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Head of School
THE MAGAZINE OF THE PHILLIPS ACADEMY & ABBOT ACADEMY COMMUNITY
Global Flavor Fusion
From Hong Kong to Mexico to Italy, alumni cook up tasty ways to impact community
An annular solar eclipse on June 10 gave some lucky viewers a glimpse of the moon passing between Earth and the sun, creating a fiery orange crescent in the morning sky. Donald Slater, instructor in history and social science, captured the grandeur from Phelps Stadium.
From the Head of School
RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
I often refer to fall 2021 as the start of my “second first year” at Andover. Many of the traditions, events, and interactions that I experienced virtually during the pandemic carry deeper meaning now, in their familiar settings.
Speaking with students and faculty, I’ve grown more appreciative of what we missed most last year: conversations around a table that help us discern context; the privilege of discussing—and disagreeing—face to face; being able to feel the applause, the kind that warms your heart. These connections allow us to read a room, detect nuance, and draw out personalities. Sometimes we read the room incorrectly, but even our in-person mistakes are welcome!
Fall on campus has renewed and reenergized all of us. Most notably, our students. And while we have seen some challenges of reentry—time management and lack of sleep, among them—for the most part, their joy is palpable. I’ve seen it as students cheer for their teammates, collaborate in The Nest makerspace, present their research, or sprint to meet their Phillipian deadline.
So much about what makes Andover special emerges in these everyday interactions. Something else that makes Andover special is its capacity for intellectual complexity.
School leadership took up this topic in November, when the Board of Trustees returned to campus for the first time since February 2020. They were joined by the Andover Development Board for a series of conversations around preserving academic excellence.
A rigorous curriculum is a hallmark of Andover and a key factor in our ability to attract “youth from every quarter.” Yet it has been several years since the last comprehensive review of the academic experience.
Working with the think tank RAND (including Heather Schwartz ’95, senior policy researcher and program director within RAND’s education and labor division), we will be engaging the entire faculty and school leadership to develop a system for regular assessment of our academic program—from the faculty and department level to the full curriculum and student experience.
The presentation “Curriculum 101,” created by Dean of Studies Raj Mundra P’18, ’20, provides a useful foundation for this effort. He discusses the value of a liberal arts program and characteristics of an Andover education, including: • How a diverse community leads to the best educational outcomes • Multiple pathways and options for students • The tension between academic excellence and student well-being • A learning community that extends beyond the traditional classroom
Establishing an assessment system will take deliberate thought and effort, but I am confident that it will serve us well into the future.
From the boardroom to the classroom, it is an exciting time to be part of the Andover community. The campus is thriving, despite the enduring presence of the pandemic. Our vaccination rates are among the highest anywhere, with students at 99 percent and faculty/staff at 97 percent. Students are fully engaged in classes, clubs, athletics, the arts, and music and theatre performances. The famed Grasshopper Night returned to sellout crowds during Family Weekend.
And, by the time this letter is published, I will have experienced another first in my “second first year”—joining Phillips Exeter Principal Bill Rawson to kick off the 144th Andover-Exeter Weekend!
Go Big Blue!
Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24 Head of School
Andover magazine reinforces the special connection alumni have with Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy. Through thought-provoking stories, contemporary design, and inspiring profiles of alumni, students, and faculty, we aim to highlight the school’s enduring values, recognize our unique history, and celebrate the rich diversity of our community.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Rita Savard
CONTRIBUTORS
Jill Clerkin Katie Fiermonti Nancy Hitchcock Tessa Hite Vanessa Kerry ’95 Joe Lemire ’01 Jennifer Myers David Perry Ali Rosen ’03
© 2021 Phillips Academy, Andover, MA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Andover, the magazine of the Phillips Academy and Abbot Academy community, is published four times per year. It is produced by the Office of Communication at Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810. Main PA phone: 978-749-4000 Changes of address and death notices: 978-749-4269, alumni-records@andover.edu Phillips Academy website: www.andover.edu Andover magazine phone: 978-749-4677 Email: magazine@andover.edu Postmasters: Send address changes to Phillips Academy 180 Main Street Andover MA 01810-4161
EDITOR’S NOTE
“No matter where I serve my guests, they seem to like my kitchen best.”
This homespun adage was something I saw daily growing up. The multicolored cross-stitch was framed and hung directly over our kitchen sink.
My childhood kitchen was modest at best. Our early 1900s Victorian house featured a walk-in pantry and a small, boxy eat-in kitchen with little to no counter space. To open the refrigerator or oven door, you had to move either the table or one of the chairs, sometimes both. Charming, but not particularly functional. “Why,” I often wondered, “do people like the kitchen best?”
The answer, of course, is food. And the latest issue of Andover magazine explores all aspects of this communal and necessary staple of life.
Our cover story (page 24) features three alumni whose love of food will take readers on a trip around the globe. Lara Gilmore ’86 is co-owner of Italy’s world-famous Osteria Francescana and the Food for Soul community kitchens, which recently expanded to North America. Craig Reynolds ’73, proprietor of the agave spirits company Dos Volcanes, combines his love for tequila with an equally strong commitment to the nonprofit Project Amigo, which provides scholarships and health care for kids in Colima, Mexico. And Rebecca Schrage ’97 uses her Jewish grandfather’s top-secret recipe at Schragels, Hong Kong’s first bagel shop.
We hope you enjoy family, friends, and special food during the upcoming holiday season. And if you are so inclined, please share with us a favorite food memory from your time at PA or Abbot!
Best,
Allyson Irish Editor magazine@andover.edu @andovermagazine “I think the smartest companies will look at the pandemic not as a blueprint for the future of work, but as an experiment rife with learnings.”
ANJALI SUD ’01
PAGE 40
BILL DAMON ’63
PAGE 20
ON THE COVER:
Rebecca Schrage ’97 walks the streets of Hong Kong noshing on her delicious bagels. Read more on page 24.
NOAH FECKS
FALL/WINTER 2021
Volume 115, Number 1
42
ALL SCHOOL
8 Buzz 9 The World Comes to Andover 11 Campus Update 12 Then & Now 15 Bookshelf
DEPARTMENTS
1 Head of School 4 Voices 18 A-Game 40 Alumni Up Close 44 Philanthropy 46 At Issue 50 End Note
46 ISTOCK: WANLEE PRACHYAPANAPRAI
50
FEATURES 20
Lost & Found
A 68-year-old family mystery is pieced together inside the Andover archives.
24
Global Flavor Fusion
Take a trip around the world with alumni who use food and spirits as a recipe for change.
38
Awards of Distinction
Andover recognizes three alumni who embody the non sibi spirit.
