Phillips Academy hosted its fall Leadership Weekend last weekend, offering Andover Alumni a chance to learn firsthand about developments in the community. More than 200 Phillips Academy alumni and their families attended. The Alumni Council Governance Committee and new Council members had orientation on Friday. Several Alumni Council committee meetings followed, including overview meetings of the Alumni Admission Representatives Committee, the Athletics Committee and the Multicultural Affairs Committee. A welcome reception and buffet dinner was held in Commons, honoring several members of the faculty, according to Richard Howe ’64, Associate Director of Alumni Affairs. Barbara Chase, Head of School, introduced the first presentation of the day on Saturday, an update on Phillips Academy’s plans and programs. Peter Watt, Instructor in Physics, then gave a presentation on the Academy’s ACE program that took place over the summer. He explained to the alumni that the ACE program gave students who were slightly behind in the math curriculum the opportunity to travel to Colorado and take the math courses they required to catch up. Following this, Peter Merrill, Instructor in Russian, and Chris Shaw, Instructor in History and Social Science, gave a slide show presentation on Phillips Academy’s efforts to take new initiative globally. They talked about a seminar they had attended this summer on globalization and the environment. The Alumni Council then discussed Phillips Academy’s first Non Sibi Day, which took place on September 15, 2007. Chad Green started the discussion with a slide show presentation. The Alumni Council met a panel of several students including Victoria Wilmarth ’09, Jessica Cole ’08, Matt Cranney ’08 and Michael Mackay ’11. The students explained to the alumni what their particular Non Sibi Day groups did for community service. Rev. Michael Ebner asked the four students to explain specific things. The students also fielded questions from the audience. Also present at the Non Sibi Day discussion were Student Council President Tantum Collins ’08 and Vice President Jonathan Adler ’08. Following the Non Sibi Day discussion, Jim Ventre, Director of Financial Aide and Admissions Operations, gave a report on the improvement to Phillips Academy’s financial aid program. He informed his audience that the current trend in our ability to provide for underprivileged students is steadily increasing. There were also reports regarding admissions and the amount of diversity there currently is on campus and a discussion on redesigning the school’s website, according to Howe. The entire weekend was concluded on Saturday with a Leaders Recognition Luncheon. A number of students along with the families of the visiting alumni attended this luncheon. It was at this time that several huge benefactors and distinguished service award recipients were honored and recognized. The distinguished service award recipients included Melanie Fales Davis ’65, Joan and Eugene Hill, past parents, Thomas Lawrence ’55, and Murrey Nelson ’80. The benefactors recognized were W. Gillespie Caffray ’71, Marshal Cloyd ’58, Peter Currie ’74, Mary and Paul Finnegan ’71, Beverley and Donald Jones ’30, Chien Lee ’71, John Morrill ’22, Louise and Bernard Palitz ’42, Jay Precourt ’55, and J. Mark Rudkin ’47. “The Alumni Council meeting is a chance for alumni to hear about how things are happening and for them to give us their reactions and advice,” said Howe. The Alumni Council is made up of around 120 alumni from various different graduate classes, each of whom serves a four-year term. Members are divided into different committees such as fundraising and admission representatives. The Council is currently led by President Peter Hetzler M.D ’72.
