Even as Head of School Barbara Chase graduates with the Class of 2012, her legacy will continue to help students at Andover with the new Barbara Landis Chase Scholars Program. Oscar Tang ’56, President of the Board of Trustees, announced plans to create the the Chase Scholars Program in early December.
The Chase Scholars Program will help further the legacy of Phillips Academy’s need-blind admissions policy, which was established under Chase’s leadership in 2007. The fund will become one of the many endowed scholarship funds that Phillips Academy offers to students on financial aid.
In an email to The Phillipian, Chase wrote, “Need-blind has always been a dream of mine for Andover, so this program in my honor is especially meaningful to me. Also, it means that I will have the chance to learn about the wonderful students who attend the school and hold the scholarships. Nothing could be more gratifying or more fun than that!”
Tracy Sweet, Director of Communications, said, “One of Mrs. Chase’s passions over her tenure here, in addition to so many other things, has been access for students. So establishing a scholarship in her honor seemed like a fitting tribute to a leader for whom financial aid has meant so much.”
The exact terms of the Barbara Landis Chase Scholarship will be determined in coming months.
“I do not have information about the criterion for students to receive support from Barbara Landis Chase Scholarship,” wrote James Ventre, Director of Financial Aid, in an email.
“However, I can confirm that similar to all scholarship support at Andover, the Barbara Landis Chase Scholarship support is based on need and awarded accordingly to students whose families qualify for financial aid.”
The scholarship program will open with over $3.5 million in funding supplied from the Abbot Academy Association and Donna Brace Ogilvie ’30, Honorary Co-Chair of the Campaign for Andover.
Abbot Academy contributed $1 million to the fund, which represents the single largest commitment in the history of the association. Ogilvie also stepped forward with an additional $1 million to match the Abbot Academy donation.
“The whole concept of need-blind admissions is something that all of us were very much in favor of. That was one of the reasons why we wanted to give this grant,” said David Othmer, Co-President of the Abbot Academy Association.
“We have huge respect for Barbara Chase. We really like her. We really think she’s done an extraordinary job as Andover’s head of school for the last 17-and-a-half years. And we wanted to honor her, quite frankly.”
Ogilvie, who matched Abbot’s donation of $1 million, has been a loyal supporter and fundraiser for Phillips Academy since the merger in 1973.
“Ogilvie’s motivation was very much the same as ours, which was a love for the school, a huge respect for Barbara and a commitment to the needs-blind concept,” said Othmer.
With the addition of this $3.5 million in funding, Phillips Academy has now reached $59 million of its $73 million goal to support scholarships and off-campus student programs. According to Peter Ramsey, Secretary of the Academy, this $73 million goal is the largest single component in the overall $300 million goal of the Campaign for Andover.
Sixty-five million dollars of the $73 million will be used for traditional financial aid and endowed scholarships. The remaining $8 million will be reserved for student use in spring and summer learning experiences.
“I would love to see us get eight maybe even ten million dollars for the fund because it would ensure need-blind admission. It would be a wonderful tribute to Barbara. I am confident that we will be very successful,” said Othmer.
Tang made the announcement at the President’s Dinner, a dinner typically hosted by the President of the Board of Trustees in New York. Over 170 alumni and parents attended the event.
In addition to introducing the Barbara Landis Chase Scholars program, Tang also announced that the Campaign for Andover, a $300 million effort that began in 2005, will end on December 31, 2012. After a particularly generous end of the year, the Academy has currently secured $265 million towards the overall $300 million.
“One year from now, I hope and I expect to announce our success,” said Tang at the dinner, according to an article on Andover.edu.
