Over 325 Andover alumni, Trustees, students, faculty and school administrators attended the public launch of Andover’s capital campaign, “The Campaign for Andover: Building on the Surest Foundation” last Thursday. The campaign, which administrators and the Trustees hope will raise $300 million for various Andover initiatves, has already received $180.6 million in gifts and pledges, according to Tracy Sweet, Director of Academy Communications. Barbara Chase, Head of School, began the ceremony by addressing why Andover deserves to be supported. “Why has Andover not only survived, but flourished? Because it has remained true to its original important and lofty purpose, and has adopted new methods in order to remain true to that purpose,” she said in her speech. “We believe in the future. We believe in making that future better for the next generation. So, as members of this generation of Andover believers, let us set our eyes and hearts on the work before us,” she continued. Chase, Oscar Tang ’56, President of the Board of Trustees, Faiyad Ahmad ’10, School President, and David Underwood ’54, Honorary Co-Chair of The Campaign and former President of the Board of Trustees, all spoke at the Chapel ceremony last Thursday. Chase also explained the goals of the campaign and how the $300 million will fund those initiatives. “This campaign has four cornerstones: first, general support for the Academy; second, support for students; third, support for faculty and programs; and fourth, support for the campus,” she said. Regarding the cornerstone of “general support” for Andover, the school hopes to raise $52 million for the Andover Fund, which contributes to about 10 percent of the annual budget, and $20.5 million for the endowment. Tang said, “Andover’s commitment to youth from every quarter and our recently adopted policy of need-blind admission that accepts the most capable applicants independent of financial need not only insures the best possible student body but also is a prerequisite for our goal of serving a public purpose.” “The community’s efforts and its leaders of the previous 20 years have provided us with the surest foundation. It is now our role to build on that surest foundation – to truly define this private school for a public purpose,” added Tang. The second priority of the campaign, students, has a fundraising goal of $68 million. Of this amount, a goal of $65 million is set to support Andover’s continued policy of need-blind admissions, which allows the Admissions Office to consider applicants without regard to their financial background. The other goal of $3 million will fund summer experiences. Ahmad spoke in the Chapel about the many activities Andover students can pursue. “Only at Andover can a student go from classes to giving speeches to sports to rehearsals to hanging out with friends to homework, all in a day,” he said. Faculty and academic programs, the third cornerstone of the campaign, make up $72 million of the $300 million fundraising goal. The money raised will support the recruitment of faculty to Andover, build on the academic curriculum and support Andover’s outreach programs, such as PALS and (MS)2. The fourth priority, campus preservation, aims to raise $87.5 million to fund renewal projects for the renovations of Paresky Commons, the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Andover Inn, Bulfinch Hall and other campus buildings. The Fidelio Society, Andover’s a capella group, and Charlene Sadberry ’99 performed musical pieces at the Chapel ceremony, while the Yorkies performed at the reception held later in the Smith Center. Audience members also joined together to sing selected verses from “America,” written by Reverend Samuel Smith in Smith House in 1830. Reverend Anne Gardner, Chaplain and Director of Spiritual and Religious Life ended the segment in the Chapel with a benediction. Following the event in the Chapel, the audience followed a bagpiper across campus to the Smith Center for dinner. “I think the reception made a wonderful statement about people’s confidence in Andover and their support in the campaign,” Sweet said. The November 5 launch date comes after a delay from the original public launch scheduled for April 2009. From July 1, 2005, to November 5 of this year, the capital campaign remained in a “silent” phase, during which the school planned and finalized the details of the campaign, such as its chief fundraising priorities and official name. The fundraising efforts seek to build on the success of Andover’s last capital campaign, “Campaign Andover,” a six-year effort that began in 1996 and raised about $208 million.
