Shipley History: The Basics

Shipley History: The Basics Excerpts from:

A DARING VISION: A History of The Shipley School, 1894-2018

By Trina Vaux ’63

The Founders — The Shipley Sisters 1894–1916 • In 1894, Hannah, Katharine, and Elizabeth rented a house in Bryn Mawr and established The Misses Shipley’s School for Girls Preparatory to Bryn Mawr College.

• Katharine, a Bryn Mawr College graduate; Hannah, a hall mistress at Bryn Mawr; Elizabeth, a graduate of the Female Wesleyan College in their hometown of Cincinnati.

• Turned Shipley into a rarity for the time; it was not a finishing school, but an intellectually ambitious academic institution for women.

• Guaranteed that the fundamental philosophy focused on the whole student: their academics, spirit, character, and health, including sports.

• Wrote in the first catalogue: “It fit [the student] to enter college with a mind trained to habits of scientific study, and a character qualified… to receive the highest culture.” Purpose was “training of a child’s mind to select, retain, and judge information.”

• Imbued their school with their Quaker values but did not associate it with a Friends Meeting so that it was not strictly a “Quaker School.”

• Declared that the “inspiration” for the school was “honest dealing, integrity.”

• Recruited teachers from Bryn Mawr College and from European universities where the sisters had studied.

• Created a curriculum that included French, German, Latin, Greek, English Literature, history, mathematics, and science.

• Formed the School as a proprietary school, owned by the Heads who took profits and losses as they occurred.

• Post-retirement, the Shipleys travelled, took courses, and did post-war reconstruction work.

• Notable early graduates include: Beatrice Wood ’11, a maverick who did not go to college but studied art in Paris, was associated with Marcel Duchamp and became known as the “Mama of Dada;” Ryu Sato Oyaizu ’13, returned to Japan, teacher, chemist; Jeannette Ridlon Piccard ’14 held records as a high-altitude balloonist, was a consultant to NASA, and at age 79 became one of the “Philadelphia 11,” the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church.

The “Hownells” — Alice Howland and Eleanor Brownell 1916–1941 • In 1916, bought the school from the Shipley sisters.

• Alice attended Shipley and Bryn Mawr College for a year each and earned a diploma from the Carnegie Training School for Children’s Librarians. Eleanor was a Bryn Mawr graduate. For a few years, they ran a girls’ school in Utica, NY. • Built a national reputation for the School. “I can count on the fingers of one hand the schools in the country as good as Shipley,” assessed the Vassar College president.

• Hired distinguished core of long-term teachers including: Marianne Gateson Riely (English, 1929–80, Riely Theatre) and Hester Yarnall (athletics, 1936–78, Yarnall Gym).

• Bought the Farm in Gladwyne, including a cottage where the two lived (without electricity until the 1920s), playing fields, and cows, chickens, pigs, vegetables, and fruits providing food for the School.

• Helped the School become known for its cuisine as well as its academics.

• Adopted two daughters, Sylvia Ann and Mary Sheffield, both surnamed Shipley.

• Oversaw Shipley becoming incorporated as a non-profit with a Board of Directors in 1932.

• Purchased Brownell House • Purported to be excellent Heads. Helen McKelvey Oakley ’24 on the Hownells: “… high seriousness and purposeful dedication to a cause.

The cause… was the advancement of women’s place in the world.”

• Retired to Santa Fe, where they were active in the arts, culture, and educational life: founders of a Quaker Meeting, Santa Fe Prep School, and The Bucket of Blood, a safe place for teenagers to gather.

• Noteworthy graduates from the period include: Georgina Pope Yeatman ’19, MIT architecture degree, Director of Architecture, City of Philadelphia; Isabel Benham ’27, pioneer in finance, among first women to hold a NY Stock Exchange seat, expert in railroads; Gwendolyn Grant Mellon ’30, founder, with husband, of l’Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, Deschappelles, Haiti.

Mildred and Russell Lynes 1937–1944 • Hired in 1937 as Assistant Heads in anticipation of the Hownells’ retirement.

• Became principals in 1941.

• Guided students in a necessary transition from pre-war gentility to preparedness for the modern world.

• Made the Shipley War Activities Council a major occupation.

• Recognized that the Farm was no longer sustainable and sold livestock.

• Russell was called to Washington in 1943 to do work related to the war.

• Mildred, who by then had small children, determined that she could not run the School alone.

• After the war, Russell became editor of Harper’s Magazine and wrote a number of books on American culture.

• Saw several alumnae go into military service during the war.

Ernesta Drinker Ballard ’38, promoter of women’s rights and civic improvement; Cornelia Newlin Borgerhoff ’39, as a WAVE, worked on the Ultra Project decoding enemy communications; Patricia James Eberlein ’41 was a pioneer computer scientist at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Margaret Bailey Speer 1944–1965 • Bryn Mawr College graduate with 20 years as an English teacher and Dean of the College of Women at Yenching University in Beijing.

• Was the first Shipley Head with significant experience in educational administration.

• In 1945, invited Augusta Wagner to join as Associate Headmistress.

• While maintaining high academic standards, emphasized compassion, community, and civic responsibility.

• Encouraged alumnae to be “women who are… not conformists, who care enough about the wrongs of the world to take some risks in their own lives… who care very little about membership in a country club but who care a great deal about

Margaret Bailey Speer, Continued membership in the human race.”

• Hired the next generation of long-term faculty members, including Frances Weston (science teacher from 1947–67, for whom the chemistry lab is named).

• Along with members of the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, started the Bryn Mawr Tutoring program.

• Made several significant purchases: Howland House in 1945; an addition to main school building in 1952; Beechwood in 1956; Head of School’s house in 1961; and Middle House on Lower Campus in 1964.

• Oversaw the establishing of a formal alumnae association.

• Ran the school’s first capital campaign.

• Initiated racial integration of the School.

• Reputed for firm, compassionate, and wise leadership; served on several national boards.

• Post-retirement, worked on education and human rights initiatives, active in Presbyterian Church, YWCA, Buck Lane Community Day Care Center.

• Distinguished alumnae from her tenure include: Caroline Gabel ’59, environmental protection pioneer, worked on Clean Water Act; Pamela Jones Clarke ’62, educator, head of schools; Roxana Barry Robinson ’64, author, NY Public Library Literary Lion.

Isota Tucker Epes ’36 1965–1972 • Bryn Mawr College graduate, worked in journalism, and joined Shipley as an English teacher.

• Gave firm guidance in a period of social turmoil with a sympathetic ear to the conflicting views of parents and children.

• Said that “we have no choice but to find… ways to give our students the personal confidence, the resiliency, the self-respect they need for the less and less structured world they will encounter.”

• Purchased the Fuller property in 1966 and opened the Speer Wing.

• In 1967, established the endowment fund.

• Instituted a broader curriculum, including mini-term.

• During the 1969 75th anniversary celebration, had the Courage for

Isota Tucker Epes ’36, Continued the Deed; Grace for the Doing history published.

• Decided to make the School coeducational, with first boys in the Episcopal Exchange coming in 1971–72.

• Post Shipley, resumed teaching and studying for her Master’s degree and ultimately became an artist working with literary themes.

• Distinguished alumnae from her tenure include: Felicity Barringer Taubman ’68, journalist, The New York Times; Molly Cooke ’69, physician, professor of medicine, focus on HIV/AIDS; Lee Stuart ’71, community developer.

Nancy Lauber 1972–1979 • A Middlebury graduate, was Head of School during the transition to coeducation at Greens Farms Academy before coming to Shipley.

• As a math and physical education teacher with no ties to Bryn Mawr College, broke the tradition of Bryn Mawr English majors being Shipley heads.

• Wrote that “relationships developed through advising or watching extra-curricular activities and in free time or at social events increase the students’ exposure to concerned adults and enable the faculty members to help develop the talents and values of the total person.”

• Managed transition to coeducation.

• Oversaw the building of Yarnall Gymnasium in 1977 and Riely Theatre within the old gym in 1978.

• Inaugurated summer session of academic courses and sports clinics.

• Upon leaving Shipley, managed Ladies Professional Golf Association tournaments and rated golf courses.

• Notable alumnae from her tenure include: Donna Leavy ’73, actress; Carolyn Gaukler, MD ’74, specialist in geriatric medicine; Charlotte Cole ’78, specialist in children’s education via media, Sesame Street, a.o.

Terry Chase 1979–1985 • Yale and Oxford graduate and Dean of the Faculty and Head of the History Department at Garrison Forest before Shipley.

• Broke a key Shipley tradition as the School’s first male head.

• In 1980-1981, acquired property for playing fields and had squash courts built.

• Created a Russian Studies program in conjunction with Bryn Mawr College.

• Closed the boarding department in 1982.

• Goal to be “one of the nation’s finest independent coeducational schools.”

• Upon leaving Shipley, became head of Santa Fe Prep and later taught history at several colleges and high schools.

• Notable alumni from his tenure include: Tad Friend ’80, author, New Yorker staff writer; Robb Armstrong ’81, syndicated cartoonist; Lydia Denworth ’84, journalist.

Gary Gruber 1985–1992 • Graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and served as Chairman of the Department of Behavior and Ethics and as Chaplain at Choate Rosemary Hall before Shipley.

• Wrote that “our task is to help students learn the difference between information and knowledge, between words and wisdom, between technology and understanding, and between acts of performance and acts of compassion.”

• Articulated the compassionate participation part of the School’s mission.

• Initiated building of the Middle School.

• After leaving Shipley, held a number of administrative positions and has been an educational consultant.

• Notable alumni from his tenure include: Helen Thackray, MD ’86, researcher, drug development; Reza Sayah ’87, journalist, Middle East; Gib Frazier ’89, actor, writer, producer.

Steven Piltch 1992–2019 • Graduate of Williams College, taught at Choate, and graduated from Harvard University Master’s and Ed.D. program while serving as Harvard’s Head Squash Coach and Assistant Director of Athletics before becoming Shipley’s Head of School.

• Arrived in 1992 with the primary charge to balance the budget, bring all divisions into synchrony, and improve communications.

• In partnership with the Board of Trustees, and the support of talented CFOs, implemented a conservative approach to budgeting, which has resulted in financial stability and sustainability for the School.

• Successfully fundraised in a way that enabled significant campus improvements: new Lower and Middle Schools and a transformed Upper Campus.

• Instituted an ongoing commitment to asking the right questions and using research (e.g., CSGBL and SCI initiatives) to support development of the whole child and to create a safe and welcoming community with initiatives such as the Concussion Prevention and Gender and Sexuality Diversity Policies.

• Remained mission-driven in a period of economic, social, and market changes and challenges.

• Facilitated an increase and intensification in diversity initiatives in order to create and support a multicultural community where each individual is celebrated and can thrive.

• Oversaw the building of an academic program to support 21stcentury education, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary, experiential, and deeply rooted learning (e.g., commitment to STEAM and MakerSpace).

• Advanced the School’s commitment to character education through the Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) program and the launch of Positive Education.

• In partnership with colleagues, committed to excellence in and out of the classroom and ensuring that all programs (athletic, music, arts, etc.) meet high standards of excellence.

• Articulated the goal for Shipley graduates to “do well and do good.”

• Encouraged “compassionate participation in the world” and developed important partnerships such as with the Brain Tree School and Andrew Jackson School.

• Steve and his wife Sunny Greenberg (English teacher) raised three Shipley graduates, Matt ’08, Ali ’10, and Jamie ’13.

The Original Library and Common Room.

Students could visit the Hownell’s cottage at the Farm.

Students were active in the war effort, raising money for an ambulance sent to England.

“Would Shipley Ever Make It As Coed?” Beacon, 1969.

The “old gym” from the Hownell period, transformed into the “new gym” in the 1950s, now the Riely Theatre.

School-sponsored trip to Russia.

Catalogues included photos of attractive boys to encourage enrollment.

1989 Shipley Crew at Henley.

The front of the school in 1896. The building to the left was rented, then purchased; the building to the right was built by the Shipleys. In 1906, the whole was wrapped in brick with the dining room, now the LARC, in the middle.

The Shipley School 814 Yarrow Street • Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 www.shipleyschool.org • 610.525.4300