From the Head of School

A Remarkable Year

ONLY A FEW WEEKS AGO,

on a beautiful early-summer day, the members of the Class of 2021 walked across a stage to collect their diplomas in front of joyful family members on Hoyt Field. It was a momentous occasion that marked the end of a remarkable year.

Last summer, when members of the administration and Board considered all the aspects of opening Hotchkiss safely during a global pandemic, we did not know if it could be done. We engaged with leading medical experts, immersed ourselves in the developing science, and studied how the School had responded to epidemics of the past. We made substantial financial investments in infrastructure improvements, staffing, testing, and countless other measures. We received outpourings of support from alumni, families, and friends.

Students came back to campus in September, and we formed a bubble of sorts around the campus (no comings and goings) and adapted to the “pandemic normal.” We got used to wearing masks, eating meals out of grab-and-go boxes, and playing only each other in sports. In the second semester alone, we administered more than 21,000 COVID tests. Then, in early spring, the pendulum began to swing. We resumed a limited schedule of interscholastic athletics and relaxed certain safety guidelines. In late spring, we were delighted to offer on-campus vaccination for students. All students and all employees will be vaccinated by the fall.

COVID, of course, was not the only scourge we faced. Over the past year, the collective consciousness in much of this country opened its heart to the reality of persistent anti-Black racism. Yet in parallel, as a painful consequence of racial scapegoating driven by the pandemic, anti-Asian and anti-Asian American sentiment intensified. These issues were deeply felt on campus. The community responded resoundingly to offer support while maintaining a commitment to ensuring free expression of a broad scope of ideas and perspectives.

It was a challenging year, but also a year of great accomplishment. As far as we are aware, this was the most competitive season for admissions in the history of the School. We accepted only one of every

eight applicants. Academically, Hotchkiss continues to thrive. We welcomed an outstanding group of new teachers and expanded programming in a variety of disciplines. Looking at college outcomes, despite uncertainties related to the pandemic, the senior class did well in gaining entry to highly selective colleges and universities.

This has also been a remarkable year in terms of the generosity of our community. Even as the School was incurring substantial costs associated with COVID, gifts from alumni and parents continue to support our ability to enroll the highest caliber of students, attract and support excellent teachers, and provide a rich and diverse array of programming.

One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been the opportunity for many alumni and parents to come together virtually over the last year, whether at reunion events, networking gatherings, or “back to the classroom” evenings. This connectivity has allowed us to reimagine what it means to be a community of lifelong learning. Curiosity and joy in learning are among the habits of mind we seek to form in students, habits that will sustain good minds throughout a lifetime. Events such as Revisitings: A Virtual Colloquium (see page 26 to read more) invite alumni to continue on this journey.

This academic year was challenging by any measure. Many of us will have been touched in some way, either directly or through those we care for, by illness, anxiety, fear, or financial hardship. Yet as part of this community, I sincerely hope — and believe — that you will also have been touched by enduring friendship, compassion, generosity of spirit, and love. I know I was, and for that I will forever be grateful.

I wish you a safe and healthy summer!

All good wishes,

Craig W. Bradley

Hotchkiss Welcomes New Trustees

ALEXANDER B. HURST ’97 (“Alex”) joined the Board in July 2020. His previous Hotchkiss activities include having served as a class agent, a reunion agent, a member of the Board of Governors, and an event host. He is an Alumni Career Network Mentor and has served on the Investment Committee since 2015. Alex founded Palatine Capital Partners Management, LLC in January 2007 and is responsible for overseeing all investment activity and the strategic direction of the firm. Prior to founding Palatine, Alex was a vice president in the real estate group at Avenue Capital Group. Before Avenue, Alex worked in the real estate group at Perry Capital and began his real estate career at Tishman, Speyer in the firm’s executive rotation program. Earlier in his career, Alex was a founding member of mondus.com, an Internet business headquartered in Europe.

Alex graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in political science. He is a trustee of Perez Art Museum, a member of the Board of Overseers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, and an emeritus member of the Advisory Board for The Wolfsonian–Florida International University. Alex and his wife, Carolyn, married in July 2019. Carolyn is a graduate of Yale University and holds both a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School. She is currently the director of the Spine Service Line at New York Presbyterian Hospital. The couple split their time between New York and Miami Beach.

ANNIKA LESCOTT ’06 joined the Board, effective July 1. She is co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Hotchkiss Board of Trustees. Her previous Hotchkiss activities include six years of service on the Board of Governors, where she co-chaired the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Annika is currently executive vice president & chief financial officer at the New York City Housing Authority, the largest public housing authority in the country, serving 400,000 low-income New Yorkers through a $4 billion operating budget. She is the youngest person to hold the position. Previously, Annika was a presidential management fellow in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, where she worked on non-partisan housing policy analysis and the President’s budget during the Obama and Trump administrations.

Annika came to Hotchkiss through Prep for Prep, a program that prepares gifted, low-income students for private boarding and day schools. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master of public administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She lives in New York City with her family.

RICHARD WEIL ’81, P’23 (“Dick”) joined the Board, effective July 1. Dick is chief executive officer of Janus Henderson Group, plc, and has served on the board of directors since 2010. Dick began his career as a corporate attorney. He served 15 years at PIMCO as general counsel and then chief operating officer. Prior to joining PIMCO in 1996, he was with Bankers Trust Global Asset Management and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP in New York.

He earned his B.A. in economics from Duke University in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1989, where he currently serves on the visiting committee. Dick’s father and grandfather graduated from Hotchkiss, members of the classes of 1953 and 1925 respectively. He lives in London with his wife, Britney, and daughter, Carter. Their son MacCoy is a rising upper mid.