Alumni News

5TH ANNUAL HOMECOMING For the first time, Fenn’s North Campus hosted the customary kick-off to the family-friendly Homecoming festivities on Saturday, September 22, 2018. More than 60 runners, including Fenn’s fearless headmaster, traversed a course to, from, and around its open fields as part of the annual Kevin White ’93 Memorial Run. Excelling on the course were top finishers Tyler McGarry ’19, Ted Gillick P’23, and Mandy Gardiner P’22. A second contest followed as Varsity Football battled The Fay School, buoyed by an animated home crowd and by performances from the Treble Chorus and Marching Band. A 50-yard touchdown by ninth grade captain AliJah Clark on the first drive of the game set the stage for what would be a convincing 28-12 victory. Guests also enjoyed the Parents Association’s logo wear sale, Summer Fenn Kid’s Corner with inflatables, crafts, and face painting, tailgate for alumni and alumni parents, and tasty picnic lunch. From start to finish, it was a banner Fenn day.

REUNION 2018

Generations of alumni, faculty, staff, and guests hailing from as far as Germany descended on the Fenn campus on Friday, September 21, 2018 for a cocktail reception and dinner that celebrated reunion classes. The evening began with an intimate “State of the School” conversation with Derek Boonisar before guests shared laughter and blue-and-gold memories under a stunning moonlit sky as a precursor to a spirited alumni dinner in the Connolly Dining Hall. Honored at the festivities was Fenn’s 2018 Distinguished Alumnus, Dr. William A. Lawrence ’78 (see Bill’s story on page 72).

Broadcasting from Fenn

Dr. William A. Lawrence ’78 Named 2018 Distinguished Alumnus

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY that Fenn’s Advancement Office transforms into a remote news studio for France 24, the

international news and current affairs television network based in Paris and broadcasting to millions of viewers worldwide in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish. On the afternoon of Friday, September 21, 2018, this was a sure sign that Dr. William A. Lawrence ’78 was on campus.

With a Fenn School banner visible on the wall behind him, Lawrence shared with France 24 viewers his expert perspective on French President Macron’s recognition of the contributions to the French nation of the Harkis, Algerian soldiers and citizens who collaborated with French colonists, and recent acknowledgment of their torture during the Algerian war of liberation. At the Alumni Dinner that kicked off Homecoming weekend that evening, Lawrence received Fenn’s annual Distinguished Alumnus Award from Headmaster Derek Boonisar and Alumni Association President A.J. Sohn ’84 for his more than three decades implementing programs and researching and analyzing issues related to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and wider Muslim world. Lawrence currently serves on the faculty at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and has lived in seven Muslim-majority countries and taught or lectured at more than 100 universities worldwide. Since 2011, Lawrence has also served successively as the International Crisis Group’s North Africa Project Director, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director, and Control Risk’s Middle East and North Africa Associate Director. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor for Global

Engagement in the U.S. Department of State, where he advised the White House on outreach to the Muslim world.

During this period, he helped create and implement the Fairhaven project, bringing Israeli and Palestinian youth from violence-prone areas together on a tall ship off the New Bedford coast for several weeks to work on collaborative problem solving. He also worked closely with the governor’s office on expanding and deepening Massachusetts’ economic

and technological trade and cooperation with Africa.

The author of three books and dozens of analytical and consulting reports, Lawrence appears regularly before Congress and on global news outlets. He has also co-created six documentary films on MENA topics and fourteen albums of North African music, several with Cambridge-headquartered Rounder Records. This exemplary work has earned him six merit awards from the U.S. Department of State, two medals from the Egyptian government, and an alumni achievement award from Duke University, his undergraduate alma mater. After graduating from Fenn, Lawrence attended Phillips Academy, received a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and assisted with the creation of the first Islamic legal studies program in the United States at Harvard University.

During Lawrence’s September 2018 visit to Fenn, his remarkable accomplishments were also honored during an All School Assembly. Lawrence shared a compelling snapshot of his most pro

Bill in Fenn art class (to the left)

found Fenn memories and important advice for his rapt audience of students, faculty, staff, and guests.

“Learn about, empathize with, and build connections with others who are different from you,” he urged. “And learn languages, guys. Languages are not only a skill, but also a window into other cultures.”

Proof that this message was taken to heart came in the form of an Upper School student who approached Lawrence after the meeting to speak to him in French. “Former Fenn French teacher Mme. Edes and her conjugates were clearly there in spirit,” Lawrence remarked. As he reminisced about the impact and value of his Fenn days, Lawrence most remembered the “community and its sense of values and that you could do anything if you put your mind to it … but it was your responsibility.”

He added, “Fenn helped to build character and confidence and to develop speaking skills that allow me to go fearless into speeches, congressional testimony, and international news interviews.” Days after his visit, Bill would reach out to share another thank-you and lingering thoughts about Fenn’s Homecoming and his prestigious award. “I feel like the entire experience was a moving tribute to Roger Fenn, his vision, and what it wrought, which includes the important things you all are doing to prepare the next generation for new challenges.”

Roger Fenn would surely applaud the achievements of this former Fenn boy and the School’s role in building a foundation that would inspire him. Congratulations, Dr. Lawrence!

“Fenn helped to build character and confidence and to develop speaking skills that allow me to go fearless into speeches, congressional testimony, and international news interviews.” – Dr. William A. Lawrence ’78

Here, John Spring ’62 (left) and David Tew ’66 (right) enjoy a friendly chat with the W.W. Fenn Administration building looming behind them and classmates perched on its front steps. Read on for life updates from myriad alumni in this collection of Class Notes that Fenn received during the 2018-19 school year.