Peddie Chronicle, Spring 2016

PEDDIE

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Spring 2016

A Timeline of Peddie Athletics Alumni in Politics Architecture Students Dream Big

John Plant Father of Peddie athletics

Patrick J. Clements and Melanie Clements relax on the front porch of their home as new faculty members on the Peddie campus in 1976.

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Spring 2016

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Vol. 144, No. 2

Dear Peddie Family and Friends,

Athletics timeline A history of sports at Peddie

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New era of athletics

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Alumni in politics

Baseden looks to the future

Careers in politics and government

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The legacy of the Tucker and Zenker families

24

Jennifer Miksis-Olds honored

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Founders Day Presidential recognition Architecture on campus Students urged to dream big

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From the Headmaster Meet the Trustees Center Campus Class Notes

Editor: Wendi Patella P’17 Director of Communications and Marketing: Katie Germain Associate Editor: Patricia O’Neill P’13 ’15 ’17 Contributors: Deanna Harkel, Doug Mariboe ’69 P’10 ’14 Design: Carter Halliday Associates Photography: Jim Inverso, Andrea Kane Printing: Prism Color Corporation About the cover The school’s first athletic director, John Plant, class of 1906, built an athletic program with “a Peddie sport for every boy.”

Peddie School 201 South Main Street Hightstown, NJ 08520-3349

Tel: 609-944-7501 www.peddie.org/chronicle We welcome your input: editor@peddie.org

Throughout this issue, look for this icon for exclusive online content at peddie.org/chronicle

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I want to report about the exciting strategic planning process underway at Peddie, one in which many of you have participated directly. It has four elements: the accreditation process, external research, financial modeling and final synthesis of ideas and strategies.

The process began in May 2014 when many of you completed surveys as a part of our accreditation process, in which you were asked to evaluate your experience as a student, parent, faculty or staff member, trustee, or graduate of Peddie. That began a 14-month process of organized and probative self-examination, which the Board of Trustees wisely chose to use as the beginning of our new strategic plan.

At the same time, a smaller working group began two other aspects of our process: external research and financial modeling. We asked a diverse group of educational leaders around the country what they thought the most successful secondary schools would be doing, and how these schools would be designed twenty years from now. How would these successful schools be funded, and what efficiencies would they employ in order to assure both their sustainability and the access to them for students whose families seek a first-rate education? We interviewed more than 45 leaders, including current and former heads of school, deans of admission and faculty at nationally prominent colleges and universities, professors of economics and education who study how schools spend their money and what results they report, educational consultants with broad experience in different regions of the country, and directors of think-tanks who study secondary and collegiate education.

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hese leaders were generous, helpful and highly impressed with the structure of our plan and that we were trying to imagine where our schools would be and what they would be doing in twenty years. The document that captures their diverse thinking makes for exciting reading; as is often the case, some experts disagree with one another. The financial modeling is based on examination of the fundamental elements of our operation: (1) what are our revenue sources current or potential and (2) how

do we spend our resources now, and how might we spend them to support the mission more effectively?

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eanwhile, the self-study continued (under the excellent leadership of Associate Head Catherine Rodrigue and history faculty member Alison Hogarth), and it was submitted in September 2015. In October of this year we welcomed a visiting team of educational professionals from several independent schools in and around New Jersey for our decennial accreditation visit. Long accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), this year we invited the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) to lead a joint accreditation process by the two agencies.

We appreciated the thorough, organic self-study design and the importance NJAIS places on an intensive three-day on-site visit.

In February we received the final report from the Visiting Team. It will not surprise you that Peddie was accredited; the headlines of the experience are the enthusiasm of the team and their major commendations and recommendations. The report is voluminous and comprehensive and if you are interested in delving into the findings, we would be happy to make it available to you upon request.

stages of the process, reconciling our own strengths and opportunities (the result of the self-study and Visiting Team report) with the leading themes and ideas from our external research, and in the context of the operational and strategic implications of the financial modeling exercise, to give us a few strategic priorities that will generate a series of initiatives to pursue those priorities and “begin our labors anew.�

Our work will be completed this summer and shared with all of you in the fall. However, it is already clear to me that top strategic priorities will be selected to support the mission and philosophy which inspire us, tell the story of our outstanding academic program more boldly, and maintain the excellent and healthy culture built by the faculty and staff in which Peddie students are individually competitive with themselves (trying to be better scholars, artists, athletes and citizens each day), and complementary to their peers (helping each other succeed in that journey of growth and self-awareness wherever they can).

Ala viva,

Peter A. Quinn

Now the representative faculty and staff committees and the Board of Trustees are engaged in the final

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MEET THE TRUSTEES Patrick W. Dennis ’98

Virginia S. Bauer P’03 ’05

Patrick Dennis is a partner and member of the management committee at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a global investment management firm headquartered in New York City. He was previously a financial analyst at Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Financial Securities Assurance.

Virginia “Ginny” Samaras Bauer is chief executive officer at GTBM Inc., a company specializing in software security technology for law enforcement and corporate facilities.

He is an active golfer and runner and has served as a member of the Friends of Hudson River Park host committee.

Dennis came to Peddie from Toledo, Ohio, proving himself to be an exceptional athlete and scholar. An All-American swimmer, he was part of Peddie’s 1995 national championship team. He was a campus tour guide, prefect, two-time captain of the boys’ swimming team and president of the student body. He won the Langford Scholarship Award at Convocation in 1997 and was presented with the Walter H. Annenberg Award at graduation in 1998.

Dennis continued his swimming career at Yale, where he was captain of the Yale mens’ swim team and earned his bachelor’s degree in 2002.

He and his wife, Kara Nesburg Dennis, have two daughters.

Dennis has served Peddie as class agent, past reunion gift chair, member of the former Young Alumni Leadership Group and member of the Peddie Leadership Council.

He funded an endowed scholarship in memory of his close friend and teammate Nicholas R. Kaschik ’98, who died in 2011.

“My relationship with Peddie has changed over the years from a humbled student to proud graduate — and now from active alumnus to appreciative board member.

I will forever be indebted to Peddie’s many teachers, administrators, alumni and trustees for having the vision and commitment to supporting and fostering an ‘aristocracy of achievement,’ as Peter Quinn once called it. Put simply — Peddie is special. And being able to contribute to the enduring tradition of achievement as a member of the board is an honor.”

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She is a past Peddie parent.

A graduate of Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, Bauer had a career as a financial planning executive for Merrill Lynch before she was appointed director of the New Jersey State Lottery in 2003. A year later she was tapped to serve as state secretary of commerce and became an effective advocate for New Jersey business. In 2007 Governor Corzine appointed her to the Board of Commissioners for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, overseeing the management and infrastructure of the bridges, tunnels, airports and ports of both states, as well as the redevelopment of the World Trade Center.

Service is central to Bauer’s life. She is a director of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, a trustee of Monmouth University, and a member of the boards of the Monmouth Medical Center and the Business School of Rutgers University.

She was previously senior vice president of development of Covenant House, the nation’s largest privately funded nonprofit agency for homeless youth.

In 2005, Bauer was Baccalaureate speaker for Peddie’s graduating class, which included her son Stephen; she was introduced on stage by her son David ’03. She also has a daughter, Jackie.

Bauer is the widow of W. David Bauer, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

She lives in Red Bank, N.J., and is married to Donald Steckroth, a retired federal bankruptcy judge.

“Peddie is special for one reason — the people. You can find many of the physical assets in other communities, but the uniqueness of Peddle is the solid commitment to the students from every person in contact with our students.

Peddie is and always will be an integral part of the Bauer family; I am delighted to give back to an institution that has given my family so much.”

Sangu J. Delle ’06 Sangu Delle is a humanitarian activist and entrepreneur. He is founder and chief executive officer of Golden Palm Investments, a holding company for early stage venture financing in agriculture, financial services, real estate, healthcare and technology — not only in his home country of Ghana, but across Africa.

He is also co-founder of cleanacwa, a nonprofit organization that brings water and sanitation to underdeveloped communities in Ghana.

Named an Annenberg Scholar, one of the school’s most distinguished scholarships, Delle arrived at Peddie as a junior boarding student. During his time at Peddie, he delved into nearly every aspect of student life. He was active in the theater program, helped found Peddie’s Model United Nations club, won the Potter Cup and was elected to the Cum Laude Society. At graduation, he was awarded the school’s highest student award, the Wyckoff Honor Prize.

Delle received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard in 2010. He has worked for Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Valiant Capital Partners. He was named by Forbes magazine as one of the “Top 30 Most Promising Entrepreneurs in Africa” and “One of Africa’s Rising Stars” by Euromoney. GOOD magazine listed him as one of “100 people who are improving the world through creativity and innovation.” He received the Young Person of the Year Award at the 2014 Future Awards Africa in Lagos, Nigeria and was honored as a finalist for “Young CEO of the Year” by the 2016 Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. He is a TED Global Fellow and a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow.

He volunteers for both his alma maters, serving on the Peddie Leadership Council, on the advisory board of the Harvard Center for African Studies and as co-chair of his Harvard College class reunion.

He is currently completing a J.D./M.B.A. at Harvard.

“As a Walter Annenberg Scholar, I was a direct beneficiary of his extraordinary philanthropy and example. Thus, I always felt a moral obligation to exhibit the highest qualities of leadership and citizenship. To be able to serve Peddie on the Board of Trustees is as humbling for the honor as it is energizing for the opportunity to give back to a school I love so dearly, and one that has played such a powerful role in my growth and development. Peddie changed my life, and I hope I am able to play a small role in making her a better place for generations to come, and in the process, make Walter proud.”

Honoring those whose estate plans benefit Peddie School Charles W. Ballance ’57 of Smyrna, Ga., came to Peddie School in 1953 from Winston-Salem, N.C. At Peddie, he was a campus tour guide, in the Gold Key Society, member of the W. Balance ’57 football and swim teams and sang in Bell Charles Society member since 2014 choir and Glee Club. Charlie remembers his friendship in Trask Hall with classmate and current Trustee Emeritus Mike Armellino ’57, whose 20 years of service to Peddie was inspiring to him.

Fortunately for Peddie, this friendship and memories of teachers such as the late math teacher David Kiviat ’42 led Charlie to designate the school for a percentage of his IRA and investment accounts. In 2014, Charlie became the seventh member of the Class of 1957 to join the Bell Society.

“I’m proud of how far my class has come. Some of us were from humble beginnings. It meant a lot to me that our teachers believed in us. My designations for Peddie are my way of saying thank you for the friends and faculty who have had an immeasurable and positive impact on my life,” Charlie said. Charlie is the retired owner of the Ballance Group, a fundraising consulting company.

Join the Bell Society Today!

One way to join the Bell Society is to designate Peddie School as a beneficiary of an IRA, 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan. The school’s Federal Tax ID number is 21-0634492. Upon the plan owner’s death, the assets pass to Peddie free of any federal estate and income tax. This future gift will support the school’s mission and ensure that the Peddie experience continues for generations to come.

For more information about planned gifts in your will, trust, retirement plan or life income plans such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust, please contact the Gift Planning Office.

800-322-1864 or bellsociety@peddie.org peddie.plannedgiving.org

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1870 Baseball is the first sport to record a team at the renamed New Jersey Classical and Scientific Institute. The first game is played against a team from nearby Freehold. Occasional games are played against clubs in nearby towns.

A very brief timeline of Peddie Athletics

Athletics at Peddie have been an important part of the life of the school since its founding. As the school grew and changed, sports offerings were added — or dropped — to accommodate the changing population and makeup of girls and boys.

John Plant, the father of the modern athletic program at Peddie, arrived at Peddie in 1901 as a 23-year-old student with only two years of formal education. He enrolled in the introductory courses of the Junior School and became known by his classmates as the “Old Roman.” He remained for five years as a student, playing basketball and football.

1886 Peddie, Lawrenceville, Princeton Prep and Rutgers Prep form a baseball league, with each team playing the others twice per season. The Peddie team has one victory and five defeats in that inaugural year.

1886 After editorials in the student-written Chronicle complain that too much attention is paid to baseball to the detriment of other sports, a football squad plays its first interscholastic game at Pennington School on Nov. 13. With Pennington leading 10-0, the game is called at the end of the first half so the team doesn’t miss the only train home to Hightstown.

1864 School is founded

1880

1887 A Gentlemen’s Tennis Club is formed and a constitution adopted by students. With an initiation fee of 25 cents and an annual fee of 40 cents, the 40 members of the club construct three courts within the first year.

The dirt courts are kept in proper condition with a scraper and heavy iron roller.

Between his studies at Peddie, he played in professional basketball leagues in and around Trenton, where the earliest professional leagues were formed.

In 1906, just months after completing Peddie, Plant became the school’s first athletic director, immediately setting out to fulfill his mission to establish “a Peddie sport for every boy.” For 20 years, he coached a variety of the teams he helped create.

He left Peddie in 1926 to become the director of physical education at Bucknell, where he also coached track and field, basketball and boxing.

Plant’s legacy lives on today, both in the variety of sports available to Peddie boys and girls, but also in the motto he repeated to thousands of students: “Win if you can, but play fair.”

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1887 The female students of Peddie Institute form a tennis association known as the Alert Tennis Club and create two courts for their exclusive use.

Within two years, there are five finely finished hard surface courts supplied with nets and seven-foot backstops. There are about 50 rackets at the school. This is the first athletic team formed for the female students.

1893 During chapel services on Nov. 6, Headmaster Joseph Perry announces that $50 is needed immediately to pay the expenses of the football team.

Faculty and students raise $45 on the spot.

1899 A spring field day is held with relay races, the 100-yard and 220-yard dashes, the half mile walking race, bicycle racing, the broad and high jumps, the hammer throw, the shot put and the pole vault. The athletes compete for the first time in the Penn Relays — the birth of the track team.

1899 Just eight years after the game of basketball was invented, Peddie boys secure a ball and basket and organize a team with very little training and only two players who have ever played the game before.

1911 The football team again goes undefeated and unscored-upon, scoring 181 points to its rivals’ 0.

1911 While never becoming a varsity sport, boxing is offered on and off as an intramural sport between 1911 and the 1930s.

1903 Peddie plays its first football game against Blair Academy, beginning the oldest unbroken preparatory school rivalry in the state. Blair wins.

1904 The powerful physique of John Plant is greatly responsible for the football team’s 1904 undefeated — and unscored upon — season.

1904 The baseball team completes a nine-game schedule undefeated, including a 5-3 victory over Lawrenceville — the first Peddie victory over Lawrenceville in any team sport. The 1905 team repeats the achievement. Three players on the ’04 and ’05 teams go on to play professional baseball.

1890

1900

1910

1920

1905 Tennis becomes a varsity sport, with its first match being a victory over George School.

1906 Playing its first game in the new Alumni Gymnasium, Peddie basketball players begin a 20-year run of consistently strong teams with multiple undefeated seasons.

1908 With coeducational boarding schools going out of style and enrollment dropping, Peddie begins admitting boys only.

1911 The first annual wrestling tournament is held as an intramural sport. It teeters between existing and dying out for the first few decades.

1915 The state championship team sets Peddie baseball history with a 6-1 defeat of the varsity team of Princeton University.

1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 Four successive football teams win state championships.

1909 Training in a swimming pool in Alumni Gymnasium known as “the bath tub” for its comically small size, Peddie participates in its first swimming meet at Lawrenceville, losing 43-22. Interscholastic competition quickly dies out.

1919 Football team defeats Lawrenceville for the first time.

1920 The New Jersey private school basketball tournament is started, and for six successive years, Peddie wins the state championship.

1920 A group of boys revives the sport of swimming, but because of the limited facilities holds all its meets at away pools for 30 years.

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1921 The tennis team wins a state championship. It repeats the honor in 1928.

1922 More than half the student body is playing football (195 players) through Peddie’s intramural league that divides boys into the Golds and Blues and matches them by age and size. Of the nine teams at the school, three play outside schedules.

1922 Although an interscholastic team is formed, the hockey team is restricted to playing only when Peddie Lake is frozen or when they travel to Princeton to play on a rink. The sport struggles to remain a consistent presence for decades.

1923, 1927, 1932, 1936, 1954 The baseball team wins state championships.

1928 Wrestling is revived and competes for the first time in four outside matches.

1931 A crew begins using the facilities of the Princeton Boat House and participates in two dual meets and the Hun School Invitation Regatta. It will be five decades before a Peddie crew competes again.

1935 Although a cross country team was formed in 1926 and participated in one dual meet, the sport begins interscholastic competition in 1935. The 1939, 1940 and 1945 teams are all unbeaten.

1935 For the first time since the on-campus golf course is constructed in 1928, the golf team wins a state championship.

1937 Soccer is revived, quickly becoming a major sport.

1930

1940 1939 The school acquires 83 acres of property from Walter C. Black, class of 1886. It is the site of the current golf course.

1939, 1940 The cross country team creates an unbroken winning streak against the toughest competitive schedules the school has ever faced, compiling a composite record of 12 straight wins over two unblemished seasons — including three perfect 15-40 scores between them.

1939 Wrestling is revived as a varsity sport.

1923 Soccer players keep a regular schedule of six games for the first true interscholastic season. The sport disappears after 1928.

1927 The Alumni Athletic Field and the Annenberg Cinder Track are constructed.

1928 The track team wins both the indoor and outdoor state championships.

1928, 1929, 1930 Peddie football teams defend the state championship.

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1940 The 1940 golf team is undefeated and untied — recording three 9-0 victories — and then caps their championship season by winning the most important contest in secondary school golf, the Eastern Interscholastic Tournament at Greenwich, Conn. This accomplishment — matched only

by Peddie’s 1935 team — confers bragging rights as virtual national prep champions.

1950 The 1950 football team finishes the season undefeated for the first time since 1929, winning seven straight games. The team breaks Peddie’s all-time team scoring record, previously held by the 1924 team, by scoring 204 points.

1941, 1942 Revived in 1935 after a 10-year hiatus, Peddie hockey soon puts together two consecutive championship seasons, triumphing over every hockey high school and prep school in the state. Despite losses in hard-fought contests against Princeton University’s freshmen and JV teams, the 1941 hockey sextet finishes the season 9-2, undefeated in secondary school competition. Despite two defeats again at the hands of the Princeton freshmen, the 1942 Peddie stickmen win 10 contests and skate to one draw.

1950 1942 Peddie participates in five squash matches. Although squash courts are built behind Alumni Gymnasium, squash is never elevated beyond club status.

1942, 1944, 1945 The disruptive years of World War II yield three future Peddie Sports Hall of Fame basketball teams despite team schedules and transportation in disarray. Scores of Peddie’s finest athletes volunteer for military service prior to graduation.

1952 The swim team is the first Peddie team to win the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming Championships – widely recognized as the Prep School nationals. Just a year before, the swimmers left behind the cramped “bath tub” for the spacious new 75-foot, six-lane pool in Mills Memorial Gymnasium.

1957 The 1956-57 basketball team, state champions and one point from being undefeated, compiles an 18-1 record.

1960

1970

1957 Peddie’s 1957 state championship soccer team completes the season with 11 wins and only one loss. Its eight veteran starters provide sizzling chemistry, and the squad dominates its opponents, rolling to nine consecutive victories.

1943 The soccer team wins the first of many state championships. Crowns will be repeated in 1948, 1950, 1953 and 1957 teams. The 1959 team ties for a state championship.

1944 The 1944 football team finishes as State Prep Champions with a 7-1 record, defeating Peddie’s three big rivals (Hill, Lawrenceville and Blair) by a combined score of 45-6. The team receives the Crusader Trophy from the Holy Cross College Club.

1948 In the fall of 1948, Peddie athletes amass 52 wins and 10 ties with only 14 defeats for all varsity and junior varsity fall teams combined.

1948 Apart from scoreless ties against the Princeton University freshmen and eventual state high school champions Hightstown High School, the soccer squad beat all comers and outscores the season’s opposition 41-4.

Nine of the ten teams were unable to score against Peddie.

1950 Mills Memorial Gymnasium is dedicated to replace Alumni Gymnasium.

1950 The golf team earns six state championships between 1950 and 1958, with two Eastern Interscholastic Championships at Greenwich.

1959 Boys’ lacrosse becomes a varsity sport for the first time, although Peddie boys had lobbied for the sport as early as 1884.

1966 In winning the Prep School State Championship, the 1966 baseball team compiles an outstanding 12-1 record with six of its 12 thrilling victories coming by a single run.

1967 Returning just one starter from the ’66 team, the boys’ lacrosse team storms to a 9-4 record to become Peddie’s first winning lacrosse team ever.

1968 The varsity track team completes one of the most successful outdoor campaigns in Peddie track history, ending the season with an undefeated record and capturing the state crown. The team becomes the first undefeated track team since 1953 and joins the elite ranks of Peddie undefeated teams.

1970 The undefeated and untied Peddie football team is named the Trentonian’s 1970 Delaware Valley Scholastic Football Ratings champion, becoming the first prep school ever to capture that coveted award.

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1970 Girls are admitted for the first time since 1907. Physical education activities are added for the 21 new female students, though no athletic teams are yet offered.

1980 Considered a young swimming team, the Falcon girls accomplish an 11-0 dual meet record and a first-place finish at the Atlantic Seaboard Championships.

1973 The cross country team sweeps the top five or more places for perfect scores in six of their 15 dual-meet victories. They dominate the state meet and capture the first New Jersey prep cross country title in school history.

The runners outclass the rest of the varsity field with a record-breaking victory margin of more than 45 points.

1980

1984 The golfers are undefeated at 12-0, avenging the single 1983 loss to Lawrenceville, winning the Mercer County Tournament and repeating for New Jersey Prep A title.

1986 The 1986 wrestling team embodies the togetherness and the single-minded purpose necessary to achieve a dual-meet record of 15-2-1, becoming Mercer County Champions, Prep State Champions and second place winners at the Prep National Tournament.

1990

1987 The 1987 field hockey team accomplishes more than any previous team in Peddie’s history. The State Prep Championship final match enters several periods of overtime play before co-champions are named.

1974 Enough girls have enrolled at Peddie to begin fielding girls’ athletic teams.

Between 1974 and 1975, field hockey, swimming, lacrosse, tennis, softball and basketball are added for girls.

1974 The 1974 track and field team goes undefeated and the 1975 squad is said to be a perfectly balanced team in their excellence across the full spectrum of weights, jumps and hurdles, and with their individual and relay racing prowess at all distances.

1978 The softball team makes it all the way to the New Jersey Prep A Championship game.

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1987 The Peddie School Sports Hall of Fame is created after Edward “Skip” Masland ’49 encourages the school to honor Peddie Olympians, national and state champions, and other exceptional athletes and coaches.

1987 Crew is added as a varsity sport for both boys and girls.

1988 Even before the season begins, the untimely death of Headmaster Ed Potter is felt keenly by the football team he had always supported strongly.

The showdown for both the Prep A title and an undefeated season is played at Blair, where Peddie wins, 56-28. The Falcons are named the number one prep team in New Jersey and the top-ranked squad in Mercer County.

1989-90 The boys’ and girls’ swim teams fight for two national championships.

Dominating archrivals Germantown and Mercersburg Academy, both squads win Easterns and sweep mythical high school national titles. Peddie Aquatics captures second place at U.S. Nationals.

1990 The volleyball team begins competing, playing for about 20 years.

1990 For three seasons in the early 1990s, girls’ ice hockey is again added to the athletic offerings.

1990s The 1990s ushers in an unprecedented era of domination for girls’ soccer at Peddie with three Prep A titles. The 1993 squad goes undefeated at 170-1 and the 1994 team charts a path of excellence with a nearly perfect record of 16-1. They are named the “Team of the Decade” by the Trenton Times.

2001 The boys’ lacrosse players are unstoppable at 16-0 on the way to capturing the Prep A and MAPL titles.

2003 After 28 seasons, the elusive Prep A crown becomes a reality for the girls’ lacrosse team. The only loss in the team’s 15-1 record comes in a 14-13 overtime defeat at the hands of Lawrenceville in what the Trenton Times calls “the game of the year.”

2006, 2007 The girls’ crew wins back-to-back gold medals at USRowing Youth Nationals, followed by a silver medal in 2008.

1995 The Peddie track team wins its first indoor Mercer County Title. The sprint medley relay team is ranked 10th in the country according to American Athletics magazine.

1996 The boys lacrosse team wins 15 games to end undefeated, earns the Prep A title and is ranked fifth in the nation.

1997 Girls’ basketball begins a remarkable string of 14 consecutive NJISAA Prep A state crowns. They also win the first of 12 straight Mid-Atlantic Prep League titles.

2007, 2008, 2009 Girls’ golf is named NJISSA Champions in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

2000

2010

1998 The Mid-Atlantic Prep League, also known as the MAPL, is created to unite independent schools with similar academic and athletic philosophies. Other MAPL teams are Blair Academy, The Hill School, Hun School of Princeton, Lawrenceville School and Mercersburg Academy.

2000 From October 2000 through the mid-season of 2002, the girls’ soccer squads ride a prodigious 40-game unbeaten streak including 29 shutouts.

2001 The 2001 baseball team has what is arguably the greatest year in Peddie baseball history, finishing with a 22-2 record and winning both the state and MAPL championships. In the state finals, Peddie finishes the season by beating Blair 17-1.

2007 Boys’ crew splashes back onto the national scene, qualifying for USRowing Youth Nationals — and continues to qualify five out of the next eight years.

2008 In the fourth year of a remarkable string of consecutive NJISAA Prep A titles, the girls’ softball team wins 20 games to set a new mark for the program.

2009 Girls’ crew again lands on the victory stand at the National Championships with the coxed four dominating with a 9.49-second victory in the grand final.

2001 The 2001 girls’ soccer team blows past the opposition to finish undefeated and untied at 19-0-0, the first perfect season in the history of Peddie girls’ soccer. En route to Peddie’s fourth consecutive State Prep A and MAPL championships, they outscore the competition 83-8 and are ranked the #1 Prep Team in America by Student Sports Magazine.

2009 The boys’ golf team drives through their dual-meet season unblemished at 14-0, retains the Leibovit Cup against Lawrenceville, wins the prestigious Garden State Cup and captures both the Mid-Atlantic Prep League and NJISAA Prep A titles.

2013 The boys swimming team wins every event except the 50 free at Easterns.

In the 400 freestyle relay, the quartet crushes the school record and ties the meet record, becoming just the third high school team to break the three-minute barrier in that event.

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Baseden eyes future of Peddie athletics When Jason Baseden arrived at Peddie in September for his first season as athletic director, he was immediately impressed by the school’s spirit, history and traditions.

While the new administrator encourages all his athletes and coaches to dream big, he said the school does not need to implement broad changes to its athletic program. Rather, he hopes to continue the school’s strong tradition of offering a variety of athletic programs that challenge, strengthen and develop students.

Pointing to the support that athletes show their peers playing other sports, Baseden said sportsmanship is one of the athletic program’s strongest traditions.

“This fall, I saw the football team take time out of their own practice to go down to the other field to support the girls’ soccer team during their game,” Baseden said. “That kind of thing is just in the culture here.”

So, too, is an undeniable school spirit, he said, best

Although he recognizes that some endurance sports like swimming, crew and distance running require year-round training, Baseden said sports specialization can lead to mental stress and injury for students. He believes that students who are not involved in theater or the robotics team should play at least two sports to fill their physical activity requirement.

“Year-round club sports such as soccer and basketball have taken away from the high school sports experience,” he said.

He tries whenever possible to educate parents on the benefits of playing multiple sports, pointing out that only about two percent of high school athletes receive athletic scholarships for college play.

While Baseden is proud that Peddie in recent years has sent as many as 20 percent of its students to play some level of college athletics, he said he focuses his work on “100 percent of our student athletes.”

A graduate of St. John’s University, Baseden earned his

“This fall, I saw the football team take time out of their own practice to go down to the other field to support the girls’ soccer team during their game. That kind of thing is just in the culture here.” observed during Blair Week and the pre-Blair Day chapel pep rally that “had the atmosphere of a NCAA championship game.”

“At Peddie, students who aren’t on sports teams support the school. It just comes naturally for our students,” he said.

And the school supports athletics, Baseden said, putting it among the top ten best equipped high schools in the country.

He added that constant improvements are necessary and physical improvements like a new wood basketball floor and resurfaced tennis courts are on his immediate priority list.

Another facilities improvement Baseden would like to see is a renovated area to display Peddie sports memorabilia as part of the Peddie Sports Hall of Fame.

In terms of programs and offerings, Baseden said Peddie has a healthy balance of sports, but he said squash and fencing are two sports that he would consider adding in the future.

Both, he said, would appeal to international applicants.

Baseden arrived at Peddie from the International School of Brussels, where he was the director of athletics for seven years. Baseden said the biggest difference between school athletics in Europe and the United States is the 6-day-per week training at independent schools here in the U.S. Even at the most athletically competitive international schools in Europe, he said, four days per week is typical.

“There is more emphasis on being very competitive and there is a greater drive for scholarships in the U.S.,” he said.

He added that the level of sports specialization for students is “off the map,” and not something he encourages for most athletes.

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bachelor’s degree in communication and was two-time captain of the track and field team. He has a master’s degree in athletic administration from Ohio University. He is a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Athletic Administrators and Coaches.

Baseden said his goals for the athletic program include offering more professional development for coaches, 85 percent of whom also serve as classroom teachers. “It’s great to have teachers as coaches, and coaching professional development helps those teachers both in and out of the classroom,” he said.

He has already added more live streaming of athletic matches both for alumni to follow their favorite teams and for parents of boarding students to remotely watch their children compete.

One of the more enjoyable parts of his job, he said, has been meeting alumni. “Often we will have people roaming the halls looking at the trophy cases and captain’s boards.

I love to hear their stories of the time they spent at Peddie,” Baseden said. “I recently had a great experience traveling to Los Angeles and San Francisco with the development office for two alumni events. I was amazed how many alumni were eager to hear how well the Peddie teams were doing. It was also nice to hear how much they were influenced by the teams they participated on while at Peddie. Many of them are still best friends with their old Peddie teammates.”

Spring 2016 13

“My country has been very good to me; I must be good to my country.”

Role models like Newark Mayor and New Jersey Assemblyman Thomas B. Peddie and Ambassador Walter Annenberg ’27 have long inspired Peddie students to pursue careers in government and politics.

From local municipal leaders to those serving their federal governments, scores of Falcons have chosen careers in public service, served in government roles and achieved that “highest quality of citizenship” that Annenberg often quoted.

Asked about his public service as the ambassador to Britain, Annenberg’s reason was simple: “My country has been very good to me; I must be good to my country,” he said.

The Chronicle spoke to a few alumni who shared their stories of government service.

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Ron Dancer ’67 P’00

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rowing up on a horse farm in Plumstead, N.J., Ron Dancer’s ’67 family was well known in the horse racing industry. It was not a usual path to elected office, but for him one that directly led to his involvement in local planning issues — and eventually to the New Jersey State House.

The son of Stanley Dancer, a national hall of fame harness racing driver and trainer of standard bred race horses, Dancer was a young driver and trainer himself when he was asked by the mayor of Plumstead about filling a vacancy on the local planning board in 1978. While serving in that position, a spot on the township committee became open and the same mayor appointed Dancer to fill the unexpired term.

On the same day he was sworn in to fill the seat, his colleagues on the committee elected him to be their mayor.

Although he had no experience governing, Dancer instantly

“I don’t think there is anything more gratifying than meeting the needs of others.” became the mayor of the 20-square-mile municipality of 8,500 people. He continued serving for 22 years.

During the time he was mayor, the state assemblyman in his legislative district died while in office, and Dancer was once again asked to fill an unexpired term. He has been re-elected to the state legislature every two years since then; he is currently governing the 12th legislative district that serves 220,000 constituents in parts of four New Jersey counties.

While a student at Peddie, Dancer said, he never envisioned he would spend his entire adult life in 14 Peddie Chronicle

government and politics.

“I always wanted to be working in the stable with my father and driving professionally, which I did, but the Lord opens doors of opportunities,” Dancer said.

“It has worked out very well for me.”

A generation after he graduated from Peddie, Dancer sent his daughter, Kristy Dancer Sorensen ’00, to his alma mater; both father Ron Dancer ’67 P’00 and daughter consider science teacher Ray Oram to be among the most influential teachers they encountered.

Dancer said he is grateful that during his career in government he has largely been able to focus on his constituents rather on what he called the nasty character assassinations and distortions of the truth that often go with the territory in politics.

“I love public service, but I disdain politics,” Dancer said. “I don’t think there is anything more gratifying than meeting the needs of others.”

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Morgan Aronson ’96

organ Aronson ’96 knows that most people don’t fall in love with accounting. Or public speaking.

But she has combined her love of both working for the federal government.

During her freshman year of college, Aronson took her first accounting class. “Most people either love it or hate it, and I fell in love with financial accounting,” she said. “Before



that when I thought of accounting, all I thought of was taxes. I learned it was more than just taxes.”

Aronson found her niche performing audits and setting policy regulations in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General. She now supervises technical audits of nonprofit agencies that receive funding from the federal Morgan Aronson ’96 government. She has worked for the government for nearly 12 years.

Aronson has emerged in her field as a frequent public speaker. Aronson said her presentation skills have opened doors for her at her agency, where many of her fellow accountants fear public speaking. Aronson knows exactly where she honed that skill: the three chapel speeches she made in her sophomore, junior and senior years at Peddie.

“For someone who wasn’t listened to much by her classmates, to have an opportunity where I had everyone’s attention and I could express my views was a great confidence boost,” she said.

So transformative were those speeches, she said, that she has returned to campus twice to make chapel talks. The first was to talk about her father’s three-year battle with cancer;

“If I hadn’t had the opportunity at Peddie to take that step forward and make those chapel speeches, I don’t know if I would be in the position I am in now.”

the last speech was about her bond with Headmaster Tom DeGray, in honor of his retirement.

“I was always known as the person who walked around campus with my head down, so having the opportunity to do the first chapel speech in my sophomore year was a really huge step to take,” she said. “It surprised pretty much the entire student body seeing me up there doing that.”

The topic of her speech was overcoming her fear of public speaking.

In her career, Aronson is now considered the expert trainer in her technical subject matter, traveling nationally and internationally for training and conferences.

“Public speaking for most people is terrifying,” she said.

“For me, it is one of my favorite things. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience.” And in a profession known to be dry, Aronson said, her extra skill has set her apart from her peers.

“If I hadn’t had the opportunity at Peddie to take that step forward and make those chapel speeches, I don’t know if I

would be in the position I am in now,” she said. Conducting the training, she said, brings the accounting to life. “You see the citizens of this country who you’re helping out, you see the public good that we’re doing,” she said.

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Peter Sheridan ’97

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he world of New Jersey politics is rarely boring, and Peter Sheridan ’97 is in the thick of it as executive director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

“My job here on a day-to-day basis is to oversee the staff and budget and make strategic decisions of investments and time for the party,” Sheridan said. “Basically, our goal is to win elections for Republicans at every level of government, from municipal elections to the presidency.”

So during a year in which the Republican governor of New Jersey launched his own bid for the White House, Sheridan has been a bit busier than usual. “Like every entity, we make decisions on where our limited resources can best be spent,” Sheridan said. “My job is to identify where we can make the biggest difference.”

Sheridan has been credited with making a difference for Gov. Chris Christie, whom he has known since 1999, working on both his gubernatorial campaigns and in his administration. The morning after Christie’s reelection in 2014, the Star-Ledger singled Sheridan out as one of the “winners” of election night. “Sheridan was the man responsible for building coalitions for Team Christie,” wrote the state’s largest newspaper.

When Christie was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, the New Jersey Republican Party endorsed him. While Sheridan was on staff for the state party at the time, he spent considerable personal time traveling and volunteering on Christie’s behalf until the governor suspended his campaign in February.

Sheridan volunteered on his first political campaign the same year he graduated Peddie, working on Gov. Christine Todd Whitman’s re-election campaign in 1997. It wasn’t

Pete Sheridan ’97 (left) shares a laugh with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Spring 2016 15

“My job is to identify where we can make the biggest difference.” a surprise that he got involved at a young age; his father, Peter Sheridan Sr., was general counsel to the New Jersey Republican State Committee at the time. Later, his father would become the executive director of the state committee — the same job the junior Sheridan holds today.

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Narong Silpathamtada ’02

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s a young student in his native Thailand, Narong Silpathamtada ’02 always wanted to study in the United States.

“I had the determination to study abroad, but I could not do it with my limited family support,” he said. “So I had to earn a government scholarship, and that became my inspiration to work hard.”

Silpathamtada did, in fact, work hard and was rewarded with a scholarship from the Royal Thai Government, which he said changed his life. “I was lucky enough to get the scholarship, so the government sent me to Peddie School for free,” he said.

Recipients of the Royal Thai Government scholarship are bound to work in government positions for double the years that their education is funded. In Silpathamtada’s case, he was sponsored for a postgraduate year at Peddie, plus four years earning a degree in economics at the University of Chicago, two years at Princeton for a master’s degree and another year of post-graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. His service to his country will total Narong Silpathamtada ’02 16 years.

He said government service requires flexibility; his first assignment after earning a degree in economics was in the government’s international security unit.

Still, Silpathamtada said he is grateful and finds his work exciting. Since 2014, he has worked at the Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna, Austria, where he addresses nuclear issues on his nation’s behalf. Working closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Silpathamtada said his nation, which does not have nuclear capabilities, is mainly interested in the many ways nuclear technology can

16 Peddie Chronicle

be applied to healthcare, cancer therapy, agriculture, water resource management and other industrial applications.

“The nuclear issue is a global issue, particularly from the non-proliferation aspect,” he said. “Last year, we saw the landmark agreement with Iran. That is one of the biggest achievements of the non-proliferation efforts.”

In addition to working with the IAEA on behalf of Thailand, he works closely with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia on the issue of non-proliferation and disarmament. Thailand joined the international effort to ban nuclear testing and has also hosted an international monitoring station to detect nuclear activity.

Silpathamtada said that he is grateful for the opportunity to serve his country and that coming to Peddie changed his life.

“It was a very, very different culture,” Silpathamtada said. “Peddie School was quite challenging to handle. All the teachers were very kind to me, and it opened many new doors for me and many good opportunities.”

He said he had to adjust to living at a United States boarding school with limited English but said he found the Peddie community exceedingly supportive. He fondly

“Peddie School was quite challenging to handle. All the teachers were very kind to me, and it opened many new doors for me and many good opportunities.” remembers living in Kerr Dormitory, mostly with freshmen and sophomore boys, who were “like my younger brothers.”

Ray Cabot, director of admission, said Peddie has a long history of working with the Thai Embassy in Washington to identify scholars, usually accepting one student per year under the scholarship program. “We know through their selection process that these are among the brightest students in their country and the ones who are identified as future leaders of their county,” he said.

Cabot said Silpathamtada and other Thai scholars have been incredibly focused, curious and engaged students at Peddie. “They arrive here knowing their commitment to their country,” he said. “They have incredible seriousness of purpose and a desire to give back. They are wonderful students and wonderful citizens.”

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Tariq Shabazz ’06

ariq Shabazz ’06 said there is one reason he loves math: Betty Tennyson.

“She was my first math teacher at Peddie. She taught me algebra and made things so understandable and relatable,” he said. “She has such a passion that it’s almost hard for you not to learn in her class.”

Shabazz is applying that passion for math in his service as a supervisor at New Jersey’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Department of the Treasury.

Working in the executive branch of state government, Shabazz helps formulate and monitor the state budget.

And despite his love for numbers, Shabazz said what he likes most about his job is the ability to be creative. “The state has such limited resources and limited ways to create revenue, but the spending doesn’t go away.

These programs all need money and they’re all fighting for a piece of the Tariq Shabazz ’06 meat that gets thrown into the tank,” Shabazz said. “It’s great to work to figure out creative ideas for solutions so everybody gets some.”

OMB handles the cash flow to all agencies within state government; Shabazz monitors the budgets for the

“We are allocating tax dollars effectively and efficiently.” departments of transportation, community affairs, law and public safety, labor, corrections and New Jersey Transit.

Working with fiscal staff in each of the agencies, he reviews annual budget requests, considers alternatives and monitors spending throughout the year.

“We are allocating tax dollars effectively and efficiently,” said Shabazz, who studied finance at The College of New Jersey. “It’s very fulfilling work when you’re taking taxpayer dollars, including your own, and making sure it gets spread around the plate.”

And just as he learned at Peddie that when your labors are done, you begin anew, Shabazz said “the budget never ends.”

“Things are always changing, needs come up where you need to allocate money to another area,” he said. “That’s what makes budgeting so exciting.”

ó

international politics and government. That trip put him in Greece during the height of that nation’s debt crisis. On the same day that the government imposed withdrawal limits on citizens taking money from their bank accounts, Gerasoulis and the University of Pennsylvania delegation just happened to have an appointment with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Selected as one of two people who were able to ask the president a question, Gerasoulis asked about the leader’s long-term vision for remaking the country after the crisis.

Gerasoulis, whose father was born in a small Greek

“My focus right now is to build my skills and credentials for politics.” village, was lodging in central Athens’ Constitution Square where protestors gathered and the crisis was unfolding before him. “I watched from my window. I was able to see people going to the ATMs to withdraw their $50,” he said. “It was a life-changing experience.”

Having observed both local New Jersey politics and international politics since he started college, Gerasoulis said he intends to go to law school. “My focus right now is to build my skills and credentials for politics,” he said.

His interest in politics first surfaced in Advanced Placement U.S. History class, he said. “Mr. Treese was tremendous in piquing my interest in history and, by proxy, in government,” he said. “He is a great mentor who always was a positive and encouraging voice.”

As much as for great teachers, Gerasoulis said, Peddie is special for surrounding students with inspirational adults inside and outside the classroom. Former Chaplain Rosemary Gleeson, a champion high school debater, went out of her way to encourage him when he sought to restart the school’s Debate Club. He was most touched when she gave him one of the medals she had earned decades earlier.

“All my teachers at Peddie were a positive influence.

Even people who were not my teachers were a great influence,” he said.

Elias Gerasoulis ’14

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ust halfway through his college career, Elias Gerasoulis ’14 has already seen politics up close — both home in New Jersey and in Greece.

Gerasoulis was working for United States Congressman Tom MacArthur from New Jersey, helping with constituents’ requests, last summer when he had the opportunity to join a ten-member delegation of youth leaders who spent two weeks in Greece and Cyprus studying

Elias Gerasoulis ’14 (left) assists New Jersey Congressman Tom MacArthur.

Spring 2016 17

center campus Beekeepers making a buzz on campus The Peddie campus is buzzing over a new club inspired by the disappearance of honey bees in North America.

The two-year-old Beekeeping Club has attracted about 15 members who monitor the Peddie colony which began with bee boxes installed in a remote corner of the far athletic fields. Two boxes of honey bees were added last year by the club.

Club founder Elliott Waxman ’16 said he became interested in forming the club after learning about Colony Collapse Disorder, the disappearance of large numbers of bee colonies.

“I am really interested in Colony Collapse Disorder on a genetic level. It is one of the biggest environmental concerns globally,” Waxman said. “The most simple and direct way to help was to get bee hives on campus.”

With permission from the administration to put the hives far enough away from student activity, the club installed the apiaries with wax starter molds.

Due to equal parts “laziness and strategy,” Waxman said, he found the best thing the club could do for the bees in the first

year was to leave them alone. In the first season, he said, the bees produced an ample supply of honey, which the club left unharvested. “Harvesting the honey disrupts the synergy of the hive,” he said. “It gives them less food source and reduces their chance of surviving the winter.”

While scientists disagree about the cause of the honey bee population problem, many theories exist ranging from use of pesticides to weather cycles.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), about a third of the human diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bees with commercial production of many specialty crops like almonds, tree nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables depending on pollination. Bee pollination accounts for more than $15 billion in increased crop value each year, the USDA reports.

Students dance their way to fitness Peddie students were offered a new way to meet their athletic requirement this year with the addition of an afternoon dance class.

Taught by Ashley Nuel Malleo, the class attracted girls and boys who explored a range of movement and dance styles, including contemporary, hip hop, modern and street jazz.

Athletic Director Jason Baseden said dance offers the perfect bridge between arts and athletics, making it a suitable fit for Peddie for students who have dance experience, but also for student athletes in other sports.

“Dance is great exercise,” Baseden said. “A lot of athletics is body control. There is no better way to learn body control than through dance.”

Malleo, a professional dancer and choreographer and captain of the New York Knicks City Dancers, said her dance instruction is attracting dancers and non-dancers alike.

“Dance activates and initiates all parts of the human body, which helps with cognitive function and is extremely valuable in increasing

18 Peddie Chronicle

personal fitness. It’s a great cardiovascular workout and helps with flexibility, balance and reducing stress,” Malleo said.

“Whether you are playing a sport, in the school play, or stressed over the intense course load at Peddie, dancing on a regular basis will positively help each student improve their physical endeavors and be less stressed in the process.”

Malleo added that her dancers are learning many of the same lessons taught in other sports, including teamwork.

“We stress the importance of continually supporting all members in each dance class. Class is a judgment-free zone so students feel comfortable and can build confidence in themselves as they experiment with movement,” she said.

“We root for and help one another whenever needed.”

Malleo said she hopes to be able to expand dance offerings in the future to include ballet and jazz classes.

“It would be amazing to have a dance program at Peddie that would meet regularly, count toward a student’s athletic credits and culminate at the end of each term with a performance,” she said.

After the first year of offering dance as a physical activity, Baseden agreed. “I personally believe dance is something a school like Peddie should offer. I would love for Peddie to have a more serious dance program,” he said.

New directors of college counseling and admission to join Peddie Peddie welcomes two new administrators to its community on July 1.

Molly Dunne Director of Admission and Financial Aid

Mindy Rose Director of College Counseling

A product of independent boarding schools herself, Molly Dunne has a firm understanding of boarding school culture and the challenges and opportunities that arise during the admission process. Prior to her five-year tenure as associate director of college counseling at The Lawrenceville School, Dunne served in leadership roles in the admission office at Princeton University for ten years.

Mindy Rose brings eleven years of college counseling experience to her role as director of college counseling at Peddie. As associate director of college counseling at The Lawrenceville School, Rose practiced a personalized model of college counseling that encouraged a thoughtful, self-reflective college selection process.

“While working at Princeton, I learned that each student has a story and every story matters,” Dunne said. “Students who embrace their authentic selves and let their stories be defined by who they are and what is most important to them are the ones who stand out most in the applicant pool.”

Dunne also served in the admission offices of Stanford University, Colby College and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School and holds a master’s degree in education from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Colby College.

“Some might say there is no other office on a campus that has the capacity to truly make a difference in the dynamic of the school community, as well as in the trajectory of an individual student, in the same manner as the admission office,” she continued. “I’m excited about the prospect of taking on this important work at Peddie.”

Ray Cabot, who has served as director of admission at Peddie for 11 years, will continue to contribute to the school as assistant head for strategic planning following Dunne’s appointment.

“Often the college process can feel really scary, it can feel really out of control,” Rose said. “What I hope to do is to emphasize all the different ways that students and families can take control of the process by applying their own research and reflection and using the very skills that they have been nurturing and cultivating within the school environment—the research skills in history, the critical reading skills that they’re developing in their English classes, the inquiry skills they’re developing across the curriculum.”

Once students realize that the skills they are learning in the classroom can be applied to the college process, Rose said, they begin to feel more empowered, confident and purposeful and are more in touch with what they want out of a college experience.

Prior to her work at Lawrenceville, Rose held multiple roles in recruitment and admission at the University of Richmond.

She previously served as archivist at the Library of Virginia, oral historian at Ellis Island Immigration Museum and seminars coordinator at the Museum of Television and Radio.

She holds a master’s degree in American Studies from the College of William & Mary and a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Skidmore College.

Spring 2016 19

They never left Peddie, and Peddie never left them In the early 1940s, Peddie students received report cards with hand-printed grades, and parents exchanged letters with their child’s headmaster. Students often brought their hunting rifles to school so they could practice target shooting in the basement of Wilson Hall. After study hall, they could cozy up to the fireplace in their dorm room, and the next morning in Chapel they would pray for their many classmates who were fighting in World War II. This was the Peddie experience of Bob Tucker ’44 P’71 and Bob Zenker ’43 P’68, both of whom have served the school in myriad ways since graduating more than seven decades ago. They were honored during the 121st annual Founders Day ceremony on February 19.

Lifelong friends, Tucker and Zenker were celebrated for their decades of loyalty to the school.

Trustee Anne Seltzer explained to students Peddie’s reasons for celebrating the two men.

“We honor them for being thoughtful and honorable, for valuing education and friendship and loyalty, and for sustaining those values throughout their long lives,” she said.

“There’s a common saying that ‘We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.’ The legacy that Bob Tucker and Bob Zenker leave will go beyond all of us here today.”

A four sport athlete at Peddie, Tucker also served in student government and was a member of the Gold Key Society and the Glee Club. He went on to Wesleyan, where he graduated in three years. He received a master’s degree from Brown University.

Tucker had a successful career at Beneficial Corporation, serving as chief financial officer and first vice president, where he worked closely with long-time Peddie board chair Finn M.W. Caspersen ’59. He retired in 1985 but still serves as president of the CTW Foundation, and in that role has directed some of the foundation’s philanthropy to Peddie.

A generous lifelong supporter of Peddie, Tucker established a scholarship for two New Jersey students in his parents’ honor.

An avid horse racing enthusiast, Tucker also owns Stonegate Standardbred Farms, a major breeding farm in New Jersey where he lives with his wife Lauren.

Although illness prevented Tucker from attending Founders Day, he was represented by his son Bruce Tucker ’71 and his sister Jeanne Tucker Zenker. Jeanne Zenker is the wife of Bob Zenker’s brother, the late David Zenker ’46.

Director of Alumni Relations Brian Davidson described Bob Zenker as “the consummate volunteer whose service to Peddie is legendary, and a true gentleman of the old school.”

As a student, Zenker played varsity football, wrestling and baseball; he was a member of Gold Key, president of the 20 Peddie Chronicle

junior class and vice-president of the senior class. He also served as an air raid warden charged with spotting enemy planes from the roof of Annenberg Hall.

So strong was his love for Peddie that for 70 years after he graduated, his Peddie football jersey still hung in the kitchen of his home.

“In the 73 years since his graduation, Bob has done just about everything for his alma mater,” Davidson said. “First elected as head of the alumni association in 1957, he has served as a class agent and class secretary, reunion chair, planned giving chair, was appointed as a Peddie trustee in 1979, and today remains an active emeritus trustee. This elder statesman of our Peddie family has been involved in every aspect of the school, an enviably long and mutually fruitful association, always generous with his time, his spirit and his resources.”

Davidson pointed out that Zenker, during frequent visits to campus, has been a wise counselor to eight headmasters.

He remained so close with his own headmaster, Wilbour E. Saunders, that the two men exchanged Christmas cards for decades until Zenker served as a pallbearer at Saunders’ funeral.

Bob remains a constant presence at reunion weekends, Blair Day, graduations and numerous alumni functions, always accompanied by the woman he took to the Peddie prom in 1942 — his wife of 71 years, Bette.

“He is the living embodiment of what we perceive a school founder to be, and whose service to Peddie we hope all our alumni will aspire to,” Davidson said.

Watch the tributes to Robert Tucker and Robert Zenker at peddie.org/chronicle.

“We honor them for being thoughtful and honorable, for valuing education and friendship and loyalty, and for sustaining those values throughout their long lives.”

Trustee Anne Seltzer

Top: Lauren and Bob Tucker and Robert and Bette Zenker attend the dedication of the Tucker-Zenker Plaza on campus in 1996.

Above left: Bob Tucker ’44; above right: Bob Zenker ’43 Spring 2016 21

Treasures unearthed in Avery Dorm When Peddie Institute students arrived for the first day of classes on Sept. 24, 1920, some lucky students moved into a brand new dormitory — Avery Dorm. It was the last of three new dorms built that decade along with Coleman and Trask.

As the building neared completion, students and faculty inserted a copper box — a time capsule — into the cornerstone of the brick structure. The box remained undiscovered until renovations on the dorm began in the summer of 2015.

Headmaster Peter Quinn, Archivist David Martin, Ph.D., and the student body co-presidents opened the box for the first time during this year’s Founders Day ceremony, revealing a stack of moldy and severely water damaged papers left behind by their predecessors nearly 100 years prior.

A 1920 Peddie catalog and a copy of the June 9, 1920 New York Sun were among the papers. A third item remains a bit of a mystery. A calling card for “Mrs. Wm. L. Gulick” was included, although no alumnus or faculty member with that surname is known to the school.

Following treatment for mold and water damage, the items will be processed by Martin for further inspection.

“We have no gold or silver but these are important to us,” Martin joked after prying open the aged box in front of the student body and faculty.

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Archivist David Martin, Ph.D., examines the contents of a 1920 time capsule found in Avery Dormitory. [below] A 1920 school catalog and a New York Sun newspaper were found inside the capsule.

Continue the Tradition Martin said he regretted never finding a time capsule reportedly hidden in Wilson Hall in 1866.

“When that was torn down in 1978, I looked all over the place and it was not found,” Martin said. “So the sheer fact that we have this time capsule is a treasure in itself.”

In 1920, Peddie Institute was led by Headmaster Roger Swetland, who served from 1898-1934, the longest of the 16 headmasters to serve in that role. Swetland also taught Bible class to the 404 boys who were enrolled at Peddie, coming from 30 states and nine other countries including Japan and Cuba.

During the ceremony, Quinn told the students that much was different on the Peddie Institute campus when the box was hidden.

“The cost of attending and boarding at the Peddie Institute in 1920 was $900 per year. That price paid for tuition, meals, room, light, heat and up to 12 pieces of laundry per week,” Quinn said. “But if your parents really wanted to spoil you, they could pay a little extra and score you a room in Coleman, Trask or Avery for $1,100 per year.”

But not everything was different 96 years ago, Quinn said. “The Peddie News and the Old Gold and Blue yearbook were already publishing,” he pointed out. “And the Declamation Contest and the Speaking Contest had already been established.”

Watch the time capsule opening at peddie.org/chronicle

SPORTS HALL OF FAME Four student-athletes, a legendary head coach and one undefeated team will be inducted into the Peddie Sports Hall of Fame June 4 during Reunion Weekend.

The class of 2016 Scott Smith ’61, football, wrestling and lacrosse Bryon Magill ’91, wrestling Lauren Sellers ’96, girls’ soccer Fernando Perez ’01, baseball and soccer 2001 boys’ lacrosse team Sean Casey, girls’ basketball head coach

Did you know that last year, Peddie raised

$70,000 from gifts of $100 or less?

Steadfast alumni and parent participation in annual giving is a valuable measure of our school’s success.

Contributions to the Peddie Fund help ensure the continued excellence of the Peddie experience. From the latest technology and classroom innovations to books, supplies, equipment and maintenance, your Peddie Fund gift supports every aspect of the learning experience.

Make a gift online at my.peddie.org/give or use the envelope in this issue of the Chronicle.

Thank you for your support!

Every gift counts.

All gifts make a difference.

The Sports Hall of Fame, now in its 28th year, includes 121 individuals, 39 teams and one Peddie family (the Manley family). Its purpose is to remember those who have brought distinction, honor and excellence to the school’s athletics program.

Spring 2016 23

Love of science leads to presidential honor Jennifer Miksis-Olds, Ph.D., ’92, a marine bioacoustics researcher at The Pennsylvania State University, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama.

Miksis-Olds is the co-director of The Penn State Center for Marine Science and Technology and a senior research associate in the university’s Applied Research Laboratory.

She was recognized for her work in marine bioacoustics, an interdisciplinary field that combines expertise in biology, oceanography, physics, math and engineering.

“Receiving this recognition is over-the-top exciting,” said Miksis-Olds. “As climate change, advances in marine technology and ocean energy exploration impact the world’s oceans, it is a very thrilling time to be part of the field.”

Miksis-Olds, who is also an associate professor in acoustics at Penn State, credited the support of her colleagues and mentors as instrumental for the recognition.

“I understand that this award is meant to recognize my research accomplishments in marine bioacoustics, but it is also a recognition of all my past advisors, current mentors and collaborating colleagues who have contributed to my research and development as a scientist,” she said.

Miksis-Olds was one of 105 recipients presented with the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in May. “These early-career scientists are leading the way in our efforts to confront and understand challenges from climate change to our health and wellness,” Obama said. “We congratulate these accomplished individuals and encourage them to continue to serve as an example of the incredible promise and ingenuity of the American people.”

The highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers, the awards were established by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach.

Miksis-Olds uses acoustic technology to study life in the ocean. Her interest in the specialized field began in 1996 with a high-profile case of whales washing ashore in areas with sonar activity by the Navy. “I’ve been doing this my whole career,” she said. “It is still a controversial topic.”

Miksis-Olds said acoustics is the ideal method to research the environmental impacts on marine mammals. “Sound travels further than any other signal in the ocean,” she said.

“We can learn a lot from listening.”

Among her research projects is a global project studying the long-term patterns and trends in ocean noise.

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“We can learn a lot from listening.”

Jennifer Miksis-Olds ’92 takes a break from acoustic mooring deployments in the Bering Sea to enjoy a rare moment of calm waters.

Miksis-Olds was nominated for the presidential award by the Department of Defense.

The research she performs provides the Navy with information to be environmentally responsible, she said.

“The Navy is required to be a good environmental steward by federal law, and one of the things they are interested in is the environment in which they operate.”

She said she first learned that “biology could be fun” from faculty member Ray Oram during his biology and Advanced Placement biology classes.

“I always loved science. I took every science course I could at Peddie,” she said. “Ray Oram was by far one of the most influential people in my life.”

She continued her studies in science at Harvard University then pursued a master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and earned her doctoral degree at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.

Her work sent her as far as Alaska and Australia. She conducts several weeks of field research each year.

After nearly ten years at Penn State, Miksis-Olds will leave the university to become the associate director of the School for Marine Science and Ocean Engineering at the University of New Hampshire this summer.

“I take pride in the fact that I have a successful career and a healthy family and I can be a positive role model for my three girls, especially in science,” she said. Her three daughters are ages 8, 10 and 18.

Peddie and EFZ: connected for a decade Beginning a year-long celebration of their tenth anniversary as sister schools, Peddie and EFZ in Shanghai, China, offered two students long-term exchanges during the 2015-16 school year. EFZ student Chaofan “Daniel” Tao spent the winter term living and studying at Peddie, while his Peddie roommate, Elliot Waxman ’16, is spending the entire spring term at EFZ. This is the first long-term exchange in the schools’ 10-year relationship, although both EFZ and Peddie students have benefited from short-term visits of a few weeks.

Chinese teacher Yuan Gao said term-long exchanges allow for deeper study. “Our goal was to immerse our guest in Peddie’s richness of diverse student body, invigorating classroom experience and welcoming residential environment,” he said.

After ten weeks at Peddie, Tao wrote the following comparison of the two schools that have been connected for a decade.

How time flies! It has been two months since I entered the gates of Peddie School.

In the past two months, I have gone through high school life in the United States, which is sharply divergent from life in China. I was warmly welcomed by the incredibly friendly faculty and students in Peddie School as soon as I arrived.

“I was warmly welcomed by the friendly faculty and students in as soon as I arrived.”

Sports at Peddie School is what astonished me most. Back in China, we have an entirely different schedule for sports: instead of practicing after school every day, we have periods just for sports. In EFZ, there are three blocks of sports every week; each lasts for forty minutes. In addition to the different schedules, the attitude towards sports at Peddie School is way more serious than at EFZ. In EFZ we don’t even have a track team, and the basketball team in EFZ only trains twice a week. Nobody is taking sports as an important part of school life.

In EFZ there is no gym, no training room, no locker and no indoor track, not to men-

EFZ student Chaofan “Daniel” Tao

tion no wrestling room or turf. There is only one indoor basketball court for more than 1,000 EFZ kids, which appears to be miserable compared to Peddie School.

Unfortunately my ankle got twisted during my visit to Peddie School, however, I never would have known about the existence of the training room without the injury. Thanks to the training room, it only incredibly took me three weeks Peddie School to recover. The professional help from the training room is what you will never see in EFZ. After-school activities are another significant difference between EFZ and Peddie. At Peddie sports seems to be the only option, while at EFZ there are varieties of ways for students to spend the afternoon. Every Tuesday afternoon there are 40 minutes of club time, which is more intense and official than the occasional club meetings in Peddie; we also have celebrities and scholars coming to EFZ giving speeches on a regular basis, which usually happen on Wednesdays. Similar to Peddie, EFZ also organizes field trips regularly (usually twice a term). As for art, although EFZ has two rock bands, we do not have

an orchestra. Meanwhile, there are fewer classes in art at EFZ. The schedule is another interesting distinction. In EFZ we have the idea of “class,” which usually consists of 40 people and is consistent for three years. (High school in China only has three years.) Usually the class is gathered together at 8 a.m. and stays in the same classroom for all eight periods of the day.

It is the teacher who moves from one classroom to another, not the students.

Each period of class last for 40 minutes, and between two blocks there is a 10-minute break. Students in EFZ cannot choose their classes; they have to follow whatever school requires them to take.

There are so many differences between the two schools. However, both of them share the most professional faculties and the best students who are not only smart but also hardworking. It is fortunate for me to be able to study in both amazing schools.

Read Elliot Waxman’s blog posts from China at peddie.org/chronicle

Spring 2016 25

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE

After months of rehearsals — including visits from the show’s original Broadway cast — the student cast and crew of The Drowsy Chaperone left Peddie audiences in uproarious laughter.

During the winter term, Eddie Korbich, who originated the role of George in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway in 2006, sat in during a rehearsal to fine-tune the show’s full-cast opening number. He was joined by Joby Horrigan, a Broadway dresser who worked on The Drowsy Chaperone as well as numerous other productions.

Musician Greg Thymius, who played reed instruments in the orchestra for The Drowsy Chaperone also came to campus and worked with the student members of the pit band, offering tips on how to play the score in an authentically 1920s jazz style.

26 Peddie Chronicle

Spring 2016 27

“Dream big!”

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rmed with pencil, paper and their own imaginations, the first directive students in Claudio Middleton’s architecture are given is to “dream big.”

Throughout the course, they move beyond these basic implements to computer-assisted design software and even power tools, but for Middleton, this first step is the most important.

“Frank Gehry, one of the most gifted architects of our time, has begun many of his great projects by first sketching them out on napkins,” Middleton explained. “The other tools we use are valuable parts of the process, but the real creativity lies with a pencil, paper and a vision.”

The two-term course, first conceived by Middleton and colleague Andrew Harrison in 2008, was a product of Peddie’s philosophy of encouraging its teachers to dream big as well. By fostering innovation in the curriculum in practical ways, the school energizes faculty to continually grow professionally while enriching their students’ educational experience.

“Our emphasis on collaboration supported in structural ways, including scheduling priorities, promotes reflection on practices and content that in turn often leads to ideas for improving classroom instruction,” said Associate Head of School Catherine Rodrigue. “I think the frequency and consistency with which this happens is unusual in comparison to our peer schools.”

Architecture is sometimes offered at the high school level, but Middleton and Harrison envisioned something beyond an introduction to computer-assisted design (CAD) and modelling. Instead, their goal was to guide students through the whole process, from vision to finished structure.

To help students better understand this process, they were led by architect Robert Hillier through a tour of Peddie’s two dormitories currently under construction. Donning hard hats, they paused along the way to discuss the decisions that were made throughout the design and building process.

Hillier, the lead architect on the dorm project, also gave students an inside view into the relationship between architect and builder.

“What’s interesting about being an architect,” he said, “is that you’ve created this baby that’s all yours, and then you have to turn it over to a general contractor who’s got to understand what you drew and then build it. There are continual conversations between the architect and the site manager to make sure that what Peddie is paying for is in fact what gets delivered.”

Junior Karandeep Komal was impressed. “Seeing the skeleton of the building and then having Mr. Hillier describe why things were done in certain ways was a really cool experience,” he said.

Middleton has a wealth of experience in the field.

He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in

28 Peddie Chronicle

An architecture student helps construct a tree house on campus.

“What’s interesting about being an architect is that you’ve created this baby that’s all yours, and then you have to turn it over to a general contractor who’s got to understand what you drew and then build it.” architecture from Catholic University in Valparaiso, Chile, and worked on the restoration of historic buildings there for almost a decade.

Arriving to teach at Peddie in 1998, Middleton had just moved to the United States from Chile, was freshly married, and was teaching Spanish to high school students for the first time.

“When (Head of School) Tom DeGray hired me, he said ‘With your background, we could have you teach architecture someday!’” Middleton remembers. “But talking with Tom, I knew I couldn’t take on one more new thing at that time.” So he entrenched himself in the language department, teaching all levels of Spanish and launching Peddie’s ESL (English as a second language) tutoring program.

Still, the arts department was determined to tap into Middleton’s unique background, and when Harrison approached him ten years later, Middleton was ready to reconsider. Bringing the idea to Rodrigue and then Art Department Chair Cathy Watkins, Middleton remembers, “One of our most convincing arguments was that it would attract more male students to the visual arts.” This proved to be true — for the first few years, all but three or four students in their classes were boys. Ten years later, female students make up about one-quarter of the class. They also believed the course would have broad appeal to students with little or no exposure to visual arts. “Not everyone has had first-hand experience with visual art forms like painting or sculpture, but almost everyone has experience with spaces,” Middleton said.

Harrison and Middleton sought to provide students with an in-depth “taste and feel” for architecture. In addition, they hoped to give them a visceral experience with the discipline, bringing them outdoors to get their hands on

Architecture projects stand in front of the Swig Arts Center.

materials and work with power tools, stimulating their senses as well as their minds.

Students are assigned two major projects, one independent and one as part of a small group. First, they must each design a space for the local community. “It is important that the project centers on our community, on local, relevant people with whom we may have a relationship,” Middleton says. This year, the assignment was to design a community center in Hightstown that would serve as a space for teaching ESL to Hightstown residents. Students met with a local community organizer, who described the specific needs for the space. In addition to classrooms, there would have to be space for a daycare and a library, for example.

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he second project is team-oriented. Small groups of students are charged with creating a structure.

Again, the process begins with paper and pencil sketches, but this time each group actually builds its project in the Swig courtyard. As Middleton describes it, students dream and envision, then move outdoors for the tactile experience of using space and materials to create.

This year’s group created towers using wood, nails and power tools. The benefit of working as a team, in the outdoors, and creating something in public view enriches the experience.

Komal, who signed up for the course simply to fulfill his visual arts requirement, found himself enthralled.

“I liked the subject more than I ever thought I would,” he said. “Honestly, it’s turned into a passion of mine, and I plan to do something in architecture in the future.”

According to Alan Michaels, chair of the arts department, the success of the architecture class has caused the arts faculty to consider other broader-based, less conventional offerings. “We are in discussion about using our architecture program as a model for innovative course offerings. For instance, we recently discussed the idea of designing a project-based class that could span multiple terms and combine visual art, theater and music students to collaborate on projects.”

Rodrigue says it’s not only happening in the arts department. New and unique elective options like

Architect Robert Hillier leads the students through one of two dorms he designed for the Peddie campus.

Architecture are continually being explored and offered: “The Biochemistry of Cancer” or “Dissecting Evolution” in the Science Department, for example, and “Anna Karenina” or “Urban Storytelling” in English.

On a larger scale, the new Digital Fabrication Lab and the established Signature Experience program have their roots in the “dream big” philosophy as well.

“The Digital Fabrication Lab found its origins in the mathematics department, when faculty member Mark Sawula and department chair Tim Corica expressed concerns about our programming and technology offerings,” Rodrigue said.

“Forming a committee, we visited models we thought might work for Peddie, interviewed a series of candidates, made a proposal to Peter Quinn and got support from the Board of Trustees.”

The Signature Experience Program, which offers juniors and seniors the opportunity to pursue in-depth academic and co-curricular passions over an intensive summer program, study over a longer period of time, or through in-depth courses of study within or between academic departments, has its roots in the 1990’s Principio Project, which was led by Peddie faculty including Pat Clements, Watkins and Corica.

According to Rodrigue, Peddie’s success lies in open lines of communication.

“Our relatively flat administrative structure and the ease of communication between classroom teachers and administration enable us to implement plans quickly and effectively,” she said.

It is no surprise that the architecture course has grown in popularity over the years. There are now two sections offered each year, and both fill up quickly. Last year, a spring elective titled “Tree House Architecture” was added; that also filled up quickly.

Tree house architecture takes the experience of seeing a project through from start to finish to an “epic” scale, says Middleton.

“In tree house architecture, the whole class works together to build a major structure,” he said.“It must be professionally done, in that it needs to be solidly built and safely constructed.

Because it is a more permanent structure than the towers, students have lasting ownership of it — something quite concrete that adds to the campus.”

Spring 2016 29

June 3-4

Come home to Peddie to reunite with the people, the place, the past and the present.

Weekend highlights include the Tom DeGray golf outing, picnic lunch, alumni lacrosse game, celebrating with classmates by Peddie Lake, kids activities and more!

Visit www.peddie.org/reunion to register and see who’s coming.

Questions? Call 609-944-7521 or email alumni@peddie.org

Patrick J. Clements and Melanie Clements relax on the front porch of their home as seasoned faculty members on the Peddie campus in 2016.

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