In honor of Andover’s 40th year of coeducation, Abbot Academy alumnae, Andover alumni and current students gathered on campus for various events, including speakers, dance recitals, art exhibitions and panel discussions as part of the Coed@40 Spring Forum.
“The Coed@40 Spring Forum is intended to generate discussions about gender, race, leadership and social equity, as well as seed important conversations we plan to continue for many years to come,” said Debbie Murphy, Director of Alumni Affairs and Co-Chair of the Coed@40 Committee, on behalf of herself and fellow Co-Chair Tony Rotundo, Instructor in History and Social Sciences and Interim Co-Director of Brace Center.
The Coed@40 celebrations began on Wednesday, April 2 with a student panel on the intersection between race and gender on Andover’s campus.
The weekend’s keynote speaker, Rachel Simmons, talked about gender and coeducation in a holistic sense, linking her experience as director of the Girls Leadership Institute with Andover’s current discussions surrounding gender. She spoke on Friday, April 4 in Kemper Auditorium.
The Coed@40 Spring Forum also featured an Oral History workshop on Saturday, in which students interviewed Abbot Alumnae, an Abbot Alumnae and Andover Student Dinner on Saturday night and an Alumnae Mentoring Brunch on Sunday.
