HB Magazine Spring 2009

SPRING 2009

A GLANCE INSIDE: • Who, What, When?

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• Art Gallery Dance • The Ahuja Auditorium

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• Alumnae Profiles

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HB Trivia

ADMI N ISTRATIV E TE AM: William Christ Head of School Sue Sadler Associate Head of School Clarke Wilson Leslie ’80 Associate Head for Advancement Virginia Rose Director of Upper School Sara Stephenson Director of Middle School Katherine Zopatti Director of Primary School Jane Brown Director of Early Childhood Sarah Johnston Director of Admissions

AL U MNAE RE L ATIONS T E A M: Pam Fife Director of Alumnae Relations Elona Gortz Assistant Director of Alumnae Relations

COMMUNICATIONS TE A M: Terry Dubow Director of Communications Vanessa Butler Assistant Director of Communications Kathleen Osborne Assistant Director of Communications Susan Faulder Associate Director of Publications Chela Crinnion Contributing Photographer

CHARTREUSE Principal Design LAUREN PARSELLS I JONATHAN HILLYER Principal Photography We wish to thank the following photographers for use of their images in this issue: Amanda Brown, Kevin Reeves, Marlene Leber, Jenny Burnett

19600 North Park Boulevard Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122 216.932.4214

HB.edu

letter from the head of school None of us truly knows what the world will look and feel like when the class of 2021 steps off the stage with Hathaway Brown diplomas in hand. To be leaders in that world who possess confidence and competence, resilience and resolve, they will need an astonishing array of skills and experiences. The prospect would be overwhelming if it weren’t for the good fortune of where they go to school.

HB has a long tradition of academic excellence and commitment to serving Cleveland and the world. It was born in 1876 from the demands of the first five students who walked up the steps of the Brooks Military Academy seeking a better education, and it has been reborn every generation since. And yet something undeniable and remarkable has happened over the last decade that has allowed the School to become an even more urgent, nimble and relentless transformer of lives.

Undoubtedly, the fuel for HB’s acceleration was the most ambitious capital campaign in its history, dubbed the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century. Launched in the summer of 1998 and closed just this past summer, the enterprise sought to raise $50 million in 10 years – funds that would help the School expand its campus, widen its reach and reimagine its programming.

The campaign built on the School’s deep roots and accelerated its trajectory beyond where anyone would reasonably expect a school to go. In a time when few investments can boast the same, the campaign has had a tremendous rate of return. HB worked hard to be unparalleled stewards of the gifts it received so that each dollar given had maximum effect.

As audacious as the effort was, the Vision for Leadership campaign spoke loudly to the HB community. Over the decade, friends of the School gave more than $62 million, raised two buildings, funded program after program and changed the lives of hundreds of girls.

What else is there to say to the friends who made all of this possible but “thank you”? Thank you for helping the School develop programs that provide the tools and experiences for them to understand and move through a world that grows more complicated every day. Thank you for trusting an institution that trusts its people to do amazing things with the resources they’ve been given.

Thank you for allowing HB to continue its mission to help girls rise boldly to the challenges of their times.

SPRING 2009

Contents

30

Who, What, When? 4 HB Trivia

News from North Park 6 Cover Story:

Thank You 10

36 10

34

Feature Stories:

Attack of the Hippos 30 Art Gallery 32 Locker Room 34 HB in the Brand New World 36 Faculty Profiles 44 Judy Nelson & Carl Hoffman

Philanthropy Update 46 The Ahuja Auditorium

Alumna Profile 48 Victoria Longo 1998

Alumna Profile 50 Chellis Glendinning 1965

48

Alumnae News 52 Class Notes

In Memory Of 74

Betty Corrigan Daniels 1933 & Janet Dingle Kent 1932

We'd love to hear from you!

Share your thoughts with HB magazine. Letters to the editor may be sent to publications@hb.edu or to the School's mailing address.

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Raymond Hall. This comfortable home away from home was filled with every amenity, including a living room where the girls would gather after dinner to hear Miss Raymond read poetry or stories.

Today, Raymond Hall is home to engaging Primary School classrooms.

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The Dance Studio.

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The Black Box Theatre.

Chester Beach (1881–1956), nationally noted sculptor, also created the famous Fountain of the Waters at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The HB swan was dedicated in 1931 to Miss Grace C. Waymouth, Associate Principal and HB Latin teacher. A generous gift of Mrs. Mary Brooks Otis and her daughter, Ann Otis Duell ’19, the first photograph of the fountain can be found in the 1931 Specularia.

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Who is the creator of this timeless HB landmark?

In whose memory was the swan fountain dedicated? When?

Through the years, the HB Dining Hall has seen its fair share of changes.

But this gathering place changed most dramatically when it became...

The HB Gymnasium, seen here in 1964, is now the site of...

Stumped? Check out page 32 for a clue.

What was the name of the house that contained boarding students?

How has it been adapted?

Hathaway Brown has been adapting, modifying and improving itself from the beginning. The School has always provided whatever the future called for while standing firmly on the foundation of heritage and history.

by Elona Gortz SPRING 2009

WHO, WHAT, WHEN?

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news from

NORTH PARK

From October 2008 to March 2009

Robots and Recognition Seniors Lizzie Coquillette and Caitlin Mann (seen at left) were two of only 40 students in the United States to be named Finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. In March, they spent a week in Washington, D.C., where they met with scientists, policymakers (including President Obama) and members of the general public to share their research and insights.

Lizzie was recognized for designing, building and programming a search-and-rescue robot with mentor Dr. Wyatt Newman of the Case School of Engineering. Under the guidance of Case’s Dr. C.C. Liu, Caitlin made a microelectrochemical biosensor for fast and simple diagnosis of heart attacks. Both young women are members of HB’s Science Research & Engineering Program, overseen by Patricia Hunt.

Eighth-grader Ingrid Zippe was the Grand Prize winner in the Physical Science categories for seventh- and eighth-graders at the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair, a fourday competition held in March. Ingrid’s project, “The Effect of Blade Pitch on Wind Turbine Efficiency,” was judged to be the best of more than 200 projects in the Physical Sciences categories. All 12 HB Middle School students who entered NEOSEF received individual awards for their projects.

HB’s FIRST Robotics Team 2399 has performed very well this year. At the Buckeye FIRST Midwest Regional Competition held in February at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, the HB contingent was one of only two teams made up of all girls. HB finished 10 places higher at the Buckeye Regional than last year, besting 15 other teams. At the close of the competition, they brought home the Delphi Driving Tomorrow’s Technology Award in recognition of their innovative design and verbal interview skills. Team 2399 also was ranked 12th of 37 teams at the Pittsburgh Regional competition in March, where the students were honored with the General Motors Industrial Design Award.

In February, the third grade traveled to NASA Glenn Research Center as part of their science astronomy unit. They went on a scavenger hunt in the NASA museum in search of answers to space-related topics, participated in a presentation by a NASA specialist on Living in Space, and saw a simulation of the latest Orion crew exploration vehicle that will send explorers to the moon and farther out in the solar system.

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The Pen and the Lens In January, HB seventh- and eighth-graders competed against students from 16 other area schools in the Power of the Pen district tournament. The School’s team of eighth-graders was ranked second overall, and individual students also won place awards, designating them among the top 15 of the 102 eighth-graders who participated. Joyce Guo took 7th place, Hannah Margolis was ranked 8th and Lena Ransohoff came in 12th.

This year, nine HB students won Scholastic Art Awards. Their work, which was selected from more than 1,000 entries by a panel of local professional artists and art educators, represents a variety of mediums.

Eighth-graders Courtney Black and Keely O’Neill both took second-place honors in the Heights Library Photo Contest. The judges chose Courtney’s photo in the contest’s Travel category (top left), and Keely’s in the category of Photojournalism (bottom left).

Serving the Greater Good By organizing individual and community volunteer efforts and educating people about social responsibility, the Hathaway Brown Center for Service Learning advances the School’s mission of devotion to public service. For her outstanding commitment to Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center, Hannah Bersee ’12 was given the James Naylor Team Spirit Award this year. As Hannah received this honor, her instructor noted her tireless dedication — volunteering on Saturdays, arriving early, staying late and always pitching in to do more than what is asked of her.

Fair Trade Sale at HB

In November, the School community came together to support craftspeople from near and far when the CSL hosted its annual Fair Trade sale at HB. A marketplace of clothing, jewelry, coffee and other items from around the globe, the sale educated attendees about the importance of ensuring a living wage for farmers and artisans from the developing world.

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HB in the News Whether you live in Northeast Ohio or elsewhere, you may have seen us in your newspaper or on your television screen. Here’s just a sampling of the press coverage HB’s students and faculty have been given lately: Hathaway Brown was one of only eight schools in the country to be highlighted in an Associated Press story about how U.S. elementary schools, high schools and colleges marked the 2009 presidential Inauguration. The piece, written by AP reporter Megan K. Scott, was circulated by numerous local and national media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New York Newsday, Denver Post, Miami Herald, Forbes, MSNBC, ABC News, AOL News, Yahoo! News and FOX News.

Middle School Performing Arts Department Chair Deb Southard wrote a story in the January 2009 issue of the American Recorder Society Journal that chronicles a remarkable trip taken by Hathaway Brown students and teachers last fall. The trip also was featured in Ohio Magazine.

Stephanie Lasch ’10, who is currently spending her junior year studying in Beijing, China, was invited to blog on the website of Cleveland’s NBC affiliate, wkyc.com. The first high school underclassman to be awarded a scholarship by the Chinese government, Stephanie is now taking classes and becoming immersed in Chinese culture at Beijing University High School #2.

While in Washington, D.C., Intel Finalists Caitlin Mann ’09 and Lizzie Coquillette ’09 made the media rounds and were interviewed by Scientific American; Ahead of the Curve, broadcast on ABC’s 24-hour news channel; The Jim Bohannon Show, a nationally syndicated radio program broadcast every weeknight; and education.change.org, an online educational advocacy portal. Closer to home, their achievements were recognized in a feature story in the Sun Press and in the education column of The Plain Dealer.

Upper School dance students were featured in an Akron Beacon Journal story after taking part in a master dance class at The University of Akron.

During the 90-minute session, Jenny Burnett, Chair of HB’s Performing Arts Department, and Upper School dance teacher Marlene Leber were able to dance along with the students.

Cassidy Artz ’10 was the eleventh-grade winner in the Stop the Hate! Youth Speak Out! essay contest sponsored by the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. Cassidy was awarded $200 and her work was excerpted in The Plain Dealer in March.

Eighth-grader Emma Wahl, whose WEST Fellowship culminated in an April 13 concert with Broadway stars to benefit Artists Striving to End Poverty, was recognized for her work with stories in the Chagrin Valley Times, Sun Press and Cleveland Jewish News.

Sienna Zeilinger ’11 won The Plain Dealer’s “A Christmas Story” essay contest in the Under 16 category. Her essay, about her wish to grow — just a little bit — was selected by a panel of judges from The Plain Dealer, Positively Cleveland and A Christmas Story House.

Three HB ninth-graders skated in the Opening Ceremonies for the 2009 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships held in Cleveland in January. Cat Wilson, Ellie Kuivila and Taylor Lee were among the 55 local amateur skaters who won auditions for the honor of performing at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cat and Ellie were interviewed for a spot that aired on “Applause” on WVIZ, and Ellie talked about the experience in the Sun Press.

Moving essays written last year by several HB ninth-graders are posted at ThisIBelieve.org, a website dedicated to a national idea-sharing movement. The students wrote these pieces as the final assignment in their eighth-grade English class, taught by Susan Levitan. Additionally, Levitan herself was profiled in this winter’s issue of Kaleidoscope Magazine.

HB PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WAVED STREAMERS IN CELEBRATION OF THE 2009 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION.

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As we close the book on the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign at Hathaway Brown School,

there’s just one line left to write...

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

by Kathleen Osborne

When the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign was kicked off at Hathaway Brown School, the girls smiling at you from the cover of this magazine weren’t even born yet.

At the start of this ambitious 10-year campaign, no one could have known who these HB kindergartners would be, what they would look like, where they would come from or what they would someday want to be. But the campaign was launched with them in mind just the same.

After raising $62.8 million, constructing fabulous buildings, launching groundbreaking programs and bringing ideas to life, the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign wrapped up in June 2008. When it was begun in 1998, the world looked much different than it does today.

The dot-com boom was at its height and the now-ubiquitous Google was just opening its virtual doors. The year marked the 150th anniversary of the Women’s Rights Movement and saw John Glenn return to space at the age of 77 as a payload specialist on the shuttle Discovery.

If you had a dream, it certainly seemed like an ideal time to try to make it come true.

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LAYING THE GROUNDWORK As other independent schools in the region looked to branch out by establishing satellite facilities, Hathaway Brown made a commitment to maximize its presence on the Shaker Heights campus it has called home since 1927. Staying in Shaker Heights “was a huge decision, and it was very well thought-out,” says Meredith “Merry” McDaniel McCreary ’70, past president of the School’s Board of Trustees. HB’s proximity to downtown Cleveland and its easy accessibility via public transportation allow the School to connect in very real ways with the community at large.

It was also advantageous to continue the tradition of keeping all the students together at one location, McCreary says. “Even though they don’t spend a lot of time together, it’s important for the younger children to see the ‘big girls.’ It has an influence on them when they all ‘live’ together.”

Once the site was determined, it was time to set about the business of realizing the goals of the campaign. In true HB form, the members of the administration — Head of School Bill Christ in particular — were not timid about what they were aiming for. To reflect his objectives, Christ updated the HB mission statement thusly: “In the 21st century, there is great need for women of vision and courage who are prepared to be leaders in a multicultural world. We seek to answer that need by inspiring our students to achieve their utmost potential and rise boldly to the challenges of their times.”

To make that happen, Christ had a plan.

“The difference between Bill and everybody else is that he has these plans, then he actually puts them into place and he does them,” says Sally Stecher Hollington ’50, who served as President of the Board of Trustees from 1994 through 1997, as the idea of the Vision for Leadership campaign was taking shape. She also took on the role of Chair of the Buildings & Grounds Committee during the campaign.

To be informed and effective citizens in this new age, Christ reasoned, young women needed to be offered a superior education — one that actively immerses them in the very world they’re eventually going to lead.

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

The Institute for 21st Century Education was conceived as a means of exposing students to a variety of disciplines that will shape the future, and allow them to have the kinds of hands-on experience most people don’t have the opportunity to participate in until they are much older. This innovative complement to the School’s core curriculum began with the establishment of HB’s signature Science Research & Engineering Program. It now includes 13 distinct “centers” in the Upper School and numerous outreach initiatives in all divisions. The Institute is the cornerstone of the Vision for Leadership. It is, according to many, the reason the School is what it is today.

“Of course, the campaign was responsible for funding the construction of the beautiful new buildings on campus,” McCreary says. “Most people think about those buildings as expanding the campus, but they were originally conceived as places to house all the programs that Bill had on his shelf. Most people have books on their shelves. I’ve always joked with Bill that he has programs on his shelf.”

Form truly followed function in all the construction that has taken place at Hathaway Brown over the course of the last decade. “Education takes up a lot more space than it used to,” says Hollington. “There are so many things that are important in operating a school, but the bottom line is that you have to have the space and equipment to accommodate your students and their needs.”

The fact that the new buildings at HB are remarkably gorgeous is a pleasant circumstance owing to much planning and collaboration with architect Graham Gund, insiders say. The bright and beautiful Atrium at the center of the Jewett-Brown Academic Center, for example, was constructed to give students room to gather together, explore their surroundings and be inspired by nature — all important parts of the educational process. “It was the programs that drove the construction,” says Valerie Hughes, HB’s Associate Head for Finance and Administration. “Bill wanted to enhance the programs at the School, so we looked at designing spaces that would make that possible. The question was: ‘How can we make HB the best school for girls in the country?’ This seemed like a really good start.”

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1800000

$1,712,603

ANNUAL FUND 1998-2008, YEARLY TOTALS

1600000 $1,372,280

1400000

$1,422,000 $1,449,631

$1,296,471

1200000

$1,107,105

$1,085,653

1000000 800000

$807,620

$1,063,012

$845,702

600000 400000 200000 0

98-99

99-00

00-01

01-02

How do you ask people who’ve already given so much to give again?

What do you say when they give willingly and enthusiastically?

Thank you does not even begin to suffice.

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02-03

03-04

04-05

05-06

06-07

07-08

It’s not an overstatement to suggest that the Annual Fund is the pulse of the School because it measures the community’s commitment to the School’s direction. It’s also critical to the School’s day-to-day life because it makes up nearly a quarter of HB’s operating budget.

Over the 10 years of the Vision for Leadership campaign, the Annual Fund grew 113 percent. Total donors grew 12 percent. Trustee dollars increased threefold. Parent giving increased in both dollars and participation. Alumnae participation increased in the same time span that colleges and other independent schools saw a marked decline.

“I think our community responded to the campaign’s vision,” says Clarke Wilson Leslie ’80, Associate Head for Advancement. “People saw that we were trying to do something bold and that was also connected to who we are and who we’ve been for over a century. The vision that was set was a clearly a shared vision.”

THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

BRICK BY BRICK When all was said and done, the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign raised $62.8 million. The campaign’s fundraising goal was originally set at $50 million, which was still more than six times the amount that had been contributed to the School’s highest-grossing campaign at that point. But members of the HB community far and wide really got behind the Vision for Leadership campaign. They volunteered their time, offered positive feedback and support, made monetary contributions and were good-natured about the inconveniences of seemingly never-ending construction.

“I don’t think HB is a single person,” says Mary Daley Harnett ’60. “It’s a collaborative effort.”

Donors to the campaign ran the gamut from small children giving gifts in honor of their friends’ birthdays to families who bequeathed their entire estates. The campaign received the largest philanthropic gift in HB history, with $7 million from Jean Sharer Brown ’36 and her husband, Dr. Joseph Brown.

The average contribution made to the Vision for Leadership campaign was $350,000. Fourteen gifts were given at the $1 million level or higher.

During each of the 10 years the campaign was in place, the School saw an increase in alumnae and parent giving and 46 new endowment funds were established. The campaign also amassed funds for numerous new construction projects.

Most notably, those include the addition of more than 50,000 square feet of learning and recreation space in the Jewett-Brown Academic Center and the Carol and John Butler Aquatic Center.

A new driveway also was added to open the front of the School, which dramatically changed the HB landscape.

Other areas on School grounds that have been created or enhanced by the Vision for Leadership campaign include the athletic complex, which houses a fitness center, locker rooms and departmental offices. The tennis courts adjacent to Wolf Field were renovated, and a day care called Nammy’s Place allows faculty and staff members to have their own young children cared for right on-site.

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The School’s fine arts performance spaces were also improved and the Worldwide Communications Center, which is equipped with a wide array of revolutionary technology, was unveiled.

And faculty and students are now able to connect with each other around delicious and nutritious meals lovingly served up in the spectacular new Margery Stouffer Biggar ’47 and Family Dining Hall.

Instrumental to the success of this monumental effort were the members of the School’s Board of Trustees. Board Presidents Madeleine “Molly” McMillan Offutt ’58 (1997-1999), Jane Quayle Outcalt ’55 (1999-2002), Meredith McDaniel McCreary ’70 (2002-2006) and Loyal Wilson (2006–2008) deserve special recognition. These tireless champions of Hathaway Brown led by example and motivated scores of people to get behind the cause of advancing girls’ education in Northeast Ohio.

As the father of four girls who have attended Hathaway Brown (daughter Catherine is now a freshman), Wilson says being associated with this campaign that has brought so much to the School has been fabulous. Only his two younger daughters were able to enjoy the use of the new Jewett-Brown Academic Center during their Middle School years, but all of the Wilson girls reaped the benefits of the campaign in many other ways, he says.

“The campaign was certainly about bricks and mortar, but so much more of it was focused on advancing women’s education,” Wilson observes. “The excitement it built in the School among all constituencies — including students, parents, alumnae, faculty and staff and the board — was amazing. It really gave all of us the opportunity to engage in conversations about ideas and ideals.”

Being part of the campaign brought people together, allowing them to offer their advice and insights and to lend a helping hand whenever it was needed. “I was trustee when the campaign began under the guidance of President of the Board Molly Offutt. She and Head of School Bill Christ were a spectacular team, initiating fundraising by meeting personally with potential donors,” says Outcalt. “When Molly became terminally ill, I was asked to fill her shoes — an impossible task.

Saddened by her death [in April 1999], we were all determined to continue the campaign in her honor.”

Although she didn’t live to see the campaign officially come to a close, Molly Offutt’s influence is ever-present at HB. A bridge that spans Doan Brook and leads to the School’s Classic Building was named in her memory in 2000. “Aside from being a beautiful and inviting addition to HB, the bridge is really meaningful. It speaks not only to the scope of this campaign, but to what the School is at its heart,” says Clarke Wilson Leslie ’80, HB’s Associate Head for Advancement. “I love what this bridge symbolizes. The School is steeped in tradition, but dedicated alumnae and friends like Molly are the ones who are helping us make our way into the future.” Continued on page 23

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

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water world

by Terry Dubow

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THANK YOU | Water World

They used to walk into school late with red eyes and soaking wet hair, the scent of chlorine and exhaustion trailing them as they treaded to first period, seconds before the second bell sounded. Before most of their friends had even woken up, they were already in the water, taking advantage of their small window of practice time in University School’s Hunting Valley pool, swimming lap after lap before they traipsed down icy paths to their cars and headed to North Park Boulevard. For years, these were HB swimmers: the dedicated, the frigid, the tired.

That pattern changed when the Carol and John Butler Aquatic Center opened in 2005. Since then, the $9.5 million structure has allowed HB’s swim program to expand and improve markedly. The girls are just as hearty, but now they spend their energy on preparing for the season.

The Aquatic Center had been a dream for years, one which the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign made real. To build and fill the 287,000gallon pool, the Board of Trustees again chose Graham Gund as their architect. “He envisioned a glassenclosed structure which did not have the steamy, chlorine-smelling atmosphere of a normal school pool,” remembers Jane Quayle Outcalt ’55, President of the Board of Trustees from 1999-2002. “He insisted on using the very best materials, urged the School to include a diving well, and to make it an eight-lane rather than a six-lane pool.”

The resulting structure is as architecturally gorgeous as it is functional. “Even the neighbors don’t mind it,” Outcalt says.

The addition of the Aquatic Center to the HB campus has changed everything, according to Bill Eaton, HB’s Aquatics Director. “Since it opened in 2005, our Varsity team has been sectional champions, district runner-up and top eight finishers at the OSHAA State Swimming Championships. Our Middle School team has won the Interstate Preparatory School Championship three of the last four years.”

Casey Glassman ’09 has experienced firsthand the impact of the Aquatic Center. “Having a pool to call our own makes training simpler for everyone involved.

This state-of-the-art facility attracts swimmers of all levels and we’ve gotten more support from the HB community.” The numbers tell the story: Since 2004, participation in either the Varsity or Middle School swim team has increased by 40 percent.

What impresses Keefe most, though, is not the pool’s convenience or even its grandeur or its ability to help the swim teams. It’s how many other areas of the School it affects. “I love how the pool gives an opportunity to people who otherwise wouldn’t have one.”

Indeed, the pool touches nearly everyone in the School — the Early Childhood groups, the Aspire students in the summer, the girls in Physical Education who get to experience the water in so many different ways. “From canoeing to water polo, our pool is buzzing with activity,” notes Eaton. “By participating in pool activities, girls not only become more physically fit, but they also develop a strong sense of sportsmanship, self-discipline, teamwork and confidence.”

Far from minding it, the HB community has made the pool a centerpiece of the HB experience.

“It started off as a great athletic adventure, and then it became so much more,” says Pam Butler Keefe ’62, whose parents are the namesakes for the building.

Providing the lead gift for the Aquatic Center seemed like a natural choice for a family with such strong roots and such athletic passion, Keefe says. “It was important for my mom to do something for the School.” Though both her parents passed away before the building broke ground, her mother did see the plans and was excited about what she saw.

Keefe’s daughter Cynthia ’88 was on HB’s first swim team during her senior year. “I saw her struggles to get to the pool on time to practice,” Keefe remembers.

“It was awful.”

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

OPENING THE DOOR The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History lists Hathaway Brown as the oldest surviving private girls’ school in the region. Founded in 1876 as the Brooks School for Ladies, an adjunct to the Brooks Military Academy, which was the foremost private school for boys at the time, the School has seen its fair share of changes through the years. But even with all those changes, the spirit of the place has remained the same.

“HB holds traditions dear,” McCreary says. “We recognize the importance of those traditions. We haven’t given up on them.”

At the same time, though, the entire HB community understands the value inherent in adapting to the environment. “HB is on the cutting edge of education,” Harnett says. “And it keeps itself there.”

When she returned to HB last year to celebrate her 50th Reunion, Maude Ann Wright Petzoldt ’58 was blown away by how the School had been transformed with new architecture, but she still felt at home. “I was immediately awestruck when I walked into the new Atrium,” she says. “I came in from up above and looked down on the members of my class who had gathered there. They looked just like they did 50 years earlier. I’ll never forget it.”

Hathaway Brown’s new façade is welcoming not only to alumnae, but also to a host of students who find their way to the School from all corners of Northeast Ohio. “Today, the School community is not only more representative of the world at large, but it is also more open to the world as it is,” Petzoldt says.

Along with expanding programs at HB, the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign also allowed the School to expand its student body. The 210,000-square-foot campus is home to more than 850 students in grades K through 12 and boys and girls in Early Childhood. In addition to adding sheer numbers of students to its rolls, HB was also able to broaden the scope of its enrollment initiatives.

Endowment Funds established as part of the Vision for Leadership campaign aid accessibility. Some of these funds have created scholarships that make HB more appealing and affordable to young women from all walks of life. Others give students and faculty the opportunity and the means to give back to the community.

One such fund, begun in 2000 by Harnett and her husband, Gordon, opens the door to an HB education for young women who might be turned away elsewhere. The Daley-Harnett Family Scholarship Fund grants a partial scholarship to an Upper School student with a diagnosed learning challenge.

“When kids feel cared for and understood, they feel like they’re successful,” Harnett says. “You don’t have to be the best student in order to succeed. And success can carry you — as education does — throughout your lifetime.”

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That ideal is also at the heart of another pioneering HB program called Aspire. Begun in 2002, this tuition-free academic and leadership program connects Hathaway Brown with under-resourced public schools around Cleveland. Aspire targets high-achieving girls limited in opportunity because of low family income and lack of exposure to higher education.

“Aspire is the type of program that appeals to the giving nature of many of our alumnae,” says Mary Rainsberger, Director of Gift Planning. “It was founded by members of our faculty – one of whom is also an alumna – who know that, especially between young women, wisdom and advantages are commodities that are best traded and shared.”

Jane Rosenthal Horvitz ’70, who currently serves as President of the School’s Board of Trustees, established the Jane and Michael Horvitz Endowment Fund for Service Learning with her husband in 2007. This fund provides financial support to HB’s Center for Service Learning, which creates avenues for students at all grade levels who are passionate about making a difference in the world in which they live. Through a mixture of academic study and hands-on community service initiatives, the program empowers students to act on real needs that exist in the Greater Cleveland area.

“If you’re lucky enough to go to a school like HB, you should give back to the community,” Horvitz says. “The Service Learning Program at HB allows everyone who participates to find out just how good it feels. It’s not always about writing a check — it’s getting in there and getting your hands dirty. Both are important, but it feels really good to actually get in there and do something worthwhile in the community.”

Expanding the School in terms of its architecture, its student body and its outreach efforts has some wonderful side effects as well, many alumnae attest. One alumna wrote that in the wake of the Vision for Leadership campaign, she is proud to be a member of the HB family because the School has done such a “great job of keeping up with the ever-changing issues of society.” She also says it’s nice to know that the entire School community has been able to support the campaign’s efforts in such a well-rounded way by creating funding for the physical plant, supporting faculty and curriculum and meeting the challenges of today’s women.

“The School today is embodying – more than ever – the motto that we learn not for school, but for life,” McCreary says. “Girls at HB are learning for life in a variety of ways: ethically, morally, internationally, athletically, artistically, and in terms of leadership.

The motto was the same when I was a student at Hathaway Brown, but it’s really now being more fully realized.”

Hollington agrees. “There’s a big push and a lot of research to show the importance of teaching the whole child,” she says. “We want all of our students to know what it means to be good people – thoughtful, caring people who recognize the importance and the value of giving back to the community.” Continued on page 28

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

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SPRING 2009

the wow building

by Terry Dubow

There’s always a moment during a first tour of Hathaway Brown when the visitor pauses. She looks up through the glass ceiling and then down at the marble floor and then across at the line of girls making their way up the stairs that seem to hover in midair. More often than not, she has a one word response to the space: “Wow.” The $21 million building is perhaps the most obvious sign of the Vision for Leadership campaign’s success. As soon as it opened in 2001, the Atrium and the JewettBrown Academic Center that surrounds it transformed the School. They allowed the Upper School to move into both floors of the Classic Building, which provided fertile ground for such innovations as the Osborne Writing Center and the Center for Service Learning to take root. The building also allowed the Middle School to become a dynamic engine of learning and joy.

And yet, for all its grandeur, the Atrium’s origins are meek. Initially, the plan was to deal with the Middle School science rooms, which weren’t pretty. In fact, “they were a pit,” confesses Don Southard, Head of the Science Department. “It was just crammed too tight for all the Middle School science students to filter through.”

Once the discussion moved to creating new space for science students, it quickly became evident that HB was ready for something big. “And thus was born the idea of building an entire new MS,” Southard says.

“From its inception, the Jewett-Brown Academic Center was a collaboration between faculty and the architectural team,” says Sue Sadler, Associate Head of School and former Middle School Director. “Faculty and administrators envisioned a different learning environment more reflective of modern middle school needs. Flexible classroom arrangements, community gathering spaces, ‘homes’ for grade levels and rooms that facilitated interdisciplinary teaching were the goal.

For Middle School students, a sense of identity was important, but adult presence was a necessity.”

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To convert this vision into steel and concrete, architect Graham Gund “wrapped the new building around the existing structure like two arms,” Sadler says.

“A community gathering ‘green’ was created in the Atrium, with natural light streaming through prisms and glass. The red maple trim and limestone floors highlighted the natural resources of Cleveland’s geography. Inside the beautiful structure was a practical and flexible environment for learning.”

“I’m a great believer that people’s visual stimuli have a lot to do with their attitudes and emotional health,” says Sally Stecher Hollington ’50, who served as Chair of the Buildings & Grounds Committee throughout the campaign. “The building itself is inspirational.

When you think of the environment these girls are learning and working in, it’s amazing.”

The result has been nothing less than the physical expression of the School’s loftiest ambitions. The science labs are spacious and state-of-the-art, allowing for the kind of scientific inquiry that has expanded the understanding for hundreds of girls and inspired hundreds more to join the Science Research & Engineering Program.

The Atrium itself has become an integral tool in the science curriculum. “We use the space to create an electron transport chain,” explains Sheri Homany, Upper School science teacher. “Students act as proteins that first receive an electron in the form of a Nerf ball then toss the electron to the next protein/student in the electron transport chain, thus losing the electron/Nerf ball and becoming oxidized…It begins to make sense to even the most concrete thinker in the crowd!”

Perhaps more importantly, the “Atrium cultivates, rather organically, a strong sense of community,” Homany says. “It breaks the isolation and artificial separation that is so common in many schools. It brings us all together. Through the course of the day the Atrium is transformed from a ninth-grade class meeting, to a musical rehearsal for Prime, to science fair projects for Middle School. It is always changing – very dynamic, always interesting.”

The tremendous flexibility of the space was never more evident than it was last fall when the Upper School theater department produced the play “Metamorphoses,” which required the construction of a small pool. When the lights finally went up, the effect was stunning. “It was a magical and beautiful experience,” says Molly Cornwell, theater instructor.

“The Atrium is a space that is constantly being transformed,” says Deb Southard, Middle School music instructor. “The only limits are our imaginations.”

THANK YOU | The Wow Building

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SPRING 2009

RIGHT AT HOME In proclaiming that there should be a national day of Thanksgiving observed in 1963, President John F. Kennedy said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

Every day at Hathaway Brown School, students are demonstrating their thanks to the more than 1,400 donors to the Vision for Leadership campaign by asking questions and challenging conventions. They’re discovering new things, overcoming hurdles and reaching their aspirations.

Advancements like those accomplished by this campaign are what make HB more than a school for girls. With modern physical and educational architecture, HB is a place for scientists and writers and artists and budding entrepreneurs. It’s a training ground for athletes and dancers and musicians and actresses.

And HB students are more than just girls. They’re unique people with individual likes and desires and opinions and learning styles. They’re industrious, innovative and intelligent.

The campaign gave each of these girls the key to unlock her own potential. In the minds of those involved, that important milestone was the goal that contributors hoped to see met all along. “I don’t remember any issues or complaining during construction, even though it was a lengthy process,” says Associate Head Hughes. “People knew something great would come out of it. I think that speaks to the nature of the HB community.”

It’s true that Hathaway Brown looks different today than it did in 1998. And yet many of the biggest changes are invisible.

“Part of what makes the School great is the new buildings,” Horvitz says. “But HB would still be a great school without new buildings. The campaign transformed what was a really good School into a really great School.”

As the campaign has come to a close, Head of School Bill Christ is proud to have seen the Vision realized. “I’m so glad that, together, we did what we did,” he says. “All of us here at Hathaway Brown and our fantastic alumnae throughout the country did something really important to reinvent education.

Our students and our faculty have been benefitting ever since.”

The kindergartners whose pictures are found throughout the pages of this magazine are an inquisitive, enthusiastic, intelligent and caring bunch. Because of the gifts made to the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign, they are able to explore, learn and grow at a School that values them for who they are. Take a close look at these members of the Hathaway Brown Class of 2021. They are the leaders of tomorrow.

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THANK YOU | Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century Campaign

All of the people who contributed to the Vision for Leadership in the 21st Century campaign gave these girls the tools of a worldclass education and set them on the path to the success that they will surely achieve. When they leave our halls, they undoubtedly will go out and make the world a better place. There’s no better way to say thank you than that.

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ATTACK OF THE HIPPOS

by Susan Faulder

OF ALL THE QUINTESSENTIAL HB STORIES EVER TOLD, THIS ONE MAY BE THE MOST EXOTIC.

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NO MATTER WHERE THEY GO IN THIS WORLD, HATHAWAY BROWN ALUMNAE ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. Pennington says that she “went into autopilot. I told everyone to stay close and sit down. I asked anyone if they thought they had serious head injuries. Once I was certain everyone was relatively OK, I let myself get upset about my oversized, slowly numbing arm.”

THE SETTING: A wildlife reserve in South Africa.

THE CHARACTERS: Hadley Pennington ’05 and Caroline Coburn

’06, two recent grads who knew each other while at HB but who became especially bonded when they coincidentally found themselves on the same Summer Study Abroad program last July.

THE CONFLICT: It has something to do with hippos.

To end the summer trip right, Pennington, Coburn, and a handful of other girls decided to go on safari. They had options: ride in the back of a jeep or go on horseback. They chose predictably, even though neither had much experience in the saddle.

“It was an extremely cold day,” Coburn remembers. “As we drove through the mountains, we saw snow on the peaks and even on the ground,” a rare sight in South Africa. They started off on their horses in the morning. They rode through the African plains for a few minutes, following their guide past a small lake where the reserve’s hippos lived.

“Our guide explained that because it was winter in South Africa, the hippos were probably all underwater, so we actually went off of the path down onto the bank of the lake,” Pennington explains.

“Lo and behold, disguising themselves smartly in some tall reed grass, were two adult hippos and a baby hippo. They charged the guide’s horse, setting off a chain reaction and causing each and every horse to spook. Subsequently, each and every girl was thrown from her horse.”

As it turns out, the docile hippos displayed in zoos are actually among the most dangerous animals in Africa. Half blind, extremely territorial and weighing nearly two tons, hippos tend to charge first and ask questions later.

As their horses reared, Pennington, Coburn and their friends fell hard. “I was thrown into the lake, which was cold, but provided a soft landing,” says Coburn. “Hadley was not so lucky — when she hit the ground, she broke her wrist.”

Fortunately, the hippos retreated. Soon the injured were in the back of a jeep headed to the lodge where they would then await an ambulance. The nearest hospital was 80 km away. “As soon as we arrived back at the lodge… Caroline stepped up and took over as Alpha girl,” explains Pennington. “She talked to the lodge staff and did what she could to make sure everyone had what she needed. When the ambulance came, she sat up front right next to me.”

As treacherous as the hippos were, international health care was perhaps more dangerous. “When we arrived at the hospital, things got complicated because we didn’t have South African insurance,” according to Coburn. “I was the obnoxious American who waved around my credit card and shouted, ‘She needs treatment! I’ll pay over the counter!’”

The x-rays revealed that Pennington needed immediate surgery, but the doctors wouldn’t perform it until they had payment and insurance information. So Coburn called Pennington’s mother in Chicago and her sister in Washington, D.C. to find out what the hospital needed to know. “She talked to the hospital staff and the doctors. She got everything squared away.”

And that’s not all she did. “She called her father who works for the Cleveland Clinic and asked him if he could contact any of his South African doctor friends and find out a way to look up my surgeon. When I got out of surgery, Caroline booked herself and another of our non-hospital-bound friends a room at an inn nearby so they could stay the night.”

Pennington loves telling the story and showing off the scars on her wrist. But what she loves more is what the experience revealed.

“I remember being proud of myself and of those of our friends — Caroline a shining star among them — who I discovered truly are kind and patient, but more importantly, are made of the good stuff: strength and humor, and an unconditional instinct to solve, to fix and to heal,” she says.

The moral of the story? No matter where they go in this world, Hathaway Brown alumnae are a force to be reckoned with. There’s a pod of hippopotami in South Africa and a relieved mother in Chicago who can attest to that.

“When I called my mom,” Pennington recalls, “The first thing she said was, ‘Well, I am so glad an HB girl was there with you!’”

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SPRING 2009

The dance program continues to be a hallmark of the Hathaway Brown experience. The Primary School curriculum has been expanded to include modern dance classes for grades 1–3 and an After School Expressions modern dance class. Contemporary technique and musical theater dance styles are taught every day in the Upper School, and after-school ballet and modern dance classes for which the students can receive arts credits are now offered. Throughout HB, students at all levels are engaged and challenged as they learn the intricacies of this important form of self-expression.

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ART GALLERY

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SPRING 2009

“I think the success of our athletic program is simply overwhelming,” says Amanda Brown, HB’s Athletic Director. She’s not kidding. Five of the six fall varsity teams went to States — a cross country runner finished 32nd in Ohio; a player finished third in singles tennis; the golf team finished third; soccer made it to the final four for the second year in a row; and field hockey not only won their seventh consecutive district championship, but they also won their second state championship. Other honors poured in as well: Kelsey Pinkerton ’12 was selected to play for the 365 Sports Volleyball team in Italy this summer, The Plain Dealer named coach Paul Barlow Golf Coach of the Year, Sydney Kirby ’11 Field Hockey Player of the Year, and Samantha Stahler ’09 one of the top five golfers in Northeast Ohio.

Winter teams picked up where the fall squads left off: the swim team was crowned Independent School League champions for 11th year in row and finished fifth in the state. Junior Aubrey Germ broke the school record in the 100-yard backstroke that had stood for 15 years. And basketball continued its winning ways by amassing their third sectional and district championships in a row and becoming the first independent school in Ohio to win a state championship.

“The whole process from preseason to postseason brings out the best in these girls and shows them what they’re capable of,” Brown says. “It’s inspiring to watch and be a part of.”

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LOCKER ROOM

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Hathaway Brown in the

BRAND NEW WORLD

by Susan Faulder

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HATHAWAY BROWN in the BRAND NEW WORLD

On YouTube, people have watched a short video called “Did You Know?” nearly 3 million times in the last year.

Produced by a teacher in Colorado, it quietly and provocatively details how the world has changed over the past decade that witnessed both globalization and a new, powerful technological revolution. Among the most pause-worthy claims is this: “We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet.”

How schools respond to this challenge may very well be the measure of their value in the next several years. The point is clear: Content is no longer king. While students certainly need to acquire knowledge, they also need to be adaptable, technologically dexterous, resilient, comfortable with change and at ease with others who look and speak nothing like them.

So what does a relatively small school in Cleveland, Ohio, do about all of this? Well, as it turns out — quite a bit.

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THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP BRINGS THE WORLD TO THE SCHOOL AND TRANSPORTS THE SCHOOL INTO THE WORLD. For years, Hathaway Brown has sought to be, in Bill Christ’s words, “a school of urgency.”

It leans into today’s challenges and promises with curiosity and fervor and tries to provide opportunities for hands-on real-world experiences. What’s more, HB gives its students the knowledge and skills to make those experiences meaningful.

Case in point: HB’s multifaceted global studies program that permeates the School from Early Childhood through 12th grade. The Center for Global Citizenship, which manages much of HB’s international work, is only one part of the School’s Institute for 21st Century Education, but it is a critical one. The CGC brings the world to the School and transports the School into the world.

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Anne Weiss ’09

HATHAWAY BROWN in the BRAND NEW WORLD

Thirsty for

CHANGE

Last September, HB hosted its third International Education Symposium, which focused on the most essential resource on the planet: water. The event drew visiting students and faculty from South Korea, China, South Africa, Brazil, France and Germany. With HB’s Upper School, they learned that 1.3 billion people worldwide lack clean, safe water. That amounts to a humanitarian crisis for 20 percent of the world’s population and a moral one for the rest.

The globe’s water worries were made abundantly clear at IES by such guest speakers as Elizabeth Royte, who wrote “Bottlemania;” Peter Annin, author of “The Great Lakes Water Wars;” and Chuck Fowler, president of Fairmount Minerals in Chardon, Ohio.

Throughout the Upper School, teachers and students across the disciplines engaged with the theme. In English, science, math and the arts, students considered water’s many dimensions. Among the results: The artwork included on these pages. “The students did an incredible job of interpreting this theme in such unique ways,” says Sandy Bergsten ’81, Visual Arts Department Chair. “Their work spoke to the vastness of the topic and how water is a pervasive state of mind.”

After the symposium, HB students and their international guests continued to focus on the things they learned in a variety of ways.

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On a Saturday in December, 80 students and parents from the Prime, Middle and Upper Schools gathered at HB to build 20 water-purification systems with assistance from Fairmount Minerals and the Aqua Clara Foundation. These inexpensive and sustainable systems are built on-site with the help of local residents in third-world countries. Learning how to make the water-purification units created opportunities for community fellowship and avenues for making a difference in the world. According to Bitty Dorr, Director of the CGG, several parents expressed interest in having their own companies forge a working relationship with Aqua Clara with the intent of contributing to the larger project.

The HB approach to the water crisis is an expression of “the primary goal in establishing the Center for Global Citizenship,” says Dr. Terry McCue, Director of College Counseling at HB and former Dean of International Affairs at Mount Holyoke.

“We are not interested in simply adding specific texts to the curriculum or in hosting deliberately international ‘events.’ Instead, we are after a genuine transformation of the School culture so that all HB girls — even the ones who won’t naturally gravitate toward global matters — will be influenced by the cultural shift and be able to think of the world and their place in it, in broader intercultural terms.”

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HATHAWAY BROWN in the BRAND NEW WORLD

ALL HB GIRLS WILL BE INFLUENCED

BY THE CULTURAL SHIFT AND BE ABLE TO THINK OF THE WORLD AND THEIR PLACE IN IT.

Nicola Klee ’09

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WORLD Travelers

HB understands that as much as it’s nice to have them around, it’s also critical to get students out of the building.

To be true problem solvers and change agents, students need to become active citizens, which is why the School was happy to have six Upper School students spending semesters abroad this year in Italy, Panama, Spain, France, China and Ireland.

The past several months have also seen HB students take shorter jaunts around the globe. A group of eighth- and ninth-graders were part of a special Recorder Consort that traveled to Germany to perform at several venues, including the annual meeting of the World Education Alliance.

Particularly significant to the musicians was their performance at the former concentration camp in Buchenwald.

Eighth-grader Zoe Harvan wrote, “Buchenwald was horrible. I didn’t cry like I did at the [United States Holocaust Memorial] Museum, but this was worse. I felt sick. I guess I’m glad I went there, but I did not like it.

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I can’t even imagine how people could do such horrible, awful, bad things to other people. I was glad to leave, but my emotions were nothing compared to those of the liberated prisoners.” (To read more of Harvan’s observations, look for the online version of this magazine at www.hb.edu.)

Such are the eye-opening realizations that occur when students walk on other people’s streets or in other people’s shoes. In the coming months, students will travel to El Salvador, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia and Costa Rica.

All of these excursions will have an academic and socialjustice architecture that ensures that the students involved will be able to grow in both mind and spirit.

This kind of global learning isn’t reserved only for the older students. Primary School girls too young to travel abroad with student groups have continued “video-visiting” with their friends at San Filippo Primary School in Città di Castello, Italy. Now fourth-graders, the two classes who enjoyed videoconferencing last year have launched a second joint project this year. The students worked together using a variety of materials to create flags that symbolize their wishes and gifts for people around the world. When the flags were completed, they were joined for display in each of the schools.

HATHAWAY BROWN in the BRAND NEW WORLD

THIS IS THE WORLD HB STUDENTS ARE ENTERING, ONE THAT GROWS SMALLER EACH DAY WHILE ITS COMPLEXITIES GROW LARGER. Current second-graders at HB and San Filippo are also getting to know each other via the tools of HB’s Worldwide Communications Center. And in November, third-grade Spanish students participated in the Third Annual “Video Conference for Hope,” during which they met elementary students from rural Comitancillo, Guatemala. Many of the Guatemalan children in that area are unable to attend school due to widespread destruction from Hurricane Stan in 2005.

HB’s third-graders did their part to aid their friends by donating $287 to an international fundraiser to help build a new school in Comitancillo.

According to that “Did You Know?” video, “a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.” This is the world HB students are entering, one that grows smaller each day while its complexities grow larger.

HB takes its job of preparing its students for this new world very seriously. We may not know what the terrain will look like 10 years down the road, but we’re working hard to be sure our students will have the tools they need to navigate it.

Molly Gillespie ’09

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SPRING 2009

LEGENDS in the HUMANITIES

Judy Nelson & Carl Hoffman

by Susan Faulder

For roughly three decades, Judy Nelson and Carl Hoffman have contributed to the history of Hathaway Brown School and its students. Iconic and unforgettable, these acclaimed anchors of the School’s history department raise the dead every day as they make the past and its lessons come to life.

“I came to HB to learn history.”

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Strikingly similar, yet drastically different, both Hoffman and Nelson have served as department chair and have held the Ann Corlett Ford Chair in History. They are enthusiastically remembered by the alumnae whom they mentored in Model U.N. and the Center for Humanities. And they, themselves, both cordially remember former Upper School Director Harry Schooley as an inspirational source. Although initially hired to teach English, both Nelson and Hoffman evolved into full-time history teachers. “In the spring of 1988, new Head of School Bill Christ asked me if I preferred to teach English or history full time,” Hoffman recalls. “The question took me by surprise, but I considered it for about 30 seconds. Then I startled myself — and I think Bill, too — by saying history.

“I have never regretted that choice. Studying and teaching history are two of the great joys of my life, and I find that as the years go by, I become more and more interested in a wider and wider expanse of history. For instance, I knew little about the ancients when I came here, but now the Roman Empire is one of my favorite topics. I knew absolutely nothing about China or India in 1981, but now they fascinate me.”

FACULTY PROFILES

“My overall goal is to help students become good U.S. citizens.”

Nelson, who will retire at the end of this school year, echoes the sentiment. “I came to HB to learn history,” she says. In her early HB years, she taught seventh-grade English. Over the course of her tenure, she has taught a variety of history courses in grades 8-12. Having majored in political science at Kent State University, she has greatly influenced her HB students, particularly through their extracurricular involvement with Model U.N. and attendance at Cleveland City Club and Cleveland Council on World Affairs gatherings.

Joanne Garfinkel Sonenshine ’95 is one whom Nelson helped significantly. “Model U.N. was one of my most memorable and influential experiences during my years at HB,” she says. “In fact, many of my career choices have been made based on the experiences I had while attending and participating in Model U.N. conferences on behalf of the HB delegation. Model U.N. taught me the importance of understanding the world in which we live, the importance and impact of globalization, as well as the necessity of being culturally sensitive and aware.

I take the skills I learned from Model U.N. with me when I travel internationally and meet with government representatives from all over the world. There is no question that [it] made me who I am today.”

Nelson and Hoffman have each made an impact on the Upper School and its students in other ways, too. They’ve introduced several innovative courses to the curriculum, including AP World History, Political Theory, a SCAP elective, American Studies 1941-1963, Great Religions and History of the Vietnam War Era. Hoffman notes that he changes the Ancient Cultures course a little bit each year. And Nelson added China to the countries studied in Ancient Cultures, which is now a capstone course in the curriculum.

“My overall goal is to help students become good U.S. citizens,” explains Hoffman. “I do this by trying to teach them how to think critically and how to assemble information about the same topic from a wide range of sources, which often include artistic representations of historical events such as films, novels and TV shows. I am fascinated by history’s impact on art and culture, and am always interested in new examples of how the process works.”

The professional and academic influence Nelson and Hoffman have had at HB is profound, to be sure, but what’s probably most interesting about this dynamic duo is their individual and unique personalities. Hoffman, for example, has a marvelous singing voice, which he calls upon quite often to punctuate his message or to keep his students (and himself) entertained. He’s also known throughout the School as an enthusiastic loyalist of the Green Bay Packers. A published author, he is currently working on and publishing sections of “The Sign of the G,” which he describes as “a memoir of growing up in Wisconsin during the 1960s when the Vietnam War dominated the headlines and Vince Lombardi’s Packers ruled the gridiron.”

Nelson is a fabulous storyteller. She has traveled extensively throughout the world, first choosing destinations in Communist countries. More recently, she has visited several Third World countries as well. Much of her travel was as a participant in three Fulbright and four National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminars. She has documented her visits with superb photography that has appeared in exhibits and won awards.

During the course of their personal teaching histories at HB, Nelson and Hoffman have witnessed “enormous wonderful changes” in the School. They celebrate the broad diversity of the student body, comprised of smart and talented young women.

Thoughtful, interesting, engaging and understanding, Hoffman and Nelson bring a wealth of experience to their HB classrooms. And we’re all richer for it.

Editor’s Note: Judy Nelson has been a fixture on the

Hathaway Brown campus since 1979. The entire community wishes her well as she completes her final year of teaching and enters into a well-deserved retirement.

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PHOTO : LYNN ISCHAY/The Plain Dealer /Landov

SPRING 2009

Giving Back

[ AT ANY AGE ]

by Shirley Reynolds

Believing that you are never too young to make a major donation to a cause or institution in which you believe, Manisha Ahuja Sethi ’94 and Ritu Ahuja ’97 are donating $1 million to restore Hathaway Brown’s auditorium and upgrade its theater arts facilities. Manisha and Ritu, daughters of noted Cleveland businessman and philanthropist Monte Ahuja and his wife, Usha, feel fortunate to be able to continue their family’s legacy of philanthropy. The Ahuja Charitable Foundation, a private family foundation, is well known and well respected throughout the Cleveland region for its generous support of cultural, educational and health care institutions.

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REPORT ON PHILANTHROPY

NURTURING HB’S

The sisters’ gift demonstrates the appreciation these young women have for HB, an institution that they feel helped shape their lives. It also allows them to help other young women to find their own success.

Manisha, 33, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She and her husband, Neil, have a son, Rohan, who is currently enrolled in Hathaway Brown’s Early Childhood program, and a 1-year-old daughter, Raina. The family lives in Pepper Pike.

Ritu, 30, received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and earned a master’s degree in strategic communications from Columbia University.

She lives in New York City and is a member of the corporate marketing team for Macy’s department stores.

Both young women serve as their class correspondent and, in 2007, began their terms on the Board of Trustees. Manisha also serves on HB’s Alumnae Council and as room parent for Rohan’s class.

Head of School Bill Christ commented, “This is quite an extraordinary gift that Manisha and Ritu are making. To see the extent to which they both love HB as well as the family’s philanthropic tradition pass with such enthusiasm to the next generation is truly inspiring.” HB has a strong tradition of performing arts that will be strengthened by the gift. The auditorium is one of the most important facilities on our campus as well as the centerpiece for some of the most memorable events in a young girl’s experience at HB. The Ahuja sisters liken the auditorium “to the kitchen in a person’s house, where everybody gathers and feels right at home.” To recognize this remarkable gift, the School has renamed the space The Ahuja Auditorium.

Part of the original School structure built in 1926, the auditorium has remained virtually unchanged over the years. Some of the planned renovations in the auditorium will be visible to the audience, such as restoration of the seating and a new stage curtain. However, many enhancements — including new motorized rigging, electrical and lighting upgrades, theatrical dimming and control systems and added safety requirements — will happen behind the scenes.

The restoration, which will keep the charm, character and classic features of the auditorium intact, began in the summer of 2008 and is scheduled to be complete in 2011.

In the relatively short period of time Manisha and Ritu have called themselves HB alumnae, they’ve made important, lasting and much-appreciated contributions to the students who share their alma mater.

Tradition of Philanthropy

As a past trustee of private educational institutions, Margot Davenport Stone ’64 holds a deep appreciation of the philanthropic support independent schools receive to meet contemporary needs. Margot and her sister, Deborah Davenport, and their cousin Caroline Kling Arms ’59 are the granddaughters of Alva Bradley and Marguerite Andrews Bradley.

In recognition of the family’s leadership, generosity and dedication to the School, the Bradley name has adorned the auditorium at Hathaway Brown since 1927.

Hathaway Brown turned again to the Bradley family for guidance after Manisha Ahuja Sethi ’94 and Ritu Ahuja ’97 expressed their intentions to enhance HB’s performing arts facilities with a $1 million gift. When the Bradley relatives learned of the gift, they expressed their pleasure in seeing the next generation of HB philanthropists step forward. They also supported the decision to change the name to The Ahuja Auditorium.

The Bradley family has left an indelible mark on HB’s history. The family will always treasure its longstanding relationship with HB and will be proud of the pivotal role it played in the formation of the Shaker Heights campus more than 80 years ago. At HB, the feeling is mutual.

On a recent visit to the School, Margot expressed her excitement in seeing the torch pass. She said her relatives share her belief that the next generation needs to support the causes and the institutions that are near and dear to their hearts in ways that will have a meaningful impact. They are also excited to see the auditorium restored and enhanced for the enjoyment of future students.

There’s no doubt that fond memories will continue to be made for the young women who convene in this special place. Hathaway Brown remains grateful to the Bradley family and will commemorate the significant role they have played in the life of the School with a historical marker placed inside The Ahuja Auditorium.

Marguerite Bradley

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SPRING 2009

HB

alumna PROFILE

VICTORIA LONGO ’98

by Susan Faulder

“If I could come back to HB and talk to the students, I would encourage them to pursue a career in international development or international relations,” says Victoria Longo ’98.

This young alumna is living the life she advocates. A graduate of George Washington University with a degree in International Affairs and master’s in Middle East Politics from the University of London, she has served as a Political Affairs Officer with the United Nations in Afghanistan since 2006.

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ALUMNA PROFILE

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES IN AFGHANISTAN

It became clear to Longo that working in Afghanistan would be most challenging “considering the massive nation-building experiment there — not to mention the strategic impact of a country that completely redirected U.S. foreign policy post-9/11.” Longo says the needs are overwhelming in a country like Afghanistan, where three decades of conflict and violence have completely eroded the ability of the government to deliver even the most basic services to its constituents. She admits that the initial adjustment to this new and unfamiliar culture was quite difficult, but very shortly she knew she had made the right choice.

So what encouraged this young women to pursue a somewhat dangerous — albeit exciting — career? “From a young age, the teachers and mentors who had the greatest impact on me were those who were not born in the United States,” she recently wrote to HB. “My interactions with other cultures took me outside my own comfort zone and taught me that the world is a much bigger place than the very small communities we inhabit.”

Longo’s passion is clearly evident as she discusses the various projects she has participated in or directed in Afghanistan, all with the purpose of building the infrastructure of the country. She is busy creating jobs for locals (64,000 in one program) and helping to bring peace and stability to this ancient land. When asked about the sustainability of the U.N. programs, she said that the achievements are promising.

In November 2007, Longo sat among 300 community members as the only woman in the audience at a governmental address. “A lot of the men stared at me, offended by my presence,” she says. “But the district governor wept as he thanked us (the U.N. workers) for building a road in their desolate area.” The completion of just this one road meant that pregnant women in labor would be able to reach the nearest hospital in 20 minutes, rather than traveling by animal-pulled carts, which greatly prolonged the trip and often resulted in death.

“This touched us greatly and validated our sacrifices.

Political Affairs Officer, Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations Assistance Mission I Afghanistan Community Outreach & Capacity Building Advisor Launched and managed all field operations for Community Outreach Program Community Development Program Manager Program providing full integration of communities into road projects in 22 provinces. Supervised 70 field-based Community Development Officers and Assistants Community Development Interagency Officer Helped build the capacity of communities located along the road projects Director, Research and Evaluation Unit, The Afghan Investment Support Agency Built from the ground up the only existing research department in the Ministry of Commerce

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES Intern, Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton The White House Legislative Intern, Office of Senator Mike DeWine United States Senate

“My lasting impression of Afghanistan will continue to be the Afghan people who have endured so much suffering but are so full of humility and honor.

I have never once felt unwelcome, in spite of being an American,” Longo says.

“THE WORLD IS A MUCH BIGGER PLACE THAN THE VERY SMALL COMMUNITIES WE INHABIT.” HB 49

SPRING 2009

HB

alumna PROFILE

CHELLIS GLENDINNING ’65

by Susan Faulder

“MY LIFE HAS BEEN ABOUT CULTURAL CROSSINGS — DISMANTLING A LIFE AND GOING INTO ANOTHER.” HB 50

ALUMNA PROFILE

PUBLISHED AUTHOR OF:

7

BOOKS, including most recently: “My Name Is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization”

16

Although actual travel outside of the United States is infrequent for her, HB alumna Chellis Glendinning ’65 says, “My life has been about cultural crossings — dismantling a life and going into another.”

This incredibly interesting and diverse professional describes herself as “a European-American author of creative nonfiction, licensed psychotherapist and political activist whose participation has spanned the social movements of our times — civil rights and anti-globalization and indigenous rights.”

Her clients “are torn apart by substance abuse, childhood violence and neglect, and deal with the issues of immigration,” Glendinning says. Despite this, she maintains a vibrant and positive attitude, insatiable curiosity about life and learning and an engaging sense of humor.

Since 1990, Glendinning has lived in the northern New Mexican village of Chimayó, which she describes as economically comparable to a Third World country.

Combined with her psychotherapy practice there, Glendinning writes prolifically. She is also a noted pioneer in the field of ecopsychology, which is defined as “weaving together insights from history, psychology, sociology, and culture to illuminate the human/nature relationship.”

Given her broad professional experiences, she is in demand as a speaker, having presented at many institutions including the Center for Psychology and Social Change at Harvard, the American Psychological Association and the Association for Humanistic Psychology.

CHAPTERS in anthologies, book forewards, etc.

NEARLY

175

articles, book reviews, essays, short stories and poems

1

OPERA: “De Un Lado Al Otro”

Early on, Glendinning’s life trajectory was influenced by her mother, Mary H. Daoust Glendinning ’38, who became involved in the civil rights movement in the mid-’50s. This was a unique life pursuit for a woman of that generation.

“I grew up in an environment that combined the interaction between civil rights and women’s issues,” says Glendinning.

She attended HB during the “cusp years,” when fellow students began to become aware of and involved in societal and civic issues beyond their immediate world.

A group of her classmates chartered a bus to take them to Washington, D.C. to participate in a civil rights march past the White House. “We missed only one day of classes,” she remembers, “but I shocked one of my teachers as I described this significant (and unheard of at the HB of the times) adventure.”

An HB National Merit Scholar Semifinalist and star athlete, Glendinning is grateful for her HB education, a liberal-arts program that fostered a broad view of the world.

“It was a real gift!” She remembers with particular fondness Spanish teacher Mrs. McCormick and English department chair Mrs. McCreary.

At a time in life when many might be thinking about slowing their pace toward retirement, Glendinning is in the process of crossing another boundary to a new life.

By summer 2009, she will have moved from Chimayó to La Paz, Bolivia. She was introduced to the country, its first democratically elected government in 500 years and a group of citizens who are “fabulous activists” by good friend and former California State Congressman Tom Hayden.

“Everyone in Bolivia discusses politics, including 18-yearold taxi drivers,” she enthuses.

This new move is surely one of many new chapters Glendinning has left to write.

HB 51

SPRING 2009

• In

Memory Of •

The Face of Legacy Betty Corrigan Daniels ’33

There are few members of the Hathaway Brown community who have been more closely involved in the School than Betty Corrigan Daniels ’33, who passed away on February 1, 2009. She was a true legacy. Not only did her daughters (Mary Daniels Joyce ’74, Lisa Daniels McKenna ’75 and the late Amy Daniels McSwain ’79) and granddaughters attend HB, but her network of relatives goes back to Henrietta Corrigan Reilly, Class of 1896.

Just a few years after graduating from Connecticut College and a brief teaching stint at Eastern prep schools, Betty returned to HB to work in the Day Camp. She stayed on for 12 years as a member of the Physical Education department.

Betty’s dedication to HB went beyond that of a staff member and parent. She served on the Alumnae Council (President from 1974 – 1976); became a member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Corporation.

She was also involved in the planning of HB’s 100th anniversary celebration and was active in the capital campaign of ’70 – ’83. For this dedication, Betty received the Outstanding Volunteer Award in 1985.

Through the years, Betty was a loyal and generous donor to the School, supporting scholarships, day camps, and creating The Corrigan-Daniels Athletic Center, a renovation of the physical education facilities. Head of School Bill Christ states, “Betty has left a truly lasting legacy at Hathaway Brown as a beloved teacher, an inspirational educational leader and as a benefactor whose gifts have touched the lives of so many girls and will do so endlessly.”

IN MEMORY OF

• In

Memory Of •

A True Trailblazer Janet Dingle Kent ’32

Janet Dingle Kent, M.D., a pioneer in women’s health, died December 18, 2008. A member of the class of 1932, she was a trailblazer in every sense of the word and, as a result, received the Distinguished Alumna Award in 1988.

Dr. Dingle, as she was known professionally to avoid confusion with her husband, Dr. Gerald T. Kent, had many firsts in her life and career. She was the first medical co-director of the Maternal Health Association of Cleveland, which became part of Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio; she was part of the organization’s clinical staff from 1943 – 1973, and she received the organization’s lifetime commitment award in 2004.

After graduating from Vassar, she went on to Western Reserve University Medical School (as one of only four women in the class), where she met her husband and they became the first married couple to be accepted as residents at University Hospitals. They graduated first and second in the medical class of 1940. Dr. Dingle was the first woman president of the Board of Trustees of the Case Western Reserve Medical Alumni Association.

In 1985, the couple shared the medical school’s distinguished alumni award. She was the first woman president of her Florida retirement community’s governing board, was an active alumna of both HB and Vassar, and served on numerous other boards.

Dr. Dingle is survived by three children: Lawrence T. Kent, M.D., Linda K. Boothby ’67, and Susan R. Kent ’71; a brother, David Dingle of New Suffolk, N.Y.; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

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To contribute, or to fulfill your pledge from our phonathon, please use the enclosed envelope or make your gift online! HB.edu

Senior Gift Committee (pictured left–right): Alexandria Coughlin, Alli Doll, Amanda Leb, Ilana Wolstein, Isabel Ballard, Hanna Masaryk, Kelsey Heinen, Karis Tzeng, Camille Heard