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FACU LTY & STA FF NE WS The school’s annual Community Honors event in June celebrated the collective and individual dedication of Loomis Chaffee faculty and staff, and a number of prizes and honors were announced: Chemistry teacher, swimming coach, and Associate Director of Studies Robert DeConinck was awarded the Lena M. Chen M.D. ’87 Faculty Prize for Mentoring. Created in 2020 by her family in loving memory of Lena, the annual award honors a faculty member who excels as a mentor to students. English teacher Will Eggers was presented with the Distinguished Teaching Award in Honor of Dom Failla. Named for Dom, a former longtime philosophy teacher, the award recognizes an outstanding teacher with more than 10 years of service to the school. Three teachers received the Austin Wicke Prize, which was established in memory of Austin by his parents and is awarded to faculty members of less than 10 years of service who have demonstrated dedication to the discipline of teaching and commitment to fostering the growth and development of young people. This year’s recipients were Spanish teacher and dorm head Lillian Corman, economics teacher Mat DeNunzio, and English teacher and LOG advisor Jessica Hsieh ’08. Art teacher and graphic designer Stacy-Ann “Ro” Rowe ’97 was awarded a Palmer Fellowship, a multi-year grant that will help fund Ro’s continuing pursuit of curricular and professional development. The Keller and MacLean families established the Palmer Fellowships in honor of former faculty members Ann and Keith Palmer to recognize superb teaching at Loomis Chaffee, with the specific goal of fostering innovative pedagogy. Several faculty members were named to instructorships. The Allan Lundie Wise Instructorship in English went to Stephen Colgate, head of the English Department. The Clark Foundation Instructorship in Science went to chemistry teacher George “Koby” Osei-Mensah. The Francis D. Nichols Instructorship in Art went to Mark Zunino, who teaches painting, drawing, printmaking, and College-Level Art and is an accomplished working artist. The Ralph W. Erickson Instructorship in Physical Education went to Adrian Stewart ’90, who coaches football, basketball, and track and is the head of physical therapy. The Francis O. Grubbs Instructorship in Languages went to Rachel Nisselson, a French and Spanish teacher, the former head of the Modern and Classical Languages Department, and a faculty member in the Kravis Center for Excellence in Teaching. The Krauss Instructorship in Theater went to theater teacher and director David McCamish.
Twelve employees received Service to the School Awards for their contributions to the success of the last two academic years. The awards spanned two years because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the presentation of awards last spring. Award recipients were Associate Director of Alumni & Parent Relations Paige Abrams, Human Resources Generalist Krystal Anderson, Groundskeeper Kevin Curley, Dean of Students Elliott Dial, Housekeeper Elizabeth Janosi, Academic Technology Coordinator Matthew Johnson, Groundskeeping foreman Jesse Lambe, Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence, COVID-19 Coordinator Mary Liscinsky, Associate Director of Admission Alison Murphy, Associate Dean of Faculty Adnan Rubai, and Director of the Health Center Kendra Wiesel.
Sculptures by Jennifer McCandless, head of the Visual Arts Department, were featured in two exhibitions this spring. “Haunted by Heroes — Divided by Mondrian” was selected for a group exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, May 29–June 27. The exhibition, Fractal Nature, featured the work of 19 artists who comprise the A.I.R. National Artists Program. Two of Jen’s pieces were included in the exhibition Paint 2021 at the Silvermine Gallery in New Canaan, Connecticut, May 8–June 30, which highlighted artists who innovate with paint. These two pieces included “Sweat,” a portrait of a teenager that Jen says was inspired by teaching via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. To see Jen’s pieces in the online Paint 2021 exhibition, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Faculty members who left the school at the end of the academic year for new ventures included Spanish and French teacher Maribel Blas-Rangel; Director of Student Activities Andris Briga; Associate Director of Admission and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ahmad Cantrell ’07; mathematics teacher Isabelle Fitzpatrick; science teacher Emily Garvin; science teacher Erica Gerace; Director of Human Resources Kelly Hasenbalg; English teacher and assistant head of the English Department Jessica Hsieh ’08; French teacher Sterling Khouri; Associate Director of Admission and head boys lacrosse coach Bill Lee; science teacher and Sustainable Agriculture Program coordinator Gratia Lee; science teacher Jen Legendre; science teacher Sara Markman; Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Elizabeth Parada, who also taught Spanish during her 22 years at Loomis; math teacher Annie Sher; history teacher and head of the History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department Harrison Shure; and Director of the Health Center Kendra Wiesel. In addition to these departures, longtime English teacher Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 retired this summer. (Read more about Jeff on page 60.) loomischaffee.org
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