Spring 2009, Deerfield Today

PB Weymouth III ’83 President of the Executive Committee of the Deerfield Academy Alumni Association

An extraordinary place for living and learning

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Photography Deerfield Academy Archives, Gabriel Amadeus Cooney P’95, Jim Gipe/Pivot Media

Design Nancy Fields Design

Editorial Assistant Jessica Day

Contributing Writers Jessica Day Lee Wicks

Editor Lee Wicks

Deerfield Today is published twice a year by the Office of Alumni Relations

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Deerfield Today Deerfield Academy Deerfield, MA 01342

If you would like to attend any of these events please contact the Alumni Office at 413-774-1586 or email lmorsman@deerfield.edu.

LTTH: The Deerfield Summer Institute VII

July 30–August 2

Reception – Nantucket

July 16

Reception – Martha’s Vineyard

July 15

Reunions 4s and 9s

June 11–14

Alumni Lacrosse at DA (Women)

May 17

and one person commented, “It is my favorite weekend of the year. I love the combination of learning, opportunities to relax, delightful surroundings, good food, and especially wonderful people, both students and faculty.”

This year Look to the Hills will run from July 30 to August 2 with an enhanced program that includes additional courses. Evening speakers will include Head of School Margarita Curtis, and Lorne Michaels P’10, the Emmy Award-winning creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live.

Stretch your minds, enjoy the beauty of the Deerfield campus and its environs, and meet some wonderful people. Reservations will be accepted until May 22. Call Donna Burbank at 413-774-1461, or register online at www.deerfieldalumni.org.

Alumni Lacrosse at DA (Men)

Now in its seventh year, many people come back each summer,

May 16

“Rarely have I experienced such a beautiful melding of instructor and subject.”

Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice-DCNE event at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

May 6

Reception in New York City

April 14

Upcoming Events

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Look to the Hills, Deerfield’s summer institute for adults, is getting better every year. A participant in the 2008 program commented,

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The Deerfield campus and the surrounding countryside provide a unique place for living and learning and create an indelible impression on all who have spent time at the Academy. To this end, they must be maintained and preserved. Sustainable environmental practices are already in place on much of the campus, and Deerfield continues to seek more energy saving measures.

Imagine Deerfield emerged from thoughtful deliberation—and with it came the realization that Deerfield must build its endowment significantly to meet all of the school’s needs. Its size, which creates the feeling of family and community that is so greatly valued, works against the school economically. The commitment to enrolling a diverse group of talented young people requires abundant financial aid.

Teachers, who respond to student needs even when they are exhausted, must also grow professionally, and to do so they need support. The physical plant requires attention, while simultaneously the Academy looks to new projects such as an expanded fitness center that will reflect a commitment to healthy lives well-lived.

In the years ahead, Deerfield will need to grow the endowment and annual support to remain competitive among its peer schools. That will take time, but current financial realities do not mean that Deerfield cannot begin now to make this great school even greater.

Dear Deerfield Alumni

D E E R F I E L D T O D AY

With expectations for great things ahead,

The full realization of Imagine Deerfield will require additional resources, but at this time the Academy is moving ahead in areas with minimal budget impact.

Vol. 15 • Spring 2009

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Character education at Deerfield comes from a time-honored commitment among faculty and staff to serve as exemplary role models. Imagine Deerfield calls for a formalized and expanded community service program, a campus-wide work program, additional resources for travel, and the creation of service-learning courses.

Another committee is examining four major curricular areas—knowledge of subject, pedagogy, support of students, and best teaching practices. The Curriculum Committee is focused on the development of greater consistency across multi-section courses. Plans to enhance the advising system are already underway and the deans created a pilot work program for ninth-graders this spring.

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To accomplish this Deerfield will improve collaboration across departmental boundaries, integrate ethical, global, and environmental concerns across the curriculum, develop a capstone program for seniors, and expand the role of both the library and the Koch Center in the integration and synthesis of knowledge across disciplines.

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Imagine Deerfield supports academic excellence within a well-rounded academic program that educates students to respect the complexity of global issues and approach them in an interdisciplinary manner.

The full realization of Imagine Deerfield will require additional resources, but at this time the Academy is moving ahead in areas with minimal budget impact. An Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee has been established to recommend ways to improve Deerfield’s environmental education, behaviors, and operational performance.

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Deerfield’s commitment to a well-rounded education is unwavering

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unbiased (if that is possible for a Deerfield alum – David is a member of the Class of 1991!), information regarding all things Deerfield.

Through David’s office, we hope to streamline our communications activities, reduce cost, and deliver greater service to all constituents. It is a daunting undertaking but completely in line with the times.

We hope that these new communication efforts will keep you up-to-date regarding the Academy, including the ongoing initiatives to manage costs and extract efficiencies.

While the times are harsh, like winter they will pass and the school will be stronger on the other side. We hope that you will have a chance to visit soon and see some of those smiles on campus, reflecting the strength that is Deerfield.

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Strategic Plan Approved

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Dear Deerfield Alumni

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s I write this, yet another snowstorm is sweeping across the Pocumtuck Valley.

The campus is absolutely glistening; the students walk around with bright cheeks and wide smiles. At the same time, the unrelenting cold is making its impact on energy costs. The 2008/2009 school year is emerging to be as challenging for Deerfield as it is for any other not-for-profit or forprofit institution out there. Yet we have every reason to feel confident about Deerfield’s future. The Academy is rich in human capital, and the sense of family and community that has always distinguished Deerfield will pull the school though difficult times and help it emerge stronger than ever.

Led by Head of School Margarita Curtis and her senior management team, Deerfield is engaging in productive conversations about financial stewardship and the best way to steer the school successfully through the macroeconomic mayhem that surrounds it. Every budget manager is scrutinizing the bottom line and finding savings in creative ways without compromising the quality of his or her program.

In certain cases, responsibility and efficiency have led to an enhanced communications environment. For example, this year is the first that the Deerfield Academy Annual Report is available online (www.deerfield.edu/annual). It includes all of the traditional information with links to additional pictures and text, making the report a dynamic reflection of the past year on campus. This decision saved Deerfield thousands of dollars on production and mailings costs, and it also made sense environmentally. Realizing that some people may still prefer to have the document in hand, a small quantity was printed and will be sent to those who request one.

While Deerfield has no less interest in communicating with you, our loyal alums, we are working hard on keeping up with the times and our peer schools, several of whom are transitioning to a purely electronic form of communication. We have hired a new Director of Communications, David Thiel, who is tasked with unifying our message across multiple media and delivering comprehensive, (continued on back)

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2008–2009 Elizabeth Greer Anderson ’94

Steven N. Katz ’70

Oscar K. Anderson III ’88 Rick Anderson ’72, P’10, ’12

Gordon R. (Zeke) Knight ’54, G’03, Ex-Officio

Bayard T. DeMallie III ’80

Richard M. McKelvey ’79, P’10

Sara E. diBonaventura ’01

John P. B. Moran ’58

David B. Findlay Jr. ’51, P’76, G’03, ’05, ’08

Margot M. Pfohl ’97

Edward G. Flickinger ’65

Walter S. Tomenson III ’95

Peter W. Gonzalez ’62, P’94, P’97, Emeritus

Okechukwu Ugwonali ’98

David S. Hagerman ’64

Philip B. (PB) Weymouth III ’83 President

Judith Hegedus ’92 Hudson Holland III ’84

John F. Rand ’65, P’09

Cassandra Walters ’00

Strategic Plan Approved and Underway

by Lee Wicks

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t their winter meeting the Deerfield Academy Board of Trustees voted to approve Imagine Deerfield, a strategic plan that will preserve the values and traditions that make Deerfield distinctive while it positions the Academy for 21st century challenges. Although the current economic crisis will alter the schedule, it will not change Deerfield’s priorities—people, program, and place.

People are the core of the Deerfied experience

The powerful triple threat faculty model (teacher, dorm parent, coach) has created bonds that nurture students while they are at Deerfield and stay with alumni throughout their lives.

Promoting and sustaining faculty excellence will be accomplished in many ways, including increasing the number of faculty and providing more professional development opportunities. Plans to promote staff excellence through additional training, performance management, and rewards are also part of Imagine Deerfield.

Character education at Deerfield comes from a time-honored commitment among faculty and staff to serve as exemplary role models.

Perhaps most importantly, a diverse student body enriches the Deerfield experience for all, and to this end Imagine Deerfield calls for the Academy to make a Deerfield education financially accessible to a wider and more diverse student body. (continued on back)

His Own Person Remembrances of Michael Bois

by Robert Kaufmann P’83,’97

by Donald Sheehan ’74, P’12

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am stunned by how many years I knew Mike Bois. After finishing graduate school in 1964, I taught for two years at Deerfield.

Mr. Boyden was still the headmaster and the faculty still had luminaries like Sullivan, Crow, Miller, Hubbard, Merriam, Suitor, Cook, McGlynn, Hunt and others. But a new wave of teaching energy was arriving on the scene including, among others, Hammond, Hindle, Howell, Young, Brush, Boyle and Bois. If my memory is correct, I met Mike in 1965. He never left Deerfield until he retired.

I returned as headmaster in 1980. A great deal had changed in the intervening 14 years, but much remained the same. Red Sullivan was gone from John Williams House, but Mike was there in his place and I could sense immediately that it had been a brilliant placement. Mike had never married. He was, in that way and many others, his own person. He preferred not so much making his own rules, but certainly he liked the independence to administer others’ rules on his own terms. In the 1980s, and beyond, he was the only master in his dorm, with no one else sharing his everyday (continued inside)

hen I received the news of Mike Bois’s death, I was saddened but not surprised. Since graduating in 1974, I was honored to be among a small set of Deerfield and other friends who had stayed in touch with Mike throughout the years, leading right up to his death, which we discussed openly in his last few weeks. Mike was always a survivor, a sensitive but tough “Get on with it!” personality. And so in his last few months, he was tidying up his affairs and enjoying the fruits of his labors in relative comfort, frank and forthright in his political views (as in “delighted” to see Obama get elected), but also open and straightforward about his declining health.

For me, Mr. Bois, as I called him then, was close to being a Deerfield legend. When National Geographic ran a 1968 cover story about Old Deerfield, including photos of the Academy, I knew that was the school for me. So I read and reread it, noting how Michael Bois gave the reporter a tour of John Williams dormitory, proudly pointing out the famous school door on the side. In reply to questions about potential ghosts in his dorm, Mike would always say, “I won’t (continued inside)

From The Upper Level

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answer that question,” but then promptly describe the strange noises he often heard…such that, maybe, some ghostly rumors might be true…or might not.

And that was how Mr. Bois was initially presented to me—a larger than life character who didn’t mind living in a haunted house (or not). With his English accent, walrus moustache and colorful bow-ties, Mike was a unique, Deerfield version of “Mr. Chips.” He even coached the Fresh-Soph I soccer team, a role he went at with vigor, teaching us good sportsmanship and what few soccer techniques he knew from his own decidedly non-athletic days, but all the time making us feel like a team.

On campus, Mike presided with a benign but watchful eye over a dormitory of freshmen and sophomores where, without even trying, he would look out for the underdogs, or shyer-than-most types. Whether he noticed him on the field, in the dorm or in class, Mike would let a boy know he was not alone, and that he cared. I experienced this when I worked on the Pocumtuck yearbook, where Mike was the faculty advisor. Working alongside him and a wonderful set of classmates, I learned a great deal from the then Mr. Bois about patience, attention to detail, and what a solid work ethic means—lessons that have stayed with me throughout my life.

Over the years, Mike and I got together when we could, usually when he drove through Washington, DC, each visit memorable. My experiences were not unique amongst my fellow alumni, so I know I speak for all about how generous Mike was with his friendship and support—especially when he’d treat starving college students to fat steak dinners, or take others on history-focused travel tours, usually to India or other continents. He was a proud teacher and resolute bachelor, likeable and independent in his occasionally crotchety, old ways, but always open to new ideas and new plans. He was also not a hermit, not by a long stretch, and surrounded himself with friends in Vermont, Maine, and Florida who became his extended family.

Throughout my life, he was a man and father figure who taught me and others fundamental lessons—lessons that have made me a better father to my own kids. Mike Bois was a teacher in the noblest sense of the profession, who helped anchor my life during adolescence, when knowledge-seeking meets opportunity, and when a student learns more with a good mentor. A teacher first, a counselor sometimes, and a friend always—Mike was a man who helped students grow, think outside the box, and get used to the idea that life wasn’t always fair, but damn it all, it sure could be fun if you just put your will and energy into it!

Which is exactly how he lived his own life, right to the end.

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Holding the Deerfield banner: Britt Williams ’06, Tate Huffard ’05, Joann Nguyen, Matt Kniaz ’01, Melanie Finn, and Adam Sureau ’01; Seated beneath the banner: Don Dwight ’49, P’79, ’03, ’04, Ralph Earle ’75, P’10, ’12 and Gordon Nelson P’10, ’12

Jim Antone the Zamboni Man

by Bob York

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hanks to the generosity of faculty member Jay Morsman ’55 P’89, there’s a new all electric Zamboni in the ice house. Jim Antone, who loves all things Deerfield, and is an elected member of the Zamboni Hall of Fame—with a Z tattooed on his bicep, could not be more pleased. Among a number of newspaper clippings taped to his office door, there’s a list: The Top 10 uses for a Zamboni, as well as a picture of a well-manicured Deerfield football field with a caption over it stating: This is what we do when hockey ends!

“I just love coming to work every day,” says Antone, manager of the hockey rink since 1974. And the feeling is mutual. “Jim’s become a part of the fabric of the school,” says Athletic Director Chip Davis. “He’s developed his own following among many of the students. He’s very generous. I’ve seen him lay down a $10 bill for a chocolate chip cookie that a student was selling as part of a fundraiser.”

For Antone, it’s all about friendship— nothing more, nothing less. He’s a friend to one and all, except, according to an article written about him back in 2005, those who bring popcorn into the rink. “I sharpen all the kids’ skates, so while they’re waiting to get them sharpened, I just ask them questions like, ‘Where are you from? ‘Why’d you pick Deerfield?’

That sort of thing.”

Sometimes the rapport he establishes never ends. “There are students who graduated from here back in the late 70s who still check in with me every once in a while,” says Antone.

Although the driving time on Zambonis is calculated in hours, rather than miles, Antone figures he drove the old machine a distance that would take them from Pittsfield to Provincetown. Now he’s logging hours on the new machine, which is kinder to the environment and the air quality inside the rink.

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duties beyond the proctors that he recruited ‘early and often’ to be sure he got the ones he wanted. He was fiercely protective of his proctors on all occasions, believing that they, too, were part of his family. He thought of John Williams as his home and the freshman who lived there as his “boys.” One had the sense that he felt he could handle all their foibles, failures and fractures better than anyone else, and besides, this was his job. He needed to be there. He was the consummate professional in this role and in all the others.

Mike was a “traditional” teacher. He had an enormous store of knowledge, gathered in some measure from his wide reading, and his enthusiasm for his subject(s) was palpable. There were no histrionics in his classroom. He saw himself as the teacher at the front of the room dispensing information to his charges, followed by an occasional interrogation. Getting him to embrace new pedagogical methods was not easy, but he was rigorous and he had high expectations. He gave his students a good look at history. He was so widely traveled that he often brought his personal experiences into discussions since “he had been there.” I recall one never needed to open the door to Mike’s classroom to know if he was teaching inside because his booming voice always gave ample notice of his presence.

Mike did everything asked of him and a great deal that was unstated.

Sometimes he did it my way and sometimes he did it his way. But I never had to worry that the task would be ‘done.’ He was in his dorm caring for his 19 freshman. He was totally engaged as a table master. His insightful reports were on time. He was, simply put, reliable, in the best sense of that word. And he was that way for his entire Deerfield career.

I know that the Deerfield faculty for 35 or so years was immeasurably better for having Mike Bois as a colleague. He was a friend and he will be missed. I am sure those alumni who lived in his dorm, who studied in his classroom, who travelled with him or who sat at his table share that sentiment.

A Remembrance by Donald Sheehan ’74, P’12

The Deerfield Club of New England hosted over 50 alumni, parents and extended families at the January 31, 2009 NHL tilt between the hometown Boston Bruins and the visiting New York Rangers. Partisan support for both teams was evident in the choice of clothing, with Rangers sweaters nearly outnumbering Bruins sweaters amongst the Deerfield crowd! The Bruins skated their way to a 1-0 victory with 21-year-old Finnish rookie goalie Tuukka Rask (“the goalie of the future”) recording the shutout. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in January!

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Deerfield Club of New England

Middle to bottom, left to right: Jake and Owen Hughes; John Mattes ’80 and Brendan McKee ’03; Rob Fitzpatrick ’83 and John Knight ’83

The Deerfield Club of New England Presents “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice” Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Wednesday, May 6, 2009 You are invited to view the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic rivalry of the three greatest Venetian painters of the sixteenth century— Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. The exhibition includes nearly sixty paintings from the most important museums in Europe and the United States, as well as pictures that have remained over the years in the settings for which they were painted—churches in Venice.

This is the largest exhibition of Italian renaissance painting in Boston in fifty years, as well as the best grouping of works by Tintoretto ever assembled in North America. Boston is the first venue of the exhibition and the only one in North America.

5:45 P.M. Introductory Lecture by Frederick Ilchman ’85, Curator of the Exhibition 6:15 P.M. Cocktail Reception and Visit to the Exhibition Bravo Restaurant & Gund Gallery $75 per person Please respond by April 10 Contact Mimi Morsman: 413-774-1586 or lmorsman@deerfield.edu

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fter sharing memories of his Deerfield days, recollections that included some of Bryce Lambert’s well-known eccentricities, Jonathan Mahler ’86 got down to the real reason for his visit.

ead of School Margarita Curtis and the Class of 2009 are pleased to announce that this year’s keynote Commencement address will be delivered by Libby Leist, Class of 1997. Ms. Leist is an off-air reporter who covers U.S. diplomacy and foreign affairs for the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC and MSNBC.com.

After Deerfield, Ms. Leist attended Cornell University, and began working for NBC upon graduation. She has traveled extensively overseas, reporting on the diplomatic work of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Ms. Leist continues to cover the State Department beat and Hillary Clinton in her new role as secretary of state.

Ms. Leist also covered President Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe last July, and was scheduled to participate in the Academy’s Pathways program in January but was called away to cover Mr. Obama’s inauguration.

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Visiting writer offers advice and insights

On April 13, Aynslie Accomando will assume her new duties as assistant director of alumni relations.

A graduate of Trinity College and Phillips Academy, Andover, Ms. Accomando has an extensive background in hospitality, having worked at The Westin Boston Waterfront, the Sheraton Boston Hotel, and Full Impact Productions. She will focus on facilitating Deerfield club and young alumni events in addition to helping Director of Alumni Relations Mimi Morsman with annual alumni events such as Reunion Weekend. Ms. Accomando may be reached at: aaccomando@deerfield.edu or 413.774.1801.

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A Remembrance by Robert Kaufmann P’83,’97

A Constant State of Wonder:

Quoting from E.B. White, Mark Twain, and Gay Talese, he urged aspiring non-fiction writers to look for stories in unlikely places, listen with care, and cultivate patience. His newest book, The Challenge, is a chronicle of the Bush administration and its “war on terror” (the movie rights have recently been sold). On the surface, said Mr. Mahler, it is a legal battle. But along the way he discovered personal details about the lawyer who serves as the central character, and it was these that enriched the book and turned it into a story of obsession. Jonathan Turely at The New York Times wrote, “The Challenge is not just a very readable account of an important case. It is also an intimate account of the lawyers who overcame personal conflicts, animus and flaws to produce a decision for the ages.”

In closing Mr. Mahler said, “Nothing is ever what it initially appears to be. Your thesis will change; the story can change shape and change all your ideas.

Being a writer means living in a constant state of wonder and curiosity.” He smiled. The choice seemed to please him a great deal.

Coming Soon to Alumni Relations: Aynslie Accomando

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Michael Abbruzzese ’87, a lawyer who founded the Berkshire-Atlantic Consulting Co. talked about the need for people with legal knowledge to be able to work with salespeople, engineers, accountants and senior executives.

Ralph Earle ’75, a member of the Clean Energy

Nothing is ever what it initially appears to be. Your thesis will change; the story can change shape and change all your ideas.

Libby Leist ’97 to Speak at Commencement

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Seeing all the presenters interact was exciting because they still held so many Academy connections. The Deerfield network is vast.

As this year’s Lambert Fellow, he came to talk about his new book and to illuminate his School Meeting audience with insights into the writing life. It turns out that for Mr. Mahler, a lot depends on “the art of hanging out.”

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hat a balancing act! Deerfield students want to do everything, and excel in everything.

They thrive in an educational setting that honors the fundamentals of a well-rounded liberal arts education, yet the questions gnaw—What will I do as an adult? Will it be rewarding? How do I chart the right path, and when do I start?

Those questions and more prompted Deerfield to launch the Pathways Program in 2002. Alumni come back for an afternoon in which they meet with seniors to talk about the various “pathways” that led them to their careers. Director of Alumni Relations Mimi Morsman tries to attract a range of people for these presentations, and this year one striking theme emerged—businessmen, artists, entrepreneurs, scientists and one doctor all offered the same advice: “Don’t specialize too early. Remain open to new ideas. Keep your curiosity intact. Be willing to change as new situations demand new skills.”

venture group, has spent 25 years helping to solve environmental problems. John Griffin ’89 is a plastic surgeon who focuses on aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Stephen Hannock ’70 came to Deerfield as an aspiring professional hockey player and became a painter with work on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Sam Hartwell ’48 co-founded STRIVE, a non-profit employment service that helps inner city youth find and keep good jobs. Donald Sheehan ’74 is a career diplomat who has worked all over the world, including Afghanistan. He is currently working as an exchange diplomat to the European Union. Eric Suher’s ’83 entrepreneurial endeavors began with a T-shirt business as a student at Deerfield and ended up as a real estate development enterprise. Andrew Trees ’86 is a former teacher who now makes his living as a writer.

In response to the program, Elizabeth Schieffelin ’09 said, “I learned that life really has no definite plan, but no matter where I end up, I should find a pathway that brings meaning to my life and to others…Seeing all the presenters interact was exciting because they still held so many Academy connections. The Deerfield network is vast.”

A student survey circulated afterwards gave the program high marks overall. In suggested areas of improvement, seniors called for more women, greater diversity, and a longer time for discussion.

photo: Danae DiNicola

Advice and Perspective for Seniors

Club Events