From the Head of Schools

the moonshot R ECEN T LY, I was reading an interesting article in

Barron’s by Abby Schultz, “The Age of Moonshots” (Dec. 9, 2019). In the piece, Schultz describes

the unique partnership forged by Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google) and Tom Kalil to identify

and support the world’s greatest challenges with potential breakthrough ideas, something they’ve

branded “ambitious yet achievable goals.” Schultz delves into Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic

institute that is working its way through The Moonshot Catalog to fund cures for infectious

diseases, climate change and world hunger. 6chmidt and .alil are not alone in the search to find

and fund moonshot ideas. However, for me, their partnership is the perfect lens through which

to see a world where young people can forge governmental, corporate and nonprofit coalitions to

tackle our greatest challenges.

Schultz’s article also caused me to think again about another miraculous feat of science that occurred in the U.S. some 50 years ago.As many of you will remember, this past year we celebrated several significant milestones from the summer of 1969. Because I was just 7 at the time, Woodstock was not the most vivid to me (though I do remember my oldest brother and mom arguing over whether he could attend that epic festival in upstate New York). No, for me, it was the moon landing on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

That summer my mom had rented a cottage for us on Long Island Sound, next to my grandparents’ cottage. Unfortunately, that night I made a few bad decisions and was sent to bed early.Yet, in the rarest of circumstances, my mom granted me an early release—allowing me to watch from the stairs, looking down into the living room where 20-plus people were glued to the fuzzy black and white screen. Even to a 7-year-old, this seemed utterly surreal. We, as a human species, were actually standing on the surface of the moon, looking down on Earth. How could this happen?

Looking back on it now, it is hard to fathom we could attempt such a mission, given the technology available in 1969. In truth, we had no business doing it.So, why did we? It began as a dream, turned into a bold challenge, delivered by President Kennedy to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961. “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth…” Most people in the scientific and military communities thought he was crazy, a madman politician. They believed there were too many scientific and technological obstacles to succeed.

What most people didn’t realize was how carefully President Kennedy had crafted his proposal. He knew the Soviets

were well ahead of the U.S. in the space race and in military build-up. He knew we needed a “leapfrog” moment to shift the playing field. This would be it. :hile the traditional path would have had us stick with the Mercury space program, he decided to shift to Apollo, to take the risk and fight for something that would c hange everything. Kennedy fashioned the space race into a race for freedom and put the military industrial complex behind it.On that fateful night in the summer of ’69, long after President Kennedy’s tragic and untimely death, we as a nation accomplished just that.

The point of all of this is to remind us that, in any sustained endeavor, there are moments in time that a moonshot is what’s called for.As I think about Webb, I know that the Schools are no exception. I know that The Centennial is our moonshot, our leapfrog moment in the world of education.We will take what Thompson and 9ivian worked so hard to build, and put it on a different trajectory.We will secure our endowment, fortify and forever preserve our beautiful hillsides, build and sustain a boarding school faculty second to none, and impact the lives of our students so that they have the ability, compassion and reserve to tackle the most complex problems and make the world a better place.

We are thrilled to launch The Centennial Years Opening Celebration on October 1-3, 2020, just 9 months from now. It will be a momentous occasion in the history of Webb and one I invite you join. You will hear much more from us about all this in the months ahead. In the meantime, let the countdown begin!

Taylor B. Stockdale Head of Schools