Gilman at its Best

Mark R. Fetting ’72 led the board with honor and grace, with fortitude and mastery. He held a firm belief that his responsibility was to protect and enhance the fiscal strength of the School and to have oversight — but not intrusion — over the headmaster. “I’ve had a great partnership with Henry,” he says. I tried to be a source of counsel when we met weekly.” He chuckles. “But we actually met a lot more than that. It has really become more like a 24/7 partnership.” It’s true that all board chairs face unique challenges during their tenure. But not every board chair comes up against a decadesold sexual abuse case, a global pandemic, and a nationwide racial reckoning. Fetting got more than he bargained for when he signed on as Gilman’s board chair in 2018.

He believes that a leader is accountable for moving things forward at times when there are not perfect answers. His most recent four years on the board — he also served two terms in the early 2000s — showed him the importance of being able to talk through difficult and sensitive issues, like racism, and allowing a sense of belonging to all who have concerns around those issues. “There was a lot of soul searching. We had many hard but necessary discussions. I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made,” Fetting says, acknowledging that it’s far from over. “I hope community, inclusion, and equity continue to be at the forefront of what Gilman stands for.” At Founders Day this year, he said:

“We have learned a lot over these past four years about meeting and overcoming challenges together. Let us today recommit to the values that define what it means to “Be Gilman.” Let us do so by also committing to what I will call The Gilman Compact, an extension of what Mr. Callard and Mr. Finney called a community school. • We will not shy away from the important issues or tough topics of the day. We will embrace them, listen deeply, and address them responsibly. • We will utilize all of the Gilman Five in our work:

Honor, Integrity, Respect, Humility, and Excellence. • We will be inclusive and offer belonging to all who engage constructively. • We will do the work to understand the complexities of issues that are difficult to discuss. • We will encourage a process and language that unites.

These are skills that get better over a lifetime of learning and, most importantly, are essential to a life well-lived.” With regard to what started out as a two-week extended spring break in 2020 and turned into a two-plus-year worldwide pandemic, Fetting and the Executive Committee effectively supported the School’s leaders in making many complicated decisions for days, weeks, and months on end. Of that time, he says, “We saw Gilman at its best. The Health Committee with experts in all disciplines, the faculty and staff, School Nurse Edie Meacham.” He pauses in awe when he mentions the nurse’s name. “She is an absolute hero.” He believes Gilman honored its commitment to deliver an excellent education even when the physical campus was closed and students were engaged in distance learning. Of course, serving as board chair isn’t just about putting out figurative fires. Much of the work that is done goes on during the quiet times between managing urgent issues. “We put together the strategic plan, and then COVID slowed its implementation, but we are back at it,” Fetting says. The most recent part of that implementation is the campus master plan. The Board looked extensively at how the campus currently exists and debated what changes will serve the needs of the School in the long term. The new fitness center, which will be ready at the start of the 2022‑2023 school year, is the first step. Some decisions have required little debate. In 2019, Gilman welcomed its first pre-kindergarten class. “I hope future chairs have as clear a victory as we had on that launch,” Fetting says. “It’s been a total success.” Because of that expansion of the Lower School, the next chair, Fetting notes, may grapple with how to best utilize classroom space. Fetting recently visited the Lower School as part of the festivities to celebrate his 50th reunion. He and some of his former classmates had been paired up with third graders as pen pals, and on this day, they got to meet in person. The boys asked the alumni what their greatest Gilman memories were. For Fetting, the answer was easy. “My friends, my teachers, my coaches.” But Fetting’s Gilman memories go on beyond his days as a student — they include his three terms on the Board. Meetings aren’t usually something people speak about fondly, but Fetting smiles when he talks about coming to Roland Avenue all these years to connect with the members of the Board in the Gilman Room. “Someone would open the window and there would be boys running around outside,” he says. “I have always appreciated those simple, sublime sounds of our boys playing and learning.” Although he is moving on from attending meetings, making decisions, and providing leadership, we know that Mark will still return to School from time to time to hear the sounds of playing and learning. We thank him for his unwavering dedication and service

to Gilman.