Diamond Caps PA Globalization Symposium

Jared Diamond, author of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize–winning book Guns, Germs, and Steel and the 2005 best seller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, spoke to and fielded questions from a packed Cochran Chapel crowd on October 20. His address, sponsored by the Bernard & Louise Palitz Lecture Fund, was the culminating event in the 2006 Andover Symposium: The Challenges of Globalization.

A hugely popular speaker, Diamond is the epitome of the celebrity scientist. His books, like his talks, tackle the giant questions: Why do some societies thrive and prosper while others shrivel and die? And, how can humanity maximize the opportunity for human happiness while saving the planet from ecological ruin and collapse?

While pacing the front of the chapel, his voice amplified by wireless headset, Diamond presented much of his address in easy-to-digest verbal bullets. He offered a five-point checklist of factors that impact a society’s survival: human impact (such as overuse of natural resources); global change; enemies; allies; and economic, political, and social institutions. He used early civilization on Easter Island as an example: That society depleted the island’s trees, thus causing soil erosion and, consequently, a drop in agricultural production. Cannibalism and civil war resulted, leading to eradication of the culture.

Diamond also applied his theories to modern-day societies, offering lessons to be learned from the past:
• Address environmental problems with the seriousness they deserve. Diamond said those who avoid addressing issues for economic reasons are being penny-wise and pound-foolish. The eventual cost, he cautioned, will be much greater if problems are ignored.
• Be wary of societies driven by the elite. The same goes for societies that consider themselves exclusive of the rest of the world. He likened the United States to a gated community, one whose idyllic walls were breached on 9/11.
• Do not cling blindly to core values—be open to change. Diamond noted that the United States’ history of isolationism and consumerism no longer makes sense.

Much of Diamond’s address was grounded in ominous foreshadowing: he predicted the world would be a very different place 50 years from now if attitudes are not changed. But, he also noted reasons to be hopeful for the future. He cited advances in communication and an abundance of archaeologists and historians as positives: How would things have turned out differently for Easter Island had that ancient civilization not been isolated by a lack of communication with the outside world? What if those people had been able to learn from past cultures that made similar mistakes?

Diamond encouraged the students in the audience to learn from the past, so as to help avoid catastrophe in the future. One student, during the ensuing Q&A, asked what today’s high schoolers should do in 20 to 30 years to make a difference.

“Don’t wait 20 to 30 years,” Diamond responded, urging students to get involved and use the right to vote they soon will enjoy.

The purpose of Andover’s yearlong globalization symposium was to bring to campus distinguished experts to speak to students and the public about globalization, global citizenship, and the daunting political, social, and economic challenges that face the world community. Among the speakers to visit campus were former NPR reporter Sarah Chayes ’80, who champions efforts to rebuild postwar Afghanistan; current NPR diplomatic correspondent Mike Shuster; Yale professor Jonathan Spence; former U.S. presidential envoy to Iraq Paul Bremer ’59; and author and Yale law professor Amy Chua.

—Scott Aubrey

Wanted: Andover Storytellers!

Alexandra Rahman ’08 can easily recall her days as an Andover junior, when older students would take pride in recounting old Academy stories for her and her fellow newcomers. Some of the tales were scary, others peculiar—almost all were interesting. Rahman, now an upper, plans to capture these stories for posterity by publishing a collection of some of Phillips Academy’s more noteworthy bits of lore, hopefully separating fact from fiction in the process.

The book, tentatively titled Sketchy, has been in the works since Rahman was a junior. Teamed with faculty advisor and Andover archivist Ruth Quattlebaum, Rahman has been collecting colorful stories of the school and its students, teachers, history, and spirit. To date she has amassed 150 pages of notes for the project.

Rahman’s intended subject matter is not necessarily that found in more traditional histories of Phillips and Abbot academies. Instead, readers will find reference to hidden passageways and memorable pranks, secret societies and massive food fights.

Rahman has worked with the Office of Academy Resources to solicit stories directly from alumni via some of the class secretaries. More tales of Andover are welcome, though—from all sources.

“We’re looking to cast our final net,” says Rahman.

Members of the PA alumni community are encouraged to e-mail personal anecdotes and unique stories of Andover to Rahman at arahman@andover.edu. (Alumni working in the publishing field interested in assisting with publication of the book are also urged to contact Rahman.) Submissions will be accepted until fall 2007, though Rahman plans to begin assembling Sketchy this summer.

The book, funded by Rahman’s family, will be made available to alumni at a future date.

—Scott Aubrey

Helping Students Cope with Life's Challenges

The group of lowers who gathered Wednesdays this past fall for Carlos Hoyt’s mid-morning class didn’t learn a thing about geometry or poetry, science or history. Instead these students—and those in the other 21 sections of Life Issues—tackled nonacademic topics such as identity, stress and coping, and gender.

Although not pressured to speak up, 10th-graders are required to take Life Issues for two terms and are encouraged to join in the honest discussion. One October morning last fall, Hoyt’s students broached a number of topics—from faith to the nuclear family—and were asked to question how their views on such subjects might vary from those of their parents or a larger community of which they see themselves a part (e.g., Jewish adolescents).

This type of course, not new to PA, is perhaps even more important to this generation of Andover students because of the rapidly changing world in which they live. Hoyt, new this academic year as PA’s associate dean of students, says today’s students are likely more apt to discuss what some might consider onerous subjects because these youths need more help negotiating the difficulties of life.

Hoyt says today’s teens face more tough decisions, more pressure to engage in certain adult behaviors before they are ready. “They’re swimming in them,” says Hoyt of such challenges.

To ensure Life Issues maximizes the potential benefit for Andover students, Hoyt is leading other members of PA’s adult community in a thoughtful examination of the course, which may lead to changes in years ahead. Hoyt says his first instinct when he joined the Dean’s Office this past summer was to rewrite Life Issues, but he wisely held off. “This is something that is owned by the whole community here,” he says, and so input regarding the course is being sought from the entire faculty, some of whom have been teaching the class for years. (In the fall Hoyt asked for faculty and staff volunteers to lead the weekly sessions; many stepped forward, some teaching solo and others in pairs.)

Part of a schoolwide look at how PA addresses nonacademic issues, the reexamination of Life Issues includes biweekly drop-in lunch sessions, at which Hoyt gathers input from his fellow instructors. In class, Life Issues instructors are welcome to adopt a series of materials used in years past. Or, teachers may use alternate materials supplied by Hoyt. Then, feedback is sought to see what works best.

“I’ve said to the faculty: ‘Let’s use this year as an organic laboratory,’” Hoyt recounts, excited both for the process and to see the result of the discussion still continuing.

—Scott Aubrey

Board of Trustees Approves Strategic Initiatives

At its annual fall meeting, held October 19–22, the Phillips Academy Board of Trustees considered a number of important matters related to the goals of PA’s Strategic Plan. Most significantly, the board approved a list of Strategic Initiatives proposed by the Senior Administrative Council and offered its support to a number of proposed renovation projects. In addition, the board approved the Academy’s audited financial statements for fiscal year 2006 and approved the summer 2007 launch of the ACE Scholars Program.

Among the facilities projects for which the board expressed support are the renovation of Commons, the expansion of the Addison Gallery, and the addition of new wings to two small dorms (Alumni House and Burtt House) and Moses Stuart House. Though the dormitory expansion plans are still in a conceptual design phase, the expectation is that the new wings will add 23 more student beds and two faculty apartments to the Academy’s inventory. This increase is not intended to raise the total enrollment but to move the percentage of boarding and day students closer to the goal set by the Strategic Plan (75 percent boarding, 25 percent day). The board also released the Bulfinch Hall renovation and expansion project for fund raising. Plans to raise funds for the renovation of Pearson Hall were placed on hold.

Particularly notable was the board’s decision to authorize the administration to spend up to $2 million in the next two years to finance a number of Strategic Initiatives. The initiatives include developing new educational programs for faculty and students, strengthening the Academy’s recruitment programs with an eye toward promoting all aspects of student diversity, and undertaking a complete redesign of the school’s Web site.

One of the educational programs approved as part of the Strategic Initiatives is the ACE (Accelerate, Challenge, Enrich) Scholars Program, which is set to launch in the summer of 2007, pending successful fund raising. For more details, see the message from Dean of Studies John Rogers printed on the inside front cover of this edition of the Bulletin.

—Stephen Porter

Special Guests on Campus

Yale University Law Professor and Author Amy Chua
Yale University law professor Amy Chua visited Andover in September to attend various classes and deliver the Rogers Lecture on “Markets, Democracy, and Ethnicity,” the focus of her acclaimed 2003 book, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, as well as her forthcoming book, The Day of Empire: Tolerance, Ethnicity, and Power.

Claude Moore Fuess Award Winner and Author Sarah Chayes ’80
Sarah Chayes, the author of The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban, shared her perspectives on the harsh realities of life in Afghanistan during an interfaith service held in Cochran Chapel. Since 2002, the former NPR war correspondent has worked to rebuild the city of Kandahar, which was devastated during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Chayes’s selfless efforts have made her the subject of countless news stories.

Immigration in America Panel
As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Andover hosted a panel discussion, “Immigration in America: Closed Borders—Open Arms.” Distinguished panelists included Dr. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, a professor at the NYU Steinhardt School of Education and author of Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millennium and Latinos: Remaking America; Rep. Marty Meehan, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts; Dr. Ramon Borges-Mendez, a UMass–Boston professor who has worked as a consultant with organizations such as the World Bank and the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Dr. Marcia Hohn, director of public education at the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, Mass.

Renowned Poet Michael Collier
Michael Collier, author of five volumes of poetry, including The Ledge (2000)—a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award—held a poetry reading at the OWH Library and attended English department classes. Collier is currently director of the famed Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference in Middlebury, Vt., a professor of English at the University of Maryland, and the former poet laureate of the state of Maryland. His visit was sponsored in part by the Sandra Isham Vreeland Fund.

—Jill Clerkin

From the Newsroom

The Phillips Academy Web site is the place to go for Andover’s latest news. The following are excerpts from two articles first published online, each regarding a current PA student honored for his or her accomplishments and actions.

Simone Salvo, a PA upper, won a 2006 Golden Light Award from the Maine Photographic Workshops. Salvo, a talented photographer, earned the top spot in the workshops’ High School Student Portfolio Competition.

Founded in 1973 as a summer conservatory for photographers and filmmakers, Maine Photographic Workshops has since grown to become a year-round college and learning center for filmmakers, photographers, actors, writers, digital artists, and creative professionals. A panel of judges select the Golden Light Award winners on the basis of artistic vision and craft.

“When I learned of the Golden Light Award competition, I was intimidated by its prestige and the numerous photographers who submit their work,” admits Salvo, whose work is shown here. “I decided to give it a shot and submit a collection of 12 black and white gelatin silver prints. Weeks later, I received a phone call announcing my win, and I could barely speak I was so excited! I am still in shock.”

Prateek Kumar is very good at giving his time and energy, and because of that he got to do a little receiving as well: a member of the Class of 2007, he was honored as a recipient of a 2006 Congressional Award Gold Medal.

Kumar was among 242 young Americans to qualify for the honor, the most prestigious awarded to youths by the U.S. Congress. The medal recognizes those who participate in community service and meet ambitious goals for personal development. Other criteria for selection include physical fitness and cultural exploration.

An Eagle Scout, Kumar has volunteered his time at a nursing home close to the Andover campus and worked with children in conjunction with various youth organizations. The Latham, N.Y., resident also visited Camphill Village, a community-based facility that provides a home for adults who are living with disabilities or require special care. Kumar donated 450 hours of his time in qualifying for the honor.

Be sure to check www.andover.edu for all the latest news and multimedia views from Phillips Academy.

Special Assistant to Head of School Appointed

Nancy Jeton joined Phillips Academy this fall as special assistant to the head of school. The responsibilities of this position, created as part of an administration reorganization announced in January 2006, include:

• coordinating the work of the Senior Administrative Council;
• working on special assignments such as staffing an upcoming Board of Trustees task force on educational innovation and outreach;
• serving as liaison for the head of school to various constituencies; and
• drafting position papers, memoranda, and letters for the head of school.

Jeton brings to Andover broad experience from both the academic and municipal worlds. She worked for five years as community development director for the town of Andover before her husband’s business relocated her family overseas for several years. Since 1997 she has served as an elected alumni trustee of Dartmouth College.

A resident of the town of Andover, Jeton holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth in geo-graphy and urban studies and a master’s of regional planning degree from the University of North Carolina.

Longtime Faculty Honored

Several faculty members were presented with honors, in the form of foundations and instructorships, during the trustees’ meetings in October. Additionally, a new foundation was announced: the McKee Teaching Foundation, established by Oscar L. Tang ’56, honors Peter Q. McKee, a former physics teacher and associate headmaster who died December 2005 at the age of 82. The foundation has been tied to the position of the head of the Division of Natural Sciences, a post currently held by Patricia C. Russell.

Veteran faculty members presented with foundations and instructorships include:

• Victor W. Henningsen III ’69, instructor of history and social science, who was honored with Independence Foundation Teaching Endowment #2
• Shirley A. Veenema, chair of the art department—Class of 1946 Teaching Foundation
• Kevin F. Cardozo, chair of the chemistry department— Francis C. Robertson Bicentennial Instructorship
• Catherine J. Carter, instructor of classics—Ansin Family Instructorship
• Flavia M. Vidal, instructor of English—Harris Family Instructorship in English
In addition, the following new faculty members, all of whom joined PA this year on a foundation, were introduced:
• Theodore Kepes Jr., Roman Catholic chaplain—Philip M. Drake Catholic Ministry Foundation
• Javier E. Horta, visiting scientist in chemistry—Israel Family Foundation for Science Research
• William J. Lychack, writer in residence—Roger F. Murray Teaching Foundation
• James W. Richardson Jr., visiting instructor of English—Visiting Scholar Fund