Message from the Head of School

TRUSTEES OF THE GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY

James M. Pierce ’72, P’08, President James L. Rudolph ’68, P’05,’12, Vice President Elizabeth Tuthill Farrell ’84, P’14,’17,’18,’22, Secretary Steven G. Shapiro ’74, P’09, Treasurer

William L. Alfond ’67 William H. Brine, III ’80, P’09,’14 Byung Soo Baik P’18 Frank Cousins P’20 Colin Cross ’74 Rob DeLena ’87, P’21, Alumni Council President Jonathan J. Doyle P’08,’09,’19 Milan Gary ’12, Alumna Trustee Phillip S. Gillespie P’22 Stephanie Ginsberg ’85, P’20 Lucy Armstrong Henkes ’87, P’21,’23 Stephen G. Kasnet ’62, P’95 Mitzi Lawlor P’19,’21 Karen Ruth McAlmon, MD, FAAP P’13 Thomas M. Mercer, Jr. ’61 Jen Migliore ’10, Alumna Trustee Paul Nardone ’86, P’19 Brian Patrican P’21 Molly Scharfe Prinn ’95, P’23,’25 Spencer L. Purinton ’75, P’13,’14,’20 Peter H. Quimby ’85, P’14, ex officio Archie Seale ’93 Mark B. Whiston P’21

Alumni Council

Rob DeLena ’87, P’21, President Laura Sullivan ’07, 1st Vice President Saundra Watson ’93, 2nd Vice President

Jonathan Bird ’10 Naomi Fink ’99 Daria Grayer ’00 John Heald ’64 Jennifer Migloire ’10, Alumna Trustee Andy Ramirez ’98 Jason Rivera ’96 Pam Toner ’74 Alison Williams ’89 Jennifer Wong ’04 Scotch Wilson ’20, Collegiate Representative Abigail DeLena ’21, Collegiate Representative

Message from Head of School

In the fall of 1970, Director of Admission John Witherspoon prepared a memorandum proposing that Governor Dummer Academy should begin accepting female day students. The idea was widely supported and after Headmaster Val Wilkie secured approval from the Board of Trustees, GDA welcomed twenty-four girls in the fall of 1971. Ten years later, John Witherspoon reflected, among other things, that girls were adding an important, positive new dimension to classroom discussions. And of course, this was just one of the ways in which the addition of women to the campus community changed the Academy for the better. Fast forward to today and fully 50 percent of our Academy students identify as female. They play leadership roles in all areas of campus life, and one of our most active student organizations is SWAGA (Strong Women at Governor’s Academy). Witherspoon began as a champion of coeducation at Governor’s, and remained an ardent supporter throughout his tenure, though I wonder if he and his colleagues could have imagined the impact of coeducation on the vibrancy and diversity of thought and talent that we celebrate today at Govs.

I recently enjoyed studying the pages of the 1973 Milestone, the yearbook for that first graduating class that included women, and I was impressed by the accomplishments of these twenty-four young women—not because they were female, but because the Academy must have been a challenging place for those pathbreaking students. Not everyone embraced coeducation at that time, but by taking full advantage of everything that was available to them, and by pushing for more, those young women left their mark on our school’s history. Because of their courage, and the courage of the many pathbreakers who followed them, Governor’s is a stronger, more accomplished, more inclusive community than the one they found when they first arrived in Byfield in 1971.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of co-education at The Governor’s Academy and I am looking forward to the many opportunities we will have over the next eighteen months to celebrate the achievements of our remarkable alumnae with you. I’m also honored to play a part in continuing to make Governor’s even more diverse and inclusive, because this value remains at the heart of our school’s mission. In this issue of The Archon, you will also learn more about some exciting new developments for With True Courage, The Campaign for Governor’s. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, parents, past parents, employees, and friends, we have met the $75M goal announced when we launched the campaign in the fall of 2017. We have completed capital projects, including the expanded Peter Marshall French Student Center, new faculty housing, a new track and turf field, and raised nearly $12M for financial aid endowment. Last month, I announced a $15M pledge from Bob ’67 and Anne Bass, which includes a $10M challenge. Inspired by their generosity, we have decided to increase the campaign goal to $100M. If we are successful in meeting the challenge, this will be the largest gift in the history of the Academy. Read more about the campaign and the challenge on page 24.

Though we enter this year with caution and empathy for those among us who are still suffering through the pandemic, there is also a lot to celebrate as we look forward to resuming more familiar school days and meeting you “on the road” to share news and celebrate our extraordinary Govs community.

With True Courage,

Mansion House, built by William Dummer around 1716 (and subsequently added onto), is the home of the Head of School, just as it was in 1763. Legend has it that William Dummer carried his new bride, Catherine Dummer, to the front steps, through the remarkably wide front door, and up the staircase— all the time on horseback.

— John W. Ragle, Governor Dummer Academy History, 1763–1963