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History
The Brace
Center for Gender Studies at Phillips Academy was opened in 1996 with
a generous gift from Abbot Academy alumna Donna Brace Ogilvie '30,
contributions from others and a start-up grant from the Abbot Academy
Association. Its aim is to provide resources to enhance and strengthen
Phillips Academy as a coeducational and multicultural institution
by examining the complex issues related to gender, including sexuality,
race and ethnicity.
Statement
of Purpose
As part of an academic institution that wishes to foster excellence
in all its students, the Brace Center strives to advance an understanding
of gender, and its influence on individual achievement. As part of
a secondary school, the Brace Center aims to address issues of adolescent
growth and development and to highlight the distinctive forms of support
boys and girls require in order to realize their full potential. As
part of a residential school committed to discovering authentic sources
of community, the Brace Center seeks to elucidate gender-related differences
in a multicultural setting so that men and women, boys and girls may
come to understand and respect each other more fully. As part of the
Abbot campus, the Brace Center hopes to embody and extend Abbot Academy's
tradition of educational innovation. In all these endeavors, the Brace
Center is committed to working collaboratively with other academy
constituencies (faculty, staff and students) to help all members of
the school develop "what is finest in themselves and others,
for others and themselves," as specified in the academy's Statement
of Purpose.
 Programs
and Resource Opportunities
The
programs and resources of the Brace Center are focused in three
main areas: 1) highlighting the tri-heritage of Abbot Academy, Phillips
Academy for boys and the coeducational Phillips Academy; 2) providing
scholarly resources, faculty development opportunities and training
for students and faculty in gender and multicultural studies; and
3) offering leadership and program opportunities for students to
engage issues related to gender that directly affect their lives.
The following programs and resources reflect these priorities.
Open
Study Hours
The
Brace Center is open for study hours Monday through Thursday from
6:30-9:30pm from September-May when classes are in session. To honor
the Abbot Academy tradition of Tiffin Time, light refreshments are
served.
The Hearsey Resource Room
The
Hearsey Resource Room houses a collection of circulating books and
in-house periodicals that focus on gender and multicultural studies
in education itself, as well as in the academic disciplines represented
in the Phillips Academy curriculum. The Resource Room also houses
two computer terminals with Internet access and a videotape library
of all faculty and student fellow presentations, special speakers
and events sponsored by the center, and professional educational
videos that focus on gender in history and contemporary cultures.
The books in the Hearsey Resource collection are listed online through
the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library.
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Brace
Center Student Fellows
Each
spring, returning Phillips Academy students are invited to submit
proposals for fellowships to support independent summer research
projects in gender studies, including multiracial and multicultural
dimensions. The Student Fellows Series is presented in the fall
and provides an opportunity for the fellows to share their research
findings in a public forum. Click here for a description of past student fellows projects.
Brace
Center Community Forums and Hearsey Community Fellows
Student
and faculty Hearsey Community Fellows join together to plan and
implement Brace Center Community Forums on gender-related issues
and topics that are held throughout the academic year. Past topics
have included Gender and Sexuality, Gender and Student Leadership,
Gender and Freedom of Expression, Gender in the Classroom, and Gender,
Love and Friendship. Fellows meet regularly throughout the year
to plan and implement the Community Forums. Click here for a description
of past Community Forums.
Brace
Center Student Proctors
Up to
16 student proctors are selected each year to serve as student leaders
of the Center. Proctor responsibilities include monitoring the Center
during open study hours, sponsoring student programs related to
gender and working with the director to develop new program ideas
to address student needs and interests. Student proctors are eligible
for work duty credit.
The
McKeen Award
The
McKeen Award is given annually to a member of the Phillips Academy
community who exemplifies "inspired and dedicated leadership in
education" in the spirit of Philena McKeen, former principal of
Abbot Academy. Past recipients include 1998-99: Joseph Wennik; 1999-2000:
Marion Finbury; 2000-01: Carroll and Elaine Bailey; 2001-02: Ted
and Nancy Sizer; 2002-03:
Jean St. Pierre; 2003-04: Don and Britta McNemar; 2004-05: Cilla Bonney Smith; 2005-06: Susan M. Lloyd. The
Abbot Lecture
A distinguished scholar in gender studies is invited to campus
to give the annual Abbot Lecture on gender and contemporary culture.
Past scholars have included Nan Stein, Michael Kimmel, Jean Kilbourne,
Judith Jordan and Allan Johnson. Sponsored by the Alumnae Lecture
Fund.
General
Information
The
Brace Center is open during the academic year from September through
May, Monday-Thursday evenings from 6:30pm-9:30pm when classes are
in session. The Center is closed from June through August.
Calendar
of events.
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Advisory
Board Executive Committee
Kathleen
Dalton, Instructor in History and Social Science
Maggie Jackson, Psychology and Assistant Director of Psychological
Services
E. Anthony Rotundo, History and Social Science
Linda Griffith, Dean of Community and Multicultural Development Flavia Vidal, Instructor in English
Margarita Curtis, Dean of Studies
Rebecca Bogdanovitch, Teaching Fellow, Community Service
Marion Finbury, College Counselor Emerita
Paul Cernota, Instructor in Chemistry
Proctors
Emily P.
Bethany S.
Sean H.
Nicholas C.
Stephanie S.
Ishani V. |
Virginia S.
Vincent S.
Haruka M.
My Khanh N.
Sarah G.
Alexander H. |
Alejandro C.
Thereza O.
Susan H.
Robert C. |
Co-Directors: Kathleen Dalton, History
and Social Science and E. Anthony Rotundo, History and Social Science
Assistant: Julie Powers |
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