Susan M. Lloyd, who taught at Abbot Academy and later Phillips Academy when the two schools merged, was recently presented with the 2006 McKeen Award. The award, given annually to a member of the Phillips Academy community who exemplifies “inspired and dedicated leadership” in the spirit of Philena McKeen, a former Head of Abbot Academy, was presented to Ms. Lloyd at a ceremony on Friday, January 13. Nearly 50 people attended the ceremony. Lloyd was honored with this award in recognition of her efforts to successfully integrate coeducation here at Andover. Among the attendees of the ceremony were Head of School Barbra Chase, Trustee Emeriti Elizabeth Powell ’56, and former Head of School Ted Sizer, who gave a speech in Lloyd’s honor. Other speakers included Instructor in French Natalie Schorr and Mr. Sizer’s daughter, Judy Sizer ’77. Ms. Lloyd joined the faculty of Abbot Academy in 1968, five years before the school merged with Phillips Academy. She retired in 1997 after 29 years of teaching and serving the Andover community. When the merger took place in 1973, Ms. Lloyd was one of the few teachers invited to teach at the new, co-educational Phillips Academy Andover. During the years following the merger of the schools, Ms. Lloyd was well recognized as an influential voice on campus and a strong leader and role model for female students. Ms. Lloyd was renowned for her vibrant spirit, vigor, and boundless determination. Instructor in History Edwin Quattlebaum said, “She had tremendous energy. She was famous for wearing sneakers so that she could run from place to place on campus. I always marveled at her energy.” Chair of History and Social Science Peter Drench said, “The first word that comes to my mind [when I think of Ms. Lloyd] is energetic. The second word would be individual.” While at Phillips Academy, Ms. Lloyd taught courses in the history and music departments. In addition to the classes she taught, Ms. Lloyd also directed chamber music and Fidelio. One of Ms. Lloyd’s major accomplishments was her establishment of Andover’s first service program, the Urban Studies Institute, which gave PA and Lawrence High School students the opportunity to work together in the classroom, do fieldwork, and participate in community service. At the time, PA was not as involved with the surrounding communities as it is today. Ms. Lloyd’s innovative program opened the doors for other service-oriented projects. Mr. Drench said, “She wasn’t afraid of anything. Her natural tendency was to see [a problem] as a challenge [that] she could take on and win.” Ms Lloyd was also involved in the creation of PA’s Gay/Straight Alliance in 1978. Ms. Schorr, who was also Ms. Lloyd’s neighbor, said, “She did so many things. She’s [always been] very involved in terms of knowing what’s going on in the world.” In her tribute to Ms. Lloyd at the award ceremony, Ms. Schorr entertained the audience with amusing anecdotes, regaling the crowd with a description of a time when Ms. Lloyd, in the midst of baking a pie, shot at a groundhog that was eating her flowers. “She did things you didn’t expect. She is someone who can’t be categorized,” added Ms. Schorr. Ms. Lloyd also served as a member of a faculty woman’s support group and as an active member of the ten-year Coeducation Committee. Ms. Lloyd was commissioned in 1978 by PA to write a history of Abbot Academy entitled A Singular School: Abbot Academy 1828-1973. This book is considered the definitive text on the subject.
