Continuing a long tradition of supporting Phillips Academy faculty in their individual academic endeavors, the Kenan Charitable Trust Foundation has announced the recipients of its annual grants for the upcoming year. The grants, which amount to $42,500, were awarded to ten faculty members this year. According to Andover Kenan Trust coordinator Instructor in Russian Dr. Peter Merrill, the grants will “support projects and research that the faculty of the Academy have deep interest in.” Endowed by a million dollar donation to the Academy made by noted industrialist William R. Kenan in 1964, the grants are awarded annually to support the individual projects of the Andover faculty that do not fit into the Academy’s standard academic program. Unlike other foundations, the Kenan program does not require faculty members to conduct projects pertinent to their chosen discipline. Rather, it encourages instructors to pursue their interests both in and out of the classroom. This year’s grants will support a diverse slate of projects ranging from scholarly research to innovative artistic presentations. Music Department Chair Elizabeth Aureden will conduct an in-depth ethnographic analysis of a celebrated cellist, while Instructor in Mathematics Christopher Odden will perform research on the Universal Hyperboloid Solenoid, an advanced mathematical topic that he would not normally have the opportunity to pursue within the confines of a high school academic program. Continuing their research into the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt, Instructors in History Kathy Dalton and Anthony Rotundo will use their joint grant to gather material and write text for a forthcoming book, Theodore Roosevelt’s Advice to America. Last fall, Ms. Dalton released a biography on Roosevelt, entitled Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life, which she spent part of the last term promoting at engagements across the United States. Several faculty members will use the Kenan funds to support special artistic productions. Instructor in Theatre and Dance Mark Broomfield intends to produce a solo dance concert, while Instructor in Art Therese Zemlin will create two sculpture installations to grace the Academy’s campus. Academy Archivist Ruth Quattlebaum will combine her passion for history and art to create a series of images that will exhibit the intrusion of American culture on the European way of life. Acting on his passions outside the classroom, Instructor in Chemistry Kevin Cardozo will combine a love of music with his interests as faculty advisor to the campus radio station WPAA 97.1 FM. Mr. Cardozo will embark on several ventures to different concert venues and learn the ins and outs of concert production in the process. Continuing her interest in photography that led to an exhibition in the Gelb Gallery at George Washington Hall last year, Instructor in Biology Lydia Goetze will return to her camera, and create a digital print portfolio of images from the natural landscape. Instructor in Mathematics Ellen Glover will participate in the Outward Bound program this summer, allowing her to experience the wonders of the great outdoors while developing valuable leadership skills. A Kenan grant will also enable Instructor in Music Vincent Monaco to study the art of the trumpet with renowned musician Charles Schlueter, who has held the position of Principal Trumpet at the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1981. Although Mr. Merrill remarked that the grants may sometimes act like a short sabbatical, he emphasized that most grantees are able to combine relaxation with the new skills to improve their teaching on Academy Hill. Each of the fifteen proposals for this year’s grants was reviewed by a three-member panel of judges from outside the Academy who were appointed to their posts by Mr. Merrill and his co-coordinator Head of the Chemistry Department Cristina Kerekes. This year’s council including Judith Kelley of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and Ted Bedford and Sam Heath, both of Phillips Exeter Academy. After reviewing each application individually, the judges convened on the Andover campus for a four-hour session to decide on the final grant recipients.
