A Conversation with President of the Board of Trustees John Moriarty P’02, ’05, ’07
John Moriarty
Fresh off Concord Academy’s eighty-ninth Commencement exercises at which former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky P’94 was the keynote speaker, CA took the opportunity to sit down with President of the Board of Trustees John Moriarty. In this wide-ranging interview, Moriarty reflected on the work of the board this past year, the relative health and strength of the school, and the board’s vision for Concord Academy in the future.
CA. Is there a special moment that stands out in your mind from Commencement? JM. I had the opportunity to meet Robert Pinsky in the morning just before he addressed the community at large. Pauly Daniel, the president of the senior class, and Head of School Rick Hardy were there as well. Mr. Pinsky was remarkably genuine and confident. Here’s a man who can get up in front of 500 people he doesn’t know and speak without notes. He hadn’t written down his speech, but I noticed in his pocket that he had two very important pieces of paper with him—the two poems he intended to read to the audience. It was clear to me that he had such a respect for the two other poets that he took the time to write down those words, because he wanted to make sure he read every word the way it was intended. That’s kind of the way Concord Academy works. It’s this unbelievable respect for each other. You see it in graduation, but you see it in the day-to-day interaction of adults and students. There’s just so much respect for each
percent of the current parents make a gift, and we have been able to maintain this level of fundraising in very, very tough economic times. I remember that when my daughter first went
to Concord Academy we all met at someone’s house for a party, and we were discussing what to give to the annual fund. It was just amazing to listen to these parents who were so happy to be giving to this school, instead of saying to themselves “Oh, God, here’s another fundraiser.” They were so happy to give to this place and I will always find that remarkable.
CA. Head of School Rick Hardy is finishing this third year at CA. What has defined his leadership to date?
Left to right - John Moriarty, Senior Class President Pauly Daniel, and Head of School Rick Hardy
other. I just find it remarkable. I later learned that the speech was such a huge success that the school had to post a video online so that the wider CA community could enjoy it.
JM. I was on the search committee when we found Rick Hardy. He was the first person we saw when we had those interviews. After we were done with Rick, I said, “Well, cancel the rest of the interviews we have found our guy.” He has spent his life in education; he is a natural teacher, and a natural writer. He respects the students and he gets the sense of community. He is fiscally very sharp and he has a great relationship with
CA. In your opinion, what are some examples of the school’s strengths? JM. There are many different ways to measure strength in a school. One of the obvious ones is the selection process. There were 760 applications this year and we enrolled 100 students. But that doesn’t tell the entire story. We have a very, very low rate of kids who start at Concord Academy but fail to graduate. So the students we select are the right students for our school. The school is healthy because we get great kids and we keep great kids for four years and they go on to great places. The college selection process at CA is also about trying to find the right fit. I think we do a fabulous job at CA of finding the right fit for our kids when they leave our campus. The annual fund is another way to measure the financial strength of a school. We raise over two million dollars from our parents, alumnae/i, faculty, and staff. Remarkably, eighty two
John Moriarty and Rick Hardy
his senior leadership team. He is someone who is happy to be a 24/7 leader. I think we have the right guy for the turbulent times we are in. He is respected by every member of this community and it doesn’t hurt that he is really smart.
CA. In 2012-13, CA will mark several milestones—the 90th anniversary being one. As you look back, what stands out in your mind as some of the school’s great accomplishments? JM. First and foremost, CA was ahead of its time in many ways right from the beginning by choosing to educate young women at a time when few had access to education. Then, CA’s successful transition from an all-girls’ school to a coeducational school while maintaining its culture and educational standards was truly remarkable. Today, forty years into coeducation, CA is one of the most admired and respected independent schools out there, a place that offers a first-rate academic program in a setting in which individual expression is celebrated.
CA. What are the values that make Concord Academy so unique? JM. I think the fact that you can be brilliant as a scholar, you can be brilliant in the arts, you can be an athlete— you are respected for whatever you bring to the table. That respect is what really makes CA unique.
CA. The campus has grown and changed during your time at CA. What projects have most shaped the character of the school, in your opinion? JM. The expansion of the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel is one that comes to mind. Former Concord Academy Board President Henry Becton had the vision to expand the Chapel, to make it a gathering place for the entire community. Concord Academy invited input from many different people and as a result the finished building has resonated with current students and alumnae/i alike.
At CA there is a calendar and a schedule that lets you be both an athlete and involved in the arts. At most schools you have to pick one area of interest, and you pick that one area of interest when you are thirteen or fourteen years old. That choice tends to define you throughout your career, whereas at CA you can excel at multiple things if you wish.
CA. What steps is the Board of Trustees taking to plan for CA’s future?
Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel
More recently, the development of the Athletic Campus is an excellent example of what CA can do very well. CA has always been land-locked, river-locked, and historic district-locked. We need a new student center, we need to re-do several student houses, and we need a new performing arts center among other projects. In order to achieve all this, we needed to have the athletic facilities taken care of in another location. We found room for our athletic needs on a 13.5-acre area of land, less than a mile from our Main Street location. We then set out to raise the money for this big project. We managed to raise all the money in very little time because of Rick’s dedication to the task. Now we can move on to something else. The Athletic Campus has allowed us to envision the next set of priorities for Concord Academy and know that we can achieve them.
JM. Every school needs to have something that it’s striving for, a strategic plan. That plan ties financial planning together with program and facilities planning. When Rick came in three years ago, it seemed to me that it was time to take a breath—we needed to figure out where we stood. In 2012, three years into Rick Hardy’s term, we have confidence in the leadership of the school and the senior administration team. Now, it’s time to start figuring out what’s next. We need more money for financial aid, we need more money for faculty and we need to improve the campus in a number of different ways. We have the ability as a board to plan and to prioritize those things and we understand them now in the context of the campus master plan. We have to ask ourselves, what do we need in terms of facilities to get and support the best kids, and what do we need in terms of facilities to get and support the best faculty.
CA. Can you expand on the board’s vision for the school’s future? JM. In anticipation of planning for the future the board took on several major initiatives this past year. First, coming out of our board self-evaluation we recognized the importance of gaining the benefit of some research regarding perceptions of CA in the marketplace—from alumnae/i, former board members, parents, key influencers like deans of admission from competitor schools and colleges, and prospective families. Initial findings suggested both that Concord Academy is admired greatly as an excellent school and that it is perceived as somewhat insular. Additionally, we discovered that CA is considered by some as being a niche school.
We have learned that one of our real challenges is branding and marketing Concord Academy. We have discussed getting our message out more broadly. We have also talked about what our message is and we have focused on four powerful words that, with the mission as our context, seem to represent important areas of emphasis as we look to the future: community, creativity, difference-makers, and outreach.
three sports. He is a Big Brother to a Little Brother through the Big Brothers program. I think they learned to take risks at CA. The rigor and the responsibility to the community and the world at large, the sense that it’s not just about you—that comes from an education at CA. My children all came away with a sense of obligation and a sense of responsibility. I think CA makes great citizens and the world needs more of those.
CA. What are your thoughts as we end another school year and look toward the 90th anniversary celebration?
John Moriarty at home
Next, we felt it critical to re-engage the board members in the daily life of the school so at our fall meeting we participated in a full immersion program, one that allowed trustees access to a “day in the life” at CA. They attended chapel and classes, sat at lunch with students and faculty, toured several of the student houses, and went to sports and arts practices in the afternoon. Aside from the fact that we were exhausted by the end of the day, trustees came away having witnessed first-hand the great strengths of the school (classroom instruction, advising) as well as some of the vulnerabilities (small classrooms, limited technology, crowded hallways, very worn dorm rooms). Since then the board has participated in a three-day and twonight winter retreat at which we heard the initial findings of the market research, reflected on our observations from the fall immersion, and then began to create a vision for the future. While we were initially daunted by this undertaking, every one of us came away excited about CA’s potential and committed to determining the strategic initiatives that will get us there.
CA. You are the President of the Board of Trustees, but you have also been a three-time CA parent. What did CA give your children that they couldn’t get elsewhere? JM. My three children are all very different. My oldest daughter is a teacher and she loves what she does. She is a thoughtful kid and I think CA was a great place for her. She was in Dance Company, played field hockey, and she did well academically. I think CA gave her the quiet confidence that teaching is a fine way to live your life. My next one is an athlete and a student and an artist. She is a confident and competent young lady, and I think the competence and confidence came from CA. My son took five majors his senior year and played
JM. I don’t have any particular skill set. I am an average Joe. I think my involvement with CA is about passion. This is a really special place and there came a point in my life when it was important to make sure this really special place is there for the next group of kids, the next group of faculty, and the next group after that. I really do think that is the outstanding obligation. When our kids were ready to go to CA it was a great place, they had a wonderful education made great by acquiring life-long friends. It was life-changing for them. And we were lucky enough to benefit from that. To the extent that we can help financially or by being involved with school governance, I believe that is our obligation. It’s an opportunity to help an institution that has made a dramatic life change in our kids—now proud alumnae/i—and in us. And I say us, because this is very much a partnership. My wife Carol and
John and Carol Moriarty
I both believe deeply in the school. She has served on the board as well. We make all of our decisions about supporting the school, financially and otherwise, together. All of these things are done in partnership, talking over the dinner table and with our kids. Concord Academy is in a great place. We have great leadership at the school academically, arts-wise, athletically, and fiscally. I think it’s a great time to look to the future and see how we can make sure this place can continue to do the most important thing— get and educate the best kids.