, takes on this historic role and celebrates those who helped pave the way.

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VOICES

Women’s Leadership The Brace Center for Gender Studies and Andover’s need-blind admission policy are two of many important and integral initiatives brought forward by women leaders. Below are responses from alumni about their favorite women leaders at Phillips and Abbot academies.

D

orothy Judd was a long-tenured and much beloved Spanish teacher at Abbot who joined the faculty of Andover at the time of the merger. For my four years at Abbot I participated in her class with unwavering excitement. She captured my imagination, challenged my intellect, and truly taught me how to learn. How do I know? Remnants of the Spanish language remain with me to this day, words I learned over 50 years ago. Impact? I have conversed with Spanish-speaking people as I travel, and Miss Judd is with me as I speak those words. She is vivid in my very being as I think of the stories she shared of Coca-Cola vending machines in Mexico at the turn of the century, our class reading El Frijolito Saltón as an introduction to Spanish, and of being challenged to report our first dream in Spanish.

Other classes and other stories I cannot recall in such detail. Hers I can. That is great teaching and, knowing that, I have encouraged my grandchildren to know the difference.

—MELANIE FALES DAVIS ’65

“ Shawn Fulford, Dickie [Thiras] the receptionist, and Kathy Birecki” ANGELA HEESEN via Facebook

“ Sheena Hilton! She made such a huge impact during her first year as FLG cluster dean. It was truly an honor to work with her and I wish I could’ve taken Chem 580 with her.” _MAXVALE via Instagram

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Dorothy Judd’s faculty photo from the 1971 Abbot Circle.

“ Barbara Chase and Becky Sykes both greatly influenced my academic pursuits, career path, and decision to spend my life in education.”

ICHOLASCWILSON via Instagram

When I was a student, Phillips Academy was an entirely different school from the current. It was all-male with almost no contact with neighboring Abbot Academy, except for those in drama/music productions. We had no female faculty and no minority faculty. Female presence was limited to faculty wives, librarians, and Commons personnel.

Period.

Except for that beacon of brightness in the George Washington Hall lobby—Meredith “Dickie” Thiras. She was the actual “face” of Phillips Academy, and the school could not have cast a better choice. Dickie was always upbeat, personable, and bubbly, with a kind word for all.

Andover students were required to be in allschool meetings in George Washington Hall at least twice a week—assemblies, etc. So everyone saw her on those occasions and every time you went to GW for discipline, college counseling, off-campus excuses, etc. Dickie seemingly knew everyone’s name, though it must have appeared to her as a “sea” of coats and ties in that era.

Dickie was a beacon to generations at Andover.

It’s difficult to think of anyone else in either the administration or faculty who had such a positive impact on so many lives.

—RODERICK M. MCNEALY ’68

“ I adored Head of School Barbara Chase. She believed in supporting the arts at Andover. The GW theater was renovated under her watch.” @DANADELANY via Twitter

The woman I nominate who has had the most impact on Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy is Amy Falls ’82, classmate and friend. I would have nominated her back in 2005 when she became not just the first female chief investment officer, but the first CIO ever appointed by the school. She has contributed so much to the financial health of PA, both practically and philosophically.

I appreciate how she links investing to the pruning in farming, how one can almost never prune enough. In the world of growing assets, just like plants, one has to examine the health of investments and prune regularly. She brings a great combination of boldness, thoroughness, and pragmatism to the school.

—CELIA IMREY ’82

the BIG question Send us your responses to this query and we will consider them for publication in an upcoming issue.

Please email magazine@andover.edu or airish@andover.edu.

How have the events of 9/11 changed your life?

Meredith “Dickie” Thiras, 1964 Pot Pourri.

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VOICES

I

just had an opportunity to sit down and read the fall/winter 2020 issue and was truly blown away by the quality of the writing and editing of your articles. You are to be congratulated.

I do hope Head of School Kington has morphed into the unenviable position of managing this institution successfully and without any more stress than the rest of us are experiencing at this absurd time in our lives. His CV being so extraordinary, the institution is blessed to have Dr. Kington lead it through this period.

—RICHARD MYERS GP’22

It is clear from the content of the issue I just received that the magazine and the Academy have committed themselves to a political philosophy rejected by at least half the country (including me).

However, in taking that step, and in keeping with the classical liberalism that has served Andover so well over the centuries, I think you have a duty and would encourage the development of a forum where these political choices can be challenged. As constituted, I see no such opportunity.

I was quite close with former Addison Gallery director Chris Cook [see photo below, fall/winter 2020 “End Note”] and his family—his wife, Trigger, and his daughter, Esther. I was very active in the visual arts and started up a new seminar series with the Addison Gallery where we brought in local artists, held special events for students, and spent a huge amount of time engaging with Chris and the gallery staff.

Trigger was one of the co-conspirators who helped me with two of the most famous pranks in all of Andover’s history: the Mother Phillips event and photograph, and the Hand of Man project, both of which made it into the 1974 yearbook. Trigger and I have a lifelong bond of special memories.

—STEVE MILLER ’74

—PETER FLEMING ’76

I want you to know how much I am enjoying the redesigned alumni magazine. I found it in my mail today after returning from a month-long respite down south.

Every page is interesting, and it will keep me occupied and entertained, and enlightened, for quite some time. Aside from the well-written text, the layout (graphics and photos) are worthy of an award.

You and your team deserve a mountain of credit!

—MARTY GEIGER ’66

“ So inspiring. Sharing with my kids one of whom is a 2024 grad. Thanks for sharing a message of hope especially during these COVID times.” @CASEY_SUNSHINE_BAND via Instagram

When NASA’s Perseverance rover made its landing on Mars February 18 sending back historic first-ever video of the red planet’s atmosphere, Sarah Sherman ’04 had a lot to be proud of. A mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Sherman helped design sample tubes that will be used to collect rocks and soil from the planet.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Regarding “Reality Check” fall/winter 2020

“ Somebody has to exercise some degree of control and responsibility” or it’s a Hobbesian nightmare of information, is the conclusion of this story.

However, one person’s Hobbesian nightmare is another’s free market. Free markets have easily proven better over time than centralized control systems, if human thriving is the measure.”

JED GORE ’88 via Facebook

Regarding magazine redesign

Tom Lawrence, 1955 Pot Pourri

When my father died 55 years ago, my mother said it was as if the lights had gone out all over her world.

I’m reminded of this because losing PA 55’s class secretary, Tom Lawrence, affectionately known as “Yogi,” had a similar effect on the memory of my world at Andover.

Wondering why, I realized that Yogi checked off all the attributes one would want in a mother hen.

Three in particular that mattered to me were kindness, thoughtfulness, and inclusiveness.

These and other qualities of character and service should draw tributes from across our class.

If so, I only want to add that they are deserved.

Whether or not we see the likes of him again, he is truly missed.

“ Tis indeed some sexy typography!

Sincerely thankful for this, from an ’05 alum who now teaches editorial design.” @JESSESEEGERS via Twitter

Regarding Childe Hassam image fall/winter 2020

“ Great to see this! Visiting the Florence Griswold Museum (Old Lyme, CT) today; favored summer spot of American impressionists of whom C.H. was a leading light.” @KD_WEATHERS via Instagram

—DAVID C. HARRISON ’55

Andover magazine welcomes letters to the editor related to Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy. Please email magazine@andover.edu for further information.

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All School SEAS THE DAY For 34 years, Gordon Baird ’68 (right) has set sail nearly every day, weather permitting. On a blustery November morning, the salty New Englander hoisted his sails for the 10,000th time. Witnessing the epic milestone was longtime friend Joseph Kahn ’67 (left), an award-winning journalist who worked at the Boston Globe for 26 years, and Kahn’s son, Jaime, a professional photographer.

“It was quite poignant for me personally to be onboard for his 10,000th sail,” says

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Kahn, adding that he occasionally handled the jib while taking notes. In addition to living in Massachusetts, both alums also share long tenures as class secretaries and serve on the Class Secretaries Committee.

“I think Jaime’s photos reflect a sense of how exhilarating, and historic, this outing felt for all three of us.”

See story on p. 32 and visit andover.edu/magazine to view more photos.

JAIME KAHN

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All School 2

1

Things About…

More than 40 cherry trees decorate campus with color— most of them are pink and do not produce fruit. Each year, 14 ornamental cherries adorn Phillips Street, behind the Peabody Institute.

Cherry tree festivals take place all over the world to celebrate the beginning of spring. Andover celebrates spring—and a cherished cherry tree located next to Sam Phil—with cookies! Two years ago, members of the science department handed out some 1,500 cookies to passers-by from beneath its blossoming branches.

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The Sam Phil cherry tree is believed to be a Japanese ornamental flowering cherry cultivar, or a Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan.’ It is more than 50 years old and 30–40 feet tall and wide, according to grounds manager Kevin Block.

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The Sam Phil cherry tree was almost cut down—twice! Once in the late ’60s and again in 2004 because it interfered with campus views of the new science buildings: Evans Hall, constructed in 1963 and since razed, and the Gelb Science Center, built in 2004.

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Tom Cone, emeritus instructor in biology, will forever be known for his love of the cherry trees. In spring 2004, Cone started a movement to save the threatened tree. Upon hearing the community’s concern, Head of School Barbara Landis Chase made the decision to preserve the tree. Shortly after, Cone began the simple annual celebration.

To honor his retirement in 2017, Cone’s colleagues planted a cherry tree on the south side of the Gelb Science Center.

the

View the cherry tree in full bloom and see Tom Cone discuss the tree’s history: www.andover.edu/cherrytree

BU Z Z

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

@ 2019 RICHARD SCHULTZ

Narrated by Common, the documentary A Most Beautiful Thing tells the story of the country’s first all-Black high school rowing team and their recent 20th anniversary reunion. Bill Hudson ’70, who has a long affiliation with rowing organizations, helped provide financial support for the documentary and to establish a companion 501(c)(3) fund to develop more rowing programs in diverse communities.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton ’97 penned a blistering op-ed published by CNN while sheltering in place January 6 during the insurrection attacks on the Capitol. Moulton was one of several speakers at a special All-School Meeting convened later in January to discuss the impact of these events.

Off the Wall

SHINING A LIGHT ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

COURTESY THE ARTIST AND GARTH GREENAN GALLERY, NEW YORK

An enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Jaune Quickto-See Smith is an acclaimed Indigenous American painter, printmaker, and self-described cultural arts worker who takes a decidedly interdisciplinary approach to her artistic practice.

Armed with a deep knowledge of the European-American art historical tradition, Quick-to-See Smith adroitly appropriates modernist aesthetics in order to shine a critical light on the erasure and oppression of Indigenous peoples in North America from first contact to the present day.

Drive-Thru, 2002 (at right) is the first work by a living Indigenous American artist to enter the collection of the Addison Gallery of American Art. In this piece, the artist references Robert Rauschenberg’s proto-Pop paintings through her synthesis of recognizable symbols of American culture overlaid with animated, expressionistic brushwork. An Indigenous man with a feather in his hair—a stereotypical visual trope common in mid-century American advertising—is surrounded by the banal signs (both literal and figurative) of shallow American consumerism in this evocative painting. The bold, primary colors of the Sonic drive-thru logo and inky black and turquoise hues of an incorrectly translated “HECHO EN USA” label bleed down the front of the canvas to contrast with and obscure the two-dimensional, uncolored outline of the Indigenous figure, bringing the viewer’s attention to the continued exploitation and aestheticization of Indigenous culture in America. A yellow and blue price tag that one might find on a windshield in a used car lot barely disguises the number “1492,” a solemn reminder of the centuries of violence and genocide ushered in by European colonization.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (born 1940, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) Drive-Thru, 2002 Acrylic on canvas Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, museum purchase, 2020.69

—GORDON DEARBORN WILKINS

Robert M. Walker Associate Curator of American Art

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All School HUNGER IN AMERICA

FLAHERTY JOINS TRUSTEES Dr. Keith Flaherty ’89, P’23, was recently elected to a six-year term as a charter trustee.

Flaherty is director of clinical research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was appointed director of COVID-19 clinical research at MGH last March.

A member of the Andover Bread Loaf Advisory Board since 2018, Flaherty believes deeply in the school’s mission to educate youth from every quarter and to advance education access on and beyond campus. He recently joined the Andover Development Board and is actively engaged in the Knowledge & Goodness campaign.

Flaherty’s COVID-19 teams are tasked with developing and maintaining a portfolio of the highest impact therapeutic trials. Their efforts are linked to cutting-edge diagnostic development and deployment of tools to better understand the biology of COVID-19-related complications and to better inform therapeutic development.

Among his nonprofit board appointments, Flaherty joined the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors in 2018 and the American Association of Cancer Research Board of Directors in 2019. He is also editor in chief of Clinical Cancer Research. Flaherty also has co-founded a number of companies, including Loxo Oncology and, most recently, Scorpion Therapeutics. He has served(s) as a director on the boards of these companies, as well as on the boards of Kinnate Biopharma, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, and Clovis Oncology.

Flaherty earned a BS from Yale University and an MD from Johns Hopkins University. He and his wife, Dr. Mira Kautzky, live in Cambridge, Mass., and have two children.

the

BU Z Z

Al Griggs ’58 was recently honored by Mass Humanities with the 2020 Governor’s Award.

A Marine Corps veteran, successful businessman, and philanthropist, Griggs noted the life saying, “I

learned from a very young age that it is important to work for the common good.”

ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

PRISCILLA MARTEL ’74

importance of Andover’s non sibi motto in his

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W

hat was already a disturbing reality for many Americans has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 50 million people are now food insecure according to Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the U.S. The problem of food insecurity was discussed in depth this winter through a new interscholastic program with nearly 60 students from PA and seven other schools, including Lawrenceville, Deerfield, and Taft.

Coordinated through Andover’s Office of Community Engagement, the six-week session included a deep dive into “Hunger in America” with guest speakers including PA Rabbi Michael Swartzz and Bing Broderick ’81, executive director of Haley House in Boston.

Ines Durant ’21 and Emily Mae Murtha ’22 helped organize the program.

Durant has been working with community organizations to address hunger since her junior year and was excited to be working with peers from other schools.

“I think a main takeaway is that anyone can be food insecure in any circumstance,” Durant said. “There isn’t one cause or one solution or one way hunger looks, and to truly fix it we all need to understand that. What interests me is finding a solution to hunger that addresses the root causes instead of a band-aid solution.”

For legions of Abbot Academy students, Heavenly Goo was the highlight of their week.

Served at Sunday dinner, the rich, chocolatey bread pudding is remembered fondly by many alumni, including food consultant Priscilla Martel ’74 who, along with baking enthusiast Jina Corneau ’03, shared the recipe and high school memories during a virtual alumni event in February.

The World Comes to Andover

Christine Balling ’86

Susan D. Chira ’76

Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, U.S. Army, ’60

2020 Alumni Award of Distinction Recipients

Tadashi Nakamura Filmmaker & documentarian

Nakamura recently screened his award-winning 2016 documentary Mele Murals, which focuses on modern graffiti art in Hawaii and its impact on a new generation of Hawaiians. A fourth-generation Japanese American, Nakamura has focused on this experience for many of his other films and was named one of CNN’s “Young People Who Rock” for being the youngest filmmaker at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.

Three alumni were honored this past fall in the eighth annual Andover Alumni Award of Distinction ceremony. Balling is the founder of Fundación ECCO, a Colombian-registered nonprofit promoting democracy and youth leadership; Chira is editor in chief of The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on issues of criminal justice; and McCaffrey is a retired four-star general who received three Purple Hearts, two Distinguished Service Crosses, and two Silver Stars for valor.

Read more about these remarkable graduates at andover.edu/news.

“ Building a beloved community has everything to do with how we are with one another.”

BY RHEYDEN - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 3.0, HTTPS://COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/W/INDEX.PHP?CURID=9423168

Ramesh Ponnuru Visiting fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Dr. Nancy Hopkins Molecular biologist

For years, women scientists have dealt with gender discrimination and workplace harassment. Hopkins, a professor of biology at MIT and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, was one of several women featured in the documentary Picture a Scientist, which highlights this pervasive problem and the ways in which women scientists are working to change it. The film was screened in February with a subsequent community conversation.

Charlene Carruthers Founding national director, BYP100

This year’s MLK Day speaker, Carruthers is a political strategist and cultural worker. In her role as national director of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Carruthers has helped to build a national base of Black youth activists dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people.

Ponnuru was one of several speakers invited as part of Andover’s Presidential Election Series this past fall to discuss various aspects of the most recent presidential election.

A noted conservative, Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review, columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, contributor to CBS News, and author of The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life.

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All School New Athletics Building on Schedule

Watch a video of the Pan groundbreaking at andover.edu/panvideo.

Mercy Bell ’08 was recently featured in the Boston Globe’s multimedia series “A Beautiful Resistance: Black Joy. Black Wellness. Black Futures.” In the story, Bell talks of family visits to Inkwell Beach on Martha’s Vineyard and the shared cultural history of the island’s Black residents. The photos of Bell were taken

by Julia Cumes ’90.

ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Congratulations to Crosby Kemper ’69, who last year was named director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for U.S. libraries and museums. Kemper previously was director of the Kansas City Public Library.

ISTOCK: BOOKS, POTODUETS

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Wearing atypical red, the Blue Key heads were nonetheless full of Big Blue spirit as they celebrated Valentine’s Day in Paresky Commons. Following a data-driven, tiered approach that put safety first, the Academy slowly opened up the campus this winter with seniors coming back in February and plans to welcome back all students later this spring.

BU Z Z

JULIA CUMES ’90

the

THE COLOR OF LOVE

JENNY SAVINO

Andover has blazed ahead with its latest structure, the Pan Center, which remains on schedule to open in fall 2022.

The building’s formal groundbreaking took place in fall 2020 with a small, socially distanced celebration. The installation of the steel frame will continue through the spring.

“While we all couldn’t gather in person, it was important for all of us that we commemorate the groundbreaking of what will be a top-tier center for athletics programs and for the health and wellness of all students,” said Head of School Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24.

Located near the Snyder Center on the footprint of the former “Cage,” the 70,000-square-foot facility will include a state-of-the-art natatorium with a swimming and diving complex, as well as spaces for dance and wrestling, and will feature the Andover Athletics Hall of Honor. The Pan Center is the second of a three-part athletic facilities renewal program.

The facility was funded with a transformative gift from Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi P’17, ’19, and with major contributions from the Abbot Academy Fund, two anonymous leadership donors, and others as part of the Knowledge & Goodness campaign.

Bookshelf

AN EPIC AMERICAN LIFE

BY ALLYSON IRISH

I

t was just like many of their late-night debates in Paul Revere South: Jonathan Alter ’75, a dyed-in-the-wool lifelong Democrat and future political analyst, and Frank Lavin ’75, a Republican who later served in the Reagan administration and those of George H.W. Bush ’42 and George W. Bush ’64, trading quips about their favorite political targets.

The two longtime friends reunited this past fall for an alumni Zoom event and continued their political banter, talking about Alter’s latest book, His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life.

An Emmy Award-winning author, columnist, and documentary filmmaker, Alter spent nearly six years researching and writing the biography. Having previously written about FDR and Barack Obama, Alter was inspired to look more closely at Carter after hearing the 39th president speak in 2015 at a book club event. There, Carter spoke fervently about the Camp David Accords. “It was a virtuoso performance,” Alter said.

Essentially written off as a weak one-term president, Carter’s four years are often summarized by failures: the Iranian hostage crisis and massive interest rates and the resulting inflation that depressed the nation in the late ’70s.

Yet Alter found there was more to the Georgian peanut farmer-turned-politician—and more accomplishments—not always recognized by the public. With unprecedented access to family, friends, and former colleagues, Alter described Carter as “a multilayered and intellectual Renaissance man.”

Trained as a naval engineer, Carter approached everything as a problem to be solved. That tenacity of purpose, Alter said, was helpful in approaching complex issues. But Carter’s disdain of networking also dogged the president in terms of political capital and at times left him floundering for the necessary support.

As for Carter’s legacy, Alter praised his diplomatic skills in coordinating the Camp David Accords, which have lasted almost 43 years, and highlighted Carter’s prescient focus on clean energy and environmental issues.

“Carter was a true environmental visionary,” Alter said. “He has led an epic American life.”

To be considered for “Bookshelf,” please send a brief summary of your book and a high-resolution image of the book cover to magazine@andover.edu.

The Cannabis Business: Understanding Law, Finance, and Governance in America’s Newest Industry

BY CHARLES S. ALOVISETTI ’01 Routledge As the cannabis market transitions to a legal, regulated industry, participants experience challenges. The Cannabis Business helps clear up confusion around topics such as the distinction between hemp and cannabis and why Cannabidiol (CBD) isn’t completely legal in the United States.

A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc.

BY MICHAEL CANNELL ’78 Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Publishing Group In this riveting true story of hitman Abe Reles, Cannell traces the history of Reles and other gangsters who formed a coast-to-coast criminal empire known as the Syndicate. In 1941, just before the trial at which he was to reveal the truth about his New York mob network, Reles was discovered dead on a rooftop outside his heavily guarded hotel room.

Manhua Modernity: Chinese Culture and the Pictorial Turn

BY JOHN A. CRESPI ’86 University of California Press From fashion sketches of smartly dressed Shanghai residents in the 1920s to imagery of war in the 1930s and ’40s, the cartoon-style art manhua helped define China’s modern experience.

Manhua Modernity presents an analysis of the illustrations and how they evolved through a half century of political and cultural transformation.

Vera

BY CAROL EDGARIAN ’80 Simon and Schuster Vera Johnson—the 15-year-old illegitimate daughter of Rose, the notorious proprietor of San Francisco’s ritziest bordello—narrowly survives the city’s devastating 1906 earthquake. Relying on her wit and determination, Vera and her unlikely new family of survivors navigate a world reborn in the wake of disaster.

The Paintings of J.O.J. Frost: An American Story

BY BETHE LEE MOULTON ’66 Marblehead Museum This full-color coffee-table book contains images of the folk-art works of J.O.J. Frost, a Marblehead, Mass., native who began painting historic happenings in his seaside town at the age of 70. By the time of his death six years later in 1928, he had created more than 100 paintings.

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FA C U LT Y P RO F I L E

TO BE AN AMERICAN

BY NANCY HITCHCOCK

From the series Hegemony or Survival, Pietà, 2013 was inspired

by Michelangelo’s Pietà. Hector Membreño-Canales wanted to personify a Marine who is stoic and heroic, but in mourning for the body he holds.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

P

JENNIFER K. PIERCE

atriotism is an idea that Hector René MembreñoCanales has explored his entire life.

A native of Honduras, U.S. Army veteran, and photographer, the PA instructor in visual studies and photography continuously investigates this theme, pushing at the barriers of what it means to be American.

In one project, Hegemony or Survival, which Membreño-Canales began in 2013 with other artists who are veterans, he juxtaposes stark symbols of war—grenades, bullets, and uniforms— with peaceful imagery, such as flowers and fruit amidst pastoral settings reminiscent of 16th- and 17th-century paintings.

“You photograph what you know,” he says, “and I know about the military as a community. It’s also something I didn’t see represented in the media, so I was compelled to tell these personal stories that veterans carry.”

Another project, An Index of Patriotic Consumption, captures images of consumer goods, such as soda cans, ketchup bottles, and Band-Aids, that boast patriotic messages. MembreñoCanales is not only documenting and archiving how patriotism manifests in advertising, media, and culture, he is also questioning how patriotism is represented.

Membreño-Canales and his mother fled war-torn Honduras when he was 4 years old. Although they arrived in the United States in 1992, he did not become a naturalized citizen until his senior year of high school. And, he says, it wasn’t until he served in the military that he truly felt like an American citizen who had the privilege of an opinion.

“A few years after I came home from Iraq, I found community in other veterans,” he says. “This has given me purpose beyond my marching orders. I have a shared experience with the people

WHILE IN THE ARMY RESERVES, MEMBREÑO-CANALES BECAME A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE, WHICH SENT HIM TO NUMEROUS COUNTRIES, INCLUDING EL SALVADOR AND POLAND. HE CONTINUES TO SERVE IN THE ARMY RESERVES TODAY. I served with and many other veterans.

I recognize patriotism in their sacrifice, but I also recognize that my idea of patriotism evolves as I continue to grow.”

Membreño-Canales joined the Army one year after high school graduation.

He was deployed to Iraq a short time later, in 2009, and began taking photos to document his tour of duty. When he returned stateside, he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City on the GI Bill and majored in photography.

“I wanted to professionalize my hobby, if you will,” he says. He subsequently earned an MFA from Hunter College and began teaching photography and

other art courses at Andover in 2018.

In addition to enjoying connecting with students in and out of the classroom, he appreciates being able to learn and teach from the wealth of photographs in the Addison Gallery’s permanent collection.

“There are thousands of photographs from American history from some of the world’s most well-known American photographers,” he enthuses.

“I bring the students from my classroom in through the back door of the museum and, before we know it, we’re looking at prints up-close and personal. To actually be able to engage with Jamie [Gibbons], the Addison’s director of education, to bring my students into the museum and have her bring out these prints—nothing could beat that.”

Although teaching during the pandemic has been a challenge, it also has provided an opportunity for MembrañoCanales to try some new tools and digital workflows. One challenge he had to overcome was how to teach digital photography while working remotely—and without all students having access to a digital camera. And he succeeded.

“I had a student who was logging in from his home in Somalia several time zones and continents away and several other students who were local or on campus,” he says. “With remote control of a classroom camera, the student in Somalia ended up taking portraits of students who were physically in the classroom—by controlling the camera from his home.”

Membreño-Canales is grateful to seamlessly meld multiple facets of his life as he works at Andover.

“I’m lucky that photography is something I’m passionate about and that it is what I do at Phillips Academy as well as for the Army Reserves. I’m able to dovetail my personal interests and my professional interests, and they inform each other,” he says. “Teaching at Andover allows me to work toward my strengths.” 

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Wander & Wonder 14 campus spaces for finding inspiration

BY BOB MULDOON ’77

DAVID J. MURRAY

Is there a special place you visit when your head and heart are in need of balance? For more than four decades, the Andover campus and all its “writings on the wall” have offered a respite for Bob Muldoon ’77. He grew up in Andover and his mother, Joanne, was a longtime nurse at the Isham Infirmary. Muldoon is the author of Brass Bonanza Plays Again about Mark Twain, a homeless hockey goon, and the lamented Hartford Whalers. By sharing this treasure trove of inspirational messages and places, Muldoon hopes to bring a little joy or spark a special memory.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Do you have a special place on the Andover campus that brings back fond memories? Send us a note at magazine@andover.edu.

As a former day student and longtime town resident, I often rollerblade, bike, and run across campus. Over long decades of tramping from Abbot Circle to Andover Hill to the far-flung fields of Siberia, I have discovered 14 special places of inspiration—where the passerby is exhorted to goodness by lofty word, sterling example, or notable deed inscribed for posterity in stone or metal.

Sometimes when my spirits are flagging and in need of a restorative, I move deliberately from station to station in an inspirational circuit— always finishing on the hour within earshot of the Memorial Bell Tower’s Westminster Chimes. By pausing to contemplate the solemn inscription at each stop and to savor the ethereal notes at the conclusion, I hope that in turn a new virtue may be inculcated.

1

2 3

4 5

"Be bold in your caring, be bold in your dreaming and above all else do your best."

—George H.W. Bush ’42 Varsity field home dugout, Phelps Park “Enter Into Understanding That You May Go Forth To Nobler Living” Abbot Academy Merrill Gate “There Is Always Something To Celebrate You Just Need To Know Where To Look and How To See It” English Instructor Craig Thorn IV Memorial Bench, Hidden Field Road (2006)

6

“In Dreams Begins Responsibility” —W.B. Yeats Elson Art Center

7

“A Gentle Nature with Competitive Spirit” Memorial Bench to Robert W. Sides ’34 West side of Chapel Cemetery

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“Lover of All Nature” In Memory of Moncrieff Mitchell Cochran, Class of 1900 Moncrieff Cochran Sanctuary Gates “Be More Covetous Of Your Hours Than Misers Are Of Gold” —Judge Samuel Phillips, Jr. West Quad Gate (1914)

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“A Youth of Uncommon Endowment, Singular Modesty, Sweetness of Temper and Such Promise As Could Not But Inspire His Relatives and Friends with the Highest Hopes for a Life of Useful Service.

Alas, All These Were Defeated In An Instant by His Untimely Death Due to an Accident on the Morning of May 26, 1934 In the 19th Year of His Age.” Tree Presented for John A. Kingsbury Jr. (June 13, 1935) West Lawn of Cochran Chapel “‘America’ was written here in 1832 by Samuel Francis Smith” America House, 147 Main St.

10 11

“Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, lived here 1852-1864” Stowe House, 80 Bartlet St. “Before the Civil War, this House Served as a Way Station on the ‘Underground Railway’ for Slaves Escaping to Canada.”

Newman House, 210 Main St.

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“We Remember You in This Quiet Place Where You Came to Bury Keepsakes …and They Were Behind Us Reflected in the Pool Then a Cloud Passed, and the Pool was Empty” —T.S. Eliot “Burnt Norton” (1936), Four Quartets Dedicated to Women of Abbot Academy Rear Abbot Campus

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“Devoted scholar, inspiring competitor, beloved captain and teammate” In Memory of Mark Adamson ’11 Co-captain of undefeated 2011 tennis championship team Varsity Tennis Courts

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“Lord Through This Hour Be Thou Our Guide That By Thy Power No Foot Shall Slide” Memorial Bell Tower, Westminster Chimes (12 notes) Music and Words inspired by G.F. Handel’s Messiah [Editor’s note: A hidden surprise in Muldoon’s inspirational circuit, this quote is for the ears, not the eyes. It is from Handel’s music, adopted for The Westminster Chimes.]

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KEZI BARRY ’02

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Amy Falls knows all eyes are on her.

BY ALLYSON IRISH & TRACY SWEET

T

he first woman president of the Board of Trustees, Falls is acutely aware of the challenges and responsibilities of being first. She’s also aware of—and thankful for— the legacy of leadership left by many women who have come before her at Abbot Academy and PA, women who inspire her work to build a better Andover for future generations.

Uniquely positioned to lead the Academy—with experience as a student, alumna, parent, volunteer, benefactor, administrator, and co-chair of the Knowledge & Goodness campaign—Falls talks about her latest role, her partnership with the head of school, and what the future holds for Andover.

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A Visionary Thinker

A

my Falls ’82, P’19, ’21, became the She is incredibly smart and always brought great first woman to serve as president of institutional knowledge and a deep devotion to the Board of Trustees—of Andover Andover to the boardroom.” or Abbot—on July 1, 2020. Rather Now a senior search consultant with Carney, than focus on the centuries-long Sandoe & Associates, Chase has worked to bring journey for women in the boardroom, though, Falls more women into top academic and administrative prefers to reflect on those who helped clear the way. positions in schools and speaks and writes on Chief among them is Barbara Landis Chase, Phillips women’s leadership topics. “Being the first woman Academy’s first woman head of school (1994-2012). to do anything has its challenges, but Amy certainly “Barbara was an extraordinary educator and a earned this position and, like all great executives, she powerful executive. She cultivated will be a leader for all.” and promoted talent all around In 2019, as board presidentAmy Falls will step down her,” says Falls, noting those on elect, Falls’ first priority was to as CIO at Rockefeller Chase’s senior team who have chair the search for Andover’s been recruited to top positions at 16th head of school. The world University this summer other schools and organizations. has changed dramatically during to become CIO at Chase and Falls blazed a trail the two years since that search Northwestern University, began. Today, she and Head of together in 2005 when the school where she will manage a established its own investment School Raynard S. Kington MD, office to oversee the endowment.

PhD, P’24, continue to build their $12.2 billion endowment.

Persuaded by Chase to become partnership as Andover—in the Falls also serves on the PA’s inaugural chief investment midst of a global pandemic and boards of the Ford officer, Falls built a New Yorkagainst a backdrop of political and based team and managed racial divisions—navigates one of Foundation and the the endowment through both the most challenging periods in its Harvard Management prosperous and challenging times.

243-year history.

Corporation.

Under her watch, annual returns “Our leadership, to this point, consistently finished in the top has only seen Andover in pandemic quartile or higher among similar-sized endowments. mode,” says Kington, who shares Falls’ perspective After Falls left Andover to become CIO at that the community will emerge stronger having Rockefeller University in 2011, she was subsequently gone through this period of turmoil. “Even during the appointed to Andover’s Board of Trustees. “I most intense, stressful moments, Amy has remained remember saying to Amy soon after she became a poised and optimistic, focused on solutions, and trustee that my dream was she might become the open to hearing all perspectives,” he says. “Those first woman to lead the board,” Chase says. traits are foundational to our partnership and central Nearly a decade later, Chase remains impressed. to everything we will do going forward.”

“I am so proud of all that Amy has accomplished.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Q&A Who are some influential women from Abbot and PA that have inspired you?

First and foremost, Barbara Chase. Her leadership has been so important to the Academy, akin I would say to Sarah Abbot in terms of impact.

Barbara is what they call a classic Level 5 CEO, a mix of powerful ambition and generosity of spirit.

Barbara shaped the Andover of today, and many of the women on her leadership team, like Becky Sykes and Jane Fried, have gone on to lead other important institutions. Barbara mentored so many other women and she was ahead of her time in many ways—need-blind admission, race, and LGBTQ issues. Under her leadership, Andover moved into a more competitive position.

Another important woman is Linda Carter Griffith, who has been a powerful champion and voice for students of color. She’s worked with trustees on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, helped me to identify some of my own blind spots and, in general, has given us all a sharper lens through which to consider complex issues of race and our own personal struggles. She has given voice to a lot of things that have really helped our community, and helped me, personally.

When I look back on my time as a student, Kathy Dalton sticks out as absolutely one of my favorite and most influential teachers. Number one, she taught me how to make an outline and how to take notes. I still use that skill! Number two, she had a tremendous love of history and of the evolution of constitutional thinking. She was inspiring as a woman, and she was willing to talk about gender-related challenges. She was willing to share personal stories, and I remember thinking about

how women were viewed and how to take charge of that. I was inspired both in terms of academics and in terms of aspirational thinking.

What does it mean to be the first woman president of the board?

When you are the first of anything, all eyes are on you. I’m thinking of how Barbara Chase must have felt as the first woman head of school. It has a huge resonance and it’s a big responsibility.

Candidly, there were moments this past year during the pandemic when I was feeling like, ‘this is just really hard for this board, for this school, at this moment in time.’ But what kept me going was the realization WHEN YOU ARE THE that failure is not an option; it’s too important. Andover is too FIRST OF ANYTHING, important.

ALL EYES ARE ON Being first, I think there’s YOU. IT HAS A HUGE an extra burden of responsibility to do it well. Andover has RESONANCE AND IT'S been ready for a woman board A BIG RESPONSIBILITY. president for some time, but it just didn’t fall out that way. In doing some reading, I was surprised to learn that Abbot Academy had never had a woman board president. It just spoke to me about the ways in which women have occupied certain zones and not others.

What are your views on women and philanthropy?

I have for a while been interested in how women use their economic success to enhance their philanthropic impact. To me, philanthropy is a pivotal component of leadership and it’s something that women are still learning how to navigate.

I think this stems from a decades-old notion of women feeling like they weren’t in control financially. That has changed, thankfully, along with the evolution of women becoming powerful philanthropists, which is important. It’s about women being powerful in boardrooms, it’s about women being powerful in philanthropy and using it to advance

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a greater good. It’s about women really taking a seat at the table to decide on how resources are allocated.

I’ve found it very interesting to read about the early years of Abbot Academy. It was all Sarah Abbot’s money. Let’s just get that clear. But she did not decide how to spend it. There were a bunch of guys and they got the money from her. Then they made the decisions about where the building was going to go, what the building was going to be.

There are a lot of women who run schools, founded schools, created educational movements. But the area of financial stewardship has been one place that women have not always occupied. I think that’s interesting and it’s something I’d like to pursue more as board chair.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

GIL TALBOT

How would you describe your partnership with the new head of school?

I’m ver y e xcited about Raynard’s leadership and his aspirations for Andover. He has a deep curiosity about his job and an abiding commitment to excellence.

When we first met, it was in the basement of the Chicago O’Hare Hilton Hotel. I’d flown from New York and he’d flown from Iowa.

Others on the search committee had flown in too. We were in this windowless, airless, generic, whitewalled conference room. And yet, Raynard was so impressive with a combination of powerful intellect, curiosity, a passion for education, enormous courage, and a sense of humor. I was thinking this is exactly what we need. This is a person who thinks deeply and rigorously and questions everything.

IT’S ABOUT WOMEN BEING POWERFUL IN BOARDROOMS, IT’S ABOUT WOMEN BEING POWERFUL IN PHILANTHROPY AND USING IT TO ADVANCE A GREATER GOOD. IT’S ABOUT WOMEN REALLY TAKING A SEAT AT THE TABLE TO DECIDE ON HOW RESOURCES ARE ALLOCATED.

Falls says Head of School Raynard Kington is “a dynamic leader and a profoundly thoughtful colleague devoted to his community and the well-being of students, faculty, and staff.” Here, Falls and Kington walk together in December 2019 as he was formally introduced as the 16th Head of School to the campus community.

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

Facing Forward, Together

T

eamwork. Partnership.

Collaboration. For generations, the best organizations in the world have relied on these principles in their pursuit of excellence.

Phillips and Abbot academies have benefited from these principles and from two formidable women-led teams that have embraced them—14th Head of School Barbara Landis Chase and Associate Head of School Rebecca M. Sykes, and Abbot Academy Principal Philena McKeen and her sister, Assistant Principal Phebe McKeen.

Chase’s appointment was historic. Even the New York Times paid attention when—in 1994—one of the country’s oldest preparatory schools founded for boys appointed its first woman head. While Chase’s appointment was widely celebrated, some were opposed to a woman leader. Undaunted, Chase moved Andover forward with a clear sense of purpose and her philosophy of being a “leader for all.” She developed a superb team including Sykes, whose Andover resume included work as a college counselor, residential dean and dean of Community and Multicultural Development, and ended with a 17-year run as associate head of school.

Chase’s 18-year tenure covered an array of initiatives, including the strengthening of financial aid, which led to the Academy’s need-blind admission policy; growth of outreach and global programs; and significant facilities improvements, from academics to athletics. Many of these initiatives were made possible by two campaigns that together raised $500 million. The focus during this period was on educating the “whole student,” which began with a restructuring of residential life and student services.

Both women have left their mark, quite literally, on the campus. In 2016, the Academy opened the Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center, the first building named for an African American woman. The following year, Chase House was dedicated.

After leaving Andover in 2013, Sykes went on to work for the Oprah Winfrey Charitable

Foundation. She and Chase are now working together again at Carney, Sandoe & Associates.

In a 2012 letter sent to Chase acknowledging her retirement, Faculty Emeritus Vic Henningsen ’69 wrote, “When you interviewed for the job, you said that you saw your charge as ‘supporting the main event.’ When Susan (McCaslin) and I interviewed you for the Andover Bulletin, you asserted ‘Good schools face forward.’ There, less than six months apart, were two statements of principle that you’ve followed throughout your long and successful tenure.”

Another team with a long and successful tenure, the McKeen sisters—sometimes referred to as Abbot’s “Binary Star”—led Abbot Academy through a series of improvements 150 years earlier, “…ushering in a kind of golden age full three decades long during which Abbot prospered as never before…” wrote Faculty Emerita Susan Lloyd in A Singular School.

Hailing from Vermont, the McKeen sisters were two of seven children. Their father, a minister, taught the children himself, and both Philena and Phebe went on to teach at schools and boarding seminaries starting at the age of 16.

The sisters arrived at Abbot in 1859 and set to work expanding buildings, grounds, and teaching resources, as well as improving the curriculum, the school’s relationship with the town of Andover, and bringing in wellknown speakers such as Helen Keller.

Frugality and resourcefulness were hallmarks of the McKeens. Lloyd shares how the sisters required all wastepaper to be saved; they sold the paper and used the proceeds to buy framed pictures to decorate the classrooms. In another instance, Philena—frustrated by the meager set of silverware the school was using—invited the trustees to tea using the “ghastly set of cheap alloy dessert spoons…that had an annoying tendency to upset the teacups.” Soon after, one of the trustees sent over a set of several dozen monogrammed silver spoons.

Barbara Landis Chase

Rebecca Sykes

Philena McKeen

Phebe McKeen

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One of the things I have noticed is that Raynard considers things from first principles as opposed to just relying on, “this is what other people say or what we have always done.” He’s a very rigorous thinker and I admire that. My own thinking has evolved based on our conversations. I find it really exciting to have a partner who helps to challenge my own thinking.

The other thing that I think is critical—and that is common WE WANT ANDOVER across all of the leaders I’ve known TO BE A PLACE at Andover—is a profound focus on serving the students and the broader THAT UNLEASHES society. Raynard was clearly drawn EXCELLENCE, THAT to the purpose and the power of this PUTS YOUNG PEOPLE institution. He has lived a non sibi life and is a great role model for our OUT IN THE WORLD students.

WHO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ANALYZE PROBLEMS, CREATE AND COMMUNICATE SOLUTIONS, AND EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS.

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PA is an expensive enterprise to run: needblind admission, curricular innovation, and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As co-chair of the Knowledge & Goodness campaign, how crucial is it that PA hit its financial goals?

The campaign is crucial to Andover’s continued strength. Not only does it advance faculty and student initiatives, but it also addresses some deficiencies. For example, the new Snyder Center and the Pan Athletic Center, which is currently under construction, are keys to having facilities that match the caliber of our athletics program. And adequately funding need-blind admission is important to upholding our value of youth from every quarter.

The campaign effort will deepen and better leverage resources for these priorities.

How would you characterize Andover’s mission in action?

We want Andover to be a place that unleashes excellence, that puts young people out in the world who have the ability to analyze problems, create and communicate solutions, and empathize with others, particularly those whose views differ from their own. People who have a deep understanding of the world around them. That’s a very powerful service and mission.

What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned from a mistake or failure?

I think a learning, resilient mindset is important. I basically failed math my upper year at Andover and after that, I really thought I could not do math. Years later in graduate school, a professor told me “You can fail at something once and succeed in it later on.” That was one of the most important pieces of advice I’ve ever received. One failure does not dictate your life. In reality, failure is necessary in order to learn. It’s certainly not terminal, and often your mistakes or failures are what you remember most.

What is your approach to leading an effective board meeting, especially with so many strong personalities in the room?

That’s an important question. My predecessor, Peter Currie, was a master at creating an inclusive culture on the board so that people really felt heard.

It’s critical to allow and encourage all voices. At the same time, you have to foster an environment where we debate, we talk, we express our points of view, and then we rally around an outcome.

The pandemic, like any crisis, probably brought out the differences more. We’ve had some tough conversations, but I feel that the underlying love for the institution creates enough glue that we can have open debate and not take anything personally.

And that is an important dynamic that sets us up for stronger decision-making.

How will the board and the school go about building Andover’s future?

There are a lot of ways in which the world has evolved. Technology has changed, the diversity of the Andover community is radically different than it was years ago. So how we operate or think about defining excellence—given the fast pace of change— is really important. I’m optimistic about our future and thankful because the board shares a common passion for the institution and the mission.

We’ve begun to have conversations about Andover’s future and what is interesting is that we are first considering shared principles before moving forward. It’s common for leaders to assume that we already know certain things, therefore we don’t need to talk about them. Let’s just move to execution, to the next strategic plan. But we want to

ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

With Dignity and Respect

D

onna Brace Ogilvie ’30 and Linda Carter Griffith embody the Platinum Rule: treat others as they would like to be treated. A modern-day update to the Golden Rule, this tenet illuminated all that Ogilvie, an Abbot philanthropist, did—and all that Griffith now does as associate head of school for equity, inclusion, and wellness.

“You can’t always force people into a conversation or make them change their minds,” says Devontae Freeland ’15, who spent countless hours with Griffith as a Community and Multicultural Development (CAMD) student leader. “She always treated folks with dignity and respect.”

Throughout her more than three decades at Andover, Griffith has made a lasting and powerful impact on innumerable students as an English and theatre instructor, girls’ basketball coach, cluster dean, and CAMD dean.

In 2016, she was named assistant head of school for equity and inclusion, the first such position at Andover or any independent high school. Promoted to associate head in 2018, she now also co-chairs Andover’s Anti-Racism Task Force.

Griffith (or “LCG,” as she is known) aligns her work with the knowledge and goodness values of Andover. She often talks about the head, the heart, and the hand.

“You need quantitative data and information (the head), but you also need stories from the heart,” she says. “And then, we need the hand, which is action to make the change so that we can positively impact one another and the world.”

Action-oriented also describes Ogilvie, one of Andover and Abbot’s most generous benefactors and the namesake of the Brace Center for Gender Studies. “I call her the grand dame of philanthropy and leadership,” says Board President Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21.

Ogilvie, who passed away in 2015, graduated from Abbot Academy at a time when the school was guided by strict policies regulating everything from dress (modest) to food (not much) to speaking to boys (not at all).

Yet her education there helped her immensely later in life as she took on leadership roles at Abbot, Andover, and other institutions, including the nonprofit Girls, Inc. Created in 1996, the Brace Center is the only center of its kind at the secondary-school level offering opportunities for faculty and students to research and explore all areas of gender equity and intersectionality.

Much like Ogilvie, the Brace Center was ahead of its time. In the mid-1990s, topics such as gender equity and fluidity were not regularly discussed as part of mainstream culture, let alone in a high school curriculum. Yet, it —Sandra Urie ’70 made perfect sense for a woman who knew that she wanted to continue Abbot Academy’s “tradition of boldness, innovation, and caring in education” in a way that showed dignity and respect to all.

“Donna was someone people listened to,” says Trustee Emerita Sandra Urie ’70, who worked with Ogilvie in the mid-1970s as part of Andover’s development office. “She cared deeply about Abbot and the education of young people, and she used her resources to have an impact.”

Donna Brace Ogilvie ’30

Linda Carter Griffith

“Donna was someone people listened to.

She cared deeply about Abbot and the education of young people and she used her resources to have an impact.”

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LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

Champions of Change

S

everal generations separate Beverly Brooks Floe ’41 and Jane Fried, yet both women have made an enduring imprint on two of Andover’s most iconic and fundamental programs.

During discussions related to the 1973 merger of Phillips and Abbot academies, there were many fervent arguments for and against. One of the most thoughtful assessments came from Floe, a lifelong advocate of women’s education whose adventurous spirit took her around the world as a journalist in the late 1940s.

In a 1972 letter to Abbot Academy Board Chair Phillip K. Allen ’29, Floe, then an Abbot trustee, wrote, “We must do all we can to ensure that a third school come into being: neither a renewed PA, nor a masculinized Abbot…”

Floe’s prescient letter offered a way forward that not only would honor the history and importance of Abbot, but also benefit future students.

Floe, who passed away in 2018, did not merely present a unique perspective. She and two other Abbot trustees helped establish the Abbot Academy Association (now the Abbot Academy Fund) at the time of the merger.

The fund continues to provide grants for faculty, staff, and student initiatives in order to keep the Abbot name alive by enhancing students’ education, growth, and socialization.

“The idea to establish something to embrace the values of Abbot was an important feature of the merger,” says Sandra Urie ’70, former Andover staff member and trustee emerita. “It was essentially the linear descendant of Abbot and reinforced the ideas of creativity and innovation, never being

complacent, always moving forward.”

Fried, too, had a vision to enhance the student experience. In her 20-plus years as dean of admission and assistant head of school for admission, research, and planning, Fried saw firsthand the transformational effect of an Andover education and wanted to expand access. Andover had always been generous with financial aid—even offering need-blind admission for a time in the 1960s and ’80s—but working with Head of School Barbara Landis Chase, Fried embraced an opportunity to strengthen Andover by reaffirming need-blind in the modern era.

Fried, Chase, and former Board President Oscar Tang ’56 were instrumental in securing support—and sustaining it during the 2008 financial crisis. Today, more than 13 years since trustees voted to institute the admission policy, Andover has not looked back.

“Forging ahead with the plan … in the face of fear and uncertainty demonstrated compassion and confidence,” said Fried in a 2017 interview with Andover magazine. “That strong position made all the difference to our admission program.”

Now head of The Brearley School in New York City, an independent K-12 school for girls, Fried leaves behind an Andover legacy that embodies the ideal of access for youth from every quarter.

“Jane is a change agent,” says Board President Amy Falls ’82, P’19, ’21. “Partnering with Barbara, Jim Ventre ’79, and her team, she drove the initiative forward and built support. She took what was kind of an abstract concept and put a face to it by showing the impact on actual kids.”

In her 20-plus years as dean of admission and assistant head of school, Jane Fried saw firsthand the transformational effect of an Andover education and wanted to expand access.

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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021

Beverly Brooks Floe ’41

Jane Fried

take the time to assess: What do we mean by excellence? How do we know we’re achieving excellence? What is our pedagogy? Why have we chosen these methods or approaches?

It’s been a long time since the board considered these questions broadly.

Raynard likes to think about and look at what we’re saying we want to do and initiate deep conversation about what that will mean going forward. Once we do this, we’ll be ready to make an execution plan.

JOHN GILLOOLY

The past year has been filled with challenges. Have you identified any opportunities for Andover?

I think that a crisis can really highlight areas for improvement. It’s painful, but if you don’t use it as an opportunity to identify where you’re vulnerable, then you miss an opportunity to grow. Nobody wants to go through these things, but at least you can take what it has to teach you.

One thing I’ve learned is the vital importance of the human connection and how central it is to our mission. I’ve become even more grateful for and dedicated to the value of our residential, in-person teaching and the value of the kids being with other kids. Some of the grief that people feel—and I’ve encountered students and parents who were really grieving about missed opportunities—has been very painful. But it also shows how much they value an Andover education and how you can’t really replicate it.

We also know that during the pandemic, the disparity of performance widened in our community as well as in the world. Our ability to bring kids together from different communities and different circumstances in an environment where they can thrive is essential.

The pandemic has shown how much we value what Andover does best as a world-class residential high school. It’s put into high relief exactly how magical this educational experience is. 

I THINK THAT A CRISIS CAN REALLY HIGHLIGHT AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT. IT’S PAINFUL, BUT IF YOU DON’T USE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY WHERE YOU’RE VULNERABLE, THEN YOU MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW.

Falls says the pandemic has put into high relief the value of an Andover education and of having students from all walks of life come together and thrive. As the parent of an alumna (Alice ’19) and a current student (Athena ’21), she has seen the positive impact of Andover’s diverse community.

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A LU M N I U P C L O S E

Who’s Telling Your Story?

Artist and scholar Danielle Brown ’97 elevates diversity in the arts

BY CHRISTINE YU ’94

DENISE SIMON ’94

W

hen Danielle Brown ’97 resigned from her position as assistant professor of music history and cultures at Syracuse University in 2014, she wasn’t sure of her next step. Would she be a writer? Would she perform music? The one thing she knew for certain was that she wanted to tell stories and help others do the same. That November, she founded My People Tell Stories, a publishing and production company.

But Brown isn’t interested in storytelling for storytelling’s sake. To her, it is critically important that people of color tell and interpret their own stories because, as her company’s tagline plainly states: “If you’re not telling your own stories, someone else is telling them for you.”

During her decade-plus in academia, Brown was troubled by the lack of representation by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in music studies, particularly in her field of ethnomusicology, which she describes as the “anthropology of music.”

During her decade-plus in academia, Brown was troubled by the lack of BIPOC representation in music studies, particularly in her field of ethnomusicology, which she describes as the “anthropology of music.”

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“It’s predominantly white people researching people of color. Not only that, but historically there’s been this sense that people of color can’t write about themselves because they’re not objective enough to do so,” she says. In response, she published East of Flatbush, North of Love: An Ethnography of Home in 2015. In it, she describes growing up in East Flatbush, a West Indian community in Brooklyn, N.Y., and threads music throughout, from calypso to hip hop.

“I really wanted to tell my story in a way that was accessible and in line with the storytelling traditions of the culture in which I grew up,” she says.

Growing up in New York City, Brown’s household was filled with music. She sang and at age 7, began playing the piano. After attending a performing arts middle school, Brown entered Andover as a junior, joining older brother David ’95. She continued to explore music, performing at the student coffeehouses during Black Arts Weekend and Latin Arts Weekend. And she appreciated Andover’s diversity in comparison to other boarding schools.

STUDENT STARTUP DEDICATED TO FOOD RESCUE

“Being at a school for four years where so few people looked like me was kind of a scary proposition, especially coming from New York,” she says.

One of the reasons Brown left academia was because she believed she could better affect change from outside the university setting. For example, her Caribbean music workshop, taught by people with Caribbean roots who are experts in the music and dance of the region, addresses questions such as: “How are we teaching these musics? Are we just taking [Caribbean] music and putting it into a Western framework, which is what happens a lot of the time? What is the damage when we do that?”

P

rompted in part by observing mealtime waste on campus, Arnav Bhakta ’22 and Emily Huang ’21 decided to do something about it.

A nonprofit dedicated to food rescue and food waste awareness, Stem4Free was created during spring break 2020. The unusual name refers to a plant stem, with “4Free” describing how the food is donated. The organization is managed and run completely by teens, with seven PA board members recruiting, training, and overseeing about 175 high school volunteers who act as intermediaries between restaurants and community food banks.

“Because Andover students come from all corners of the world, we were able to have a big impact and an international footprint immediately,” says Bhakta, president and CEO. There are now 31 branches of Stem4Free in the United States, two in India, and one each in Hong Kong, Italy, and Canada.

Students identify sources of surplus food and then distribute that food—typically baked goods, chicken, pasta dishes, sandwiches, fruit bowls, and vegetables—to local organizations that assist people in need. Most donations are scheduled, but some, like the 20 coconut pies from a downtown Andover bakery, are spur of the moment.

Emma Fu ’21 manages the Michigan branch, which donates twice a week to a local hospital. “We are always welcomed by huge smiles from the health care workers,” she says. “There’s a sense of pride and satisfaction when your actions help brighten someone’s day.”

—JILL CLERKIN

“ I really wanted to tell my story in a way that was accessible and in line with the storytelling traditions of the culture in which I grew up.”

Visit Stem4Free.org to learn more.

MINYAN SHI P’21

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced Brown to cancel in-person events, her work has taken on more credence as racial justice issues have bubbled to the forefront of the current political and cultural environment. Last June, Brown published an open letter on racism in music studies.

“There’s this assumption that you can go in and study a culture for some years and then become an expert. I think that’s far from the truth,” she says. “There has not been enough thought given to how much it takes to understand another culture that’s very different from your own. I don’t think that we’ve really grappled with that very well in ethnomusicology.”

Brown, who currently lives in Miami, says the response to her letter has been overwhelming.

“There are a lot of people thinking about the topic of systemic racism in music, and what [the letter] showed me was that there were many people who wanted to say something but didn’t feel like they had a voice.”

While Brown hopes to see change take root soon, she’s also a realist. “History has shown that we are in a constant struggle. Until history starts showing me something different, I will hope for the best but not expect it.” 

Emma Fu ’21 and brother Steven make a delivery in Michigan.

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A LU M N I U P C L O S E

Milestone at Sea Gordon Baird ’68 completes epic sail

BY JOSEPH P. KAHN ’67

O

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JAMIE KAHN

ne brisk afternoon in early November, the wind was blowing 12 knots in Gloucester Harbor as G ordon Baird ’68 stepped onto his 37-foot sailboat Crazy Uncle and prepared to cast off. Two visitors hopped aboard to lend a hand—and to record the trip for posterity. For as routine as this 90-minute sail promised to be—Baird undertakes one like it virtually every day, no matter the season or weather conditions—it was, in fact, historic.

Meticulously kept records confirmed this to be his 10,000th sail, a total that began on May 7, 1987, and a milestone number for any activity, never mind one that shares a setting with The Perfect Storm, a cautionary maritime tale if there ever was one.

During much of that period, Baird averaged more than 325 sailing days annually. Three times he’s eclipsed the 350 mark. In February 1996, the Boston Globe celebrated his then–record streak of 365 straight days with a front-page feature, written by David Arnold ’67.

“My motto is, if you can find a reason not to go, you will find a reason not to go,” said Baird, who lives with his wife, JoeAnn, in an antique farmhouse on Gloucester’s picturesque Eastern Point.

An actor-musician by trade—he’s also a cable TV host, newspaper columnist, and gentleman farmer—Baird likens his routine to that of a guitarist aspiring to play like Jimi Hendrix.

“You do that by practicing every day,” he noted. “And I do mean every day. Otherwise, you’ll never get there.”

That attitude has won Baird a

boatload of trophies from races up and down the New England seacoast. In Gloucester, he has sailed his smaller boat, a 14-foot Sunfish, in heat waves and snowstorms, on whispery calm days and menacingly blustery ones.

He’s even chipped through harbor ice to hoist sail in the dead of winter.

One might guess that Baird, now 70, sailed competitively at Andover.

But no. A city kid from Manhattan, he actually hated sailing and instead pursued extracurriculars like choral singing and acting.

After graduating from PA and Marlboro College, Baird moved out west. In 1976, he co-founded Musician magazine in his mother’s Colorado barn, then later moved its headquarters

to Gloucester, where he oversaw the operation with his brother, Jonathan “Jock” Baird ’67.

In 1981, Musician was sold to Billboard; it would fold in 1999.

On this overcast November afternoon, though, Baird was not thinking of any of that. Rather, he was chasing a personal goal—his own Mount Everest climb, if you will—that had been on his horizon for a very long time.

As one of his crewmates helped winch the jib, Baird delivered a short seminar on wind physics and sail angles. He was clearly, and happily, in his element.

Later, back on shore, he opened his logbook and entered report number 308 for the year 2020. “Cold, dark, breezy, southeasterly wind,” he wrote.

“Round-trip to Eastern Point.” And then, this kicker: “Hitting the big 10,000 in 33 years!” 

A DOGGONE GOOD JOB LONI EDWARDS ’02

E

very day in the office is a surprise for Loni Edwards ’02—she could be working with dogs, ducks, pigs, toads, or even hedgehogs!

Edwards launched The Dog Agency (TDA), a talent management and marketing agency for animal influencers, in 2015. Since then, she has represented hundreds of internet-famous stars, some of whom have amassed millions of followers.

For one marketing campaign, Chloe, a miniature French bulldog wearing a crisp white bib at an outdoor dining table, is ready to indulge in a chefprepared meal at a beautiful Ritz-Carlton property to promote its pet-friendly philosophy. In another ad, Kenzie the cavapoo wears pink silk pj’s while on a bed with a tray of breakfast delights modeling for Hotels.com. For a recent Netflix promotion of Space Force, a goldendoodle sports a space cape while proudly staring off into space.

“It’s honestly the best job in the entire world,” says Edwards. “I’m working with pets all day long, which is incredible, and I’m working with brands that I admire.”

Edwards didn’t always know she’d be working with pet influencers. After graduating from Cornell and Harvard Law, she worked for a large law firm in Los Angeles. When Edwards decided to launch her own company, she entered the pet influencer space just as it was emerging.

With media attention from Forbes, Vogue, the New York Times, and Fast Company and appearances on Good Morning America, Edwards is now working on a new book—How to Make Your Dog #Famous—to be published later this year.

—NANCY HITCHCOCK

“The belief that the Constitution is a set of ideals worth defending has led countless generations of Andover alumni to pursue a non sibi life of service to country and will undoubtedly lead future generations to follow in their path.”

ENSIGN ANIRUHD “ANI” MURALI ’16, U.S. NAVY

Read more about Gordon Baird ’68, Loni Edwards ’02, and Ani Murali ’16 online at andover.edu/magazine.

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P H I L A N T H RO P Y

KNOWLEDGE & GOODNESS: THE ANDOVER CAMPAIGN

Making Music at Andover A Dynamic New Building Is on the Horizon

BY ABBEY SIEGFRIED

Chair, Department of Music, and School Organist

Each fall, I have our choral students form a circle around the classroom and sing. It’s one of the first things we do as a group, and when I began teaching at Phillips Academy I had to explain the exercise. Now our Circle Song is a beloved tradition, something my student leaders have wonderfully taken over. Across the ring they sing to one another, particularly addressing new students: “You are enough, exactly as you are.” For me, to have that moment of them all look-

ing at one another—to see and hear the students singing to each other instead of it coming from me as their teacher—is one of the most beautiful things. That’s what music can do at Andover, what it’s always done at Andover—profoundly bring us together.

The promise of experiences like that is what drew me to Phillips Academy in the first place. I came to Andover in 2011 and immediately fell in love with the school’s dedication to music as an

integral part of the curriculum. Every single student is exposed to music in some way during their time here, which is incredible.

That commitment makes PA different from a lot of our peer schools. For a school today to make music a part of its core curriculum—to say that kids should take an art, music, or theatre class—is unique. A student can come here without having played an instrument or sung in a choir. And with encouragement and

The new music building will be located on Phillips Street, adjacent to the Peabody Institute.

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“ Music education is so vital because learning how music is made and why it’s made is to have a deeper understanding of what it means to simply be human.” training, they’re either writing a song, doing a film composition, or playing in an ensemble or rock band—it’s amazing.

I wish I had gone to a school like this! It makes me so proud to teach here.

Music is something that all humans experience. It’s innate. We dance, we sing, we partake of melody and rhythm no matter where we’re from in the world.

Music education is so vital because learning how music is made and why it’s made is to have a deeper understanding of what it means to simply be human.

And what it is to exist in this world, be connected to people, and discover some of life’s shared moments.

For our students, music is also an avenue of self-expression and belonging. I often hear students talk about how songs change for them throughout their time at Andover, how lyrics can deepen in meaning. It’s astounding. They refer to the music program as home, whether they’re playing with the orchestra, practicing instruments in a tiny room in Graves Hall basement, or singing remotely to one another across time zones on Zoom. It’s always home for them because music is there. Music is something that connects us in that way.

Now, with support from our Knowledge & Goodness campaign, plans are underway for a new music building with recording studios, electronic music labs, and more space for practice, performance, and collaboration. It will be the first new academic building on campus in nearly 20 years! Our current space in Graves Hall—originally constructed for

Students benefit from a wide spectrum of music programming throughout their Andover education.

BY THE NUMBERS 30,000 ft2 purpose-built structure on two floors 3 flexible ensemble spaces 250-seat performance hall 3 state-of-the-art classrooms 19 practice rooms 2 technology labs, plus electronic music studio and “Rock Room” with recording and broadcast capabilities 8,500+ recordings and digital databases in music library

science in 1882—is cramped, outdated, and unable to offer the adequate room and technology so many of our students crave and deserve. In a new building, we’ll be able to make music together, teach, and learn in much more creative and forward-thinking ways, and that’s so exciting. It’s wonderful to see early alumni and parent support for this project, but so much more is needed. And I know that without their investments, it cannot become a reality.

What I love most is that the building doesn’t just say to our high-flying music students, here’s this beautiful place. It says to everyone that music education is a key value of our school. This will be a space where kids feel known and welcome, one of their places at Andover. If Graves can be their home, and the cloister of Cochran Chapel can be their home, and these students are this imaginative and vibrant now, think about what it will be like when there’s a new building!

It will be the most amazing gift—a new home in which to connect and celebrate with one another, through music. 

To support Andover’s future music building, visit andover.edu/makemusic or contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu.

35

AT ISSUE

White Supremacy Has Never Left Us

BY CHRIS JONES

T

The animating principle of white supremacy in America is not just that white people are superior; it is a myth masquerading as history that America is a white nationstate and white people alone are its true inheritors.

The animating principle of white supremacy in America is not just that white people are superior; it is a myth masquerading as history that America is a white nation-state and white people alone are its true inheritors. It’s why these insurrectionists made no effort to disguise themselves, because they didn’t think they were doing anything unjustified. They felt they had every right to be there.

These were the actions of people who believe the nation, the government, even the Capitol building itself, rightfully belong to them. They are beholden to a fantasy that’s criminally racist and dangerously self-indulgent.

But if observing the events of that day evoked cynicism or despair that American democracy is doomed, remember that the events of January 6 should always be coupled in our minds with the events of the day before. On January 5, runoff elections in Georgia resulted in the election of two new senators, Jon Ossoff, a Jewish American man, and Rev. Raphael Warnock, an African American pastor. They won despite a runoff election system that the state of Georgia designed in 1964 to ensure that white candidates would win. The grassroots work of Stacy Abrams, an African American organizer, allowed them to overcome this. What was once a Confederate state has now sent two men to the U.S. Senate who represent everything the Confederacy rejected.

Even now, democracy advances through organizing, hard work, collective action, and nonviolence. But there’s no guarantee it will continue to advance—or win out in the end.  Chris Jones is an instructor in history and social sciences.

This is an excerpt of his comments delivered at a special All-School Meeting January 12.

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ISTOCK: U.S. CAPITOL, TREKANDSHOOT

he display of the Confederate flag in the Capitol on January 6 illustrates an uncomfortable truth: the history of America and American democracy has always been bound up with white supremacy. Democracy in America began in the late 18th century as a practice by and for white men. Democracy advanced only as those groups originally considered unfit to participate in government—like African Americans and women—secured their political rights in the face of considerable resistance.

But the ideology of white supremacy has never been diminished just because democracy has expanded. White supremacy is an adaptive ideology, always changing, promulgating new myths, attempting to reclaim oppressive power.

Its adherents often pretend to honor democracy, but they only endorse democratic government so long as the preservation of white supremacy is ensured. The Confederacy itself was created because Southern states controlled by white enslavers refused to accept the results of a freely held election in 1860 that brought Abraham Lincoln, an antislavery man, to the White House.

Since the Civil War, the Confederate flag has endured as a symbol of white supremacy and the darker side of American history: that a white Christian society imposed its will on nonwhites and non-Christians through slavery, segregation, poll taxes, lynchings, and terrorism.

It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that on January 6, alongside the sight of Confederate flags were crusader crosses, freshly printed “MAGA Civil War” T-shirts, anti-Semitic tattoos, Nazi references, and other symbols of right-wing hate groups.

Their purpose was to intimidate through violence.

But for the lack of white robes, there was no discernible difference between their behavior and those who would attend a KKK rally.

END NOTE

Stepping Into My Turn

honor as I come and go from the chapel.

Over the years, I have returned to Cochran to attend a few events, to guest-preach on a Sunday, and to participate in a couple of reunions. I was honored to share the chancel with Rev. Zaeder to memorialize English instructor Jean St. Pierre, and I have even tucked into the empty building occasionally for quiet, reflective time.

BY REV. GINA FINOCCHIARO ’97

I

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JESSIE WALLNER

have been offering worship for the Protestant community weekly via Zoom this past year.

I usually set up in the main sanctuary in Cochran Chapel, careful to include a background view of the beautiful space that is recognizable to many.

Most Sunday nights, it is a casual gathering of a small group—students logging in from dorm rooms or home. Michael Belcher on the keyboard from home.

Sometime in the fall I relocated my perch to the balcony, which provided a sweeping vista of the entire chapel—even better.

As I came into the balcony, I ran into a wall of memories. I was a day student on a near-full scholarship. My family never felt comfortable participating in Andover events. My senior spring we had an argument the night of Baccalaureate.

My parents did not want to come, and I had to be on campus early for rehearsal. I drove myself. They never came.

I played with the handbell choir that night from the balcony. After the program was over, I went back upstairs to pack up the bells. Music instructor Carolyn Skelton and I exchanged some sweet goodbyes. By the time I left, I was pretty sure I was the last one out. I sat on the steps to take in a view of the setting sun across the Great Lawn and I gave in to my emotions, feeling safely anonymous and alone. And then Barbara Landis Chase approached.

It was too late; I could not regain my composure that quickly. The head of school sat on the steps with me for a bit. I do not remember what she said. What I remember is her presence.

Twenty-three years later, I walk from a basement apartment in a dormitory named in her

I looked out over the balcony and felt the weight of the ages: the hopes and fears of all the years. I was filled with tremendous gratitude for the Andover souls and spirits that had guided me through tender years and well into adulthood.

That fall night, before I began my next “Zoom” worship, I looked out over the balcony and felt the weight of the ages: the hopes and fears of all the years. I was filled with tremendous gratitude for the Andover souls and spirits that had guided me through tender years and well into adulthood. I was aware of the precious “firsts” I experienced on this campus. Viscerally, I also knew the continuum of the Andover call.

It is now my turn to step into the flow—to stand alongside students coming into their own voice, struggling to know who they are, learning many things, challenging many perspectives, forming habits and character that will forever make them who they are becoming.

For however long, it is my turn. What an honor.

The Reverend Gina Finocchiaro ’97 is PA’s interim Protestant chaplain; she began this assignment in August 2020. Prior to Andover, Finocchiaro served churches in New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, and was the community chaplain at Brewster Academy.

BIG BLUE MOMENTS OFTEN HAVE SMALL BEGINNINGS

It starts with a simple gesture. A single gift.

And it becomes something transformative.

Every donation to the Andover Fund or Parent Fund energizes our campus—and addresses its most urgent needs. Now more than ever, annual gifts secure the health and wellness of our students and create teaching moments large and small.

Join our community of donors. Make the next Big Blue moment yours.

andover.edu/moments

Periodicals postage

PAID at Andover, MA and additional mailing offices

MAKING HIS MARK Considered a preeminent American sculptor, Mel Kendrick ’67 is known for his striking abstract sculptures including Marker #1 shown in this 2009 photo taken in Gardiner, N.Y. The first retrospective of Kendrick’s work will be on display this spring at the Addison Gallery of American Art (see page 95)—including two new temporary outdoor sculptures—and just in time to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Addison, which opened May 17, 1931.

There are many activities planned for this milestone, including an exhibition on the entire first floor with many items from the Addison’s permanent collection, as well as new acquisitions and historical items such as the 1931 opening celebration guestbook.

For information, visit addison.andover.edu.

Photo by Robert Fisher