From the Board of Trustees

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES BY ROBERT CHARTENER ’76, P’18

The Board of Trustees met on campus Sept. 29 – Oct. 2. Though we had met many times by phone and virtually since February 2020, it was our first physical meeting in Lakeville in 20 months.

School Opening – Hotchkiss opened in September with 622 students, higher than our goal of 606. This followed on the most selective year in the School’s admission history: 2,538 students applied, of whom 13 percent were admitted. Of the 165 students who chose Hotchkiss, there was negligible “melt” over the summer, and approximately 10 percent of the faculty are teaching more students than in their normal course load. It was a particularly diverse cohort of new students with 43 percent self-identifying as students of color. Hotchkiss required all students and employees to be vaccinated against COVID. We expect another strong admission year, as Hotchkiss was ranked second in the U.S. (up from third in 2020) in the niche.com ranking of private high schools.

New Faculty Members and Endowed

Chairs – Eleven new instructors joined the teaching faculty, including two Hotchkiss alumni, Lennox Debra ’02 and Lisanne Norman ’94. The modest number of new faculty members reflects a lower turnover rate among the full-time teaching staff. The trustees attended the awarding of four of the School’s 27 endowed chairs to Marta Eso P’22, Carmen Dockery Perkins P’23,’23, Amanda McClure P’18,’22, and Carita Gardiner P’17,’20. Read more on p. 12.

Crain Fellowships – The two inaugural Crain Fellows, Kinyette Henderson and Claudia McGuigan, began in September. The program is a joint effort between Hotchkiss and the Klingenstein Center at the Teachers College at Columbia University. A Crain Fellow will teach at Hotchkiss in the first year, study at Columbia in the second and third years, and return to Hotchkiss in the fourth year. There were 35 applicants for the two positions available this year. Read more on p. 29.

Bridge Program – Our highly anticipated “Bridge Program” for newly admitted students kicked off this summer, and early reports indicate a successful launch. The two-week program took place virtually and brought together 30 incoming students from a range of communities with the goal of helping them develop relationships, engage with advisors and teachers, and familiarize themselves with the resources available at Hotchkiss. The Trustees hope that it will be expanded next year. Read more on p. 26.

Athletics – Hotchkiss teams resumed interscholastic play after 18 months of sports limited to intramurals because of COVID. A consulting project led by the University of Washington Center for Leadership in Athletics completed its work. We have begun to implement some of their recommendations, such as having a staff member dedicated to training captains to provide more consistent leadership development.

Memorial Hall – The School has completed the fundraising for a $20.6 million renovation of Memorial Hall. The project will begin in June 2022; it will last for 15 months. The refurbished and expanded building, which will have larger faculty apartments, will reopen in September 2023, the year of Memo’s 100th anniversary. In addition, the renovation of Buehler was completed in August, both on schedule and within budget, and we finished heating work on Wieler.

Development – Hotchkiss completed the most successful year in its development history, raising $36 million in 2020-21. This included $6.5 million for The Hotchkiss Fund and $10.3 million in planned gifts — again, both records for Hotchkiss.

Investment Results – For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the Hotchkiss endowment posted a return of 31.7 percent, ahead of its benchmark by 1.1 percent. Public and private equity performed exceptionally well at 46.6 percent, as investors enjoyed a strong economic rebound during the year. Venture capital and private equity led the way, posting a spectacular return of 64.1 percent. Over the past 10 years, the portfolio has returned an annualized rate of 9 percent, which puts Hotchkiss in the top 7th percentile of secondary schools. As of October 31, 2021, the endowment’s net asset value stood at $630 million.

The Board was saddened by the death of Fred Frank ’50, P’12, who passed away on September 11. Frank became a trustee in 1991 and was board president from 1999 to 2001. He was elected a trustee emeritus in 2001 and was devoted to his Hotchkiss work for decades. Among other accomplishments, in 1983 Frank established the first lead charitable trust at Hotchkiss. He also led the construction and furnishing of the Frederick Frank House, which currently serves as the Head of School’s residence.