The Pingry Review - Fall 2021

THE

REVIEW HARPIST DR. ASHLEY JACKSON ’04

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60 YEARS OF THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM

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IAN SHRANK ’71, NEW CHAIR OF THE BOARD

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Pingry Dreams Big in Pottersville

The School has big plans for its Pottersville Campus, devoted to K-12 Experiential Education—from the ability to “host the world” to the opportunity for immersive, overnight experiences.

pingry.org/review

FALL 2021 | VOL. 78 | NO. 1

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Dr. Ashley Jackson ’04 Uncovers the Overlooked in Music

A harpist since a young age, Dr. Jackson devotes her energy to performing, to promoting the music of Black artists, and to making a difference through higher education.

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The Beginning of The Beginning of Wisdom

Dr. Herbert Hahn’s book about Pingry’s first 100 years was published in 1961. To commemorate its 60th anniversary, take a look at some of the letters that figured in its creation.

The Pingry Review is The Pingry School’s official magazine.

Contact the editor with comments and story ideas: gwaxberg@pingry.org 908-647-5555, ext. 1296 The Pingry School 131 Martinsville Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 EDITOR Greg Waxberg ’96 Communications Writer EDITORIAL STAFF Peter Blasevick Archivist

Emily Cooke Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing Destiny Esper Assistant Director of Communications, Internal David Fahey ‘99, P ‘33, ‘34 Interim Director of Institutional Advancement Jane Hoffman ’94, P ‘26, ‘27, ‘28 Director of Annual Giving and Community Relations Edward Lisovicz Advancement Writer Alex Nanfara P ’33 Assistant Director of Communications, Athletics and Summer Holland Sunyak ’02 Director of Development DESIGN AND LAYOUT Aldrich Design aldrichdesign.biz

Departments 2 From the Head of School 4 One Pingry 8 Off to College 12 New Trustees 13 New Employees 16 View from SH/BR/PV 42 Athletics 48 On the Arts

55 56 58 60 68 70 72

True Blue Spotlight Pingry Creates Pingry in Your Neighborhood Class Notes In Memoriam A Visit to the Archives A Final Look

PHOTOGRAPHY Camille Bonds Peter Chollick Destiny Esper Bruce Morrison ’64 David Salomone Maggie Yurachek ON THE BACK COVER Music Teacher Sean McAnally and the ensemble at Convocation, held outdoors on Parsons Field.

From the Head of School DEAR PINGRY COMMUNITY, Whenever I think about Pingry’s history, I am always struck by movement. The School has never stood still in its 161-year history. Beginning in 1861 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Pingry has branched out across the state, with campuses in Hillside (1953), Short Hills (1974), Basking Ridge (1983), and now Pottersville (2021).

At each turn, Pingry has made bold moves to deepen and enrich the student experience. The decision to acquire the Pottersville Campus is no different.

Pottersville is quite unique in that it is situated among three townships: Bedminster, Tewksbury, and Washington. On a recent Saturday morning, I had the opportunity to meet with members of the Pottersville community, including Bedminster Mayor Larry Jacobs, along with members of the local volunteer fire department, and neighbors. Several Pingry staff and trustees were in attendance. It was a wonderful opportunity to begin new relationships and help Pingry establish a positive presence in the community. We were glad to make new friends.

Just a few days later, we held our first all-facultyand-staff gathering on the Pottersville Campus, with the Lower School spending the full day on campus for their professional development day, and with other divisions and departments joining later in the day for an interactive campus tour and social gathering.

The campus could not have looked more stunning with fall foliage on full display, adorning the edges of the landscape. Having been on the campus multiple times over the last several months, it was most exciting to see the inspired reaction of those community members for whom this was their first time stepping foot at Pottersville.

Several of you have inquired about what we plan to do at Pottersville. We view an opportunity to create immersive learning experiences for our students to deepen experiential education so that students walk away with enduring understandings and memorable learning. We have many exciting events planned, including an Explorer-In-Residence Trade Simula-

“Our goal this year is to enable students and the community to experience and learn about the Pottersville Campus.”

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tion with the Form III students, athletic team building overnights, PSPA book clubs with College Counseling and CAST (Counseling and Academic Support Team), Peer Leadership retreats, and more to come. Our goal this year is to enable students and the community to experience and learn about the Pottersville Campus.

We are writing a new chapter in Pingry’s history and we are excited to invite you along for the journey with us. I know you will enjoy reading the feature story about Pottersville in this issue of The Pingry Review.

Matt Levinson Head of School

A Tribute to Science Teacher Drew Burns’ 31-Year Pingry Career

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agistri member Drew Burns, who taught Chemistry and Physics, has ended his Pingry career after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. A member of the faculty from 1990–2021, he also served as Head of the Science Department in the mid1990s and coached Co-ed JV Ice Hockey and JV Softball.

He always looked forward to getting students excited about learning.

“Teaching and learning is more than information retrieval,” he once wrote.

“It is curiosity, passion, energy, compassion, fun and laughter, frustrations, and successes. It’s about establishing relationships, building confidences, and developing skills and talents that last far longer than the actual content of the courses you teach.” Students have described him as caring, creative, humble, supportive, patient, and understanding.

“Mr. Burns belonged in the classroom,” says Katie Sienko ’05. “Perhaps my fondest memory is of him during our freshman year as he demonstrated what happens when electrons become excited, boosting to an orbital with higher energy. All of a sudden, he leapt from the ground to the chair to the desk to the counter to showcase these different orbitals, without losing a single beat in his lecture as our class looked on in complete awe. I remember thinking: this is why I came to Pingry.”

Chris Cuneo ’96 remembers some of his free time as a senior that involved Mr. Burns. “He taught a new course called Advanced Physics, in which we covered exciting topics like quantum mechanics and the Theory of Relativity. Mr. Burns always welcomed questions, and I often spent my free period at the end of the day hanging out in his office, asking off-the-wall questions. The Science Department under Mr. Burns was serious about giving us an advanced education—and it did—but it made the process fun.”

Teachers have also benefited from his caring and supportive ways, such as Anatomy and Physiology Teacher/ Health Teacher Liliana Torres, in her 21st year on the faculty. Originally a Health Teacher, she joined the Science Department as a Biology Teacher in 2002, then added Anatomy in 2006. Several years after she started teaching science, the School split Biology and Chemistry into two semesters each, spread over freshmen and sophomore years. Ms. Torres didn’t feel prepared to teach Chemistry.

“I had not done Chemistry since college, so I went back to school and shadowed Drew Burns and [then–Chemistry Teacher] Amy Greenleaf on alternating days. I took their classes for a year, in addition to teaching my own,” she recalls. “Drew was very passionate about Chemistry and made it fun and less intimidating. He was all about discovery and trying new things, and looking for that ‘hook’ to grab you and keep you engaged. He gave me confidence to teach freshmen, used his free periods to observe my classes and experiments, and always respected my questions and took the time to answer them.” As part of his mentoring, Mr. Burns shared his class materials—notes, quizzes, tests, presentations—and demonstrated the experiments so Ms. Torres could anticipate students’ questions. “He is a teacher’s teacher.”

Mr. Burns’ colleagues treasured their collaborations with him, including Chemistry Teacher Tim Grant P ’03, ’06, who created many labs with him. “We took a lab [about molar mass] that would get about 95 percent correct results and improved it to 99 percent while also scaling it down to make it a microlab. We even changed the equipment so that its cost was greatly reduced and it could be used by schools with minimal budgets. We presented this lab at a few schools, and they loved the simplicity.”

One of his former softball players vividly recalls Mr. Burns’ impact on her. “Nearly 20 years later, I clearly remember the kindness, enthusiasm, and patience of Coach Burns on my first day of JV softball practice,” says Allison Seebald ’05. “It is a memory that has been reinforced by the countless other moments I have witnessed Coach Burns model this behavior—whether on a playing field or in a school hallway, whether engaging with a student, colleague, or perfect stranger. He is one of the finest people I know.”

Although Mr. Burns taught in the Upper School, he was a friendly and familiar face in the Middle School, too.

Teachers in the Middle School Science Department report that he always took an interest in their activities and was excited to help Middle School students review the details of their science projects.

Among his many teaching awards, he received Pingry’s Woodruff J. English Faculty Award (2004) and Edward G. Engel Chair for Mathematics and Science (2008).

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One Pingry Friday Night Lights Celebrations and cheers during Friday Night Lights in September—an all-school community event and the Football Team’s only night game of the season. Pingry defeated Newark Academy 54–7.

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One Pingry

Honor Board Chair Olivia Telemaque ’22 and Student Body President Giles Burnett ’22 collecting students’ signed Honor Code pledges during Convocation, the official beginning of the school year. The event was held on Parsons Field on September 10 and included a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Boys’ Varsity Soccer Head Coach Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, ’24 celebrated his 900th win this fall (a 1-0 victory over the George School on October 9).

Having helmed the team since 1960, he is the first New Jersey high school boys soccer coach—and only the second high school boys soccer coach in the country— to reach this milestone. With the win, his record as of October 9 was 900-128-76.

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Lower School employees held their end-of-year party in the spring. at right: Head of School Matt Levinson, retiring Grade 5 Language Arts Teacher Dr. Joan Pearlman P ’89, ’92, ’96, Lower School Director (now Assistant Head of School for the Short Hills Campus) Dr. ThuNga Morris, and former Lower School Director Ted Corvino P ’94, ’97, ’02.

Latin I cooking at the farm. In October, Upper School Latin Teacher Judy Lebowitz’s Latin I class was in the midst of a unit on Roman food and cooking. Students researched recipes from the ancient Roman cookbook of Apicius and created a menu that needed to include an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert, all taken from Apicius’ cookbook. Some of the menus included a dish called Pepones et Melones (Water and Honey Melons), and since many of the ingredients are available on Pingry’s farm, Upper School Science Teacher and Assistant Director of Experiential Education (Sustainability) Olivia Tandon helped the class organize a visit to the farm. There, the students used Pingry-grown cantaloupe, parsley, honey, and herbs to make the dish.

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Off to College The Class of 2021 is an accomplished group of 139 students who will continue their academic careers at 75 different colleges and universities, both in the U.S. and abroad.

The stats

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33

National Merit Scholarship Commended Students

15

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

15

National Merit Scholarship Finalists

3

National Merit Scholarship Winners

3

National African American Recognition Program Scholars

3

National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars

18

National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program Scholars

28

Cum Laude Society Members

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37 3 24 16 15

AP Scholars, comprised of 15 Scholars, 5 Scholars with Honor, and 17 Scholars with Distinction (including 4 Scholars with Distinction who also earned National AP Scholar) NCAA Division I National Letter-of-Intent Signees Student-Athletes Headed to Division I, II, and III College Athletics Programs Lifers (seniors who attended Pingry since Kindergarten) Legacies (seniors with at least one parent and/ or grandparent who also graduated from Pingry)

Pitzer College (1) Pomona College (1) San Diego State University (1) Santa Clara University (1) Stanford University (1) University of California, Berkeley (1) University of California, Santa Barbara (1)

Bates College (1) Bowdoin College (3) Colby College (1)

On the map This list indicates how many members of the class have enrolled at each school.

Dartmouth College (2)

Amherst College (2) Babson College (2) Boston College (3) Boston University (3) College of the Holy Cross (2) Emerson College (1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1) Northeastern University (2) Tufts University (2)

Colgate University (3) Cornell University (3) Hamilton College (1) Marist College (1) Skidmore College (1) Syracuse University (1) University of Rochester (1)

Brown University (5) Providence College (1) Carleton College (2) Wesleyan University (1) Yale University (3)

University of Michigan (4) Northwestern University (3) The University of Chicago (4)

Princeton University (1) Seton Hall University (1)

The Ohio State University (1) Colorado College (2) University of Colorado Boulder (3)

Indiana University (1) University of Notre Dame (3)

Washington University in St. Louis (5)

Vanderbilt University (2)

Emory University (1) Georgia Institute of Technology (3) Spelman College (1) Tuskegee University (1) Baylor University (1)

Columbia University (2) New York University (1)

Bucknell University (5) Carnegie Mellon University (1) Gettysburg College (2) Lafayette College (1) Lehigh University (1) Pennsylvania State University (2) Swarthmore College (1) University of Pennsylvania (4) Villanova University (1) Johns Hopkins University (3) The George Washington University (1) Georgetown University (4) Howard University (2) College of William & Mary (2) University of Richmond (1) Duke University (3) Elon University (1) Wake Forest University (2)

Tulane University (1)

IRELAND :

Trinity College Dublin — Columbia University Dual B.A. Program (1) Nova Southeastern University (1) University of Miami (2)

SCOTLAND :

University of St Andrews (2)

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DR. MORGAN D’AUSILIO

FELICIA BALLARD

MICHAEL SARACENO

HANNAH DECATUR

AYE THUZAR

MARGI DILLON P ’17, ’18, ’20

WEIWEI YU

MATT HONOHAN

DEVAN ZADROZNY

Faculty Awards and Chairs With the following endowed award funds, generous donors have sought to encourage excellent teaching and coaching and recognize teachers’ contributions to the School. Read more about these awards, including the individuals for whom they are named, at pingry.org/funds.

PRESENTED IN JUNE 2021

CURRENTLY HELD

ALBERT W. BOOTH MASTER CHAIR / 2021-22

THE DAVID B. BUFFUM FACULTY CHAIR / 2020-2023

THE WOODRUFF J. ENGLISH FACULTY DEVELOPMENT FUND / 2021-22

EDWARD G. ENGEL CHAIR FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE / 2020-2023

Matt Honohan (Upper School History) Weiwei Yu (Middle and Upper School Mandarin)

Felicia Ballard (Middle School Librarian) Michael Saraceno (Upper School Fitness)

THE GREIG FAMILY ENDOWED FACULTY CHAIR / 2021-22

Margi Dillon P ’17, ’18, ’20 (Upper School Spanish; Girls’ JV Field Hockey)

HERBERT F. HAHN JUNIOR FACULTY AWARD / 2021-22

Hannah Decatur (Upper School History) Devan Zadrozny (Grade 3)

SENIOR CLASS FACULTY CHAIR / 2021-22

Aye Thuzar (Upper School Math and Computer Science)

THE JAMES P. WHITLOCK, JR. ’60 FACULTY DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND TECHNOLOGY / 2021-22

Dr. Morgan D’Ausilio (Biology; Independent Research Team)

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Dr. Megan Jones (History Department Chair; Upper School History)

Debra Tambor (Middle School Science) THE NORMAN B. TOMLINSON, JR. ’44 CHAIR FOR HISTORY AND LITERATURE / 2020-2023

Gerardo Vazquez P ’18, ’19 (Upper School Spanish) E. MURRAY TODD FACULTY CHAIR / 2019-2022

Margaret Kelleher ’01 (Middle School Latin; Middle School Language Coordinator)

For Ian Shrank ’71, New Chair of the Board, Honor Code Is Personal Ian Shrank ’71, a two-decade member of the Board of Trustees who assumed leadership in July after serving as Vice Chair for five years, has been part of the Pingry community for more than 55 years. He joined Pingry in Grade 6 at the recommendation of Charles F. Jones, Jr., a family friend who had been President of the Class of 1926, the class responsible for the establishment of the Honor Code.

The Honor Code has been personal to Mr. Shrank ever since, and it served him well when he was President of the Student Council (the forerunner of today’s Student Body President), which happened to be the first year with Scotty Cunningham ’38, P ’78, ’80 as Head of School. In his role, Mr. Shrank advocated for coeducation and was among the “prosecutors and jury” of alleged violators of the Honor Code. During his tenure, the Council also worked on a revision of the Honor System, and those cumulative experiences with the group inspired him to become a lawyer, a field in which the Honor Code continued to guide him.

Mr. Shrank received an A.B. in Experimental Psychology from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School before embarking on a 40-year career as an attorney; he specialized in financial products and insurance as a Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and then Allen & Overy LLP. About a decade ago, he transitioned to non-profit work. He currently is Director, Chair of the Programs Committee, and pro bono Legal Advisor for Per Scholas, and Chair of the Board and pro bono Legal Advisor at Hebrew Free Loan Society. He has chaired The Pingry Fund, is a two-time inductee into the Athletics Hall of Fame (1968 and 1970 Soccer Teams), and received The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award (2019).

What has motivated you to stay so involved with Pingry?

Paying back a debt I could never pay back. I also like being intellectually challenged on a regular basis, so I really enjoy the Board work, which comes with complex decisions.

Pottersville is a perfect example—lots of benefits, some risks. How do you weigh them? There’s no formula, there’s no book, there’s no lecture to listen to for guidance—you just have to sit and think and consider what’s in the best interests of the School.

top:

Ian Shrank ’71 receiving The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award (2019) from then–Board of Trustees Chair Jeff Edwards ’78, P ’12, ’14, ’18. bottomt: Ian Shrank ’71, right, in science class with Jon Sarkin ’71 (who received Pingry’s Achievement in the Arts Award in 2012), left, and classmate Ted Wobber.

As a student, you advocated for coeducation. Why was it important to you? Part of it was

personal. Since Pingry was an all-boys school, I suffered on a social level. I also took the view that the real world is co-ed, so why aren’t we co-ed? That’s what life is. Why should we be artificially single-sex?

You joined Pingry’s Board in 2001 and are in your 21st year. How do you describe the group? I’ve been Counsel

to, and on, a number of boards over the years, and Pingry’s is the most impressive board I’ve ever experienced. It’s a combination of the Board members’ intelligence and dedication to the School, and being focused on what’s in the best long-term interests of Pingry. My experiences with Pingry’s Board have even informed my decision-making process with other boards. I have to say that being Chair means more to me than becoming a partner in a major law firm because people of that caliber are willing to put their confidence in me, because I grew up at Pingry, and because of what the School did for me.

Since the Honor Code is personal to you, do you plan to make it one of your priorities? Yes, taking a fresh look at it to

make sure it’s up-to-date and using current language so it’s as meaningful as possible and remains part of the culture of the School. The Honor Code makes a difference in the wider society—the more people who grow up with that type of code of ethics, the better we’ll be as a country.

View Mr. Shrank’s Convocation speech (his first as Chair of the Board), in which he reflects on the Honor Code and his time with the Student Council, at pingry.org/extras.

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Pingry Announces New Trustees

JIAYI CHEN P ’32

LINCOLN GERMAIN P ’26

CAROLYN “COOKIE” MASON P ’21, ’24

TWINKLE MORGAN P ’23, ’26, ’27

Jiayi Chen P ’32 joined Trutino Capital Management as a Partner in August 2018. Previously, he was a Partner and Head of Fixed Income at Pine River Capital Management.

Mr. Chen earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Science at Tsinghua University and a master’s degree in Statistics at Columbia University.

Lincoln Germain P ’26 has over 25 years of experience across a range of business management and marketing disciplines in industries including consumer healthcare and food, agricultural biotechnology, and agricultural and industrial chemicals. He is Chief Commercial Officer of Zymergen, a biofacturing company in the emerging technologies sector. Prior to Zymergen, he worked for 16 years at Honeywell International. Mr. Germain holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Tuskegee University and earned an M.B.A. at Harvard University.

Carolyn “Cookie” Mason P ’21, ’24 has volunteered extensively for Pingry and is an entrepreneur, volunteer, philanthropist, and activist on a mission to provide children access to education, arts, and culture, especially to create opportunities for girls to thrive through arts education. She also honors the influence of African American artists and helps to advance emerging creative voices. A member of The Bar of New York State, Mrs. Mason has been legal counsel for corporations and private entities. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from American University and a J.D. and M.B.A. in Labor and Human Resources Policy and Labor and Employment Law from Case Western Reserve University.

Twinkle Morgan P ’23, ’26, ’27, President of The Pingry School Parents’ Association (PSPA) for the 2021-22 school year, is Executive Director of Cooperman College Scholars, a non-profit scholarship organization that helps underrepresented students access and successfully graduate from college. Mrs. Morgan also developed, designed, and imple-

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DR. MICHAEL NITABACH ’84

MELISSA (WEISS) MORIARTY ’87, P ’23

ADAM J. PLOTKIN ’94

mented The Fellowship Initiative, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. program to expand academic and professional opportunities for young men of color. She has also worked in private wealth management and strategy consulting. Mrs. Morgan received a B.S. in Mathematics from Spelman College, a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton Business School.

Melissa (Weiss) Moriarty ’87, P ’23 is President of Melissa Moriarty Designs, an interior design firm in Summit, NJ. Previously, she was an attorney practicing tax and governance law for both individuals and non-profits at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago. She also has extensive experience in the education and not-for-profit sectors. Mrs. Moriarty graduated with a B.A. in Economics and History from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Dr. Michael Nitabach ’84 is Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, of Genetics, and of Neuroscience at the Yale University School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of the Medical Research Scholars Program at the Yale University School of Medicine, as well as an Associate Director of the Medical Scientist Training (M.D./Ph.D.) Program at Yale. He received a B.A. in Biological Basis of Behavior from The University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in Biology from Columbia University, and a J.D. from New York University. He has volunteered for The Pingry Fund, Reunion, and Career Day, and been a judge for Pingry Research.

Adam J. Plotkin ’94 is a Partner at ff Venture Capital, which makes seed investments into promising early-stage companies, many for which Mr. Plotkin serves or has served as a Director. Prior to ffVC, he held several startup business development, advisory, and operational roles. Mr. Plotkin received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, and a B.A., B.A.S., and B.S.Econ., from The University of Pennsylvania. He has been involved with the PAA Board for five years.

Pingry Welcomes New Employees JUAN ARGUELLO

MEGHAN BOROWICK

EMILY COOKE

YAN DAVYDOV

TIFFANY CHAN

LEAH CHARLES

DESTINY ESPER

Juan Arguello, Associate Director of Admission and Director of Tuition Assistance, brings years of expertise in tuition assistance, student financial services, and other enrollment-related areas to Pingry. Prior to Pingry, Mr. Arguello worked at Fordham University, Fairfield University, and State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College.

Mr. Arguello earned undergraduate and master’s degrees at Fordham University.

Meghan Borowick, Next Generation Giving and Engagement Associate, joined Pingry after four years in Seton Hall University’s Office of Student Engagement. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at Seton Hall University.

Tiffany Chan, Director of Strategic Initiatives, joined the Pingry community in May 2020 as a strategy consultant.

She previously worked as a Senior Business Analyst for McKinsey & Company, leading high-performing senior teams through planning of and executing strategic plans, and supporting the development of growth-oriented teams.

Ms. Chan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.

Leah Charles, Middle and Upper School Counselor, completed her internship as a school counselor in Clinton Township, working on social-emotional learning, and individual and group counseling. She received undergraduate and master’s degrees at Centenary University.

Dr. Chester Chu, Upper School Science Teacher, has taught Honors Chemistry and AP Chemistry in central New Jersey. He also has over 10 years of experience teaching physics at both the high school and college levels. He enjoys helping students understand chemistry through humor and connections with their daily lives. Dr. Chu earned a B.S. in Chemistry, B.A. in Physics, and B.A. in Applied Mathematics at UC Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Physics at MIT, where he received the Buechner Student Teaching Award.

BRAD FADEM

DR. CHESTER CHU

DR. DAN FRIED

Emily Cooke, Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, comes to Pingry having worked for five years in the same role at the Roland Park Country School in Baltimore. During her tenure, she led several major marketing initiatives, including the launch of a refreshed visual identity and a new website. Ms. Cooke earned a B.A. in English Literature and Anthropology at Bucknell University.

Yan Davydov, Grade 2 Teacher, comes to Pingry with extensive experience in elementary education, including his most recent eight-year tenure at the Ethical Culture School in Manhattan, where he taught Grades 2 and 3. Mr. Davydov holds a bachelor’s degree from the Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York (CUNY) at Baruch and an M.S.Ed. from Hunter College.

Destiny Esper, Assistant Director of Communications, Internal, joins Pingry with extensive expertise in organizational leadership, communications and public relations, marketing, crisis communications, and social justice work.

Prior to Pingry, she worked for the National University System as well as the New York City Department of Education. Ms. Esper graduated from Franklin College and National University.

Brad Fadem, Office of Institutional Advancement Chief of Staff, joins Pingry after working for six years in the University of Pennsylvania’s Athletics Department. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Boston College.

Dr. Dan Fried, Upper School Science Teacher, joins the Pingry community after serving as a member of Kean University and Saint Peter’s University’s chemistry faculty. Dr. Fried, who, prior to Pingry, developed a program to make college biochemistry more accessible to elementary school students across the globe, looks forward to teaching a new subject (biology). Dr. Fried holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Binghamton University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale University.

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New Employees BRYANNA GALLAGHER

REGINA HARDATT

NADINE GANO

STEPHEN HEAD

DAVID GONZALEZ

ERIK HOVE

JILL HOWARD

NOELLE GRAY

BRAD KANE

Bryanna Gallagher, Upper School Math Teacher, has served as Dean of Students and STEM Department Chair at Purnell School. She received a B.A. in Mathematics (minor in Chemistry) from Central Connecticut State University and an M.S. in Environmental and Biological Sciences (concentration in Environmental Policy) from Troy University.

Mrs. Gallagher is working toward an M.Ed. in Learning & Technology from Western Governors University.

and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator of the Lower Division at Avenues: The World School. She earned a B.S. in Childhood Education and an M.S. in Secondary Education from St. John’s University. She is pursuing an M.A. in the Sociology of Education at New York University.

Nadine Gano, Lead Permanent Sub Coordinator/AP Coordinator, previously worked at Princeton Day School as AP Coordinator and a substitute teacher, as well as assisting Admissions, the library, and the front reception. She received a B.A. in Geography (minor in Marketing) from California State University Long Beach.

Erik Hove, Grade 5 Social Studies Teacher, previously worked as a Grade 2 and Grade 4 teacher at Yangon International School in Yangon, Myanmar. Prior to his experience in Myanmar, Mr. Hove taught Grades 3 and 4 at Princeton Day School for five years, serving as Chair of Global Studies for Pre-K through Grade 12 for the 2018-19 school year. Mr. Hove holds a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from Carleton College, an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Lesley University, and a master’s degree in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed Arabic and Hebrew language studies in Jerusalem and Yemen, as well as Vermont.

David Gonzalez, Middle and Upper School Computer Science Teacher, previously worked in IT (Information Technology) and HCC (Health Care Compliance) for Johnson & Johnson, and more recently, he was the Forensics Data Analytics Technology Ops Leader at EY. He has also been an adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and is happy to return to teaching. Mr. Gonzalez received a B.S. in Information Management from TCNJ, an M.S. in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology, a Healthcare Compliance Certification from Seton Hall University Law School, and a CCEP (Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional) from The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

Noelle Gray, Campus Operations Lead, served as Executive Assistant to the Head of School and Enrollment Coordinator at Purnell School prior to joining Pingry. Before Purnell, Mrs. Gray worked as the Admissions Director at Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn. She holds a B.A. from St. Francis College.

Regina Hardatt, assuming the new role of Assistant Lower School Director of Inclusive Teaching and Learning, comes to Pingry with extensive experience in the field of education, having served as Head Teacher and Diversity, Equity, 14

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Stephen Head, a member of the Facilities/Grounds Team, has worked in Facilities at Purnell School.

Jill Howard, Middle School History Teacher, joined Pingry after teaching high school history and English for four years at Franklin Academy in Connecticut. She is a 2019 “History Teacher of the Year” nominee through The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Ms. Howard earned a B.A. in History and Education at Framingham State University and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Teaching at Fitchburg State University.

Brad Kane, Director of Individual Philanthropy, comes to Pingry with experience as a fundraiser in higher education— most recently at Swarthmore College, as an Associate Director of The Swarthmore Fund, then as an Associate Director of Individual Giving. He has also worked at Brown University, Belmont University, Vanderbilt University, and the Boys and Girls Club. He received a B.A. in English Literature from Franklin and Marshall College and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, with a focus in Institutional Advancement, from Peabody College at Vanderbilt.

JOE KARPMAN

EMMETT KRESGE

JARED SLAYMAKER

NADEZHDA MIMS

ALEX STEINBERG

DR. JENN POUSONT

RICK SUNDAY

Joe Karpman, Middle School History Teacher, served as an apprentice teacher at New Canaan Country School and taught Grade 6 Social Studies at Saint Mary’s Hall, where he received a Master Teacher Award. He received a B.A. in History from Vassar College and an M.Ed. from Lesley University (specializing in K-8 literacy).

Emmett Kresge, Facilities Supervisor on the Pottersville Campus, has worked as Facilities Director at The Willow School and Purnell School.

Nadezhda Mims, Middle School English Teacher, comes to Pingry with more than 10 years of experience teaching English at Governor Livingston High School. She earned an undergraduate and first master’s degree at Rutgers University, and a second master’s degree at Saint Elizabeth University.

Dr. Jenn Pousont, Upper School Science Teacher who is teaching Biology and Methods in Molecular Biology Research, has worked at Deerfield Academy as a biology, chemistry, and research teacher and a robotics coach. She also worked at the National Institutes of Health as an IRTA (Intramural Research Training Award) postdoctoral fellow.

She received a B.S. in Chemistry from Keene State College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Dartmouth College.

Milloni Shah, Grade 5 Language Arts Teacher, comes to Pingry with years of experience in elementary education.

She served as a fifth-grade teacher at the Patrick M. Villano School for six years, as well as a teacher at The Sundance School for nine years. Mrs. Shah earned an undergraduate degree and master’s degree in Education at Rutgers University.

Harlen Shangold ’11, Counseling Intern and Permanent Substitute, received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Colgate University and a master’s degree in Prevention Science & Practice (Adjustment Counseling; otherwise known as School Counseling) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has been a teaching assistant at St. Justine’s Preschool and a lead teacher at Foundations Preschool. Mr. Shangold was also a volunteer assistant coach for Pingry’s

MILLONI SHAH

MICHAEL TAYLOR

HARLEN SHANGOLD ’11

CHAO WANG

Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Teams while preparing to enter graduate school. He served as a K-3 Guidance Intern at William H. Lincoln School. He also obtained certification for School Counseling in Florida Public Schools K-12.

Jared Slaymaker, K-3 Music Teacher, has been the Head of Elementary Music at the Stamford American International School, Singapore; Middle School Instrumental Coordinator at Christina Seix Academy; and leader of the K-12 Music Choir and Orchestra for the Bridgewater and Franklin Township Public Schools. Mr. Slaymaker has a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy as well as a master’s degree in Music Education from Westminster Choir College.

Alex Steinberg, Educational Technology and Innovation Coordinator, previously served as Education Technology Coordinator at The Churchill School in New York City. Mr. Steinberg also developed a K–12 Digital Wellness Program.

He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from the University of Scranton.

Rick Sunday, a member of the Facilities/Grounds Team, previously worked for three years in Buildings and Grounds at Purnell School.

Michael Taylor, Middle and Upper School Visual Arts Teacher, brings more than 25 years of exhibition and performance history to Pingry. He holds an M.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and a B.F.A. from the University of Houston.

Chao Wang, Middle and Upper School Mandarin Teacher, joins Pingry after serving as a Senior Instructor and Curriculum Designer for the Chinese Language Academy in New York for three years. Prior to that experience, Mrs. Wang served as Global Career Consultant at Mandarin Consulting. Mrs. Wang holds an undergraduate degree in Business as well as a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, New Literacies, and Global Learning from North Carolina State University.

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View from SH

BR

PV

Beverley Bozarth Cogan painted these watercolors of the Pottersville, Basking Ridge, and Short Hills Campuses for 360° virtual tours on Pingry’s website. /about/our-campuses

CIRCLESCAPES’ BEVERLEY BOZARTH COLGAN

Pottersville Campus

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CIRCLESCAPES’ BEVERLEY BOZARTH COLGAN

Basking Ridge Campus

CIRCLESCAPES’ BEVERLEY BOZARTH COLGAN

Short Hills Campus

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Pingry Dreams Big in Pottersville 18

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A Bold Move for a Bold Future

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Art studio.

Time flies

when you’re presented with an unexpected, time-sensitive opportunity that could change the course of your institution’s future. And now, because it seized that opportunity, Pingry is continuing its history of expansion.

Throughout the School’s existence, Pingry has constructed buildings, merged with another school, and moved to new campuses to accommodate the growth of the student body, the decision to become coeducational, the need for new facilities, and its desire to continue improving on its mission. Just think of the transitions from a schoolhouse to Parker Road, from Parker Road to Hillside, from Hillside to Bernards Township, and the merger with Short Hills Country Day School—in every case, considerable debate, exploration, and foresight led to Pingry’s growth as an institution.

It happened again this past winter, when Purnell School in the rural community of Pottersville—just 15 miles from the Basking Ridge Campus and 30 miles from the Short Hills Campus—announced in February that it would cease operations at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Consisting of numerous buildings, athletics spaces, a garden, and a pond spread around a campus of more than 80 acres, with 100,000 square feet of fully air-conditioned academic space, the property offers facilities that Pingry did not have, including—significantly—employee housing (on the wish list since the 1980s) and dormitories that could open a world of possibilities for using the campus after hours or over weekends for immersive experiences.

Upon learning that Purnell would be selling the campus, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Olaf Weckesser P ’25 acted quickly by notifying Head of School Matt Levinson and the Board of Trustees. “The timing was unexpected, so we had to think quickly about what we might do with a third campus if it became available at an attractive price,” he says. The driving forces behind the decision were the aspirations of the 2018 Strategic Plan and the Buildings and Grounds Strategic Plan for the Basking Ridge Campus.

“The property gives us a big portion of what is included in the Buildings and Grounds Strategic Plan—employee housing, student housing, an environmental education center, a farm neighborhood, and space for experiential education,” Mr. Weckesser says. “In the past, it would have required years, if ever, for us to get there. We would have had to fundraise, design the space, get building permits, and build the space.”

After close collaboration between, and due diligence by, the Board of Trustees, Administrative Team, and other employees from March to May, Pingry purchased the property to achieve its goals at a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time; importantly, Pingry has no plans to

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Visionary Changes Through Philanthropy Pingry’s expansion over the years, including campus moves and construction, has been made possible by countless benefactors, such as the vision and generosity of the late William S. Beinecke ’31, P ’61, ’64 who enabled Pingry to move from Hillside to Basking Ridge. Some donors were significant at former campuses (such as J. Mortimer Townley, Class of 1880, and Dean Mathey, Class of 1908). Community members who supported recent capital campaigns (The Campaign for Pingry; Blueprint for the Future) enabled the School to modernize its facilities on both campuses and construct the Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center.

In many cases, donor support is reflected in named spaces and buildings such as Beinecke House, Bristol Gymnasium, Engel Dining Room, Hauser Auditorium, Hostetter Arts Center, Hyde Athletic Building, Hyde and Watson Gymnasium, Kreh Gymnasium, Macrae Theater, The Carol and Park B. Smith ‘50 Middle School, Temares Family Stadium, and The Wilf Family Commons. What are the possibilities for the Pottersville Campus?

“The Pottersville Campus feels like you’re supposed to put your books down and take a deep breath.”

—CINDY McARTHUR P ’29, DIRECTOR OF AUXILIARY PROGRAMS AND INTERIM DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

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Pottersville Campus At-A-Glance 83 acres 22 buildings 56 dorm rooms of varying sizes Housing units of varying sizes for employees Community and collaboration spaces Classrooms and labs Indoor athletics facility Performing arts building Community “quad” 2 athletics fields 5 tennis courts Ropes course

One of the areas on the Pottersville Campus where ideas for programming were offered during October’s In-Service Day. 22

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become a boarding school, but the School will use the dormitories so that students can enjoy overnight experiences. Thus, the School now has a K-12 experiential education campus—a shared space for all students—the Pottersville Campus.

Experiential Education, K-12 The Pottersville Campus provides a unique environment that Pingry did not previously have: a shared space for all students to immerse themselves in experiential education. True, the School has been incorporating this approach to learning into its curriculum for years, but this new campus provides an outlet dedicated to it.

Overnight immersive experiences to dig deeper into a topic, dorms that enable the School to “invite the world” and host experts-in-residence, outdoor learning resources, space for ISPs (Independent Senior Projects) and other K-12 experiential and immersive experiences, and more interdisciplinary learning are just a few items on Upper School Visual Arts Teacher Rebecca Sullivan’s list as Director of Experiential Education and Pottersville Programs.

Overseeing the K-12 experience, she and her “Ex Ed Team,” with faculty from all three divisions, are collaborating with the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools to bring experiential programs at Pottersville to all students.

Faculty members need space to dream big, and they have it. In fact, during an In-Service Day in early October, they explored the campus and participated in a collaborative tour experience during which they contributed to programming vision through prompts at key locations. “Teachers are excited about the expert-in-residence possibility, and they are thrilled to showcase passion programs,” Ms. Sullivan relates. During this first year, through various events, Pingry is helping students and employees become familiar with the campus and develop a sense of place, including the chance to think about pilot programs.

“A Blank Slate” for Wellness and Other Purposes More than one administrator describes the Pottersville Campus as a blank slate, the chance to design a new space for Pingry and not retrofit existing spaces on either of the other campuses. “From a wellness perspective, students can enjoy physical and artistic activities, new experiences, and a journey to explore a new place. I think of it like camping out in your backyard versus going to a state park,” says Tim Lear ’92, P ’25, ’27, ’30, Upper School English Teacher and Assistant Head of School for Guidance and Student Life (his analogy is actually spot on, since the Pottersville Campus is located just south of Hacklebarney State Park, and hiking trails exist nearby).

For another outdoor comparison, “a playground for things we’ve dreamt about” is how Mr. Lear’s colleague, Assistant Head of School Dr. Delvin Dinkins, views this blank canvas. “It’s a home for extending all the things that we’re trying to do well, and things that are in the margins that can get more emphasis in Pottersville, like experiential education, farming, civic engagement, and global education— important programs, but programs that are tough to introduce fully in a crowded field [of other programs on our other campuses].” Dr.

Dinkins also uses the word intentionality: “We can design this space specifically for what we need. It’s a way to have everybody dream together and feel a sense of shared purpose.”

Overnights—for Students and Guests!

“The overnight component is essential,” Mr. Lear declares, referring to the student dorms. “Currently, we need to rent space for an overnight activity or we can’t do it at all. In Pottersville, we can extend the day and the week in a healthy way—students can enjoy an overnight with dinner, brainstorming, and a change of scenery. That is transformative. Some of the most restoring, recharging experiences I’ve had professionally are retreats and conferences with colleagues, sharing thoughts over a meal.”

Along with students having the chance to spend more time together in a relaxed setting outside of the usual school environment, the space for overnight stays also means that Pingry can host events and other groups, which has not been possible (or at least, not easily feasible).

Employee Housing The Pottersville Campus gives Pingry something it hasn’t had since the School was in Hillside: spaces for employees to live on campus. In recent years, Pingry has found

“Using the residential capacity, we can offer an option for visiting students and Pingry students to live together for the duration of the exchange.

It would help to deepen the bonds, living together in community for two weeks, improving their language skills, and expanding their intercultural understanding.”

—UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER, FORM V/VI DEAN OF STUDENT LIFE, AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT JULIA DUNBAR

An example of employee housing.

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Visionary Leadership: Behind the Scenes with Trustees Jeff Edwards ’78 and Ian Shrank ’71 What appealed to the Board about purchasing the property?

JE: Pottersville could impact all parts of our 2018 Strategic Plan, and it’s an asset that offers employee housing, student wellness in a beautiful location, and dorm space for overnights. There are some duplicate facilities, like the theater and dance studio, but that means more access for more students, and we may find other uses for them. Overall, we saw a lot of interesting things that required exploration to validate that they would be useful, but initially, it was a matter of, “This is an extraordinary asset that we should learn more about.”

Can you describe the Board’s fiscally conservative approach and what convinced the group that the purchase made sense?

JE: The Board is always very thorough in looking at their fiduciary responsibility, but the trustees were more careful and more thorough, and had a higher standard of diligence in this case, than I’d ever seen before.

They felt it was a unique and compelling opportunity at a very attractive price relative to what we were getting and what could be done with it. Considering its proximity to both campuses and its dormitory space, there are only going to be so many campuses like that.

IS: There are many rental opportunities, just as there are at Basking Ridge and Short Hills, there will be some revenue from employee housing, and we’ll have income from third-party leasing of the fields and buildings. Prior to the purchase, the Board made exploratory phone calls to likely renters, and many were quite enthusiastic.

JE: It’s important to point out that the first consideration was, did the purchase make sense strategically?

Then, once it crossed that threshold, we approached the financials—the financials were important, but second in the Board’s mind.

How does this purchase help with the School’s plan for buildings and grounds?

JE: The buildings and grounds plan should support the Strategic Plan—what do we need to be able to support those initiatives? As one example, employee housing has been on the “wish list” since Pingry moved from Hillside to Basking Ridge, and we’ve never done it.

One reason is that building housing is expensive, and the School felt there were more pressing needs for the money. Now, we’ve been able to fulfill it.

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IS: A number of people have said that the cost of this acquisition could be justified just by the employee housing because Basking Ridge and Short Hills are expensive areas to live, so there are not many options for younger faculty. We’ve lost some teacher candidates who wanted to work at Pingry but couldn’t afford to live nearby. Just addressing that concern alone will bring a huge benefit to the School, with our ability to hire our first-choice faculty. In comparing costs for building housing on our current land versus buying it at Pottersville—it’s not even close.

The purchase occurred at the transition from Mr. Edwards’ tenure as Chair to Mr. Shrank’s tenure, and you both signed the June announcement to the Pingry community. Can you discuss the overlap?

JE: The way the timing fell, I was quite active in the March–June time frame, but it wouldn’t have made sense to proceed without Ian’s support. Everybody was looking to him for leadership, and the Board needed to see us working together on this and supporting it mutually.

IS: At first, some people on the Board were a little more skeptical than others, but Jeff saw the value almost immediately and made sure we all understood and saw the value and potential. The Administrative Team provided information, ideas, and most importantly, enthusiasm. Jeff got the Board over the line of being enthusiastically in favor, and I brought it to closing in August.

JE: That’s really important—from the Board’s standpoint, the Administrative Team made an incredibly effective case, and enthusiasm from administrators and faculty was crucial in convincing the Board that this made sense.

As you reflect on the past few months, why was Pingry in a position to make this purchase?

JE: First, we have a growth-oriented mindset in our administration and faculty, in terms of evolving our pedagogy to serve our students better. Second, the Board supports that mission and the administration.

Third, we have financial strength. The fact that we had a successful capital campaign [Blueprint for the Future, completed in 2016] and had done so much renovation allowed us to be forward-thinking about what needed to be done next.

it challenging to attract and retain teachers in national and international searches due to the high cost of living (the housing market, in particular) in the neighborhoods surrounding the Basking Ridge and Short Hills Campuses. So, with housing in Pottersville, Pingry now has a valuable tool for recruitment. “Our housing is reasonably priced [at a significant discount from market rent], it provides a close commute, and it takes away the pressure of a new employee’s immediate living situation. They have time to look at where else they might want to live,” says Lindsay Holmes-Glogower ’99, P ’33, Director of People Operations and Talent Development.

It’s not just recruitment, though. Employee housing can also serve a valuable role in community building and retention. “Organically, the community will build itself,” Ms. Holmes-Glogower says. “People can get to know their colleagues better and be more a part of the community because their commute is shorter. So, there’s the community itself and allowing people to engage in the larger community, whether that means going to games or a weekend activity.” Thanks to Brook House on the new campus, Pingry can also provide temporary housing, thereby accommodating various circumstances (planned and unplanned) that can affect employees, which helps with morale and retention.

Helping Everyone Feel Included Keeping in mind Pingry’s renewed focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), employee housing may also help further diversify Pingry’s faculty and staff, a prospect that excites Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Gilberto Olvera P ’29, ’33. He is also anticipating that Pottersville, as the proverbial “blank canvas,” will be “a space that can make everyone feel welcome. What could we see around the campus that would foster a sense of belonging? How can we tell the Pingry story in a way that makes everyone feel included?”

He also wants to make sure that alumni, whether they graduated decades ago or last year, feel like they belong.

Mr. Olvera’s wish list in Pottersville includes the creation of a “multicultural studies center” for, among other purposes, retreats for Pingry’s numerous student, parent, employee, and alumni Affinity Groups, and displays of art and other objects to represent the cultures at Pingry.

He also has in mind hosting a DEIB summer institute for educators from across the country, as well as DEIB conferences for Middle School and Upper School students—Pingry students and students from other schools.

“If we wanted to do that now in Basking Ridge, we would probably need 10 classrooms, but where are we going to find 10 classrooms in the middle of the week? Pottersville gives us space.”

In Pottersville, Further Development of Seven Core Competencies Pingry will focus on seven core competencies for all students (these seven are expanded from global competency and cultural competency called for in the Strategic Plan): • Critical thinking/analysis • Information navigation • Creativity and innovation • Communication • Collaboration • Intercultural and global citizenship • Personal growth and well-being The goal is for students to have a grounding in academic content and “habits of mind, skills, disposition, and attitude toward the world” in Dr. Dinkins’ words.

“They’re a tool for reflection on what we’re doing inside and outside the classroom, and they will support future programming, lesson planning, and coursework,” he says. “If a program is being developed or ‘dreamstormed,’ we can make the competencies part of that process. Pottersville can act as a sandbox for exploring and understanding the competencies—not that they can’t be integrated into what we’re doing in Basking Ridge or Short Hills, but Pottersville provides an ‘on ramp’ because there’s no history. And we can create an expectation that the competencies are the reason some programs happen.”

The Purnell School Scholarship Pingry is honoring Purnell’s legacy and alumnae by establishing The Purnell School Scholarship for Girls, a need-based scholarship with preference for girls.

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The high ropes course.

Global Education and Engagement The concept of “global education” sounds like it requires students to leave the country, but it’s not necessary. Pingry wants to ensure that more students have access to immersive programming more frequently, compared with approximately 20 percent of students who currently participate in a global travel program by the time they graduate. The Pottersville Campus enhances that access—once again, the student dorms make a huge difference.

For students studying Chinese, German, and French, Pingry has been running Upper School exchange programs that usually involve hosting students from a partner school

for about two weeks and then having Pingry students visit the partner school. “The housing opens doors for us to do exchanges with other schools whenever travel is possible,” says Dr. Gillian Johnson, Upper School Spanish Teacher and Interim Assistant Director of Experiential Education (Global Engagement). “Our visiting students can stay in the dorms. Plus, we have the flexibility to pursue more partnerships with other schools.”

Dr. Johnson also envisions language immersion experiences over long weekends or during summers, such as one being planned this winter for students taking French, giving them the chance to speak in French, prepare

“Our office’s mission is to strengthen relationships in pursuit of philanthropic support, so we need to find opportunities to bring people together. The Pottersville Campus is a shared space, so everybody has a stake—this is a place where we can hold community-building events, like all-parent meetings or Reunion events. The possibilities are endless.” —HOLLAND SUNYAK ’02, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 26

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The theater.

Vision, Purpose, Impact: 2018 Strategic Plan French food, watch French films, and more. When trips return, Dr. Johnson can tap into her experiences of running study-abroad trips in graduate school. “It’s not just travel,” she says, “but travel with a purpose.”

PURPOSE AND DISCIPLINES

Pottersville expands student access to immersive, learning-by-doing programs and supports the development of core competencies GLOBAL EDUCATION

Pottersville enables Pingry to host the world (guest speakers, artists-inresidence, exchange students)

non-local children interested in taking a summer course at Pingry. The ropes course adds adventure opportunities. Hiking trails near the ropes course add another opportunity to create programming.”

Summer Programs The Open Question Purchasing the Pottersville “A new horizon” has likely been STUDENT WELL-BEING Campus directly impacts two Pottersville provides a place outside referred to by others in Pingry of the traditional academic areas associated with summer: history when the School has setting and mindset Pingry’s summer programs made a move for expansion. Of and Pingry’s summer rentals. course, it has been only a few EMPLOYEE GROWTH Summer programs—specifically, months since Pingry purchased AND DEVELOPMENT Pingry Summer—benefit from the property, and the full impact Pottersville enables recruitment and extra indoor athletics spaces, retention, as well as K–12 collaboration of the Pottersville Campus will athletics fields, a theater, tennis not be realized for years, but the MAXIMIZING IMPACT courts, and a ropes course. possibilities are truly tantalizing Pottersville broadens Pingry’s Summer academics can be more for what Pingry, and the student engagement with a wider community experiential, and the School also experience, will become. In the plans to rent out those spaces. words of former Board of Trust“For summer, it’s a new ees Chair Jeff Edwards ’78, P ’12, horizon,” says Cindy McArthur P ’29, Director of Auxiliary ’14, ’18, “Being open-minded to the question of ‘What can Programs and Interim Director of Operations. “Big Blue more space—more assets—do for the School?’ has been Summer can use the campus for field trips. With the dorms, part of what’s made Pingry such a successful place today.” we can expand our offerings, such as being able to accept

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Dr. Ashley Jackson ’04 Plucks Away at the Harp While Uncovering the Overlooked in Music

If

such a thing were possible, at one time in her life Dr. Ashley Jackson ’04 could have performed a musical trio all by herself—piano, violin, and harp. All three were part of her childhood. But she felt the need to focus on one instrument and, coupled with her love of school, Dr. Jackson has created parallel careers on stage and in higher education and devotes a considerable amount of time to promoting the music and stories of Black artists.

The sequence of her three instruments began with piano.

Her piano teacher thought she might want to try a second instrument and was able to use a family connection to introduce Dr. Jackson to the harp. At age seven, she discovered similarities between the two instruments—the piano and harp have similar

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BOB CURTIS, PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS

musical ranges and require the musician to use both hands in similar ways—so the addition of harp seemed natural. And she loved its sound.

“It is a unique, beautiful instrument. Nothing else sounds like it. The sound can be extremely relaxing and spiritual, and the harp exists in many cultures,” she says.

Then, Dr. Jackson added violin lessons for several years before realizing, in high school, that something needed to give if she was going to make the time commitment to play an instrument “at a high level.” Feeling the need to narrow her focus, Dr. Jackson considered the opportunities to play the harp in various musical settings, and the social aspect of playing with other instrumentalists.

“The harp allowed me to play in an orchestra, which is something that pianists rarely get to do.

There’s also a demand for harp in social settings, such as weddings and private events, and I came to appreciate the variety of opportunities to play, even at that younger age. And all of this is in addition to playing chamber music and solo repertoire,” she says of her decision. Dr. Jackson bought her first harp in high school, from Lyon & Healy Harps in Chicago. (She still plays the piano for fun or to try new ideas, and makes use of her training as a pianist and violinist.)

W

hile focusing on harp and studying harp on weekends at The Juilliard School, she satisfied other musical cravings during her Upper School years at Pingry. She spent four years with the Balladeers, including serving as the ensemble’s president her senior year. “I’m not a trained singer, but it was another opportunity to make music,” she reflects. Dr. Jackson also played violin in the School’s orchestra and played harp when opportunities arose—for musicals, accompanying the Glee Club, or even playing a solo during

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assemblies. “There were lots of opportunities to make music in a comfortable, familiar environment,” she says of her Pingry years. For her ISP (Independent Study Project, at the time), she recorded a CD of French harp music.

“I wanted to document some material that I had learned for my recitals at Juilliard, and I also wanted to learn other music. I’m very much into thematic programming and [with this project I] could focus on a particular style of music from a particular time period. A lot of standard repertoire for the harp comes from France at the turn of the 20th century because the modern harp was improved in France at that time,” she says. During her ISP, Dr. Jackson brought her harp to school, and rehearsed and recorded in her own practice room. Capping her senior year was Pingry’s Music Award.

“As I’m hearing myself talk about my ISP,” she says, “I’m smiling because I’m working on my debut album.”

That would be Ennanga, which is both a type of harp in Africa and Uganda and a composition by African American composer WilDr. Ashley Jackson ’04 performing Alice Coltrane’s Prema with The Harlem Chamber Players on June 19 (“Prema” means “love” or “affection” in Sanskrit). The piece was part of a concert honoring Juneteenth and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Writing in Seen and Heard International, Rick Perdian noted, “Its most profound passages on this night came when Ashley Jackson played sparkling swirls of sound on the harp to the chordal accompaniment of the strings.” Watch a video of the concert at pingry.org/extras.

BOB CURTIS, PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS

“It is a unique, beautiful instrument. Nothing else sounds like it. The sound can be extremely relaxing and spiritual, and the harp exists in many cultures.”

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“As American artists, and students studying in America, we have a responsibility to learn about our brothers and sisters, who come from all walks of life.”

liam Grant Still for harp, strings, and piano; the album will include “Ennanga,” music by Alice Coltrane, and arrangements of spirituals by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

“It’s a conversation between different Black musical styles,” Dr. Jackson says, having made harp arrangements of many of the pieces that were written for piano.

To help offset the costs of hiring musicians and producers, Dr. Jackson applied for and received a PSC-CUNY (Professional Staff Congress — City University of New York) Research Award through Hunter College, where she works. (Some music from her album is featured in her film In Song and Spirit, produced by The Harlem Chamber Players during the pandemic.)

H

igher education had been in the back of her mind during her college years, in addition to being a professional musician, so she heeded the advice of her harp teacher at Yale University, where she was Principal Harpist of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees through Yale’s competitive, five-year combined B.A./M.M. program.

“I love school,” Dr. Jackson says simply. “I enjoy writing, and my harp teacher had her doctorate. She said, ‘Ashley, you play very strongly. You also write very well. Get your doctorate.’ I was thinking about careers in higher education, either as a professor or an administrator, and it’s a helpful degree.” She pursued her D.M.A. at Juilliard, with doctoral research on African American composer and pianist Margaret Bonds and her collaboration with poet Langston Hughes.

That research later culminated in an album of Bonds’ music, The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs; Dr. Jackson performs on the album and wrote the liner notes. She also delivered a lecture about Bonds and Civil Rights at Juilliard, based on her dissertation.

As fate would have it, Dr. Jackson has both roles, professor and administrator, and is now in her third year at Hunter. She’s an Assistant Professor of Music and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Music Department (primarily an advising role). With those responsibilities, Dr. Jackson is also committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in higher education. “I realized early on that my presence on stage and in my classrooms gave me a respon-

Dr. Jackson performed in the 2014 premiere of What Did Freud Dream About?, a mixed-medium immersive performance of opera, dance, harp, and abstract painting, curated by Roya Sachs. The performance featured bass-baritone Davóne Tines.

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JULIA COMITA

sibility to give back. And with the doctorate, part of it was to give back to the next generation—to tell stories of Black musicians, or serve as a kind of role model as a young Black harpist,” she says. “That commitment looks like a) a commitment to excellence, and b) a commitment to weaving in stories about underrepresented groups in classical music.

As American artists, and students studying in America, we have a responsibility to learn about our brothers and sisters, who come from all walks of life.”

What has Dr. Jackson observed in higher education and in the performing arts that presents a challenge to diversity and inclusion? Two words: upholding tradition.

“In my first year at Hunter, I taught an Intro to Music History course for mostly non-Music majors. I asked the students to write down the first word they think of when they hear the phrase ‘classical music.’ Along with composer names like Beethoven, they used words like ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘traditional.’ Classical music can embrace other musical traditions, not just the standard European canon. It’s a living artform. So, I said to myself, for every lecture I will feature a woman or person of color performing a piece. I’m going to talk about Black contemporaries of well-known composers. It’s not to say, ‘Okay, here is the Black person’ or ‘here is the woman composer,’ but just that music was created and performed by more than the usual suspects.”

Interestingly—and it’s not something people might think about—the harp itself can be a bit of a conundrum when it comes to new music. “The harp gives composers a certain level of intrigue because it’s more unfamiliar than, say, piano or violin,” Dr. Jackson explains.

“But on the other side, because it’s not a common instrument, some composers are hesitant to write for it or they’re not sure how to approach it. I like working with composers and helping them feel more comfortable writing for the harp.”

How does she work with them? “Especially during the pandemic, I’ve had several opportunities to speak to freshmen or young college students who are composers. And these seminars focused on the technicalities of the instrument—what works and what doesn’t. I was there to give them an overview of how the instrument works so that they can feel more comfortable executing their musical ideas. When I’m working with professional composers, I typically receive music in a fairly complete form, after which I will make some edits and point out some things that might work better, and we just go from there.”

Along with these seminars, Dr. Jackson has lectured and written about music. Her lectures have focused on Margaret Bonds and Langston Hughes, the underrepresentation of Black artists in classical music programming, and other subjects pertaining to Black artists in classical music.

Her writing, in the form of essays, appears mostly on her website, ashleyjacksonharp.com, and some pieces have been published in the online magazine NewMusicBox and the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music. “I wrote a lot at Pingry . . . and I like telling stories,” she says.

The finale of one of her essays serves as a fitting summary of Dr. Jackson’s commitment to diversity in performance and in education: “Performers, keep demanding new spaces; teachers, keep challenging your students to stretch their imaginations, to seek music that speaks to them and resonates with their hearts and of those around them; and administrators, make room for us at the table, because we have a lot to bring, and the revolution is just getting started.”

“Classical music can embrace other musical traditions, not just the standard European canon. It’s a living artform.”

As

far as diversity in performance, Dr. Jackson advocates for developing new music that spans genres and artistic disciplines. “I’m willing to be flexible, and spanning genres is fun. I grew up in a multi-genre household, with soul and jazz, so it’s only natural for me to want to expand to other styles.” It’s also important to her that artists have a deep understanding of cultural and ethnic diversity so they can develop intellectually and artistically.

“As artists, we are committed to communicating with one another. To be able to speak, we have to understand who we’re talking to and remember that music is supposed to bring people together, not separate us. Being open to different musical traditions . . . takes our playing to a different level because we are able to draw from other techniques.

And we can be hired to play in diverse venues and are equally comfortable in those spaces.”

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above:

George E. Dimock, Class of 1908. left: Mr. Springer’s letter to Mr. Dimock, launching the years-long process of preparing the book.

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THE BEGINNING OF

The Beginning of Wisdom “In twelve years Pingry will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of her founding . . . and I have had in mind the desirability of having a history of Pingry ready then.”

T

his was the beginning of the letter that started it all—a letter dated June 20, 1949 from then-Headmaster E. Laurence Springer to then–Latin Teacher and Head of the Classics Department George Dimock, Class of 1908, expressing the Board of Trustees’ intention to have Mr. Dimock write the early history of the School up to about 1938.

One day after receiving this letter, Mr. Dimock embarked on an enormous project that resulted in hundreds of pages of correspondence: individual letters to alumni of the Classes up to 1935, seeking their memories; alumni responses (many handwritten); and many more letters with follow-up questions and answers. Mr. Dimock retired from Pingry in 1950, and English Teacher Dr. Herbert Hahn used his own research and Mr. Dimock’s letters to write the book—The Beginning of Wisdom, the story of Pingry’s first 100 years, published 60 years ago in November 1961.

To commemorate the book’s 60th anniversary, enjoy these letters that constitute a tiny percentage of the letters written for this project, all housed in Pingry’s Archives!

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facing page, top right:

The steps needed to identify faces in a photograph! facing page, bottom left: One of the first letters written by Mr. Dimock after receiving his assignment. at right:

Response from Norman F. Charlock, Class of 1902, in which he reveals the origin of The Class of 1902 Emblem Award. below: Response from Charles N. Fowler, Jr., Class of 1899, which references the purchase of the Parker Road Campus. His father, Charles N. Fowler, served as President of Pingry’s Board of Trustees from 1892–1918 and played a major role in Pingry’s transition to Parker Road.

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above:

Russell Leary, Class of 1898, checking if Pingry has four photos that he has in storage. at left: One of the many handwritten responses to Mr. Dimock, from Warren Blauvelt, Class of 1886.

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at right:

O. P. (“Orel”) Keeney, Class of 1906, references a photograph of the 1906 Baseball Team. below: Response from Edward “Ted” Weeks, Class of 1915, Editor of The Atlantic Monthly.

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facing page and at left:

Correspondence with Caroline O. Pingry (Caroline Oakley Pingry), granddaughter of Dr. John F. Pingry. Her parents were James and Ida Pingry; James was one of Dr. Pingry’s six children, the others being John, Francis, Julia, Mary, and Relief.

In the first letter, Caroline references clippings that she found in her grandfather’s scrapbook and among “Uncle John Pingry’s papers.” In the second letter, Miss Pingry is asked about the pronunciation of “Pingry” (“Pin-gry” or “Ping-gry”). In the third letter, she responds (“Ping-gry”).

postcard below:

Henry C. Bigelow (Class of 1888) hoping to “sit in” on a reading of the book to the “undergrads.”

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Athletics BIG BLUE HIGHLIGHTS

For more details on the Spring 2021 season, visit pingry.org/extras and pingry.org/bigblueroundup.

< Boys’ Track & Field: Ore Shote ’21 took first place in discus (145’10”) at the Skyland Conference Championships during a competitive season. left : Baseball (17-10): In his first four career varsity starts, Jake Francis ’23 pitched three no hitters, a perfect game, and four completegame shut-outs. He also batted .400 on the season, leading the team in hits and doubles.

Thomas Santana ’22 also pitched an opening day no-hitter for the eventual 2021 Skyland Conference Mountain Division Co-Champions.

right : Boys’ Lacrosse (15-2) had an outstanding 2021 campaign, winning the NJSIAA Non-Public B State Championship and the Skyland Conference Delaware Division Championship. Defenseman Kevin Parnham ’21 was named NJ.com “Lacrosse Player of the Year,” leading Pingry to a 15-2 record.

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Softball celebrated wins over Franklin and Manville last spring, with Anna Stowe ’22 going 5-for-5 with 4 RBI at the plate and registering 12 strikeouts against Manville.

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Athletics BIG BLUE HIGHLIGHTS

> Girls’ Track & Field won the Skyland Conference Championship for the Valley B Division, and placed second in the Somerset County and Prep A Championships.

On their way to a #3 state ranking, Boys’ Tennis went 16-1, winning the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public Team Tournament and the Skyland Conference Championship.

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COMPETING IN COLLEGE Twenty-three Pingry graduates took their athletic skills to college teams, playing eight different sports on 19 campuses for some of the nation’s premier college athletics programs.

Three students are playing at Division I schools, which required signed national letters of intent, but many more are also playing for other top Division II and III athletics programs.

Sports represented: football (1), lacrosse (5), squash (1), soccer (5), swimming (5), track & field (4), cross-country (2), and fencing (2). (Note that some athletes plan to play multiple sports in college.)

Joe Castagno Johns Hopkins University, Swimming Sophia Cavaliere Columbia University, Soccer Ryan Davi Dartmouth College, Track & Field *Elle Dziadzio University of Richmond, Soccer Ameera Ebrahim Johns Hopkins University, Fencing Matthew Fallon University of Pennsylvania, Swimming Luc Francis Cornell University, Swimming Aidan Gaynor Gettysburg College, Soccer Chris Halada Amherst College, Swimming Alina Irvine Swarthmore College, Cross Country and Track & Field Avery Kirby Bowdoin College, Lacrosse

Jessica Lin Princeton University, Fencing *Calahan McPherson College of the Holy Cross, Lacrosse Noah Morris Carleton College, Football Simon Muller Hamilton College, Squash Jake Nicoll Wake Forest University, Soccer Jerry O’Mara Brown University, Swimming *Kevin Parnham Penn State, Lacrosse Anthony Ramlochan Emerson College, Soccer Tommy Robertozzi Gettysburg College, Lacrosse Ryan Salerno Babson College, Lacrosse Ore Shote Bowdoin College, Track & Field Henry Wood Brown University, Cross Country and Track & Field

*Division I National Letter of Intent signees

< top: Ranked as high as #9 in the NJ.com Top 20, Girls’ Lacrosse finished with a 10-6 record and placed second in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division Championship.

< Girls’ Golf (11-5): Captain Zara Jacob ’21 tied for first place at the Skyland Conference Championships as the team enjoyed an 11-5 season.

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Athletics

Q&A WITH AMI GIANCHANDANI ’18

Staying on Course Through COVID-19 As a young girl, Ami Gianchandani ’18 would sit down with her family before each athletics season to prioritize which sports she wanted to focus on over the next few months. It wasn’t long before this conversation narrowed down to only one sport— golf—and it took only three years from the time Ami received her first set of golf clubs to the time she qualified for her age group’s World Championship, subsequently winning her first of four consecutive U.S. Kids Golf “Player of the Year” awards. It was a meteoric rise for a young player who has since showed no signs of slowing her ascent, leading Pingry to winning the 2018 NJ Tournament of Champions, accepting an offer to play on Yale University’s NCAA Division 1 Women’s Golf Team, and most recently, winning the 96th New Jersey State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.

Now a junior at Yale, Ami’s talent keeps shining on the golf course, but her impact on the sport doesn’t end after the 18th hole. Not only is she in her second year as the Student-Athlete Representative for the entire Ivy League Conference (a position she applied for; Ami represents the conference at NCAA meetings to discuss initiatives and issues), Ami also took time during a COVID-canceled 2020 season and partnered with Alex Strasser ’19 to develop an app for keeping track of golf stats. Her combination of elite talent, passion for golf, natural leadership, and insatiable competitive spirit is extremely rare at any level—from Kindergarten to college—but for Ami, it’s just par for the course.

experience to win it so go out there and do it.” I think that’s something that is pretty powerful because it is an individual sport. You can’t have teammates coming up to you mid-round saying “you got this”, so if you can believe that inside yourself and trust all the work you’ve put into everything, that’s what I’ve learned the most this summer and helped me win that tournament.

Congrats on winning the New Jersey State Golf Association’s 96th Women’s Amateur Championship in July . . . and in dominating fashion. How are you feeling about your game right now, and what did you learn from winning that tournament?

I’m fortunate to play golf because it’s one of the few sports you can play by yourself, outside, and physically distant from others. So, I did get to practice and train a lot over the past year. Since our schools cancelled the sports seasons for the entire year, I did take a gap year, so I’m a junior now, Yale class of ’23. In that gap year, I got to learn a lot about self-discipline and how I can most effectively make myself a better golfer. What do I need to eat? How do I need to work out? How often do I need to practice and what can I do in practice that makes it a more effective practice session? I’m never

The summer always has a lot of ups and downs in tournaments, but that tournament in particular I had my eye on for several years and just in that week, I believed in myself more than I ever have in the past and said to myself, “My game is good enough to win this tournament. You have all the tools and

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Golf is generally a sport for individuals. How did playing on a team at Pingry change your experience? Did being on a team make you a better golfer?

Playing on a team is definitely a lot more fun than playing alone, although playing alone also has its advantages.

Being on a team means that you’re playing for something bigger than just yourself and you have your teammates to support and they’re there to support you. It’s a great experience being able to go out and do something by yourself, but know in the back of your head that everyone’s rooting for you and you’re rooting for them to ]succeed.

And playing on a team absolutely makes you a better golfer because it makes you think a little bit differently about what you’re doing and what kind of shots you want to hit because it’s not just affecting you, it’s affecting the team. It’s like a double-check to make sure you’re doing what’s best for the team in that moment. You can never give up on a hole, give up on a shot, or give up on a round, because you don’t know what your teammates’ scores are, so it’s on you to give everything you have to every shot you have.

How did you navigate a COVID-canceled 2020 season?

“Being on a team means that you’re playing for something bigger than just yourself and you have your teammates to support and they’re there to support you.”

just going to go out there and just hit balls. I’m going to have a direct process that I’m following—something that I know is going to help me get better.

One other big thing I did during COVID was pursue developing an app. I always wanted to start a company and I had the time and opportunity to develop a product that I really thought would solve a problem for golfers who are statistics-driven. Basically, for a lot of teams and individual golfers who want to learn more about their statistics, they have to write everything down from the round: where did the ball start? What was the yardage?

Where did it end up? Did it go left or right? In the sand?

After the round, they have to spend 30 minutes entering the data into software, and when you play a lot of golf, that time adds up. With my app that I’m working on with Alex

Strasser ’19, you write down all that info during the round as you usually would, but you use a specific sheet that we give you. Then when you’re finished with the round, you simply take a photo of the sheet and our app, Accel Golf, automatically uploads that information into the appropriate fields. It’s been awesome working with Alex again, with whom I spent a few years on the Pingry Robotics team!

What’s next in your golf career?

For now, I’m just super-excited to be back on the course competing against other student-athletes. We had four tournaments over the course of six weeks this fall and we did really well. After I graduate, I would love to make it on the LPGA tour. I think I have the necessary skills and demeanor to succeed on that.

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On the Arts VISUAL ARTS

Peter Delman Returns to Curate . . .

Is It His Imagination?

“I’ve curated many shows at Pingry, but not on this scale, with 10 artists,” says artist and former Visual Arts Teacher Peter Delman P ’97, ’98. He returned to the Hostetter Arts Center Gallery this fall to curate the multimedia exhibit Haunted Terrain, in which 10 artists offer their take on the concept of “haunted terrain” (the timing of the title around Halloween was purely coincidental— Mr. Delman simply wanted something that sounded mysterious and liked the title as a poetic phrase).

“Terrain is not just landscape,” Mr. Delman says. “My thinking evolved over time from seeing the subject as a particular place in the real world to seeing it as existing in the imagination.” This exhibit evolved from a show that he curated in the Fall of 2018 at New Jersey City University, called The Persistence of History, a title adapted from Salvador Dalí’s painting “The Persistence of Memory.” In that exhibit, viewers saw contemporary art that refers to history. This exhibit, Mr. Delman says, is not about history, “but the works refer to history.” Real and imagined inspirations include Gettysburg, the Gowanus Canal in New York, and the surface of the moon.

Mr. Delman expresses his gratitude to Visual Arts Department Chair Miles Boyd, Upper School Visual Arts Teachers Nan Ring and Seth Goodwin, and Assistant Director of Operations Mike Saraceno for their assistance with the show. Prior to Pingry, Mr. Goodwin worked for The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Mr. Delman calls him “a tremendous resource for Pingry.”

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The Curiosities of Curating Peter Delman Shares His Lessons and Observations • Spend a lot of time looking at and thinking about the art you’re considering, and developing a theme

• Visitors can only spend so much time with the exhibit—encourage them to go back for a second look

• Consider how the works complement each other

• Be realistic with your budget and the size of your space

• Be patient and persistent because curating will pose obstacles

• Don’t ask museums to lend pieces, but galleries will say yes

• It’s a team effort—you can’t do it alone, but you’re the leader and need to set the standard and insist on what’s important to the show

• Go local—consider nearby artists

• Keep your audience in mind for what they might want or need to see • Educate, and keep students’ ages in mind • Encourage visitors to look at the show instead of just reading the captions

• Artists are willing to do a lot if you capture their imagination—they are happy to contribute to a project that is thoughtfully presented • Think about the space when you’re hanging the show—what pieces can anchor a wall or a room and draw in the audience? How do you create transitions between works and between spaces in the room?

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On the Arts DRAMA

Over the Years with Alice in Wonderland

The Lower School is preparing its 2021 production of Alice in Wonderland, seen in a line-reading rehearsal on the opposite page.

Above are scenes from Pingry’s previous productions, in the Lower School (2015) and Upper School (2003).

Hamlet as a Musical A scene from the 2020-21 Middle School Musical, a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet adapted for young students by playwright Lindsay Price. The “musical” component consisted of popular and original songs.

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“In their groups, they read through each other’s scenes and some of the scenes they may not be in, so they take turns reading other characters’ lines.”

—LOWER SCHOOL DRAMA TEACHER KEARA GORDON

Lower School Drama Teacher Keara Gordon shared this photo of students helping each other with lines for this Fall’s production of Alice in Wonderland—the first live performance since 2019.

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On the Arts MUS IC

Inspiring Presentations The annual Music Demonstration by the Balladeers, Buttondowns, and Jazz Ensemble at the Lower School has taken place for years, inspiring many Lower School students to explore music in the Middle and Upper Schools and audition for these Upper School ensembles. Here are scenes from concerts over the past few years.

“When I listened to and watched the Buttondowns performance, I immediately thought that they were a super-cool and fun group, and I wanted to be part of the program.

I had seen music as just a requirement for school and not something that could truly be enjoyable, but after seeing the Buttondowns and how energetic they were, my point-ofview on music changed significantly.”

— BUTTONDOWNS MEMBER MATTHEW PARRISH ’23

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“I was in Kindergarten when I first saw the Balladeers. I remember listening to them sing and thinking how talented they all were. But it was when I got to third grade that I really started to admire them—their concerts were incredibly fun, engaging, and inspiring.” — BALLADEERS MEMBER FRANCESCA ZARBIN ’24

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On the Journey Together Gifts to The Pingry Fund support every aspect of Pingry, providing students with experiences that enrich their education, develop their character, and explore their passions.

To learn more about The Pingry Fund or to make your gift, visit pingry.org/give.

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True Blue Spotlight

Q&A WITH MEMBERS OF PINGRY’S TRUE BLUE SOCIETY

Jessica Dee Sawyer ’99, P ’32 Why do you choose to remain connected to Pingry?

Pingry succeeds at building and retaining a strong community. I still feel connected to the School as an alumna and as a parent. I have met wonderful people through Pingry and continue to be impressed by the dedicated staff, engaged alumni, and lovely families that associate with the School. While Pingry strives for excellence academically, individuals do not get lost in the shuffle. Every student seems to be looked after, cared for, and given the space or guidance needed to succeed. This community is special, and it takes time and energy to cultivate something this unique. I have enjoyed being a student, alumna, and now a parent, and look forward to many more years of being connected to Pingry.

What inspires you about Pingry today? As an alumna?

As a parent? Pingry has continued to evolve, grow, and

remain ahead of the curve in many ways. The COVID19 pandemic has been deadly and destabilizing to so many people and institutions. Unfortunately, children have not been spared this disaster. Pingry has stepped up and provided kids with the consistency they need as well as the safety they deserve through their new policies. As a parent, I feel the support that Pingry gives to these children; I will be forever thankful for how they were there for our family these past two years.

The passion these kids have for learning at such a young age (and during a very difficult time) is directly due to the quality of educators Pingry has chosen.

These men and women are dedicated to the students’ growth—not just through the subjects they teach in class, but also by sharing their genuine love of learning. The love they share inspires me every day.

What is your fondest Pingry memory?

When I was a student, I was lucky enough to have Mr. Hanly as my advisor. Mr. Hanly was the Headmaster at the time, and really just the most lovely human being. Spending time with him

Jessica Dee Sawyer ‘99, P ‘32 with her husband Donald Sawyer and their children.

in our meetings—sitting in his office and talking about everything and anything—has stuck with me all these years. His embodiment of the Pingry Honor Code, the way he taught us ethics both in class and in conversation, and his outlook on life were inspiring, and I have taken those lessons with me to this day.

Has anything you learned at Pingry helped you later in life? I learned many things at Pingry that have helped

me in my life. I learned about respecting others, taking the time to listen to what people have to say, learning from people’s differences, and accepting others for who they are, not who you want them to be. High school years are memorable, sometimes embarrassing and scary, and hugely transformative. Pingry was a safe and nurturing TRUE BLUE SOCIETY space for me: a place to try things on, to make mistakes and learn from them. I feel Those who have so grateful that I was there at the time I given to The Pingry was, with those people and educators. I am Fund for 10 or more hopeful that my children will feel Pingry consecutive years holds the same magic for them.

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Pingry Creates BOOKS, BUSINESSES, BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK , AND MORE — TAKE A PEEK

Chris Hoffman ’65, ecopsychologist,

Paul W. Downs ’00

poet, retired organization development consultant, and licensed professional counselor, has had his classic on ecopsychology and spirituality published in a 20th anniversary edition, revised and expanded. The Hoop and the Tree: A Compass for Finding a Deeper Relationship With All Life (Council Oak Books) is about the deep structure of psychological and spiritual wholeness that helps us lead lives of balance and fulfillment.

Joseph Bruchac, Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, author of Our Stories Remember and the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, says: “I admire the gentle simplicity of this book, the way it endeavors to connect us back through the power of story and the healing strength of nature—to the rootedness that so much of the modern world has lost. In our Native traditions, we speak of seven generations, how our deeds will affect those who come long after us. A deep understanding of that responsibility is at the heart of The Hoop and the Tree.” More information is available at hoopandtree.org.

won an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” for the new HBO Max comedydrama series Hacks. He shared the award with writing partners Jen Statsky and Lucia Aniello; the trio created the show, which premiered on May 13.

Dr. John Stibravy ’68 has written Counseling Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors (edited by Tony Smith, Ph.D. and Becky Gringas, D.P.A.). The book was written by a survivor and includes reviews of numerous research studies on delusions, depression, insomnia, childhood trauma, anxiety, anger, burnout, low selfesteem, and nightmares, all relative to sudden cardiac arrest.

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Dr. Bess Rowen ’05, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre at Villanova University, has written The Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment (University of Michigan Press), the first major theoretical study of stage directions; the book is a reworking of her dissertation.

“While stage directions do cover entrances, exits, and other positions on stage, I am more interested in stage directions that discuss a character’s thoughts or the motivations for what they’re doing,” she says. “These lines have often been ignored by actors and directors, who see them as signs of the performances and interpretations from actors and directors before them. Some of this is true, but there are also examples of playwrights who are using these stage directions as unspoken lines between the lines of dialogue, hence my book’s title.”

Dr. Rowen became interested in stage directions when she ended up being the stage manager of Lehigh University’s

JITALIA/ISTOCK IMAGES

AT WHAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN UP TO

production of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House during her senior year. “I spent a huge amount of time looking at her stage directions. They struck me as . . . different. But I couldn’t articulate why at the time,” she recalls.

“When I went to NYU to get a Master’s in Performance Studies, I ended up writing about how sorority handbooks have these rules that an outsider can only tell by observing how the sorority member behaves. This connection between words written for the body—instead of written to be spoken—stuck with me.” Her interest in theater started at the Lower School, and she grew to love acting, performance theory, and teaching as she progressed through Pingry and college.

Anna Butrico ’14, who works at the management consulting firm McChrystal Group, is co-author of Risk: A User’s Guide (Portfolio, a division of Penguin). She wrote the book with the company’s namesake, retired four-star U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, who was Commander International Security Assistance Forces — Afghanistan, and Director, Joint Staff and Commander Joint Special Operations Command.

Ms. Butrico had consulted at the firm for 10 months before becoming General McChrystal’s speechwriter for domestic and international audiences (she quoted Aristotle’s Rhetoric during her interview). He then asked her to serve as co-author of this book (his fourth; her first).

“We had decided we’d write a book about risk before the pandemic occurred, but quickly realized in 2020 that the story of COVID-19 would influence how we think and speak about risk,” she says. “After a year of studying the pandemic, as well as examining military vignettes and tales of technological miracles and historical snafus, we discovered that the greatest risk to us—is us. Our book helps organizations better detect, assess, and respond to risk, and learn from the process.”

From the McChrystal Group’s website: “. . . McChrystal has seen how individuals and organizations fail to mitigate risk.

Why? Because they focus on the probability of something happening instead of the interface by which it can be managed . . . there are, in fact, 10 dimensions of control we can adjust at any given time. By closely monitoring these controls, we can maintain a healthy Risk Immune System that allows us to effectively anticipate, identify, analyze, and act upon the ever-present possibility that things will not go as planned.”

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Pingry in Your Neighborhood UPCOMING Alumni Squash Event November 26, 3:00 p.m.

Miller A. Bugliari ’52 Athletics Center, Basking Ridge Campus Alumni Hockey Game November 26, 6:00 p.m.

Beacon Hill Club, Summit, NJ

Back-from-College Lunch December 16, 12:00 p.m.

Career Day January 28 Sponsored by the Pingry Alumni Association

SAVE THE DATE

For more information or to register, please visit pingry.org/alumni

Reunion Weekend May 13-14 IN PERSON Classes of 2s and 7s Visit pingry.org/reunion for the latest information or contact Katrina Musto, Associate Director of The Pingry Fund, at 908-647-5555, ext. 1270 kmusto@pingry.org

Friday Night Lights Over 1,800 students, faculty, parents, and alumni attended the annual Pingry Football tradition hosted by Pingry Athletics and the Office of Institutional Advancement in partnership with The Pingry School Parents’ Association.

Senior Class BBQ above: Members of the Class of 2022 at the Senior Class BBQ . at right: Members of the Class of 2022 and their parents listened to welcome remarks from Pingry Alumni Association President and Trustee Kevin Schmidt ’98.

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Pingry Alumni at Yale University Dinner Road Trip! On September 23, the Pingry Alumni Relations Team visited Yale University to connect with Pingry alumni.

Joining us in New Haven were: (front row) Josie Jahng ’19, Josie Cummings ’18, Jenny Coyne ’18, and Lexy Beard ’19; (back row) Julian Lee ’21, Justin Li ’21, Ami Gianchandani ’18, and Drew Beckmen ’19.

Interested in gathering Pingry alumni at your college or university? Contact Meghan Borowick, Next Generation Giving and Engagement Associate, at 908-647-5555, ext.

1266 or mborowick@pingry.org.

Nic Fink ’11 Continues Pingry’s Olympics Legacy

W

hat a long way Nic Fink ’11 has come from his original dabble in swimming as a youngster . . . when he wasn’t keen on the sport because of “cold water and early mornings.” He obviously warmed up to it—pun intended—as he has become one of the most renowned athletes in Pingry history. The most recent accomplishment for this record-breaking, 19-time NCAA All-American breaststroker and University of Georgia graduate: the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

It was in the final heat of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha in June that he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 200m breaststroke, achieving a personal best 2:07.55— the fourth-best time of all time for an American, beating the field by eight tenths of a second. With that victory, Mr. Fink became the oldest rookie on Team USA. Similar to the format in the trials, he needed to advance through two rounds in Tokyo to compete in the finals: preliminaries (the top 16 finishers advanced to the semifinals) and semifinals (the top eight advanced to the finals). With a time of 2:08.48 in his heat, he edged the second-place swimmer by 0.06 seconds and posted the fourth-fastest time of the day. In the semifinals, he placed second at 2:07.99.

The finals saw Mr. Fink post his second-fastest time ever— 2:07.93—for a fifth-place finish.

Later in the summer, he was recognized by his hometown when the Morris Township Committee issued a proclamation, recognizing his accomplishments in swimming and, in the words of committee member Mark Gyorfy, “the example he sets for countless young athletes growing up here in the township.” For his part, Mr. Fink, a full-time professional swimmer with the International Swimming League’s Cali Condors, said, “Anyone can accomplish their dreams if they put their minds to it.”

Taking Their Talent to the Top: Pingry Olympians Carl Van Duyne ’64—sailing, disqualified himself from 1968 Olympics after his sail touched a race marker flag

C. Lee Shelley ’74—épée fencing, competed in 1984 and 1988 Olympics

Rachel Alice Rochat ’91—ice hockey, competed in 2006 Olympics with Team Switzerland

Dan Kellner ’94—foil fencing, competed in 2004 Olympics and captain of U.S. Men’s Foil Team the same year

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Class Notes S HA RE YOUR NEWS Submit your Class Note at pingry.org/classnotes, or mail it to Greg Waxberg ‘96, Editor of The Pingry Review, The Pingry School, 131 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

Alumni in Literature

1954 PETER THORNE writes, “On April 1, 2016, I began serving as a missionary in the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, UT. It is the largest family history library in the world. There, I helped guests do research and fill out their family tree. The library closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, but in January, a new virtual program began and I became a virtual genealogist. I now help people all over the world, using Zoom.

The library reopened on July 7. It’s good to work with live people as well as on Zoom.

If anyone would like help with their family tree, I would be glad to help. I live with my older son in Saratoga Springs, UT, where I manage a 20x80-foot garden for the family and neighbors. I’ve been blessed with five grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.”

The late war correspondent and author RICHARD TREGASKIS ’34 is the subject of a new book, Ray E. Boomhower’s Richard Tregaskis: Reporting Under Fire from Guadalcanal to Vietnam (High Road Books, an imprint of the University of New Mexico Press). This book is the first to tell Mr. Tregaskis’ life story, concentrating on his reporting during World War II. Fleet Admiral WILLIAM F. “BULL” HALSEY, JR., Class of 1900, is the subject of an article in the July 2021 issue of PROCEEDINGS, published by the U.S. Naval Institute. The article, Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit Often! (Halsey’s motto), by Commander Robert McFarlin of the U.S. Navy, offers five lessons for Naval leaders, based on Admiral Halsey’s five-star leadership: leaders plan ahead, leaders never stop learning, leaders build teams that win without them, leaders endure failure, and leaders know people matter most.

1960 ROB GIBBY, JR. P ’87 writes, “In late July, Joe Wortley asked me if I’d like to help officiate at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open golf tournament at the Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, CT. For more than 30 years, Joe has been officiating at Professional Golf Association major meets.

He now has a team of seasoned pals who help keep score, and he asked me to be a ‘helper’s helper.’ I worked with Joe and his crew on Thursday and Friday of the fourday tournament. Complete with a fancy USGA shirt, hat, earphones, and a handheld computer, I (almost) looked like someone who knew what he was doing.

Joe described this competition as a ‘low-key event.’ He took me into a goodsize room filled with folks hovering over computers. It looked like Launch Central

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at Cape Canaveral! He explained to me that there were about 350 volunteers needed to run this event. The U.S. Men’s Open requires over 3,000! With each threesome of players, a scorer walks behind, recording every stroke. They enter the totals after each hole, which then would show up on my handheld computer. My job was to make sure they entered the strokes before the players started the next hole.

I watched diligently all day on Thursday and again on Friday. It wasn’t until the end of the day on Friday when the group, with the eventual winner, came down, that I finally had something to do! The walking scorer didn’t put in the scores! As the players were halfway up the next fairway, I hit the red

Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87 and Joe Wortley ’60.

button and the airwaves erupted! The errant scorer turned in his numbers, and everything went on, smoothly!

Joe’s job was to work the scoreboard, which is now all done electronically. He told fun stories of the ‘old days’ when all of that was done by hand. All in all, it was a delightful experience, and I have Joe to thank for being a terrific host and enabling me to have a ‘peek behind the curtain.’”

CARL HAINES married Paula Burney on September 19, 2020, at the historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, VA. He writes, “The Reverend David Archibald ’61 performed the ceremony, making the occasion very special since David and I have been friends since first grade at Pingry over 70 years ago. Paula and I now reside in Marietta, GA for our retirement years and get to see my old friend Dave Speno ’60 and his wife. The Pingry ties remain strong.”

Rob Gibby ’60, Alan Gibby ’66, Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, ’24, and Bruce Smith ’69 at Pocono Lake Preserve in July.

PETER WILEY writes, “I enjoyed a reunion—longtime coming—with Rusty Hyde this summer. Rusty is currently retired,

Paula Burney, The Reverend David Archibald ’61, and Carl Haines ’60.

Rusty Hyde ’60 and Peter Wiley ’60.

50th Anniversary of a First Race Fifty years ago, on July 3, 1971, race car driver MARK DONOHUE, JR. ’55 won his first race, for Team Penske (formed by Roger Penske). His victory came in the Schaefer 500 at Pocono Raceway, but it didn’t come without drama. According to an article on IndyCar.com, Pocono Raceway resembled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but there was a significant difference. When the caution flag was displayed at Indy, drivers were instructed to maintain the gap between themselves and their competitors. At Pocono, cars bunched up before the pit lane was opened, which eliminated any advantage of having a big lead.

Mr. Donohue lost the lead to Joe Leonard with nine laps remaining, but he regained his momentum and overtook Leonard for a final time with six laps left, scoring the victory by 1.688 seconds. Mr. Donohue won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 1972 and posthumously received Pingry’s Letter-In-Life Award in 1976.

Memorabilia of Mark Donohue, Jr. ’55, donated to Pingry by avid motorsports collector John Gabrial. The items are (clockwise from top left): a press photo of Mr. Donohue’s 1971 AMC Javelin; a 1972 issue of Sports Illustrated with Mr. Donohue on the cover; a 1973 Indy 500 ticket with a picture of Mr. Donohue; and a 1972 Indy 500 postcard.

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Class Notes living near Bellingham, WA. We spent a day reminiscing about our years at Pingry and talking about life after Pingry. The glory days of our Pingry friendship were all about the honor of being members of Miller Bugliari’s first soccer team. Little did we know that Coach was a world-class prankster when we pulled a few on him. After Pingry, we spent a summer together at L’università

di Perugia per Stranieri in this beautiful Umbrian hill town. I came back at the end of the summer. Rusty stayed, studying Italian and Spanish in Perugia and Barcelona. He returned to Dartmouth and went on to teach Italian and Spanish literature at Dartmouth before becoming a successful carpenter and contractor. It was a wonderful way to renew our long friendship.”

Thoughts on Ginger Manley’s Book DISARMED

By Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87 In September 1949, on the advice of teacher Roy Shrewsbury, a mother in Ocean Grove, NJ put her eight-year-old son on a train, bound for Elizabeth, NJ. So began John Manley’s time as a Pingry student. After getting off the train in Elizabeth, John walked to the Lower School building on Westminster Avenue. He reversed the trip at the end of every day! After the first year, when School officials found out about John’s daily trek to school, he moved in with a relative in Summit and came to school on the bus. After a very distinguished athletic career, John graduated in 1960.

The Class of 1960 was unable to have their 60th Reunion due to COVID-19.

Instead, about 20 members started a monthly Zoom meeting. One at a time, each attendee recounted their “60 years in 60 minutes.” Given his remarkable athletic abilities and competitive spirit, John was on track to become a jet fighter pilot in the late ’60s. A tragic accident resulted in the loss of his left hand. His life took an abrupt turn, as there was no place for a one-handed fighter pilot. However, John continued to compete and succeed—athletically and in life. His wife of 50 years, Ginger, wrote a wonderful book called DISARMED that chronicles his adventures.

They met on a train in Europe and knew within a week that they were “meant to be.” After raising two children, they are busy crisscrossing the U.S., visiting family and friends and competing in golf tournaments. John went on to be a competitive golfer, skier, fly fisherman, pilot, marksman, taxi driver, car salesman, labor lawyer, and eventually a judge. He is still active as a labor litigator.

He played competitive doubles tennis and, to “psych out” the other team, he would take off his prosthesis and hang it on the net. As his opponents were wondering how a one-handed person could serve a tennis ball, John would burn them with an ace!

DISARMED is a heartwarming tale of this remarkable Pingry graduate turning adversity into opportunity.

1964 BRUCE MORRISON writes, “In 2014, members of the Class of 1964 banded together to raise the money to dedicate and name a Pingry classroom in honor of our classmate Bill Little (read more in the September 2014 issue of The Pingry Review). Following Pingry, Bill attended West Point and graduated in 1968. He was shipped to Vietnam and was killed in action November 11, 1969. A few months ago, his West Point roommate, Army Reserve Major General (Ret.) William Raines, contacted Bill’s sister, Alison Little ’82, about a project he was working on to honor Bill’s heroism, an article in the West Point Association of Graduates’ memorial magazine, TAPS (read the article at pingry.org/extras). She put him in touch with Bob Weissman, Doug Smith, and me to learn more about Bill’s time at Pingry. In the process, we developed a ‘joint operation’ between Bill’s Pingry classmates and his West Point classmates—Major General Raines is Chairman-Emeritus of the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, which has started a campaign of providing families and friends the opportunity to buy a Brick of Honor and inscribe it to honor a fallen friend or loved one. Our joint effort raised $7,150 for a 12x12-inch brick in Bill’s honor. The brick was installed at the Heritage Center in a ceremony over Memorial Day Weekend.”

The Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center focuses on protecting and preserving the heritage of the country’s highest military award for valor and serving as a tribute to all Medal of Honor recipients. The Center’s mission centers around

This Brick of Honor at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center honors the memory of Bill Little ’64.

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its collaboration with the Medal of Honor Society and its Character Development Program to educate the next generation of Americans about the six character traits that embody the Medal of Honor: Patriotism, Citizenship, Courage, Integrity, Sacrifice, and Commitment.

1965 CHRIS HOFFMAN has had his book The Hoop and the Tree: A Compass for Finding a Deeper Relationship With All Life published in a 20th anniversary edition. Read more on page 56.

1968 DR. JOHN STIBRAVY has written Counseling Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors. Read more on page 56.

1972

John Maher ’72, Dr. Bobby Cunningham ’72, Eric Fowler ’72, Greg Hewett ’72, Jack Van Wagner ’72, and Dr. Steve Naughton ’72.

STEVE NAUGHTON writes, “What happens when you get six football teammates together? Four hours of laughs, hugs, and great memories. As senior statesmen approaching our 50th year, believe us, it happens fast— our advice to others is that when you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your brothers, you will never be divided. The bond just gets stronger. Also very fortunate to connect with former Pingry teacher and coach Thomas Johnson ’59, who inspired us in many ways.”

1980 MARK WILF, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), led a JFNA Solidarity Mission to Israel after the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. “Following those difficult two weeks, on top of the 15 months when we were unable to visit Israel due to quarantine restrictions, I was so proud to be leading a group of 22 leaders from the Federation system on this special solidarity mission in order to assess the situation on the ground and show our unwavering support for Israel and its people,” Mark said in a news release.

The mission included meetings with senior government officials who “were eager to hear from us what’s happening in the U.S. and to get our perspectives on how we can work together to redirect the global conversation about Israel—how we can bring the conversation back to facts and away from incendiary rhetoric that leads to antisemitism.”

Jay Wood ‘84, with 400 soccer wins.

Assistant Director of Operations and Coach Paul Sykes, Molly Campbell, and Jamie Campbell ’85.

1984 JAY WOOD earned his 400th victory as Head Coach of the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, VA. The victory came in March when the team played its final game of a delayed mini-season. Fall 2021 was Jay’s 31st season as the team’s head coach.

1985 JAMIE CAMPBELL writes, “Had a chance to come back to campus this summer for a girls lacrosse tournament with my daughter, Molly.

Shout-out to Coach Paul Sykes for giving my

family a sneak peek at my senior class picture and a quick tour of the Athletics Center.”

1993 STEPHANIE LIM CAPELLO is President-Elect of the Villanova University Alumni Association and will begin her twoyear term in June 2022. She is Director of Admissions, Sales, Marketing and Business Development for ESF, Inc., based in Bryn Mawr. Founded in 1982, ESF operates a portfolio of more than 40 nationally recognized day, sports, residential, and pre-college camps in multiple states with partners such as The Philadelphia 76ers, Arsenal Soccer,

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Class Notes

KRISTIN CURLEY

Claire Medoway Feldman and Jack Medoway Feldman.

Michael Blanchard ’96 and Thomas Diemar ‘96, P ‘24 at the Somerset Lake and Game Club on June 28.

Brooklyn Nets, The Philadelphia Phillies, Yale University, Villanova University, University of Pennsylvania, and more.

1994 DAN KELLNER was a coach at the Tokyo Olympics. He serves as the coach for Marcus Mepstead, a foil fencer from Great Britain who won an individual silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Dan was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team who finished his competitive career ranked 10th in the world.

Dr. Purvi Parikh ’00 was honored by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

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Dr. Bess Rowen ’05 is the author of a new book.

more in the Summer 2021 issue), she is a frequent guest in the national media.

2003 BRAD FELDMAN (Pingry lifer) and Melissa Medoway welcomed Claire Medoway Feldman and Jack Medoway Feldman on March 4.

2005 DR. BESS ROWEN has written The Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment. Read more on page 56.

2000

2006

PAUL W. DOWNS won an Emmy Award.

Read more on page 56.

DR. SARA MOURADIAN has been named an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, effective next March. She received all three of her degrees at MIT, including a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and is currently working as an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley. Sara

DR. PURVI PARIKH was named the “Most Distinguished Young Physician 2020-21” by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. She received the honor in July.

An allergist and immunologist who is one of the COVID-19 vaccine trial researchers (read

Advocating for Women’s Wellness MARISA L aVALETTE ’04, a San Francisco–based wellnesspreneur, is the Founder of Attune + Align for women’s wellness, combining astrology, yoga, meditation, and holistic nutrition in a community setting. She was the featured speaker for the Pingry Alumnae Committee’s recent virtual event, leading AstroYoga, her approach to teaching astrology and yoga—subject matter that sparked her interest when she was a student in Cathy Everett’s fifth-grade social studies class. “Mrs. Everett taught us Greek mythology,” she recalls.

“These lessons set me off on the lifelong journey of asking the questions, ‘Where do we come from?’ ‘What am I supposed to do while I am here?’ ‘What happens after?’ These questions led me to my career paths in astrology, yoga, and Ayurveda.”

In her work, Ms. LaValette’s clients have goals for their health, career, and relationships and have assignments for reflection and personal growth between sessions. “It’s a ‘life coaching’ session that leverages astrology as the framework against which the client can track progress over time,” she says. “The conversations revolve around self-discovery, mindfulness, self-awareness, and discovery of dharma—one’s divine purpose.” She teaches from various spiritual perspectives because “there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to self-discovery.”

She describes the motivation for her work as political. “In my 20s, I was very concerned by the limiting boxes society tried to squeeze me into, and society’s perspective of what women should do with their lives and bodies seems to only have become more restrictive since then. My spiritual and

wellness practices caused me to develop a mindset for self-determination and put me in the driver’s seat of my own life.”

Tune in to Ms. LaValette’s Attune + Align podcast on Spotify for inspiring stories of women aligning their lives with their highest purpose.

specializes in quantum information science and technology (QIST).

2012 PATRICK LACKEY, former Big Blue ice hockey captain, is a freelance filmmaker and Founder and Creative Director of SNIP Studios, a longform production company. He became a freelance filmmaker after working for the production company that produces the behind-the-scenes documentaries Quest for the Stanley Cup and Road to the NHL Winter Classic. Most recently, Patrick was Story Producer for the NHL and ESPN+ on the 2021 season of Quest for the Stanley Cup (he worked on the series in 2018 and 2019, as Associate Producer and Assistant Editor,

Patrick Lackey ’12 was Story Producer for the 2021 season of this documentary.

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Class Notes

BEN ZUCKER

so in 2021 he took a step up to be the Story Producer.) He writes, “This has been the highlight of my career so far because being Story Producer was literally my dream job when I graduated from college.

I modeled my senior thesis project—a docuseries that tracked my Tufts University hockey team throughout the season—after Quest for the Stanley Cup.” As the Story Producer working alongside an editor in post-production, Patrick’s primary responsibility was to determine which footage, moments, and stories to include in each episode. Check ESPN+ for all seven uncensored episodes.

Michael Arrom ’13 at AmericaFest.

2013 Keyboardist MICHAEL ARROM performed at the Rose Bowl’s 95th Annual AmericaFest fireworks show on July 4. He was one of two bands performing on the main stage in preparation for the night’s main event—he presented all-original music that he produced with his collaborator, Haylee Joe. Ice hockey player HANNA BEATTIE re-signed with the Connecticut Whale, a team within the National Women’s Hockey League, for the 2021-22 season. It will be her fifth season playing professional hockey with the team. “Hanna is a dependable defender that we can count on in any situation. Her ability to read plays and join the rush for an extra layer of attack is a huge asset to the way we play as a team,” said Whale assistant coach Laura Brennan in a June news release. “We look forward to having her return as a veteran leader to the Pod this season!”

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2014 ANNA BUTRICO is co-author of Risk: A User’s Guide. Read more on page 56.

AIGNER MIZZELLE is making her Broadway debut in Douglas Lyons’ new family comedy Chicken & Biscuits. The limited engagement runs through January 2, 2022.

2016 NIA GOODING, a graduate of Dartmouth College who majored in Government, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship this spring. Specifically, she received a research/ study grant to travel to Kosovo. According to a Dartmouth announcement, Nia first traveled to Kosovo in the summer of 2019 to conduct policy research with the Kosovo Ministry of Health and the nonprofit Action for Mothers of Children—and her Fulbright research will build on that work, focusing on why so many Kosovar mothers give birth by cesarean section.

“Maternal and child health is an important topic to me as a Black woman, because so many Black mothers in the U.S. disproportionately suffer from high rates of morbidity and mortality compared to other women. I want to do my part to help Kosovo’s mothers and children be as healthy and safe as possible in the same way that I want to work to help those in my own community,” Nia said in the article. At Dartmouth, she became interested in global health and public policy, and she plans to pursue law school and a master’s degree in Global Health Law.

Jennifer Korn ’17 outside the Olympic Stadium.

2017

2018

JENNIFER KORN attended the Tokyo Olympics on a freelance assignment with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), focusing on coverage of judo, gymnastics, and handball. Established by the International Olympic Committee, OBS serves as the permanent host broadcaster for the Games and provides the international feed from all events to networks around the world. Jennifer became a freelancer for OBS thanks to a guest speaker in one of her Sports Journalism classes at USC.

ALEXIS ELLIOT, Chair of the Women’s Initiative in Leadership at Harvard College’s Institute of Politics, co-moderated a panel discussion with U.S. Representative and Assistant Speaker of the House Katherine M. Clark (D–Mass.) at the John F. Kennedy Junior Forum on September 16.

MATTHEW PEACOCK, a graduate of Williams College who majored in History and Chinese, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and is an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) with Fulbright Taiwan.

The Fulbright ETA Program helps to improve the teaching of the English language in Taiwan’s schools.

Alexis Elliot ’18, right, with U.S. Representative Katherine M. Clark and co-moderator Alexander Park.

2020 MADI PILLA, NATALIA RAMIREZ, OLA WEBER, and SOPHIA CAVALIERE ’21, former members of the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team at Pingry, were featured in an article

by Columbia University Athletics in early October, spotlighting Pingry as a “pipeline” that continues to spark the Columbia women’s soccer program.

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In Memoriam DAVID KOTH ’47 August 23, 2021, Virginia Beach, VA Mr. Koth attended Princeton University and Wesleyan University, and worked at Pingry twice.

From 1956–1962, he taught math and coached soccer and track; he returned from 1963–1965 to assume the newly created position of Dean of Students and continue teaching math.

Later in his career, he served as Headmaster of The Vail-Deane School, which was absorbed into the Wardlaw-Hartridge School. In 1993-94, he served as Interim Headmaster of Wardlaw-Hartridge.

ROBERT HENRY “BOB” HORNING, JR. ’48 July 9, 2021, age 90, Wilmington, NC Mr. Horning attended Lehigh University, where he captained the baseball and basketball teams, ran track, and graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Following graduation, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and received his aviation training at Ft. Rucker, AL. A naturally adept aviator, he was quickly assigned to Korea, where he flew both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters near and around the DMZ. While transporting a General who was monitoring the cease-fire, his helicopter had a mechanical failure mid-flight. After Mr. Horning successfully performed a dead-stick landing, the General was transferred to another waiting helicopter, and Mr. Horning went back to his own, fixed it, and safely returned to base.

Prior to leaving the service, Mr. Horning was promoted to First Lieutenant. He joined General Electric’s Marketing Department, where he ascended to Vice President of the Appliance Division. His duties for GE necessitated frequent travel to New York City—during one of those flights, he met flight attendant Joan Hoffmann, whom he married. Mr. Horning was awarded the distinction of Kentucky Colonel (1974), the highest title of honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky, in recognition of an individual’s noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the community, state, and nation. He was inducted into Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the undefeated 1947 Track Team. After the loss of his wife Joan in 2015, Mr. Horning reconnected with long-time friend Marilyn McCoy Smith, whom he married on December 29, 2017. Mr. Horning was predeceased by his brother James ’51. In addition to Marilyn and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, survivors include Mr. Horning’s children, Avery Wilmeth and Kate Spencer (Mark), as well as 68

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grandchildren John Robert Spencer and Emma Spencer.

JOHN W. THOMAS, JR. ’48 July 12, 2021, age 91, Basking Ridge, NJ Mr. Thomas graduated from Hamilton College with an A.B. in Political Science and Finance. He was also a dedicated Navy man, joining the U.S. Naval Reserve during his sophomore year in college under an indefinite term commitment because the U.S. was in the thick of the Korean conflict. Following graduation from Hamilton, he went directly to OCS in Newport, RI and then to Charleston, where he was instructed in mine warfare and legal matters as a defense counsel. Two years of active duty involved clearing mines in coastal waters of both North and South Korea; subsequent assignments sent him to Europe and the Middle East. Released to inactive duty, he remained in the Reserves for 19 years, during which he had three commands: two ships and inshore undersea warfare. His business career was devoted to Merrill Lynch, starting in the Broker Training program and advancing to Management. He concluded his time in the Home Office’s Equity Marketing Division, frequently traveling the country to train and support brokers’ public presentations. Mr. Thomas also coached Little League baseball in Harding. His most ambitious project involved a role in the design, construction, and fundraising for a freestanding library in Harding that has become a popular community center; he also served on the Library’s Board of Trustees.

For 12 years, he was an EMT with the New Vernon Volunteer First Aid Squad. In addition, Mr. Thomas was an active Pingry alumnus, frequent campus visitor, and a valued source of information about his classmates for The Pingry Review. Survivors include his wife of nearly 59 years, Anne; sons Stuart P ’13, ’15 (Jane) and Philip ’88 (Gina); and grandchildren Katherine ’13, Emma ’15, and Willem.

DONALD BERNARD KAISERMAN ’51 August 25, 2021, age 88, Henrico, VA Mr. Kaiserman graduated from Bucknell University and joined the U.S. Army flying choppers with the 80th Trans. Co. & 334th USARAL (U.S. Army Alaska) FLT DET at Ft. Riley in Kansas and Ft. Richardson in Alaska, where he met his love, Sylvia. He continued in the Reserves and National Guard until retiring as a Colonel from Army USAR TC. He spent his civilian career in marketing and sales with AT&T, NY Telephone, RCA Computer Systems,

and Electronic Data Systems prior to retiring from Periphonics as Executive Director of International Sales. He was proud of his affiliations with the Richmond Area Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Veteran Services, Commonwealth of Virginia Joint Leadership Council of Veterans, and Virginia War Memorial Foundation. He was preceded in death by his sister Shirley Anne Fitzgerald.

Survivors include his wife, Sylvia; daughters, Deborah A. Warren (Grant) and Holly K. Cash (Christopher); son, Michael (Heidi); and granddaughters, Kathryn A. Warren, Meghan L. Cash, Ana L. Kaiserman, and Madison L. Kaiserman.

CHRISTIAN FREDERICK “FRED” MUELLER IV ’53 August 8, 2021, age 87, Naples, FL Mr. Mueller graduated from Dartmouth College. He was the great-grandson of the founder of the Mueller Pasta Company, and his early career was in the pasta industry, but in 1985, he started a new career in real estate with the Mueller Company Realtors. He earned the coveted CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation and enjoyed his work as a commercial realtor.

Mr. Mueller also had a great love of plants and landscaping, and in his later years was a Master Gardener and certified horticulturist for the State of Florida. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Leah; daughters, Betsy Thomas (Robert) and Dr. Margaret Mueller; brother, John (Barbara); sister, Phyllis; five grandsons; and one great-grandson.

DAVID K. McKOWN ’55 June 4, 2021, age 83, Concord, MA Mr. McKown graduated from Williams College and spent 52 years in the banking industry, starting at Chemical Bank and moving to the First National Bank of Boston, where he led many lending groups such as Corporate Finance, Loan Workout, Oil/Gas, and Real Estate. Following his retirement from BankBoston, Mr. McKown stayed busy into his 80s as a Senior Advisor to Eaton Vance Management. He also served on a number of corporate boards, including Equity Office Properties, POWDR, Global Petroleum, Safety Insurance Group, and Friends of Post Office Square. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Louisa (Okie); children Elizabeth Krauss (Eric) and Andrew (Renee); and four grandchildren, Will and Lulu Krauss, and Louise and Jay McKown.

KENNETH GRANTHAM ENGLER, JR. ’58 June 27, 2021, age 82, Hague, NY Mr. Engler graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, attended the Navy’s Officers Candidate School in Newport, RI, and was commissioned as an ensign at the Deep Sea Diving School in Washington, D.C. He was honorably discharged as a Lt. JG in 1965. Upon his return to New Jersey, he earned an M.B.A. at Rutgers University after joining his family’s map publishing firm, C.S. Hammond and Company, founded by his great-grandfather, Caleb Stillson Hammond.

He was the firm’s corporate secretary, operations manager, and vice president of production. Mr. Engler retired upon the sale of Hammond, and he actively participated—often in the role of treasurer—in many local organizations, including the Lake George Association, the Northern Lake George Yacht Club, the Kiwanis Club of Ticonderoga, and the Forest Bay Association. He was predeceased by an infant daughter, Katherine. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Enid Groeneveld Engler; daughter Karen Bartlett (Judson); son Steven ’93 (Lisa); and four grandchildren, Julia and Kellan Bartlett, and Samuel and Elin Engler.

ALBERT SanGIULIANO, JR. ’58 July 8, 2021, age 80, Hanson, MA Mr. SanGiuliano graduated with a B.S. (Pre-Med) from Union College in Schenectady and worked in sales for Johnson & Johnson and then in the blood lab at Children’s Hospital Boston (now Boston Children’s Hospital). Survivors include his companion of 30 years, Gail Venti; four daughters: Judith Irvine, Patti Rae Barnes, Michelle SanGiuliano, and Suzanne Nielson; nine grandchildren; one great-grandson; sister Patricia Lukko; and niece Christine Lukko Lundberg.

DR. ROBERT EISENHAUER, JR. ’64 June 28, 2020, age 73, Gettysburg, PA Dr. Eisenhauer worked as a teacher for the Gettysburg School District.

DR. JONATHAN RALPH STEINHART ’65 August 7, 2021, age 74, Spokane, WA Dr. Steinhart graduated from Amherst College, completed an M.A.T. at Harvard University, and obtained a medical degree from Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School and an M.P.H. from the University of Washington.

Trained as both a family physician and an obstetrician/gynecologist, he joined the United States Public Health Service as a commissioned officer and retired with the rank of Captain in 2009. His longest term of duty was in Shiprock, NM where he lived and worked on the Navajo reservation for over 20 years, having served for a time as Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After retiring from the USPH, he moved to Spokane, where he worked as an urgent care physician, most recently with Concentra. Always active, he set records in track and field for both his Pingry and college teams. An Eagle Scout, he was an active leader for Troop 22 in Spokane. Both his parents and Dr. Steinhart had a long relationship with a mission community in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Many years ago, he and his family developed a supportive relationship with a young Haitian boy, Wilex Roger, who now teaches at the Union School in Port Au Prince. Dr. Steinhart married Ashley Shultz, Ph.D., of Spokane, in Durango, CO. Survivors include his sons Jordan and Andrew, and cousins Barbara Chester, Jim Steinhart, and Jack Pansegrau.

Dr. Steinhart passed away while hiking near Moscow, ID. PETER BURGDORFF ’69 December 26, 2020, age 69, Summit, NJ Together with his wife, Glynis, Mr. Burgdorff spent his retirement years fostering litters of puppies through St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ—a source of great joy to Peter, Glynis, and their five children.

DR. PHILLIP EUDAILEY GEAR, JR. ’69 December 20, 2020, Phoenix, AZ Dr. Gear was a retired pediatrician. He joined the Class of 1969 in Form I and was active in the Spanish Club, the Chess Club, Community Service, and Tennis. But his greatest talent was in music; he was in the Glee Club for three years and the Buttondowns during his Junior and Senior Years. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis but was able to continue practicing medicine until 2019,

when he retired. Survivors include his wife and three daughters.

ANDREW “TODD” CUNNINGHAM ’79 June 21, 2021, age 60, Long Beach Twp., NJ and New York City Mr. Cunningham earned an M.B.A. and spent his career in insurance, working for the Zurich Insurance Company. He and his family were very active in animal rescue. He was predeceased by his father, Gardner Cunningham. Survivors include his beloved wife Colleen; five loving children: Quinn, Clay, Kerry (Shane Chunko), Megan, and Alex; two cherished grandchildren, Tristan and Mason Chunko; his loving mother, Charlotte; and his devoted siblings, Gardner ’72, Kim, and Tracy.

JONATHAN E. “JON” SATZ ’83 August 25, 2021, age 56, Brandon, VT Mr. Satz earned his degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and owned Wood’s Market Garden in Brandon, where he lived and lovingly farmed with his family. Earlier in life, he began renting a farm in Hatfield, MA and learned the basics of what would become his passion—organic vegetable farming. In 1995, he detoured to Vershire, VT to manage the farm at The Mountain School. He longed for a chance to farm for himself again, so he returned to western Massachusetts. He became a NOFA-VT (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont) inspector of organic farms and traveled the state of Vermont, meeting new farmers and certifying their land.

Through his visits, his love of farming grew, along with his love of Vermont. In 1998, he stumbled upon Wood’s Market Garden in Brandon, which was for sale by owners Bob and Sally Wood. He purchased the farm in 1999 and became one of the most respected farmers in New England. Survivors include his wife, Courtney (Poremski) Satz, whom he married at the farm; two sons, Ezra and Emmett; mother, Susan Satz; sister, Constance “Connie” Satz; and brother, David (Hallie). Mr. Satz fought two different cancers in 10 years.

The editorial staff makes every effort to publish an obituary for and pay tribute to the accomplishments of alumni who have passed away, based on information available as of press time. If family members, classmates, or friends would like to submit tributes, please contact Greg Waxberg ‘96 at gwaxberg@pingry.org.

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A Visit to the Archives

Photos, Photos, and More Photos!

The Pingry Review has showcased Bynder, which houses the School’s digital photographs that have been taken over the past two decades (this fall, the collection surpassed the 450,000 mark). But print photos are another effort altogether.

Archivist Peter Blasevick and his staff are organizing a photo collection that consists of 15,000–20,000 photos, mostly representing the years 1970–2000. Unlike photos that are donated to Pingry by collectors who have pre-sorted their materials, these photos are being arranged into “artificial collections” to make it easier to find them.

The series include campus life, student life, extracurricular activities, athletics, the yearbook, faculty/staff, Advancement, and buildings. Within each series, the

photos are organized chronologically—and, in many cases, the staff has used yearbooks to identify people and estimate when the photos were taken.

Aside from the obvious benefit of being able to find photographs, this organization project will create a neater way for the Archives to store these photographs and eventually digitize them.

To see more from the Archives, visit Pingry Flashes Back (pingry.org/flashesback).

Recent posts include athletics trophies through the years and new homes for Pingry’s plaques that recognize donors and named spaces at previous campuses.

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In Pingry History 10 YEARS AGO John Quiñones, host of ABC’s What Would You Do? (a show that presents ethical situations to see if the public will speak up), speaks for the John Hanly Lecture Series on Ethics and Morality. He recognizes Middle and Upper School Music Teacher Jay Winston and then–Upper School Spanish Teacher Victor Nazario P ’90, ’94, who had appeared on the show.

20 YEARS AGO Construction is in progress on the Hostetter Arts Center 30 YEARS AGO Pingry initiates the requirement that all students in Grades 7–12 complete 10 hours of community service (today, community and civic engagement) by the end of the school year 40 YEARS AGO Pingry and Kean College plan for the sale of the Hillside Campus

Finding Aids Taking into account decades’ worth of multiple publications, as well as athletics memorabilia, thousands of photographs, and more, the Archives can quickly become overwhelming if a visitor does not have some kind of tool to know where to look. Enter “finding aids.”

“Each finding aid acts as a map of one of the Archives’ collections, like publications, so a researcher can find the items needed for research,” Mr. Blasevick says. “Think of it as a giant card catalogue—students, employees, and others will be able to access the Archives in more ways.”

5 0 YEARS AGO Implementation of freshman-senior discussion groups to help orient freshmen to the Upper School 60 YEARS AGO The Beginning of Wisdom is published (read more in this issue’s feature) 70 YEARS AGO Construction is in progress on the Hillside Campus 80 YEARS AGO The Pingry Record and Blue Book announce a closer relationship, with students who work for one also working for the other, but the staffs are still considered separate

An example of a finding aid, this one for Pingry’s collection of publications.

90 YEARS AGO For the fifth consecutive year, the student body votes to continue the Honor System

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A Final Look

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PROCESS ART:

A Collaboration for Grades K–3 Process Art is child directed and choice driven, and celebrates the experience of discovery—the focus lies in the creation of the work, not the outcome. During this collaboration, students worked on a shared piece of art, and each Grade was given a different art process: Kindergarten used oil pastels and do-a-dots; Grade 1 used printing blocks and ink; Grade 2 used puffy paint, scrapers, and watercolors; and Grade 3 used acrylic paint, foam daubers, and rollers.

This project generated artwork for the office of Dr. Thu-Nga Morris, Assistant Head of School for the Short Hills Campus.

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