A TORCH PASSED Paul Mellon was much more than a

A TORCH PASSED Paul Mellon ’25 was much more than a wealthy philanthropist. He was a devoted alumnus of a school he loved and wanted to help prosper. His example illustrates the dedication found among thousands of faithful Choate Rosemary Hall alumni. His lifetime contributions totaled more than $27 million, to support the school’s Annual Fund and general operation, and to transform the campus, including such signature structures as the Humanities Center, the Chapel, the Library, the Science Center, and the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Since Paul’s death in 1999, Choate has received over $34 million more, primarily for the school’s endowment and to establish the Paul Mellon ’25 Scholarship Fund. Last fall, Choate received its final distribution from his estate in the amount of $1.25 million for financial aid. A torch has been passed. The scale of his philanthropy was beyond the reach of most, but the example of Paul Mellon’s legacy is universal. Planned giving—even for a man of his means—provided the opportunity to do much more than he could do during life. For more ideas about ways you can extend your support of Choate Rosemary Hall—through your estate or a gift arrangement that will pay you income for life—please contact Ron Fleury at (203) 697-2288 or rfleury@choate.edu. Learn about Planned Giving online at www.choate.edu/plannedgiving SPRING 2008 CAMPUS CONNECTION S seniors. The competition with the Hopkins School was so close this year that it was not clear that Choate would be victorious until the end of the final contest. The six highest scorers on the varsity team will go on to compete in the state contest in April. along with two guides, to reach the summit. The climb took 19 days to go up and back down the mountain. eventeen students have been named Finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship competition. The students were selected from the 16,000 semifinalists named last September. The Finalists are: Michael Bozzi of Madison, Conn.; Yifan Cao of South Glastonbury, Conn.; Steven Chen of Waterford, Conn.; Christopher Douglas of Waterford, Conn.; Amy Gobel of New Haven, Conn.; Allison Hinckley of Portland, Ore.; Marian Homans-Turnbull of New Haven, Conn.; Joon Lee of Seoul, Korea; Janet Li of Woodbridge, Conn.; Alexandra Long of New Haven, Conn.; Grace Marrinan of Wallingford, Conn.; Martin McDonald of Branford, Conn.; Julia Nick of Moorestown, N.J.; Christopher Rewinski of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif; Jillian Ruben of Wallingford, Conn.; Meng Xie of Wallingford, Conn.; Irene Zhang of Guilford, Conn. ast December, physics teacher Ben Small climbed Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, on the western border with Chile. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere at 22,841 ft., and the highest mountain outside of Asia. Aconcagua is also one of the “Seven Summits,” or highest mountains on each of the seven continents. The climb was the brainchild of a faculty member of The Taft School and began as a group of seven prep school teachers from peer schools. After many days on the mountain some of the team suffered from altitude sickness and had to turn around. Ben was one of only two teachers, Faculty member Ben Small on top of Mt. Aconcagua, one of the Seven Summits. L Trustee Window Snyder ’93 made The BE Hot List. M oth the varsity and JV Math teams finished the regular season in first place in the Greater New Haven Mathematics League. Aakash Bhattacharya ’10 of Fairfield, Conn., held first place in the league on the JV team. On the varsity team, Stephanie Choi ’09 of Iowa City, came in first in the league, with Aditya Rajagopalan ’09 of Glastonbury, Conn., a few points behind in third place. Yifan Cao ’08 of South Glastonbury, Conn., team captain, was the top scoring senior in the league. Paan Wongrattananon ’08 of Bangkok, Thailand, and Yoshi Shiota ’08 of Brooklyn, N.Y., won second and third place prizes for B wende Window Snyder ’93, Chief Security Officer at Mozilla Corporation, joins Black Enterprise magazine’s Hot List of 40 African American achievers under age 40. The BE Hot List is composed of ultimate achievers under the age of 40 in media, music, entertainment, and sports. This year’s list also includes business executives, top-ranked money managers, and medical researchers. Prior to joining Mozilla, Snyder was Founder, Principal, and Chief Technology Officer with Matasano Security and Senior Security Strategist with Microsoft, serving as security lead and signoff on Windows XP and Windows 2003. Snyder is co-author of Threat Modeling, a standard manual on application security. She has served Choate Rosemary Hall as an Alumni Relations Volunteer and is now the youngest member on the 2007–08 Board of Trustees. CC Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove engages students at an all-school meeting on February 11. O n Monday, February 11, students and faculty of Choate Rosemary Hall experienced an extraordinary event as they were joined on campus for the day by President Bush’s former Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove. Mr. Rove originally accepted the school’s invitation to speak at Choate’s commencement in early June. Headmaster Shanahan received numerous emails from students, parents and alumni on this issue, and reported that the vast majority (roughly 80 percent) of those communications supported Mr. Rove’s speaking to, and engaging, our students in a setting outside the constraints of a formal commencement. “By offering to adjust his schedule to address our students’ interest in his appearance, Mr. Rove enthusiastically embraced the enhancement of this teaching and learning opportunity for our students,” said Mr. Shanahan. (See Headmaster Shanahan’s commentary on p. 56.) Mr. Rove was generous with his time, meeting with members of our largest student organizations, the Young Republicans and Young Democrats and their faculty advisers over breakfast; greeting the members of our Student Council, editors of our student newspaper, The News, faculty representatives and senior administrators at a noon reception; sharing lunch with yet another group of faculty, students and one of our Trustees; and finally, speaking to our entire student body and a portion of our faculty at a special program in the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Said Mr. Shanahan, “It was a fascinating day and an exceptional opportunity for our students to probe the thoughts of an individual at the center of our country’s major policy decisions over a significant portion of their young lives. I am very pleased with the quality of the dialogue that took place, the thoughtful, purposeful questions posed by our students, and Mr. Rove’s willingness to grant such broad access to an individual of his background and experience.” J Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University effrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management, will give the Commencement remarks at Choate’s 118th Commencement on Sunday, June 8. Professor Sachs is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. Sachs is also President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty. Professor Sachs is widely considered to be the leading international economic advisor of his generation. For more than 20 years, Professor Sachs has been in the forefront of the challenges of economic development, poverty alleviation, and enlightened globalization, promoting policies to help all parts of the world to benefit from expanding economic opportunities and well-being. He is also one of the leading voices for combining economic development with environmental sustainability, and as Director of the Earth Institute leads large-scale efforts to promote the mitigation of human-induced climate change. He is internationally renowned for his work as economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa, and his work with international agencies on problems of poverty reduction, debt cancellation for the poorest countries, and disease control. Professor Sachs was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2004 and 2005, and the World Affairs Council of America identified him as one of the 500 most influential people in the United States in the field of foreign policy. He is author or co-author of more than two hundred scholarly articles, and has written or edited many books, including New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty (Penguin, 2005). n one extraordinary week in January 2008, the Archives acquired two rare collections. The first came via eBay: two heretofore missing issues from 1933 of Rosemary Hall’s Question Mark—its combination student newspaper, literary and alumnae magazine. The second came thanks to networking help from Gardenia Cucci ’86: a collection of school memorabilia given to the Archives by Warren Hay, son of Alice Warren RH ’14. Alice’s treasure trove included not only three more previously unknown issues of the Question Mark (1912-1913) but also her fabulous scrapbook filled to overflowing with photographs and artifacts of her school days. The Archives is grateful for these recent acquisitions which advance its mission to collect, preserve, and make accessible the rich history of the schools. These contributions add immeasurably to our understanding of Rosemary Hall’s history. For example, the 1933 Question Mark tells us that the girls elected to cancel The Mid —the most important dance of the year—in I favor of making a donation to the Greenwich Unemployment Committee. In another article, Harriet Spencer RH 1899 recalled the first-ever basketball game [in the winter of 1895-96] which was so competitively played that she broke a toe. This story was recently shared with the current girls basketball varsity team. If you would like to add to the collection, please contact School Archivist Judy Donald ’66, jdonald@choate.edu CC Let’s lead the way! In December 2007, the Choate Rosemary Hall Trustees launched The Challenge to Lead for the Annual Fund. Many alumni have responded with great enthusiasm. Don’t miss your opportunity to have your new or increased gift to the Annual Fund matched by the Trustees. Your donations support: Outstanding Faculty World Class Facilities Exceptional Students To make your gift today, please visit www.campaignforchoate.org or email annualfund@choate.edu Every Dollar Matters. Every Gift Counts. Choate Rosemary Hall, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492 (203) 697-2389 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Our mission is to create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest and support for the school and for one another, and to build pride, spirit and community. wo years ago, as the new Chairman of the Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees, I shared with you my belief that Choate was capable of becoming the national leader amongst secondary schools if we were to adopt and consistently practice four key elements of leadership. I also stated that I would share our progress in that regard with you, and I am pleased to report that it is significant. Living on the Leading Edge—Creating distinctions is much more important than filling gaps. How do Choate students rank alongside students from other elite secondary schools? From the International Physics Olympiad, to the USA Math Olympiad, to the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, to Presidential Scholars, you will find the names of Choate students standing out amongst their peers. With nine New England District championships in the last 10 years, our Economics Team is the undisputed title holder in the Fed Challenge, while our Math Team was State and New England Champion in 2007. Choate is the only high school in the country to have three alums playing on the same Olympic Team—USA Women’s Ice Hockey. As w we embrace the principle of living on the leading edge, we do so with the confidence that Choate e Rosemary Hall ultimately distinguishes itself by R e educating the young men and women who rise t to become the leaders of their generation. A Single Standard of Quality—We must establish a single standard of quality in all we e do so that the Choate “brand” is instantly d recognizable as a hallmark of excellence in the r field of education. Choate’s 2007 “exemplary” fi accreditation ranking by the New England a Association of Schools and Colleges was a A benchmark adopted by the school’s major b academic departments as they worked over the a past year to further strengthen and develop the p school’s core “product”—its academic program. s In addition, our Headmaster continued I his leadership role as President of the Eight h Schools Association, spearheading innovative S interschool efforts in the arts, athletics and i student life. s Candor—When candor is pervasive in all of our dealings with each other, we build lines of communication that radiate and generate mutual trust and respect. This leadership element was quite effectively demonstrated by Choate’s Board of Trustees over this past year. Beginning with a reconstituted Alumni Association welcomed with a seat on the Board, the Trustees responded to a student petition to disinvest in Darfur by tackling the issue of socially responsibly investing, and adopted an endowment spending policy that will support the smooth operation of the school while also maximizing endowment growth. And we set forth a course of action after open discussions within and without the school community, sometimes conscientious always frank and honest, that will preserve in perpetuity +250 acres of green space adjacent to the campus which could lead to yet another form of distinction. Passion—We will give generously of our wisdom, wealth and work in ways that make a meaningful difference for Choate Rosemary Hall and encourage others to do the same. Over this past year, this leadership principle has been most vibrantly demonstrated by you—our loyal and energetic alums—as you have supported An Opportunity to Lead: The Campaign for Choate Rosemary Hall and our Annual Fund in record breaking numbers. The campaign’s successes to date, like the beautiful new residence halls that are rising on our campus, are a concrete expression of your enthusiasm for Choate Rosemary Hall. While our advances have been noteworthy, and your strong support is an inspiration for all of us who serve the school, we still require a commitment by all those who believe passionately in this extraordinary school in order to achieve our campaign goals. As your Chairman, I am committed to these leadership principles. I know that our continued progress in these areas will best position this school for the future. On behalf of the Board, I thank you for all you do in support. Choate Rosemary Hall’s outstanding history of accomplishment is ours to advance. s we approach the midpoint of the 2007–2008 school year, I am happy to report that we have well surpassed the midway mark of our $200 million campaign, An Opportunity to Lead: The Campaign for Choate Rosemary Hall, with $132 million in gifts and pledges. This feat was made possible by the extraordinary generosity of our more than 5,600 alumni, parents, grandparents and friends who have contributed to the largest capital campaign in the history of the school. It is a campaign that will come close to doubling the school’s endowment over the course of the next five years. During this time, we hope to secure new endowment dedicated to student financial aid, faculty development, and the enhancement of academic programs. Already we have made rapid strides toward our strategic priority of increasing financial aid. In November 2007, Choate Rosemary Hall received its final contribution from the estate of Paul Mellon ’25: $1.25 million to provide financial aid to needy and meritorious students. During his lifetime, Mr. Mellon contributed over $27 million to support the Annual Fund and many other projects that transformed the school’s campus. And through his estate, he has provided over $34 million for unrestricted endowment and to establish the Paul Mellon ’25 Scholarship Fund. This year, we also welcomed our first two Gakio-Walton Scholars from Kenya, through the generosity of an $11.7 million gift from The Walton Family Foundation and alumnus Benjamin S. Walton ’92, a Director of the Walton Family Foundation. The program offers need-based scholarships for students from Africa, the Middle East and specific regions in the United States. The generosity and vision of this remarkable, historic gift will enable Choate to enroll more students from areas of the world that have been traditionally underrepresented on our campus. In addition, this gift also includes funds for professional development which will allow our faculty to develop their craft so that Choate’s curriculum continues to reflect our increasingly complex global society. Our residential facilities are receiving top priority with the construction of two new residence halls (scheduled to open in 2008). The new residence halls, designed by Centerbrook Architects, LLC, of Centerbrook, Connecticut, will house a total of 80 students and eight faculty families. The construction project is being funded in part by a gift from the late Rebecca Tenney Agnew ’27, an alumna of Rosemary Hall, who died in 2005 and bequeathed $6 million in her will to begin the construction of the new residence halls, the first new dormitories to be built in nearly 40 years. Our athletic facilities are also undergoing revitalization thanks to the generosity of Bruce ’45 and Lueza Gelb, lead donors of An Opportunity to Lead. The Gelbs were present, along with a handful of Olympic athletes, at the 2007 Reunion Weekend dedication of the new track named in their honor. The Bruce ’45 and Lueza Gelb Track will have an enormous impact on Choate’s athletics program. The new state-ofart track features an eight-lane synthetic running track that encloses a natural grass infield to be tr used by Choate athletics for a variety of teams. u An additional adjacent field will host events such A as the long jump and pole vault, and will have a a three-bay storage shed to house hurdle and jumping equipment. A new spectator viewing ju area is also in the works. a This is my second year as President of the Eight Schools Association, composed of the E heads of Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield, h Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, Northfield Mount H Hermon, Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, H and St. Paul’s, formed with the intent of a strengthening our school ties and forging a group identity. Under the aegis of Executive Director Robert “Skip” Mattoon, former Head of Hotchkiss, the first anthology of student writings from the Eight Schools has been published. The first Eight Schools basketball supremacy cup tournament took place this winter, with Choate hosting the boys varsity teams, and Hotchkiss hosting the girls varsity teams. This past fall, Choate also hosted two Eight Schools events: a meeting of the Eight Schools arts departments held at the Paul Mellon Arts Center and a meeting and luncheon for Eight Schools student leaders chaired by Choate Student Council President Jin Ha ’08 at the Sally Hart Lodge. The floodtide of generosity from our loyal alumni, parents and grandparents, despite the recent news of a looming recession, points to their firm belief in the importance of a Choate Rosemary Hall education which continues to enrich lives long after Commencement, and their equally strong conviction that this opportunity should be made available to others. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have seized upon this moment in our school’s history and, through your generosity, have enabled us to lead Choate Rosemary Hall into its next century of teaching and learning. existing debt, taking advantage of lower interest rates, Choate Rosemary Hall issued $42 million in tax-exempt bonds. The school’s credit rating remains strong at Aa2 by Moody’s. Our long-term financial health, represented by endowment growth, continued to excel with a one-year return of 17.3 percent. The school’s revenues grew to $42.4 million, slightly less than our expenditures due to shortfalls in funds available to cover deferred maintenance. Tuition, net of financial aid, totaling $23.5 million represented 56 percent of total revenues. Draw from the endowment, at 4.6 percent for the fiscal year, represented 27 percent of revenues. The remaining 17 percent of revenues came from the Annual Fund, summer programs, and other income. The largest portion of our funds, 31 percent of total expenses, went to maintaining Choate’s beautiful 450-acre campus. Close behind, the school spent 30 percent on academic programs, including faculty salaries. If we include student and food services, the School spends 43 percent of total expenses on areas directly impacting the student experience. The remaining 26 percent is to cover administrative, development, admissions, technology and communications expenses. At the end of the fiscal year, the endowment was valued at $267 million, a net increase of $31.5 million, reflecting the impact of a 17.3 percent return and $4 million in cash gifts. The endowment was reduced by the annual draw to fund operations of $11.5 million. We continue to strive to provide the best education to our students and to encourage them to excel in the classroom. This, along with a motivated faculty and staff, will ensure a long and healthy financial future. uring the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, the School saw some interesting and exciting changes on campus. The new track and the two new dormitories are only part of the picture. Plans are underway to restore the ponds on campus and to construct a double artificial turf field with lights and seating. Financially, the school’s results show a strong picture of health. To help finance the construction of the dorms and to refinance uilding on the successful launch of An Opportunity to Lead and a revitalized Alumni Association, fiscal 2007 was a great year for the school’s record books. Annual Giving once again broke all prior records, with $4,214,000 in total contributions, exceeding our goal by $214,000. The Parents Fund had an excellent year, garnering $1,618,000, far surpassing its $1,450,000 goal. The remaining $2,596,000 was primarily derived from alumni Annual Fund contributions. The overall campaign also saw considerable success. Well-received launch events were held in New York City, Wallingford, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul and Hong Kong. New gift commitments totaling $36,141,000 were made during the period of July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, bringing the campaign total to $116,339,000 by the end of Fiscal Year 2007. A password-protected web portal for alumni relations and fund-raising volunteers was developed, and is now being used by the vast majority of our volunteers. This gives them up-to-the-minute, on-demand access to important information. Choate Rosemary Hall is now the proud owner of a wonderful 10-minute video that does an excellent job of encapsulating the Choate experience. If you haven’t already viewed it, please be sure to take a look at it on our campaign web site (http://www.campaignforchoate.org). The reconfigured Alumni Association has elicited overwhelmingly favorable response. More than 300 alumni attended planning sessions in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The school received hundreds of e-mails from alumni congratulating the Alumni Association on its good efforts and volunteering to help. The Volunteer Admission Network extended the reach of the Choate Admission Office with coverage of school fairs and off-campus interviews. Studentalumni interactions were enhanced with a speaker series designed to help sixth formers make the transition to being alumni. And the Association’s Nominating and Prize Committee was involved in the selection of two distinguished alumni award recipients: John J. Danilovich ’68 and Lyn Foster McNaught ’55. As calendar year 2008 unfolds, the Annual Fund is well on its way to this year’s goal of $4,400,000, with an extra boost from what we hope will be a successful $400,000 annual fund challenge issued b the B d of T h ll i d by h Board f Trustees called ll d “The Challenge to Lead.” Next year represents an opportunity for our Alumni and Development team to build on its prior successes and continue moving forward on multiple fronts. Financial markets may be jittery, but applying the lessons learned over the past four years with some sound institutional advancement principles will get Choate through whatever rough patches may be in store for the future. ighly competitive, some may say “hot,” prep schools find themselves watching applications continue to increase with demand. To keep up with the interest it is taking more of an expanded effort by Choate Rosemary Hall supporters across the globe. Because our admission officers live on campus, and many also teach, coach and serve in dormitories, we are not able to function like a college’s admission office in the way that those offices can accommodate increasing applications. At the secondary level, the interview, and personalization to a large degree, is an important part of the process. Thus, we have relied heavily on our recently expanded Volunteer Admission Network to conduct more than 250 off-campus interviews (that’s 100 ahead of last year!) as we continue our expansion of both the reach and the outreach of the school. At the end of January 2008, we had conducted 400 more interviews (1,717) than we had just five years ago in January 2003. This cycle, Admission traveled internationally to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong in China, and to Korea, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica. We know there are many more areas in which we could connect with eager a potential Choate students; we hope to extend p our reach to South America, India, and more o of the Middle East. This past fall, we made our o first official Admission foray into mainland fi China. Executive Director of Development and C Alumni Relations Dan Courcey ’86, Director A of International Admission Beth Whitney, and o I were graciously hosted in Beijing by Shi Qing Cheng and Lily Jin (parents of Matthew ’10) C and received more help on the ground from a David Barrutia ’94, Colm Rafferty ’94 and D Bob Anderson ’70. Less than 36 hours later, we B were off to Shanghai, where Choate Rosemary w Hall Trustee Linda Lau P’07 and her husband H Thomas (parents of Kamsen ’07) put on a great reception for nearly 80 people, while Kenny Tung ’80 and Tony Cheung ’80 helped us develop key contacts. Soon after, it was off to familiar Hong Kong where we were once again greeted by our loyal alumni, Ronna Chao ’85 and Mark Cheung ’77, the newly appointed President of the Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Club of Hong Kong. All three stops were incredibly successful, with over 250 people in attendance and 80-plus interviews with candidates. With marquee scholarship programs like the Icahn Scholars, Mellon Scholars and GakioWalton Scholars, we continue to bring the most interesting, talented and eager students to contribute to the life of the school. Andy Noel, our Director of Financial Aid, made an 11-day admission trip through the underrepresented states in the United States to see who might be right for Choate. America’s demographics are changing, and so are Choate’s, along with those of most of our peer schools. My admission colleague Tim Bradley ’73, who was the only African American third former in his class, now reports that Choate is currently 37 percent students of color (of African, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, or Native American heritage), maintaining its reputation as one of the most diverse prep schools alongside Andover and Exeter. All these factors point to the need to continue to reach out and capture the best of the youth around the world to carry on the tradition of excellence that is Choate Rosemary Hall. t Choate’s 2007 Convocation, five outstanding veteran teachers were recipients of endowed faculty chairs which recognize scholarship, excellence in teaching, and distinguished service to the school. The John Ferris Joseph Chair was awarded to form dean and English teacher Nancy C. Miller; the Independence Foundation Chair to Director of Community Service Mary F. Pashley; the Ralph F. Kanders Chair for Distinguished Service in Residential Life to Director of Student Activities Jim Yanelli; the inaugural G. Edmondson and Susan R. Maddox Endowed Teaching Chair to English teacher Charles Timlin, and the inaugural Tom Wachtell ’46 Teaching Chair in Honor of E. Stanley Pratt was awarded to mathematics/history teacher and debate coach Neil Shimmield. The new Maddox and the Wachtell Teaching Chairs are direct outcomes of our highly successful capital campaign—An Opportunity to Lead: The Campaign for Choate Rosemary Hall. One of the objectives of Choate’s capital campaign is to raise $17 million in new endowment to support faculty compensation and professional development opportunities. This will let us compete even more successfully in hiring and retaining the best faculty, and in supporting them professionally over the full spectrum of their careers, from attendance at conferences and workshops, to summer study and travel grants, to completing advanced degrees, to taking sabbatical leaves. Some faculty are already reaping the rewards of an extraordinary gift from the Walton Family Foundation. Benjamin S. Walton ’92, a director of the Foundation, has committed funds for curricular development and professional development to reflect our increasingly global society. Last summer, these funds assisted history teacher Dick Stewart’s travels h k ’ l Thail Th il d, iland teacher Dick Stewart’s travels to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia with the Council on International Educational Exchange, and Director of International Admission Beth Whitney’s enrollment in a course entitled “Educating for the 21st Century” held in Costa Rica at the United Nations University for Peace. This past December, the funds supported physics teacher Ben Small’s climb to Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, one of the renowned “Seven Summits,” the highest mountains on each of the continents. Ben was one of only two teachers, along with two guides, to reach the summit. We are eager to support all faculty in their endeavor to scale the heights of their professional development. Thanks to the generosity of the Mosbacher and Sophonpanich families, five of our existing faculty houses have undergone much needed improvements and have been renamed. New Old South, located on Curtis Avenue behind the Chapel, is now the Mosbacher House; Fox House, 246 North Elm near Gables, is now Chatri House. In addition, three houses have been named in honor of former heads of Rosemary Hall: Backes House is now Jessup House, 411 North Main is now McBee House, and Wheeler is now Lowndes House. With the addition of three new faculty homes on Rosemary Lane, and housing for eight faculty families in the new residence halls in 2008, the school has notably improved its housing stock, including faculty residences. It is our hope that improvements to existing housing and the influx of additional housing will increase the percentage of faculty living on campus to closer to 90 percent. By far the most significant undertaking of the year has been the ongoing faculty workload study. Last spring, Headmaster Ed Shanahan asked me to create an advisory faculty committee to address the distribution of workload among the faculty. While we seek to hire faculty who will engage students in the classroom, in w residential life, and in a wide variety of athletic re and other extracurricular activities, the culture a and demographics of faculty have dramatically a changed over the course of the last 20 years. The c single master model, so identifiable with boarding si schools of yesteryear, has given way to married sc faculty with families who now comprise roughly fa 70 percent of faculty. It has become increasingly 7 difficult to sustain a seven-day-a week schedule d within the context of the demands of modern w life. The expectations of coaching, and of li academic advising outside of the classroom, have a also increased tremendously. a By clarifying our workload expectations (and how they might evolve over the course of a career), augmenting faculty salaries, offering professional development opportunities, and providing quality residences in which to dwell, Choate continues to strengthen its ability to attract and retain committed teachers who are the heart and soul of this school. he 2007–2008 academic year marks an exciting new chapter for residential life at Choate Rosemary Hall as we eagerly anticipate the completion of the two new residence halls. The new dormitories are environmentally friendly and will rely largely on geothermal energy to provide heating and cooling. These dorms will allow the school to replace outdated residences, significantly improving the quality of student and faculty housing. The new construction project gave administrators the opportunity to specifically realign housing patterns across the forms according to grade level. One wing of the new residence halls will be designated for fourth form boys and the other to fourth form girls, increasing the cohesiveness of the fourth form. To further engage students in the new residence halls project, the school gave them the opportunity this past fall to state their preference for styles of freestanding furniture; three vendors displayed samples in the Dining Hall. With the impending move of the College Counseling Office to Carrington House this spring, other improvements on the horizon include retrofitting the former College Counseling space in the basement of the Dining Hall as a comfortable day student lounge. I am happy to report that throughout the gradually becoming d ll campus, green is gradually becoming our way of life—no longer just the color of archrival Deerfield. This winter, the campus competed in the annual Green Cup Challenge—a contest among 32 independent schools to see which school could reduce the use of electricity the most. The competition seeks to encourage conservation habits, such as turning off computer monitors at night and leaving vacant rooms dark. Choate has signed up students as C-proctors in every form to encourage additional conservation habits such as recycling. There has been a renewed focus on educating students about pressing environmental issues. A year-old sustainability committee of faculty, students and administrators is exploring ways to further reduce Choate’s environmental footprint. Students have gamely participated in trayless lunches, reducing the amounts of wasted food consumed at meals. Recycling, conserving energy, and supporting regional economies are all part of our dining services plan to keep Choate green. Sustainability issues are giving the Choate community opportunities for conversation not only around the table but across the campus —examining our choices in vehicles, lighting, cleaning products, and grounds maintenance. As a community, we should never lose sight of all the things we can do to put our good intentions to work. And finally, our Student Council has admirably seized upon opportunities to get involved not only in sustainability issues, but in charitable causes. Choate’s Daily Grind, a Student Council-run coffee shop in the Humanities Rotunda, is donating its proceeds toward rebuilding a well for residents of a disadvantaged Nigerian village in desperate need of a clean water source. Such student-led efforts are impressive indeed and testament to the fact that Choate is at the forefront of global action and education. his time last year, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ Commission on Independent Schools granted Choate Rosemary Hall reaccreditation at the Commission’s February 2007 meeting. This accreditation came on the heels of an exhaustive multi-year internal review carried out by all Choate faculty and administrators. In judging Choate’s performance against the accreditation standards, the NEASC visiting team gave us the highest ranking of “exemplary” in ten of the applicable 15 standards including Governance, Student Body, Program, Experience of the Students, Residential Program, Faculty, Administration, Health and Safety, and Communication. In order to continue on this exemplary track, the school’s major academic departments have identified ways our strengths can be deepened even further. After a 30-year hiatus, Choate reintroduced Arabic into its language curriculum last year, and continues to offer an Intensive Modern Arabic first-year course in addition to a second-year directed study. For the second year in a row, Choate has been awarded federal funding for the STARTALK Program, an intensive four-week summer language program for rising 9th to 12th graders in the greater New Haven community interested in pursuing the study of Mandarin Chinese. Forty scholarships will be offered for this non-residential summer program. We continue to expand our course offerings and support for global and international study. Last summer, ten students were selected to participate in a two-week pilot program to China, sponsored by the Office of International Programs at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Students met with senior officials of the Chinese central government, national scholars, and leading figures in multinational companies and joint U.S.-China business ventures. Upon their return, they shared the knowledge they acquired with their peers in presentations this fall. On the basis of the great success of this pilot program, PennGSE is looking to establish The U.S.-China Future Leaders Program for 100 undergraduate and graduate student leaders from the top universities in both nations and a small number of selected high school students from Choate (the only high school in the program). It is hoped that this exciting new program will establish a relationship between the rising leaders of the U.S. and China by bringing them together for one month here and one month there over three years to learn about each other’s political and business systems and discuss the pressing issues facing both nations in the 21st century. The students will engage in academic coursework, leadership workshops and collaborative projects in their chosen areas of study, and will meet, like last year’s group did, with the current leaders of the U.S. and China in government, business, academia and the media. We are currently working with PennGSE officials to implement this program. Other curricular initiatives of note: the contemporary global studies diploma requirement, introduced with the graduating class of 2010, may now be fulfilled by elective offerings, including Global Scientific Issues, International Economics, and Modern Arabic Poetry. This year, all fourth form students were required to enroll in our two-term Health and Wellness Seminar, designed to educate and to facilitate discussion as students transition from adolescence to young adulthood. For the third year in row, two of our students were named Semifinalists in the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Janet Li ’08, from Woodbridge, Conn., and Irene Zhang ’08, from Las Vegas, Nev., are among 300 students to have earned this honor. Last year, Choate had three Semifinalists in the annual competition, one of whom went on to become a Regional finalist. In other national competitions, all 17 of Choate’s National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists were informed of their status as finalists in early February, advancing to the next level of competition, and Stephanie Choi ’09, from Iowa City, has been selected as a winner in the 2007–08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement based on her exceptional performance on the AP exams in math and science. Our students continue to have opportunities to distinguish themselves in a variety of our signature programs—Arts Concentration, Capstone Programs, which allow our students to explore a discipline, or area of interest, in depth, and the Science Research Program. Now in its fifth year, the Science Research Program, which this year is providing nine motivated students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with scientific research methods through pilot projects, and practice cuttingedge research in a university laboratory over the course of a summer, has become a model has become model the h f d l program which our peer schools are seeking to replicate. We are looking to expand this program in the near future, by increasing the number of students in SRP and/or perhaps creating a spin-off program devoted to environmental issues. Our College Counseling Office reports that just about half of the applications submitted early by the Class of 2008 were accepted. We have gained a significant amount of positive momentum in the College Counseling Office in recent years, with exceptional college placement results for our last two graduating classes. In July, Associate Director of College Counseling Tina Segalla Grant will assume the reins as Director of College Counseling. Her experience includes almost 20 years of administrative experience in independent schools, 11 years in college administration as an admission officer, and work as an Associate Program Director at the Educational Testing Service. One of the priorities of Choate’s capital campaign An Opportunity to Lead is to address issues involving our physical plant, including the renovation of St. John Hall, home of our mathematics and computer science department. Renovation is planned for 2009–2010 for this, the last of our academic buildings to be modernized. We continue to invest in technology where it enhances the educational experience. Teachers in our honors trigonometry and precalculus courses have taken the lead in using Tablet PCs running DyKnow Vision™ software to transmit content instantly to student screens for annotation. We take great satisfaction in the fact that we are able to meet the academic needs, interests, and desires of all our students, and that our outstanding and talented faculty plays such an extraordinary role in this process. SUSTAINABLE FUTURES BY G. JEFFREY MACDONALD ’87 From Maine to Panama, alumni are pointing the way to sustainability. oon after Amy Winston ’86 started her job as Economic Development Director for Lincoln County, Maine, one of the first things she noticed was the food on children’s plates at local public schools. Canned vegetables were routinely traveling more than 1,000 miles to reach the tables. That meant kids weren’t getting a lot of freshness. Trucks were coughing out loads of carbon. And local growers, struggling to survive on small farms, weren’t getting a crack at what should have been a natural market for them. Despite bureaucratic hurdles, the status quo in Lincoln County is beginning to change. This fall, children were munching on corn, cucumbers, apples, carrots and much more from local farms through a 15-week pilot program that Winston coordinated. With a little fine tuning over time, the “Farm to Cafeteria” program stands to produce healthier kids and preserve family farms by supplying the essential income stream they’ll need to keep at bay mounting pressure for them to sell out to developers. “The whole thing for me is teaching sustainable behavior,” Winston says. “Here, you’re teaching responsible use of taxpayer dollars [by] getting the most bang for your buck, by investing in kids’ health and by purchasing from local growers, who are local businesses. It’s intertwining the educational message with the actual practice of promoting local economy.” S Left: The Azuero Earth Project, created by landscape designer Edwina von Gal ’66 (left), teaches sustainable growing techniques in Panama. In figuring out keys to sustainability in the trenches, Winston is tackling one of the defining issues of the early 21st century. Concerns are mounting over global warming and vanishing biodiversity. Leaders in virtually every field are scrambling to forge practices that can last in perpetuity and reduce environmental footprints. On this green frontier, role models are gradually emerging to offer much-needed insight and inspiration. For a concrete example, look no further than a section of the Choate campus near the varsity baseball field. Two new dormitories, Choate’s first in 40 years, will rely largely on geothermal energy to provide heating and cooling when their first 80 student residents move in this fall. Twelve wells for each building, each one 600 feet deep, will make it possible to use relatively warm air from the earth in the winter, and cool air from the earth in the summer, to heat and cool the buildings in appropriate seasons. In the winter, residences will be heated by the transfer of the earth’s heat through the building, requiring a natural gas burner to work only on cold days. During the summer, the converse is true—residences will be cooled using the cooler temperatures from the subsurface. This will save enough in fuel costs to recoup the school’s investment of more than $1 million over an 8 to 12-year term. Throughout the campus, green is becoming a way of life. This winter, the campus competed in the annual Green Cup Challenge, a contest among 32 independent schools to see which one could reduce electricity consumption by the greatest percentage over one month. The competition breeds habits, such as turning off computer monitors at night and leaving vacant rooms dark. Choate has signed up students as C-proctors in every form to encourage conservation habits, such as recycling. A year-old sustainability committee, headed by Choate’s Chief Financial Officer Rick Saltz, is continually looking for areas in which to shrink Choate’s environmental footprint. Organizers have noticed, for instance, that amounts of food waste drop dramatically on “awareness days” when no trays are allowed in the dining hall. When people take only as much as they can carry on a plate, they eat almost everything they take. Meanwhile, Choate invested more than $1 million to improve energy efficiency through lighting controls, compact fluorescent bulbs and other measures. When future investments are needed, Saltz says, decision makers will look for eco-friendly solutions wherever possible. “Since we’re trying to educate the next leaders, we have an obligation to show them what is happening around us,” Saltz says. “The students get excited about [the green initiatives], and they push us also. Then when we communicate to the Board and to donors TEACHING STUDENTS TO THINK BIG IS A LONG SCHOOL TRADITION. TODAY, SOME GRADUATES ARE PASSING THAT TRADITION ALONG BY TEACHING A SUSTAINABILITY ETHIC TO A RISING GENERATION. and to alumni, they say, ‘Oh, that’s great. We want you to continue that. You’re really staying on top of things’.” Green may be a new trend at Choate, but teaching students to think big is a long school tradition. Today, some graduates, driven by environmental visions and action plans are Terry McClenahan ’79 has dovetailed his architectural interests with ecominded sensibilities. passing that tradition along by teaching a sustainability ethic to a rising generation. For Allison Murray ’79, a day at the office is actually a day in the woods. Her job as a naturalist at Kettle Moraine State Forest in Kewaskum, Wisc., involves leading informative nature walks for Milwaukee public school children in grades K-8. When these city kids set off through the trees, where they’re apt to find prints from fox or deer, reactions to the sylvan setting run the gamut. “Some get very excited,” Murray says, “and some hate the place because it’s so foreign for them.” Murray doesn’t expect every child to become a nature lover. But she does hope to put a dent in what she sees as a growing problem: children are increasingly detached from the natural world. With electronics to entertain them, they too often grow indifferent to conservation issues. They don’t recognize connections among fresh air, fresh water, healthy food and preserved ecosystems. “The more children are taken away from the outdoors, the less they care about it,” she says. “Their attitude becomes: ‘Trees? You can cut them down. I don’t care’.” She’s challenging that mindset, one child at a time. In Scottsdale, Ariz., Anne Beale Goldfeld ’88 tries to make conservation fun for children. Like Murray, she feels a sense of urgency, fueled in part by concern for her own five children. Her background in public health leads her to worry that Americans produce personal waste at unsustainable rates. She sees disposable grocery shopping bags made from petroleum as perfect symbols of the problem: Such waste may not decompose for millions of years, if ever. Her answer is called “Pollution Solutions”, a program of her non-profit organization, Resources for Health. At fairs, libraries and other venues, children color reusable canvas bags while they and their parents hear a talk on why it’s important to reduce waste. Families keep the bags for shopping, and it’s been a huge hit. More than 100 groups in the U.S. and Canada have replicated her program since she launched it in 2005. Endorsed by conservationist Jane Goodall, the program earned Goldfeld the Arizona Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in 2007 for service learning. And the planet is benefiting. She conservatively estimates that for every 5,000 families that use their canvas bags weekly, 260,000 disposable bags never reach the landfill. “A lot of kids have been schooled that recycling is the be-all and end-all,” Goldfeld says. “They think, ‘we recycle at school, so that means it’s OK [to throw bags and containers CHILDREN ARE INCREASINGLY DETACHED FROM THE NATURAL WORLD. WITH ELECTRONICS TO ENTERTAIN THEM, THEY TOO OFTEN GROW INDIFFERENT TO CONSERVATION ISSUES. away].’ They’re kind of missing the steps before that, which are to reduce your consumption and then re-use whenever possible.” Goldfeld’s projects grow out of her own lifestyle, which has included volunteering since her days in Wallingford, when she visited patients at a local rehabilitation hospital. Now she cooks in a solar oven and composts biodegradables with help from red wiggler worms in a newspaper-lined bin. In her view, health and waste reduction go hand in hand, because a polluted planet isn’t healthy for anybody. For some alums, educating others on sustainability issues has become a key aspect of broader enterprises. Kelsey Abbott ’96 left a science job at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in order to launch a multifaceted communications business with her husband, Peter McDougall. They moved from Maryland to Maine in 2004, partly to lead an outdoorsy lifestyle near family, and partly to fulfill a market need and a dream. They have a sense that the general public is curious about the natural world and interested to make informed lifestyle decisions, but doesn’t know where to turn for easily accessible answers. “I don’t enjoy sitting down and reading a magazine that is all about the environment or all about science,” Abbott says. “I get bored. And if I get bored—and I’m in the field—then people who have no tie-in to environmental science aren’t even going to pick it up. So we want to get people from all different angles [and] get them pumped about environmental issues.” To equip the public, Abbott and McDougall use a range of tools. Both write freelance news articles, an endeavor that sometimes involves weaving green themes into business publications. In January, they launched a blog where fun, interesting tidbits about nature keep readers coming back. They’re also working on their first film, which chronicles the central role alewife fish have played in the destiny of Warren, Maine. Kelsey Abbot ’96 and her husband are chronicling the central role alewife fish have played in Warren, Maine. love.fútbol co-founder, Alfredo Axtmayer ’00, speaks with the town’s children in Villa Nueva, San Marcos, Guatemala. Anne Beale Goldfeld ’88 gives an environ-quiz to school children. In 2007, her Pollutions Solutions program earned the Arizona Governor’s Volunteer Service Award. Edwina von Gal ’66 also aims to raise awareness about sustainability, and her outreach, too, stems from a blend of conviction, lifestyle and vocation. An East Hampton, N.Y., landscape designer with a number of rich and famous clients, von Gal has witnessed first-hand America’s green awakening. Long gone are the days when clients wrote her off as a “flower child” because she grew organic vegetables for her baby. “I tried during my early years as a landscape designer to orient my clients in the direction of chemical-free, but it was not something that people were all that interested in at the time,” von Gal told the Bulletin via phone from Panama, where she spends five months per year. “Now nobody looks askance when I suggest that maybe their children and grandchildren really shouldn’t be playing on lawn that is loaded with horrible chemicals. It’s a much easier sell these days.” Von Gal often gets involved in a project when a homeowner buys a parcel of land. She helps site the house to take advantage of breezes and light. She designs gardens with native plants, which thrive without artificial enhancements. Over time, her business grew to the point that she had about 18 employees, but now she outsources elements of particular projects. This allows her to focus once again on being a designer. In Panama, von Gal has received a warm reception and rich range of opportunities. Among the adventures: living for weeks at a time off the grid in a converted shipping container, where she stays connected from the jungle through a cell phone, Blackberry and satellite dish. She’s designing a botanical park for a new museum of biodiversity in Panama City as well as gardens for three Panamanian sites of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Her Azuero Earth Project Girls are inaugurating a soccer field in Las Canoas Altas, Sololá, Guatemala. Children from Villa Nueva, San Marcos, Guatemala. Above: love.fútbol co-founders Alfredo Axtmayer ’00 (left) and Drew Chafetz (right) with love.fútbol Guatemalan Representative César García (center). showcases sustainable growing techniques in such a way as to benefit local growers, who are sometimes looking for alternatives to slash-and-burn techniques. The project also educates “privileged” students from the United States when they visit for short periods to learn more about sustainability issues. While some alums are shaping mindsets, others are designing systems that allow for sustainable living without even thinking about it. For instance, Nicholas Negroponte ’61 aims to equip millions of children in developing nations with inexpensive, durable laptop computers through his One Laptop per Child initiative. The goal is to accelerate learning, which may lead to better health and stronger economic prospects, but kids who look closely will see environmental stewardship at work as well. The machines can run on power from either the sun or a hand crank. When they’re plugged in, they use one-tenth the energy of a standard laptop. They also comply with United Kingdom guidelines for reducing hazardous substances in electronics. Systems built for the environment, especially those involving disabled access, are the specialty of Terry McClenahan ’79. His most rewarding projects as an architect have dovetailed with his eco-minded sensibilities, forged in his youth on Maine wilderness trips and reinforced today in energy-saving habits at his Manhattan home. Looking back at his career, McClenahan takes pride in having helped renovate five New York City subway stations and boost disabled access to them. He regards public transit as “inherently sustainable.” And he just didn’t get the same level of satisfaction from working, for instance, on a project to create a pool, sauna and salon at the midtown Plaza Hotel. “I’ve always liked civic projects, you know, trains and maps,” McClenahan says. “Working on the Plaza Hotel had less of a resonance with me. It was a $900 per night hotel versus a big station in Brooklyn where 58,000 people a day would enter or transfer. The public project means more to me.” While the Plaza job still holds a certain cachet, it’s also not as dear to him as one he fondly remembers as “Building Z133,” whose drawings have been in his display portfolio for more than a decade. That challenging assignment involved renovating a World War II-era Navy artillery storage facility in Norfolk, Virginia. McClenahan helped transform this purely functional ammunition warehouse, built originally with elevators to take tanks to the roof, into a comfortable office building with a high-efficiency heating and cooling system. The restoration prevented a highimpact demolition. And McClenahan made sure the building featured recycled materials in insulation, drywall and carpeting. For Winston, revamped systems stand a better chance to succeed when they build on local traditions. A cultural anthropologist by training, she supports efforts to preserve Maine’s longstanding industries, such as fishing and shipbuilding. Last year, she notes, shrimpers with an over-abundant haul had to dump their catch at a loss for 40 cents per pound. “Why not sell it to the schools?,” she asks. “The schools can afford it,” at market rates. But policies and contracts at the time precluded that option. Winston envisions a day when area institutions encourage the region’s sustainable economy. She hopes local farmers and fisherpersons will eventually sell to hospitals and assisted living facilities. She believes schools can use local foods on kids’ plates as tools for teaching about nutrition and local culture. And when a Waldoboro school closes as scheduled in the near future, she hopes to help replace it with a culinary institute that specializes in native cuisine. Each of these planned moves represents the forging of a sustainable system through what she describes as “an adaptive, heritage-based strategy.” Meanwhile, one recent Choate graduate has his eye on systems to support sustainable sports for the world’s poorest kids. Alfredo Axtmayer ’00 captained the varsity soccer team that won the New Englands in his senior year. Now he’s prototyping a means to enable children in developing nations to enjoy safely a sport that gives them reprieve from substantial daily stressors. But doing so will be a big challenge, as he’s observed in Central America. “In the United States we’re very lucky to grow up playing in safe and secure areas,” Axtmayer says. “But in Guatemala, we’ve seen children playing where raw sewage runs across the field…we’ve seen children playing barefoot over glass and trash. They may be having fun, but how many times does it take for them to cut their ankle or the bottom of their foot on a piece of glass before they say, ‘I’m not going to play any more’?” Axtmayer figures there’s a better way. His non-profit organization, love.fútbol, teams up with local leaders to set aside parcels where kids could potentially play safely. Local parents and laborers make commitments to lay concrete, since grass fields are too expensive to create, and maintain the spot. Then benefactors, including corporate sponsors, bear the cost of construction materials. Three fields are now complete in Guatemala, where they showcase sponsors’ logos and prove what can be done for less than $5,000 each. With this model established, love.fútbol aims to replicate it in a Costa Rican slum and elsewhere in the developing world. “We try to be a catalyst for local communities to create their own change,” Axtmayer says. As alums look ahead, they’re finding plenty of demand for their sustainability experience. Each has the pleasant problem of having to choose among multiple project options on their horizons. But they’re not complaining—not as long as their gratifying Millions of children in developing nations are benefiting from inexpensive hand-cranked computers, the brainchild of Nicholas Negroponte ’61, Chairman and CEO, One Laptop per Child. labor keeps positioning the planet for a long, bright future. “Sustainability means it works,” von Gal says, “and it stays working forever.” G. Jeffrey MacDonald is writing a book on the changing role of religion in American society. He lives in Newburyport, Mass. CLASS NOTES CN E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos A LIST OF CLASS CONTACTS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN THE ALUMNI PORTAL. CN Hank Stifel ’46: “One Man’s Courage and Vision” CN E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos George Handzo ’65: Science and Faith CN A LIST OF CLASS CONTACTS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN THE ALUMNI PORTAL. E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos CN CN A LIST OF CLASS CONTACTS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN THE ALUMNI PORTAL. Wende Valentine Norton ’92: Water For All CN CN E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos A LIST OF CLASS CONTACTS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN THE ALUMNI PORTAL. CN Lt. Pete Beuttenmuller ’99: U.S. Navy Protector Of Iraq’s Lifeblood CN E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos CN A LIST OF CLASS CONTACTS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN THE ALUMNI PORTAL. E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: ALUMLINE@CHOATE.EDU Notes/News/Marriages/Births/Photos IN MEMORIAM CN IN MEMORIAM CN IN MEMORIAM THE BOOKSHELF LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Recently, it was brought to my attention that the Summer 2007 Bulletin ran an article consisting of excerpts from a speech I delivered to students last spring, which led some readers to conclude that it was rather boastful. The problem with just running excerpts is that it can misrepresent not just the intent but also the actual message. My speech focused on Bill George’s book True North and the message revolved around the need for all of us to develop moral and ethical compasses that keep us focused on our “true north.” One example I used involved the development of school choice in Minnesota. The story was not about me, but rather a young staffer who sat down with me and reminded me of my scholarship to Choate and what that did to change my life. He was appealing to me to remember my “true north” and give to others the same chance Choate gave to me. I always have and always will give him the praise for advancing school choice. He exemplified the individual who knew his “true north” and pushed me to get back on course. Arne H. Carlson ’53 Governor – Minnesota 1991–1999 Minneapolis, Minnesota Regarding the power of enduring friendships, Fall 2006 Bulletin, it was my second year at Choate as a 4th former in 1972. I wanted to make 4/5 hockey more than anything else in the world. At tryouts the first day I fell flat on my face on the first drill. This guy behind me whom I had never seen before in my life laughed a laugh I thankfully still often get to hear. Andy White from that moment on has been pretty much my closest friend. I didn’t make 4/5 hockey. I fell a lot unfortunately. But now my son is named Andy. And while for all these years Andy White has lived in Denmark, despite that distance, we have made a point of watching our families grow up together. Trust me, the people at Choate made me a better person, and they had their work cut out for them, but that friendship is a possession whose value cannot be measured. Dr. Michael Southworth ’74 Somersworth, New Hampshire I was amazed to read the cover story in the Fall 2007 Bulletin, as I have just applied to Yale Divinity School. It’s not a path I ever thought I would be on, and I’m not sure where it will lead, but it was a great coincidence to read of the journeys of other Choate alumni to the same/similar destinations! Pia Chaudhari ’92 Briarcliff Manor, New York KUDOS Carlin Dacey ’08, of West Roxbury, Mass., broke the 11-dive New England record by more than 40 points at the Western New England Championships this season. Says Choate diving coach Ben Small, “Amazingly, Carlin had actually broken the record after completing the first ten of her dives—with one more to go! Her final score of 486.64 was more than 40 points higher than the previous record, 444.55, set last year set by Bridget Duffey of the Pingree School. This performance easily qualifies her for All-American status and she was more than 120 points ahead of the girl in second place!” This year Dacey has set pool records at Andover, Deerfield, and Hopkins (as well as Choate), and has broken both the 6-dive and 11-dive New England records. Dacey is headed to Northwestern next year where she will be diving for the Division 1 powerhouse in the Big 10 Conference. Chetan Huded ’03 (below) finished in first place in the 19th Annual BayState Marathon held on October 14, 2007, in Lowell, Mass. This was his first marathon, which he completed in 2 hours, 36 minutes, and 3 seconds, finishing almost 7 minutes ahead of the runner-up. He started running at Choate Rosemary Hall in his second year of high school on the cross country and track teams and continued running cross country at the University of Chicago where he graduated last June. Chetan is currently a first-year medical student at Dartmouth Medical College, Hanover, N.H. t Mark Goggin ’09, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., was selected from more than 200 of America’s best hockey players born in 1990, to compete in the 2007 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp, held on the campus of St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. He was one of 21 players selected to represent the United States last August in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Ice Hockey Tournament held in Piestany, Slovakia, and Hodonin, Czech Republic. An offensive threat and goal scorer, Goggin led the Choate Boys Varsity Ice Hockey team in scoring this season with 23 (8 goals and 15 assists). A hockey standout, Goggin was interviewed by McKeen’s Hockey.com. Recently ranked No. 142 in the NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term list, and with a solid showing with the USA team, Mark Goggin could hear his name called early at the NHL Draft. A TRUE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS he prospect of Karl Rove’s coming to Choate Rosemary Hall to speak engendered a recent firestorm of responses, both pro and con, from parents, students and educators alike. Mr. Rove has been, to say the least, a controversial figure in the public life of our country over the last several years. He has drawn praise for his political acumen and for his creative, perhaps shrewd, strategizing in support of the Republican Party and the policies of our President. In addition, he has overseen two successful presidential elections, played a vital role in the major policy decisions made during the Bush Presidency, and is considered by some to be one of the most powerful White House advisers in American history. To be sure, a host of putative maneuverings in several areas of administrative activity and decisionmaking has been attributed to him over the past several years; but, while lingering, these charges remain unproven to date. Exposing our students at Choate, or at any serious academic institution, only to one point of view, or refusing to expose them to controversial public servants, is not a sound strategy, and is potentially corrosive of our historic missions. Choate has been no stranger to heated debate and rigorous discussion. Our school has, with great and lasting benefit to its student body, happily served as a venue for a number of controversial speakers over its long and rich history: Alexander Kerensky (purported father of the Russian Revolution), Dean Acheson, Norman Thomas, Eugene McCarthy, Mikhail Gorbachev, and others. As an educational marketplace, Choate should, therefore, be a place for the open exchange of ideas; and we should not hesitate to bring before our students people who stimulate those ideas, even people espousing opinions with which we may passionately disagree! While it is not my place to defend Mr. CHOATE SHOULD BE A PLACE FOR THE OPEN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS; AND WE SHOULD NOT HESITATE TO BRING BEFORE OUR STUDENTS PEOPLE WHO STIMULATE THOSE IDEAS. Rove before his critics, (he is certainly up to that challenge), I do think that respect him or not, like him or not, he has been a central figure in the current government. He has also been a man committed to public service and the sacrifices associated with such service. It is my hope that, even amid the swarm of controversy that surrounds him, Mr. Rove will identify for our students a perspective that will encourage them to engage politics more, and to put their shoulders to the wheels of leadership our country so desperately needs. Indeed, the very controversy that surrounds Mr. Rove is proving to be an occasion for our students and faculty to engage in vigorous discussion and/or debate about not only the nature of service, but also the challenges our country faces domestically and internationally in the years to come. That, to me, is the hallmark and essence of a truly liberal education, which should always be guided by Judge Learned Hand’s sober dictum: “The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women...” Reprinted with permission, The Hartford Courant, January 27, 2008. SAVE THE DATE! M any of our alumni are continuing to accomplish truly wonderful things and have made their mark in so many different corners of the world. For all of you both near and far, we look forward to welcoming you back to campus for a weekend of programs and festivities designed to reacquaint and reconnect you with each other and the school. Spring Musical Rehearsal Special 25th Reunion Reception Blue & Gold Reception and Dinner Annual Student Choral Concert Gathering for Alumni Veterans and Active Service Alumni Campus Tours Alumni Association Meeting Alumni Awards Ceremony Memorial Service The Way We Teach: A Classroom Experience Reunion Luncheon Class Panels and Programs Celebration of Music with Duncan Phyfe ’38 Glee Club & Maiyeros Reunion Student Athletic Contests Class Dinners and Photos FOREIGNER live in concert Jazz and Conversation in the Gallery Farewell Brunch Rosemarian Chapel Service & 50th Anniversary of the Whimawehs Child care is available for a fee on Friday and Saturday nights by advance registration. Keep checking the Choate web site at www.choate.edu/alumni for Reunion 2008 updates. Questions? Contact Christine Bennett, Alumni and Donor Relations Office: (203) 697-2228 or cbennett@choate.edu FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY