Bioethics: In Search of the Moral High Ground

Connections
T h e M a g a z i n e o f T h e E p i s c o pa l A c a d e m y
SPRING 2006
Bioethics:
In Search of
the Moral
High Ground
Episcopal students
explore the outer
bounds of critical
thinking and ethical
dilemmas.
Also inside:
Episcopal teams with
PECO Wind and the EPA
President Mikhail Gorbachev
shares his global perspective
C ontents
Features
2 In Search of the Moral
High Ground
Episcopal students explore the
outer bounds of critical thinking
and ethical dilemmas.
9 Episcopal, PECO Wind,
Connections
and the EPA Team
The Magazine of The Episcopal Academy
SPRING 2006
Connections, The Magazine of The Episcopal
Academy, is published three times a year by the Office
of Communications. Class notes, comments, and
photographs should be directed to:
The purchase of wind power from
PECO Wind advances the school’s environmental commitment, which
will extend to the new campus.
42 Transitions
The Episcopal community spends a
night discussing world issues with former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
D E PA R TM E NT S
11 Academics
17 Athletics
21 Arts
2 4 Alumni
2 9 Spirituality &
Community Service
31 Class Notes
41 Milestones
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On the cover: NASA’s chief bioethicist Dr. Paul Wolpe
conducts a recent bioethics symposium at Episcopal.
In Search of the
Moral High Ground
By Helen Hwang
Photos by Michael Leslie
Over the past several years, Episcopal’s
faculty have been experimenting with
bioethics instruction across all disciplines and
forms. The results have been remarkable, as
Episcopal students explore the outer bounds
of critical thinking, ethical dilemmas, and
the social implications of contemporary hotbutton issues.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 2
O
n a brisk, sunny
March morning,
sophomore Ben
Mickel
strode
into a packed
auditorium to
join his fellow Upper School students
in digesting a topic that most kids his
age have never even heard of. Bioethics was the focus of the day, and on this
day, Episcopal was holding its fifth annual bioethics symposium. This year’s
event was titled “Bioethics in Extreme Environments.” Not many high
schools hold symposiums, much less
one covering some of the hottest, most
controversial, and rapidly changing
subjects in modern society.
This year’s featured speaker was the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) chief bioethicist
and University of Pennsylvania professor Dr. Paul Wolpe. As the students
streamed into the Merion Theater that
morning, they were not only excited
to hear about bioethics from a top expert, but they also got the added bonus
of hearing details about NASA’s latest
goals, which include return trips to the
moon and future surface exploration
missions to Mars.
In preparation for some of the exercises that would be tackled later in the
morning, Dr. Wolpe treated the kids
to an inside look at the inner workings of NASA’s most recent bioethical
challenges. For example, when the Columbia shuttle disaster occurred in
February 2003, the first question NASA
officials asked Dr. Wolpe was “would
the government of Israel request genotyping of all the human remains to
separate astronaut Ilan Ramon’s (the
first Israeli astronaut) tissues from the
others”—a practice that is in keeping
with Jewish burial tradition. Wolpe
told the students that while he needed to prepare for that request—and the
logistical problems it would entail—
the Israeli government never made it.
The end result was that every grave
eventually included some remains from
each crewmember in order to commemorate their collective sacrifice to
space exploration.
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Connections
(l to r) Chaplain Jim Squire, Dr. Paul Wolpe, and Science Chair Crawford Hill
What is Bioethics?
What is bioethics exactly? It’s a subject encountered often in everyday life
and it has dominated news headlines
more and more frequently of late—steroid use, cloning, euthanasia, stem cell
research, reproductive rights, to name
just a few. However, bioethical issues
are rarely categorized so easily. Online
encyclopedia Wikipedia.com defines
bioethics as the “ethical questions that
arise in the relationships between biology, medicine, cybernetics, politics,
law, philosophy, and theology.” In simpler terms, Episcopal Science Chair and
symposium co-organizer Crawford Hill
explained, “Bioethics is a mother lode
of engaging topics and it’s a criticalthinking magnet for these kids.”
This year, a group of Episcopal
faculty have experimented with developing coursework through an ethical
lens across Episcopal’s Upper School
curricula. Classes from the science,
religion, English, math, and history departments participated in this year’s
symposium—the first time at Episcopal
that the workshop included more than
the ethics and biology classes. “A good
bioethics program is not about bioethics per se, but uses bioethics to explore
a range of fields and issues,” explained
Dr. Wolpe.
This collective work on the part of
the faculty—many of which have undergone intense bioethics training and
study at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics—is what
makes Episcopal’s program the first
of its kind at the high school level nationwide, said Episcopal Director of
Curriculum and English teacher Mindy
Hong. As an example, in preparation
for the bioethics symposium, she had
her seniors examine ethical issues in
literature. One of the books they read
was Ann Patchett’s “Bel Canto,” which
is about a terrorist group that takes
over a birthday party for a Japanese
businessman held in South America.
All the women are let go, except for an
opera star that is in attendance because
she is the main attraction at the party.
The students used this fictitious scenario to explore one of the core questions
of bioethics study: How or when can
you place more value on one human
life over others?
More than 270 students from the
Upper School analyzed scenarios that
posed difficult bioethics issues at this
year’s event. “These kids were in it over
200 percent,” said Chaplain and Religion Chair Jim Squire, who has teamed
with Hill to develop and foster the bioethics program at Episcopal. “I get calls
from parents telling me their kids are
coming home, talking about situations
in terms of ‘least harm.’ It becomes
very natural to them,” said Squire. He
also noted that it’s not unusual for students in his ethics class to return after
a weekend talking about a movie they
saw and which ethical system was implemented in the plot.
The students have been armed with
knowledge about various ethical systems from divine command theory
(moral standards are set by God) to hedonism (motivating desire is to serve
self) to utilitarianism (greatest good for
the greatest number of people). In the
process, they utilize deep critical thinking skills and learn to apply the systems
and paradigms to everyday situations.
“What we hope is they start picking up the more rigorous approaches
to solving a problem,” said Hill. “First,
we expose them to these types of arguments. Then, they start recognizing
which arguments they’re using, and
they become fluent in the language of
argument. In and of itself, it’s a wonderful intellectual exercise.” He also
added that it helps the students find
common ground with whom they don’t
agree because they become more understanding of where the other person is
coming from. “It’s a big step for adults,
much less kids, to recognize where
their thinking comes from instead of
offering up knee-jerk responses based
on emotion,” explained Hill.
Symposium Homework
After listening to Dr. Wolpe’s morning lecture, students broke out into
various sections all over the campus
to play out one of four scenarios they
had been assigned (see the sidebar
“Bioethics In Extreme Environments”
on page 6).
Ben Mickel had done his homework
by preparing to role-play in a scenario
about being a team leader on a trek to
the top of Mt. Everest. However, five
minutes before the scenario session was
to commence, Ben was asked to facilitate the debate of a completely different
situation. “Ben Mickel jumped in because a senior was absent,” explained
Rev. Squire who teaches the ethics
class.
“I’ve taken the ethics class so I was
versed in the language to lead the discussion,” said Ben. He was the only
underclassman leader; the other 14 scenario leaders were seniors. Fortunately,
he felt comfortable handling a totally
different scenario than the one he had
prepared for.
that the team members have a right to
know any information regarding their
families immediately, regardless of the
circumstances.
In the scenario that Ben was originally supposed to participate in, a start-up
expedition company that must successful summit Mt. Everest to ensure
“Bioethics is a mother lode of engaging topics and
it’s a critical-thinking magnet for these kids.”
The discussion that Ben led was about
a fictitious scientific research team stationed in Antarctica during the winter
months when a catastrophic terrorist
attack annihilates the crew’s hometown
of Philadelphia. The team commander,
who is based in Australia, must decide whether the members of the team
should be told of the attack—and the
loss of their family members—despite
the fact they will be unable to leave
Antarctica for at least several months
due to the weather. If told of the disaster, the team’s mission may be put in
jeopardy, the mental health of the participants could deteriorate rapidly, and
rash decisions to evacuate could be
made that would assuredly result in fatalities. However, others would argue
Senior Zach Mondesire
future success has one last opportunity
to push for the peak when bad weather hits. While the two paying customers
are both willing to go for the summit,
the leader of the group knows that the
chances of success are very limited and
that death is a real possibility. He also
has a pregnant wife waiting for him at
base camp. In the scenario at Episcopal, a male and female student played
the roles of a husband on the mountain and a pregnant wife at base camp.
Their dialogue on mock walkie-talkies
went along the lines of this:
Chloe: It’s your first baby. What if
you don’t come back?
Jack: I will.
While the students’ initial youthful optimism and confidence in their
infallibility was endearing and heartening, as they delved deeper into each
scenario they quickly realized that no
situation was as simple as they initially
thought and no resolution perfect.
The kids also treated the exercise almost like a game show for
ethical systems, with opinions capped
by expressions, such as “I’ll take some
hedonism.” When one student introduced Nietzsche into the argument,
this prompted a five-minute debate
about the spelling of the German philosopher’s name so it would be written
on the chalkboard correctly.
Yet another scenario was about a future mission to Mars during which one
by
Courtenay
Bond
member
of the H.
crew
suffers a severe
head injury that could jeopardize the
entire mission. The students are asked
to decide if they should abort the mission to potentially save the lieutenant,
despite the fact that he only has a 30
SP R ING 2 0 0 6
4
kind of relaxed. It didn’t feel like leading, it was more like helping the flow
of things. A really unique experience,”
said Ben.
Genesis
percent chance of survival and will likely suffer considerable brain damage.
Another option is to euthanize the crew
member to avoid possible prolonged
pain and suffering if they continue on
and avoid any possible ill effects that
dealing with and tending to a critically
injured individual could have on an already stressful environment.
The final scenario concerned a submarine crew stranded at the bottom of
the ocean when only one crewmember
has a chance to swim to the top using
an inventive but limited propulsion option. But who do you choose and how?
A good deal of physical exertion and
strong swimming skills would be needed for any chance of success. There
were numerous options for the students
to discuss, from a healthy former professional athlete, to a dedicated family
man with young children, to the most
senior officer. Amongst the Episcopal
students, surprisingly, the young Navy
officer who was headed to the NFL after his military service received the most
amount of sympathy and was the most
popular selection for survival.
Dr. Wolpe roamed the hallways, observing the various sections, leaving
him quite impressed. “I thought they
went well. Having student leaders
was a good idea, and given the constraints of such a model, I thought
they did a good job keeping the conversation going and summarizing and
interpreting the students’ comments,”
said Dr. Wolpe.
5
Connections
At the end of the symposium, the student leaders were rewarded for all their
extra work with a private luncheon
with Dr. Wolpe. Over sandwiches,
the kids peppered the Penn professor
with more bioethical questions, such
as should an abnormally short individual receive growth hormones so he or
she would be considered average height
in our society? Where do we draw the
line on physical enhancement? Should
stem-cell research and cloning technology be pursued?
Dr. Wolpe thought the students’ questions were “probing and insightful.”
He added, “Thinking about ethics and
how to pose ethics questions is not as
obvious as it often seems, and they did
a good job thinking things through.”
For Ben, the task of facilitating didn’t
seem like extra homework. “It was
The seed for a bioethics program at
Episcopal started long before it took
shape as a formal program. About
five years ago, Hill and Squire attended a gathering for high school teachers
interested in learning more about bioethics at Penn. Both had already begun
working bioethics discussions into
their individual coursework, but they
were interested in taking the topic to a
higher level.
One of the researchers at Penn,
Dominic Sisti, knew of Episcopal’s
reputation as a school with top-notch
students and he was a personal friend
of one of the school’s faculty members.
At Hill and Squire’s urging, Sisti visited Episcopal and gave students prep
sessions on a bioethicist’s approach to
certain dilemmas.
For instance, one of the first bioethics
discussions was taken from an episode
of the hit television show “ER.” It was
about a 16-year-old refusing to have
a second heart transplant, a scenario
the students could relate to teenagerto-teenager. “It turns out a child has
self-determination. Dom exposed us to
that approach,” remembers Hill.
Over the years, the topics have
evolved from analyzing a television
show to holding mock congressional
Bioethics in Extreme Environments
At this year’s Bioethics Symposium, over 270 Upper School students took an active role in
one of the four following scenarios. The purpose of the exercise was to encourage critical
thinking, explore ways in which difficult ethical and moral questions penetrate everyday life,
and foster healthy debate.
Antarctica
Antarctica, the coldest place on earth, has 15 research stations run
by different countries. Antarctica is characterized by gusting winds,
known as katbatics, which may last for a few minutes or a few days,
and can reach up to 200 mph in velocity. Blizzards can cause visibility
on the ground to drop to zero, known as “whiteout,” and explorers
have been known to get lost and freeze to death while only meters
away from their tents.
At one of the research stations, there is a team of six scientists staying
for the winter, which lasts two more months. All of the researchers are
from Philadelphia.
A terrorist attack has taken place in Philadelphia, with thousands of
people killed and many more wounded. All six station personnel have
at least some family members in Philadelphia. One of the members
(Allen) has two brothers confirmed killed in the attack, and another
researcher’s (Susan) husband also is fatally wounded. There is little
doubt that other members of the scientists’ families were affected by
this attack in some way. The station members have not been told of
the attack or the status of family members.
The command base for the research station is in Australia. It is
at this command center that all communication with the research
station occurs as the scientists only have a small two-way radio to
communicate with. The commander is responsible for controlling
the information that goes in and out of the research station. At the
command base, the commander for the entire project and two support
members are carefully monitoring the situation in Philadelphia
knowing that the Antarctica team members are from that city. The
commander receives word that Allen’s two brothers have been killed
and Susan’s husband is not going to last the night.
In one hour, there will be a scheduled check-in form the research
station. What does the commander tell them? Are they told about the
attack, the dead and/or missing relatives? What if the commander
tells them and they get upset, depressed, or agitated? What if they tell
the commander that they are going to attempt to trek the 500 miles so
that they can get picked up, an almost certainly fatal act?
BONUS: 30 minutes before scheduled check-in, word is received that
one of the researcher’s entire family has been killed.
Mars
It is the year 2025, and CEV (crew exploration vehicle) 1000 is en
route to the first manned mission to Mars. The crew of five includes
Commander Acton, the pilot and head of the mission; Engineer
Phelps, who is the technology specialist; Doctor Chang, the physician
and life sciences expert; Lieutenant Washington, co-pilot and flight
systems specialist; and Professor Rodriguez, planetary science expert.
Despite their specializations, maintaining the ship on such a long
flight requires their constant work. The ship has been in flight for five
and half months, and they are now about three weeks from initiating
orbit around Mars. Once reaching Mars orbit, the ship will descend
to the surface of the planet where Commander Acton, Lieutenant
Washington, and Professor Rodriguez have been trained to exit the
spacecraft and collect data and rock samples from the Martian surface
using a PERV (planetary exploration rover vehicle).
While they are moving a piece of machinery with a heavy mass in
the spaceship’s storage bay, a connecting cable snaps and sends
the machinery careening across the ship, where it strikes Lieutenant
Washington giving him a significant head injury. Washington is placed
in a bed where he is examined by Doctor Chang. Chang has only limited
medical facilities on board, but does have access to equipment for a
brain scan and heart monitor. The medical data from these instruments
is sent to NASA in Houston for analysis. Dr. Jacobs, a head trauma
physician leads the team of doctors performing the analysis.
Washington is unconscious, has a fractured skull, and possibly
permanent brain damage. Keeping such a person alive is difficult on
earth, and the ship is not really equipped for such care, but the crew are
doing the best they can. Still, they only give Washington about a 30%
chance of survival. The medical data takes about 50 minutes to reach
the doctors in Houston; another 50 minutes are needed for their advice
to travel from earth to the crew in the spaceship.
The ship cannot turn back for five weeks, as that is the next time it can
rendezvous with earth; the trip back will take a bit over six months.
So they cannot return to earth for at least seven and a half months.
Washington is sedated, but needs full-time attention; he must be fed,
bathed, have his vital signs monitored, receive medical care, be moved
periodically, and so on. All crew members have full-time jobs, and
now they must split up Washington’s duties. Just maintaining the craft
will be very difficult, and fulfilling any part of the mission—landing on
Mars, collecting samples—will be impossible while taking care of him,
even though the ship will enter Mars’ orbit.
Washington may eventually regain consciousness, but the brain
damage is considerable and most likely he will not be able to function
normally or have normal cognitive abilities. In such cases, it is not
unusual for the patient to wake up and be agitated, scream, or become
aggressive. That behavior on a small ship would endanger the entire
crew and the mission, and they would have to restrain him, possibly
for the entire trip back to earth. He will need round-the-clock care,
which itself threatens the maintenance and operation of the ship,
because two people are taken away from the ship’s needs (Washington
and his caretaker). Complicating the matter is the fact that Marlene
Washington, wife of the astronaut and mother of his two young
children, has heard about the accident from some of her friends at
NASA. In Houston she is in constant contact with the NASA public
communications officer attempting to monitor her husband’s condition.
Should the crew risk their lives and sacrifice the mission for the 30%
chance Washington might survive and for the extremely thin chance
he will regain some cognitive functioning? Should they let him die?
Should they euthanize him?
In Washington D.C., Representative Bob Abraham, chairman of the
House Committee on Science, is being kept informed of the situation.
His committee has approved the mission—which has an enormous
price tag that the American public will pay. Of even more concern
to him is the effect of a death aboard a spacecraft (especially by
euthanasia): the American public would turn away from funding future
missions of this sort.
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Everest
Climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain (29,029’) in the world,
is a dangerous activity. As of December 2004, of the 2,249 who have
attempted to climb the mountain 186 have died, which means about
one of every twelve people who attempts the ascent dies. Six more
died in 2005.
Climbing the mountain has become more popular, with more and
more inexperienced climbers trying to reach the summit. This is
possible because of the existence of guide companies which, for a
fee that in some cases is over $100,000, will put together a team of
supposedly experienced strangers and guide them to the summit.
Donovan McOwens is in charge of one such Everest climb with
two other guides, two sherpas and six paying clients. Donovan is
the lead guide for an up and coming new company — Ultimate
Quest Adventures — in this competitive business. His father, a very
successful world renowned climber and former soup business
executive himself, retired from climbing two year’s ago and started
this new business. He has sunk everything he has into this business.
A successful summit bid this time around is paramount for the
upcoming PR/ advertising campaign. As lead guide, Donovan is
both concerned and excited from the start, and of the six clients in
this group, two have been on previous Everest attempts that failed
(not at all unusual). One is Jack Bauer, former Tour de France cyclist
and Adventure Racer. The other is Barry Bonding, pharmaceutical
company executive and part-time commentator for OLN. Donovan is
excited because Jack and Barry’s previous Everest experience could
be really helpful, yet is concerned because each of these driven men
paid a lot of money before and they are desperate to summit this
time. Furthermore, each has trained for over 18 months to maximally
prepare for what each sees as one last chance to fulfill a lifelong
dream. Additionally, of course is the not so subtle pressure Donovan
faces from his boss and mentor—and the companies owner— his
father, Terrell. Donovan has been impressed with Lance Legstrong,
who has emerged as the leader amongst the other four client
climbers.
Once acclimated to base camp, ascent and descent can take three
weeks to a month. After eight days, at about 25,000 feet above
sea level (approaching the infamous “death zone” at 26,000’), an
unexpected blizzard hits the mountain. The group is trapped in their
tents, with oxygen and food rationed. The two more experienced client
climbers, Jack and Barry, are agitated about any notion of turning
back now. Donovan is thinking of aborting the climb and heading
back down to base camp when the weather clears.
There is a slight break in the weather, but he believes that it is
temporary and that the blizzard may start back up. He wants to wait
until skies clear before starting the descent. However, the two more
experienced climbers insist on leaving now for a summit attempt.
What do you do? Do you let them go to what you believe is possible
death? Do you take a chance and pack everyone up now to go up? Do
you forceably restrain them from leaving? Do you head back down?
Meanwhile, at base camp at 18,000' are the following who are all in
radio contact with one another and everyone else higher-up on the
mountain:
– Terrell, owner of UTA and Donovan’s dad who is planning the
upcoming PR program.
– Chloe, Jack’s wife, who is concerned that Jack may be “blinded” by
his fierce drive to summit and just found out that she is pregnant with
Jack’s child.
7
Connections
– Barry’s son, Willie, who is the only person present who knows
that his Dad has a terminal cancer*— probably from his days as
a world class sprinter when he used steroids — (*which does not
compromise his climbing) and has fewer than six months to live.
– Tenzing, a retired Sherpa now in charge of Everest Operational
Affairs, but who has no direct control over the expedition, but could
deny permits in the future.
Submarine
A top secret, four-man reconnaissance submarine has been damaged
by a leftover mine in the water, and sits on the bottom of a Pacific
shelf, about 300 feet below the surface. Water is leaking in and they
estimate there will be a fatal breach of the craft within about 15 to 20
minutes.
No other ship can reach them in that short time. They are too deep to
free swim back to the surface, they will surely drown if they try.
There is, however, the possibility for escape for one of them. There
is one pressure suit on board that can be filled with air, sealed with
the person inside, and sent to the surface. The extra buoyancy should
help speed the ascent, and it should allow enough breathable air
for one person to make it to the surface alive. However, this type of
escape has never been tried before, and the person attempting it will
have to be a powerful swimmer. Still, there still is no guarantee that it
will work.
On board are four members of the elite Navy Seals. Captain Carpenter,
aged 47, is a 20-year Seal veteran, considered one of the great
commanders in the reconnaissance submarine world. He has won
the Navy Expeditionary medal for his work in the Persian Gulf. He
is divorced with three grown children and he is the son of a former
Navy officer who is now a prominent senior Senator. Lieutenant
Commander Jackson, 29, is considered a young officer of great
promise, having won a medal for bravery in the face of enemy fire
in the Gulf War. He is recently married, and his wife is pregnant.
Ensign Schmidt, 25, is considered an expert in the mechanics of
reconnaissance submarines, and it was his quick thinking and
expertise that kept the ship from breaking apart when it was struck by
an errant mine. He is a former Pennsylvania prep school student and
Annapolis football player who will finish his Navy commitment next
year and be drafted by an NFL team, and he is engaged to be married.
Petty officer Third Class Petrowski, 21, is on his first assignment in
a reconnaissance submarine after recovering from a serious illness
and missing deployment of his normal Seal unit. He is unmarried,
a spearfisherman in his free time, and holds two state records for
swimming in Minnesota.
Somehow, they have established contact with an admiral at a
Navy base. He has contacted you, the Naval Bioethics Committee
Chairperson, and has asked you to emergency assemble your group
via conference call and choose who should attempt to use the suit to
get to the surface. All four submariners are willing to sacrifice their
lives for the Navy. All four believe they can get to the surface if given
the chance. The captain has already said he should go down with the
ship, but if you choose him to be the one to go, the Admiral will order
him to and he will go. Your panel consists of the following members.
– You, a captain with time in grade to make Rear Admiral.
– Commander Smith, a well-respected officer who is a graduate of the
same prep school as LTC Jackson.
– Captain Charles, whose father served with Capt. Carpenter’s father at
Guadalcanal. Carpenter won the Navy Cross for saving his father’s life.
“Thinking about ethics and how to pose ethics questions is not as obvious as it often seems, and they
did a good job thinking things through.”
Episcopal senior Jen D’Angelo takes part in the
discussion
hearings, as they did last year. That
exercise included an opening presentation by Dr. Art Caplan, Director of
the University of Pennsylvania Center
for Bioethics on all forms of “enhancement” technologies and coincided
with the actual hearings on enhancement drugs that were taking place on
Capitol Hill. Students took on roles as
Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, senators, and pharmaceutical
executives. As a follow-up, a few weeks
later a busload of Episcopal students
traveled to the Franklin Institute for a
nationally televised town hall meeting
on enhancement technology, featuring
a panel discussion about steroid use in
sports with Caplan and former Major
League Baseball player and admitted
steroid user Jose Canseco.
If all goes well, the plan is to hone the
use of “the bioethical lens” approach,
so that teachers from kindergarten
through 12th grade, across disciplines,
can comfortably use it to enhance what
it is that they already teach. How can
the bioethics lens be used to teach lower-school students? In fifth grade, one
teacher encourages her students to debate environmental issues, specifically
the bioethics of landfills. In kindergar-
ten, kids learn about dinosaurs and
compost heaps. Bioethics isn’t just
about hot-button issues like stem-cell
research and the Terry Schiavo case,
emphasized Ms. Hong, it’s about solving problems in an ethical framework
and learning how to ask questions.
The goal of Episcopal’s bioethics
program isn’t just limited to the school
itself. Episcopal is planning on spearheading a program to introduce this
innovative initiative all over the country. “We’re interested in producing a
shareware program. If a school in the
inner city wants to do a program in bioethics, in the future we hope they can
go to our Web site or utilize our faculty
members and put a similar curriculum
together for their own schools,” said
Squire.
For Future Reference
Incidentally, there are no right or
wrong answers to the scenarios posed
in the symposium, but Dr. Wolpe did
share what his recommendation would
be in each case.
In the Antarctica scenario, the researchers should be kept in the dark,
said Wolpe, since depression is already
very common in that environment.
Placing more mental stress on the individuals could be catastrophic. He
noted that in most cases it’s easier to
rescue someone from space than it is
from Antarctica in the winter months,
and that on one Antarctic mission a
person had to be tied to a chair for four
months because he had gone insane.
Because personal safety and health
trumps business and financial viability,
Wolpe said he felt the Everest expedition team should climb back down
without reaching the summit in order
to avoid the poor weather.
In the Mars scenario, Wolpe said
the flight would have to continue and
the injured astronaut would most likely die.
And in what many of the students
thought was a surprising answer, the
most experienced and oldest submarine
crewmember, the commander, would
be the one selected to attempt the swim
to the top—not the youngest, healthiest, or best swimmer.
“I can see (Dr. Wolpe’s) reasoning. I
just took a different stand; that people
have a right to know,” said Ben regarding the Antarctica scenario. Still,
he learned a lesson for life from this
exercise: “Tragedy would affect me differently in the future. It’s given me a real
perspective on how you would make
decisions and on what grounds you
would make them, especially now that
I’ve stepped back from the situation.”
He is also thinking about applying for
an internship at Penn’s Center for Bioethics and he hopes to be a student
leader at the symposium next year.
Other students were also inspired
by the symposium. Three or four students from Crawford Hill’s Advanced
Placement Biology class have also
expressed interest in bioethics as a possible career.
For Ben, this sort of experience makes
him even happier that he transferred to
Episcopal Academy from nearby Upper Darby High School. This is only his
first year at Episcopal, but he points to
the bioethics symposium as an “onlyat-EA experience” that he was proud
to take part in. C
SP R ING 2 0 0 6
8
Episcopal Becomes First K-12 School
In The State to Gain Membership In
EPA’s Green Power Partnership
Purchase of wind power from PECO Windsm
advances the school’s environmental commitment,
which will extend to the new campus
E
piscopal is pleased to announce that it has contracted
with PECO Wind to have six
percent of the school’s total
energy needs provided by wind power
produced by Pennsylvania wind farms.
Community Energy Inc., an owner and
broker of wind power up and down
the Atlantic Coast, works with PECO
Wind to supply customers. This level of commitment qualifies the school
for recognition by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for demonstrated environmental leadership and
membership in its Green Power Partner
program (www.epa.gov/greenpower).
Episcopal is one of only nine K-12
schools in the United States to become
an EPA Green Power Partner. The goal
of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership
is to facilitate the growth of the green
power market by lowering the cost and
increasing the value of green power. A
strong green power market will support
new, clean technologies that will reduce
the environmental impact of electricity
generation.
By using wind power to produce
six percent of its energy needs (which
translates into 142,800 kWh), Episcopal cuts the following emissions:
• 156,669 pounds of CO2 a year
• 1,092 pounds of SO2 a year
• 356 pounds of NOx a year
In terms of environmental benefits,
this investment is the carbon equivalent of:
• Planting 10,658 trees a year
• Not driving 135,927 miles annually
• Taking 11 cars off the road
“Part of our mission at Episcopal
is to continuously challenge ourselves
and to take on leadership roles like
this,” said Head of School Ham
Clark. “Joining the EPA’s Green Power Partner Program is, simply, the right
thing to do. It puts the message of environmental sustainability that we
espouse as educators at Episcopal into
practice.”
Environmental
Commitment Will Continue
on New Campus
Episcopal’s
commitment to environmentally
conscious practices, and
the use of renewable resources, will continue as
the school builds its new
campus in Newtown
Square.
Due to the work of the Master Planning Committee, the new campus will
meet a minimum of 26 Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) credits. These credits are environmental benchmarks developed by
the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC is the nation’s
foremost coalition of leaders from
across the building industry working
to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and
healthy places to live and work.
In addition, upon completion of
construction, the school will seek certification as a LEED Accredited Building.
Highlights of the design specifics and
practices, which will support LEED accreditation, are:
• A compact building plan to minimize
the removal of woodlands and the
amount of impermeable surface area.
• A landscape design, which utilizes native plants, shrubs, and trees.
• Efficient plumbing fixtures, which will
reduce water usage by 20%.
• Daylight views will be maximized to
increase student productivity and reduce energy costs.
• Shuttle service from the SEPTA R5 line
to the campus supports public transportation and reduces car pollution.
• Use of bioretention basins, infiltration basins, and infiltration trenches to
protect ground and surface water resources.
• Use of energy efficient, local building materials targeted to reduce energy
consumption by 15% and which have
a high recycled content resulting in
healthier indoor air quality.
• The project requires recycling of the
vast majority of construction waste
generated by the project.
• Adopting a clean energy strategy (like
wind power mentioned above). C
The Master Planning Committee has worked
tirelessly to build a campus that is as
environmentally conscious and friendly as
possible. As a result, the new campus project will
seek full Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification. These renderings are
provided courtesy of O’Neill Properties Group and
Hillier Architecture.
Academics
Episcopal Names New Head of Middle School
H
ead of School
Ham Clark is
pleased to announce
that
Steve Morris will be Episcopal’s new Head of the
Middle School effective
July 1st. Morris will be replacing Mark Devey, who
has served as Middle School
Head for the past six years
and who recently accepted
the position of Headmaster
of Indian Mountain School
Steve Morris, former Math Department
in Lakeville, CT.
Chair and Form Dean, will assume role
Morris has been an UpJuly 1st
per School Mathematics
department faculty member at Episcopal for the past five
years and has also served as Chair of the Math Department, a
Form Dean, and member of the Curriculum Committee. He is
also a student advisor and is the head coach of the freshman
boys’ basketball team.
Episcopal initiated a nationwide search for the position and
selected Morris based on his demonstrated abilities to work
with the whole student, nurturing their academic progress, encouraging athletic performance, and offering a listening ear to
personal needs. Before coming to Episcopal Academy, Morris
held teaching positions at Santa Catalina School in Monterey,
CA, St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, and as Site Director
for the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth
Program. He received his BS in Mathematics and M.Ed. from
the University of New Hampshire. The search committee included Episcopal administrators and directors, Middle School
faculty members, parents, and students.
In announcing this appointment, Clark remarked: “In Steve
we will have a caring, compassionate, and experienced administrator who is first and foremost a teacher. While we met
highly qualified candidates from across the country, we soon
realized that the most talented and qualified individual was
already with us right here at Episcopal.”
“I am excited to take on the challenges and opportunities that this new position will provide,” said Morris. “We
have a fine Middle School with great faculty, families, and
students. I am looking to help the school continue strong
academic, athletic, and spiritual programs as we complete our time on the Merion Campus and look ahead
to our move to Newtown Square in the fall of 2008.”
Mark Luff Named
Interim Head of Lower
School at Merion
H
ead of School Ham Clark announced in early May
that Mark Luff, currently a middle school English
and social studies teacher, has been named Interim
Head of Lower School at Merion. Mark has been
at Episcopal since 1978, teaching and coaching in both the
Middle and Lower Schools. As a Lower School teacher, Mark
taught 3rd grade for nine years and 2nd grade for four years.
Luff is taking over for Jackie Hamilton, who after 27 years
in various roles at Episcopal is leaving to take the Head of
Lower School position at Tower Hill in Wilmington, DE.
“Mark is a renowned teacher, he has great energy, he loves
working with young people and he has been a very effective
advisor,” said Clark. “Mark is a caring and committed school
person and he has dedicated his life to Episcopal Academy. He
also brings us some strong administrative experience through
having headed the Faculty Executive Committee this year and
through many years on the staff at Camp Tecumseh.”
Mark is excited to take on this role and he will have strong
support from his faculty. He will also have the strong support
of his Devon colleague Cannie Shafer and together they will
work closely to plan and develop the Lower School program
for Newtown Square.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6
10
Academics
Attorney From Intelligent Design
Case Visits Episcopal
Eric Rothschild of Pepper Hamilton spoke eloquently
about winning the first direct challenge brought in federal
court regarding the incorporation of Intelligent Design in
public schools
I
(Top) Pepper Hamilton attorney, Eric Rothschild,
who won the first federal challenge against the use
of Intelligent Design in public school.
(Bottom) Rothschild receives a gift and a thank you
from Episcopal Science Chair, Crawford Hill.
n an engaging and very well attended event in early May, attorney Eric Rothschild of Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton LLC, visited Episcopal and
spoke about his recent victory (with help from co-counsel Stephen Harvey) in
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in the case Kitzmiller vs. Dover, PA Area School District. The case was the first suit brought in federal
district court regarding the controversial topic of Intelligent Design.
Rothschild and Harvey took the case on a pro bono basis on behalf of 11 families
who filed suit against the school district when it voted to incorporate the required
mentioning of Intelligent Design as an alternative to evolution in school science
classes. Rothschild and Harvey argued successfully that the Intelligent Design policy was an attempt to bring creationism and religion into the classroom, and they
contested the school district’s argument that it is a valid scientific alternative to the
theory of evolution.
Rothschild gave a detailed history of the case and his approach to it, infusing his
lecture with humor and a hint of playful sarcasm. Students and others in attendance
had the opportunity to ask Rothschild questions after his presentation.
More can be found on the case, and Rothschild’s work, on the Pepper Hamilton
Web site www.pepperlaw.com.
School Recognizes National Merit Scholars
E
piscopal recently recognized
its senior students named
to the list of National Merit Scholarship Finalists and
those receiving the distinction of Commended Merit Scholars
Pictured at top are the National Merit
Scholar Finalists. In the front row (l to r):
Christina Clark, Alexandra Gladstone,
Medha Khandelwal. In the back row: (l
to r) Brendan Roach, A.J.Wessels, Alex
Nakahara, and Max Young.
Students recognized for achievement
of the National Merit Scholarship Commended distinction are (in the front, l to
r): Andrew Keller, Cassie Stuper, Rosie
Trumbull, Emily Boucher, Matt Ciccotti. In the back row (l to r): Tucker
Brown, Ben Kissner, Michael Chang,
and Zach Morse.
11 C o n n e c t i o n s
Students Take
Home Honors at
Foreign Language
Contest
Spring Cum Laude Society
Members Announced
E
ight Episcopal Academy Middle and Upper School students
had
outstanding
performances at the Montgomery
County Oral Proficiency Contest held
at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
on Tuesday, February 28th. Episcopal students were among those from 10
Montgomery County middle and high
schools to compete. They were first
interviewed individually and then finalists were interviewed before a panel of
teachers, students, parents, and judges.
Episcopal’s results were:
French level 01 / 2nd place
Faith Stewart (6th Grade)
French level 1 / 2nd place
Christie DiSilvestro (8th Grade)
French level 2 / 1st place
Jack Archer (9th Grade)
French level 3 / 2nd place
Caroline Constable (10th Grade)
Spanish level 01 / 2nd place
Liza Fryman (6th Grade)
Spanish level 1 / 2nd place
Tori Baena (8th Grade)
Spanish level 2 / 1st place
Hannah La Palombara (9th Grade)
Spanish level 3 / 1st place
Zander Lee (10th Grade)
E
piscopal is pleased to announce the Spring 2006 members of the Cum
Laude Society. Pictured above in the front row (l to r) are Devon Check,
Julie Heier, Amy Zug, Rosie Trumbull, E.B.Blass, and Matt Ciccotti. In
the second row (l to r) are Armena Ballard, Cara Dayton, Mark Cikowski, Lauren Zimmaro, Matt Kraeutler, and Ricky Brooman.
This group joins 12 of their classmates, which were inducted into the society this
past autumn.
Founded in 1906, the Cum Laude Society is an organization devoted to the recognition of academic excellence and strives to encourage qualities of justice and
honor. The Episcopal Academy chapter was founded in 1952. Election is based on
the student’s cumulative standing commencing with the sophomore year at Episcopal. Appropriate recognition is given to the degree of difficulty of the courses
taken.
Senior Michelle
Thomas Receives
Scholarship Award
E
Oral Proficiency Contest Winners. Back row (l to
r): Christie Di SIlvestro, Tori Baena, Jack Archer,
Zander Lee Sophia Lambertson, Middle School
Modern Language Chair Roland Sarko Front row (l
to r): Upper School Modern Language Chair Helena
Cochrane, Liza Fryman, Hannah LaPalombara,
Caroline Constable, and Faith Stewart.
piscopal senior, Michelle
Thomas, accepted a certificate
of achievement from McDonald’s Owner/Operator Cleo
Alston of Downingtown, PA at the
2006 Ronald McDonald House Charities/African American Future Achievers
Scholarship Awards Celebration on February 28 at the Hyatt Regency Penn’s
Landing in Philadelphia.
The program awarded 20 local high
school students a $1,000 college scholarship for academic achievement and
commitment to the community.
Michelle Thomas receives her African American
Future Achievers Scholarship Award from Cleo
Alston of Downingtown.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6
12
Academics
Ben Read Scholar to Intern at
Genocide Assistance Centers In
Rwanda
T
his summer, Episcopal junior and Ben
Read Scholar, Mallika Khandelwal,
will travel to Kigali, Rwanda to learn
first-hand about the reconstruction
process taking place there following the 1994
genocide. She will intern at the Gacaca Jurisdictions, where she will observe the trials of those
involved in the genocide itself, as well as the
FARG Institution, a quasi-governmental organization sponsored by the United States, which
financially aids genocide survivors.
Under the guidance of the Genocide Intervention Network, a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Washington, DC, Mallika will
stay in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, accompanied by GI-Net outreach director Stephanie
2006 Ben Read Scholar Mallika Khandelwal Nyombayira. During her stay, she will attend
daily Gacaca court proceedings and regularly
visit the headquarters of FARG where officials discuss the issues that survivors continue to struggle with. As well, she will visit the Ngeda Psychiatric Institute to learn
about patients admitted for post-traumatic stress disorder and finally, she will interview local survivors at the genocide memorial centers located in each of the 12
“prefectures” of Rwanda. These sites not only memorialize the conflict, but also
serve as mass graves for genocide victims as demonstrated by the burial of 900 newly found bodies on January 1, 2006, a testament to the success of the Gacaca courts
in which the killers revealed the location of these hidden bodies.
The objective of her project is to learn about the past Hutu-Tutsi genocide and
how this event sheds lights on the present Darfur genocide. Clearly, the Rwandan
genocide is not an isolated incident; the restoration of Rwanda will serve as a model of rehabilitation for the current Sudanese conflict and other imminent conflicts
such as the one brewing in Iraq. Mallika hopes to return with a comprehensive understanding of both the Rwandan and Sudanese genocides and subsequently raise
awareness in the Episcopal community about these horrifying crimes.
Honorable
Mention for
Episcopal
Academy Lower
School Essayist
L
ower School at Devon 5th
grader John Saile received an
Honorable Mention in the recent student essay contest
sponsored by The National Constitution
Center, the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, and the News In Education
program of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Students were asked to write a
300-word essay on “Who is Your Modern-Day Benjamin Franklin?” John Saile
developed a wonderful comparison of
Benjamin Franklin and Bill Cosby, citing their individual genius, commitment
to Philadelphia, and gift of humor as
common traits. The entire 5th grade
class participated in the essay contest.
Devon Students
Enjoy This Year’s
Science Fair
Parents and kids alike
enjoyed this year’s science
fair at the Lower School at
Devon.
13 C o n n e c t i o n s
The Episcopal Academy
Class of 2006 Matriculations
Duke University
6
Ithaca College
1
University of Pennsylvania
6
Kenyon College
1
Franklin & Marshall College
4
Lafayette College
1
George Washington University
4
Lehigh University
1
Johns Hopkins University
4
Loyola College
1
University of Southern California
4
Manhattan School of Music
1
Bucknell University
3
McGill University
1
Columbia University
3
Middlebury College
1
Hamilton College
3
Occidental College
1
Harvard University
3
Ohio Wesleyan University
1
Penn State University – University Park 3
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
1
University of Richmond
3
Post Graduate Year
1
Boston College
2
Purdue University
1
Colgate University
2
Rollins College
1
Cornell University
2
Scripps College
1
Hobart & Wm Smith Colleges
2
St. Anselm College
1
Northeastern University
2
St. Mary’s College
1
Northwestern University
2
Stanford University
1
Princeton University
2
Syracuse University
1
University of Virginia
2
Tufts University
1
Vanderbilt University
2
United States Military Academy Prep
1
American University
1
University of Albany SUNY
1
Boston University
1
University of Colorado Boulder
1
Bradley University
1
University of Denver
1
Carleton College
1
University of Michigan
1
Carroll College
1
University of Missouri
1
Champlain College
1
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill 1
College of Charleston
1
University of Rhode Island
1
College of the Holy Cross
1
University of Rochester
1
Colorado College
1
University of Scranton
1
Connecticut College
1
Villanova University
1
Dartmouth College
1
Wagner College
1
DePaul University
1
Wake Forest University
1
Drexel University
1
Wesleyan University
1
Georgetown University
1
Whittier College
1
Gettysburg College
1
Yale University
1
Latin and Greek
Students Have
Strong Showing
on National Exams
Once Again
O
n March 15, 188 Episcopal Academy Latin students
took the National Latin
Exam (NLE), and 121 won
awards, including 41 gold and 33 silver medals. Of the 134,000 students
in 50 states and 13 foreign countries
who took the NLE, less than half won
awards; at Episcopal, two-thirds of the
students won awards. Two students,
Jack Archer (Level 2) and Hannah Sayen (Level 4: Poetry) had perfect papers
(see photo above).
In addition, four Episcopal seniors
have won gold medals four years in a
row: Alex Nakahara, Sarah Nathan,
Brendan Roach, and Max Young. To
recognize this accomplishment, they
will each receive a copy of the Oxford
Classical Dictionary from the NLE
Committee. Episcopal’s Greek students also had a
strong showing on the National Greek
Exam. Thirteen students received honors with Sarah Nathan receiving a
Highest Honor Blue Ribbon for Prose,
Zach Morse receiving a High Honor Red Ribbon for Prose, and Colleen
McKenna, Denise Kossuth, and Alex
Nakahara each receiving a Merit Award
Green Ribbon for Prose. Mark Nakahara, Hannah Sayen, Ben Jones, and Anna
Stein each received a High Honor Red
Ribbon for Intermediate Attic Greek,
while Michael Whalen and Chris Ballard received a Merit Award Green
Ribbon for Intermediate Attic Greek.
Jack Archer and Caroline Pratt both received a Merit Award Green Ribbon for
Beginning Attic Greek.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6
14
Academics
Faculty Member
Sue Cannon
Speaks On
“Educating For
Peace In a Culture
Of War” In Japan
and China
F
aculty member Susan Cannon
(Middle School English and
History), who is on sabbatical this year to focus on moral
and global education in Middle School,
spoke recently about her methods of
“educating for peace in a culture of war”
at the World Friendship Center and Memorial Peace Hall in Hiroshima, Japan.
She also presented at Kyoto-Seika University and Kansai University in Japan,
as well as in schools in Toyohashi, Japan
and Beijing, China. Cannon’s special
fields of interest are moral, global, and
peace education: developing teaching
methods to help children to think, care,
and act honorably and globally. Earlier
this year, Cannon taught middle school
students and teachers in Yangzhou and
Rugao, China (see Connections, Winter
2006, p. 15). Cannon will be returning
to the United States in June.
Faculty member Sue Cannon visits high school
students at Sakaragoake High School in Toyohashi,
Japan. The school is known for its global studies
and peace education program and Cannon spoke
to social studies classes. She is currently on
sabbatical exploring moral and global education at
the Middle School level.
15 C o n n e c t i o n s
Midge Rendell, First Lady of
Pennsylvania, Visits With Devon
Lower School Students
I
n March, the Honorable Marjorie “Midge” Rendell, judge for the US Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit and Pennsylvania’s First Lady, joined the Lower
School at Devon student body for chapel. Addressing the students, Judge Rendell encouraged them to demonstrate the fundamental characteristics of good
citizenship and to devote themselves to civic endeavors. Judge Rendell is an advocate of returning the discussion and study of civics back into the classroom.
After the chapel service, Judge Rendell met with the B form to discuss a day in
the life of an appeals judge. She encouraged questions and the curious students inquired about how she came to be a lawyer and then judge, about the particulars of
the most difficult case to come before her, her thoughts on Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito (still in confirmation hearings at the time), and what it is like to be
First Lady. The students also asked, “exactly what do you do all day?” and when
Judge Rendell responded that she spends much of her time reading and thinking
and writing—the students responded with humorous groans.
Cross Bridge Scholars Program Shines
This year, The Episcopal Academy, together with the Honickman Learning Center/Comcast Technology Labs,
launched the Cross Bridge Scholars Program. Ten students from EA and Honickman participated in this
initiative, meeting twice weekly and one Saturday monthly to work on breaking down stereotypes through
discussion and colloboration on multimedia projects.
Cross Bridge Scholars at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at their most recent “Bridge Day” on April 29 from
left to right: Brianna Kelly, Ted Hall, Andrew Espe, James Butler, Christine Chen, Anna Strong, Anthony
Phillips, Isha Gulati, Kelsey Grannan. Missing: Fatima Thomas.
Faculty & Staff News
Curriculum Development
The following curricular work will be undertaken by Episcopal faculty members this summer: The Episcopal Summer
Technology Institute will continue this summer, training participating faculty from all over the area cutting edge curricula
such as robotics, as well as training in tablets PC’s, and Rubicon Atlas software; several learning specialists, reading
specialists, and some faculty members will be trained on TestWiz, an ERB testing software; Catherine Bennett and Ted
Mathison will undergo curriculum development for 4th and 5th grades; Courtney Brockwell and Charles Simmons will
participate in 3rd Grade curriculum development; Joan Devon, Sally Bishop, Jessica Rice, Betsy Welsh, and Eileen
Cohen will reexamine the trade books in second grade to reflect a variety of genres, cultures, and socio-economic
backgrounds; Heather Patton-Graham, Susan Swanson, Catherine Bennett, and Ted Mathison will work to create a
5th grade bioethics curriculum to connect science, religion, and service learning through ethical decision making; Crissy
Caceres, Joyce Gavin, Elizabeth Cocco, and Jennifer Rea will develop a pilot Spanish language program at Merion, while
Claudia Parra and Caceres will also coordinate that program with a Flex Spanish program at Devon.
In the Middle School, Naomi Knect will explore problem solving through art production; Tim Kent, Bill MacArdle,
Michelle Domondon, Molly Knonpka, and Lee Pearcy will attend the American Classical League Institute at the University
of Pennsylvania workshop presentation on teaching Latin with the grammar-translation method; and John Goens and Kim
Piersall will condense, codify, and update the present Episcopal coaching manual and The Episcopal Academy Athletics
Manual.
In the Upper School, Dave Wilhoite, Doug Parsons, Bob Bishop, Anne Barr, and Sherry Forste-Grupp will refocus on the
fall semester of 11th grade American Literature, exploring the American Renaissance and the formation of the American
character through literature; Kris Aldridge, Khari Baten, Chuck Bryant, Lynne Hay, and Holly Johnston will begin a twoyear project to review and redesign Pre-Modern and Modern History; Andy Hess will work on AP Economics curriculum
development; Kris Aldridge will also work on AP European History curriculum development; and Lee Billmyer was named
the Kulp/Oxbridge Fellow for 2006. She will spend two weeks in July attending The Oxford Teacher Seminar at Mansfield
College, Oxford, England.
Other Faculty News…
Ryan Dankanich (Upper School Music) performed at the Lars Halle Jazz Orchestra at the Main Line Jazz and Food Fest
on Sunday, June 11… Linda Smith and Jacquie Sabat (Co-Directors of Libraries) were elected co-presidents of PREP, a
consortium of local private school library directors. Their term is for two years… Matt Lake’s (Lower School Technology
Coordinator) second “Weird U.S.” book is out—this time it’s Maryland. “Weird Maryland” will be released in July. His book
tour begins in August… Madeleine Weeks’ (Upper School Math) ice hockey teams made it to the quarterfinals in the USA
Hockey Nationals this past March. The Concord Flames, of Aston, PA, beat a team from Minnesota and one from Ohio,
tied one from Connecticut, and lost in the quarterfinals in a 2-0 game against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay went on to win 2nd
place… Mandie Banks (Lower School Drama) will be taking intense dance classes this summer at the renowned Koresh
School for Dance in Center City in preparation for her teaching/coaching dance as a new winter sport next year (see p.
18)… Mireya Yaros (Upper School Spanish) and her family will tour three provinces in Argentina for almost three weeks:
Misiones, Corrientes, and Cordoba. The sites include: the famous Iguazu Falls, Jesuit-mission ruins, enormous wetlands,
open water lagoons, floating islands, colonial restorations, the Che Guevara home, and para-sailing in the Sierras of
Cordoba.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 16
Athletics
Boys’ And Girls’ Squash
Have Strong Years
T
he Episcopal Academy Girls’ Squash team had another fine showing this past winter taking a share of
the Inter-Ac title with Penn Charter (they split their
two matches in Inter-Ac play), and won the MASA
Championship by topping Penn Charter 16 points to 15.5
points.
The team also had a strong showing at Nationals, finishing 3rd out of 27 teams. As a side note, junior Logan Greer
also reached the finals of the U-19 U.S. Junior National tournament.
The boys’ team finished third in the season ending MASA
tournament and took sixth at Nationals. The team also won
the 2006 MASA Sportsmanship Award for the second year
in a row, exemplifying fantastic conduct on the court. In addition, senior Trevor McGuinness won the U-19 U.S. Junior
Naitonal tournament.
Boys’ Tennis
Continues
Domination
F
or the second straight year, the boys’
tennis team, led by captain Peter Vale,
finished undefeated in the Inter-Ac
taking at least a share of the title. This
issue went to press before the Inter-Ac Tournament was held.
The team finished 12-0 in the Inter-Ac, and 17-1 overall.
Said head coach Tim Kent: “The depth of talent in our singles
lineup truly dominated the league, and we didn’t lose a single
match at either the No. 3 or No. 4 spot. And it is exciting to
know that both players, Todd Harrity and Rob Margolis, are
only freshmen and therefore will be sharing their talents with
Episcopal for another three years.” In addition, the teams’ double pairings were also excellent.
17 C o n n e c t i o n s
The No. 1 doubles team of Michael Chang and Ron Richter, proved formidable and the No. 2 doubles team of Will
Brinks and Amit Singh came through with many clutch victories, among them the key match that secured a second win
over archrival Haverford. “While we will sorely miss the talent and leadership of senior captain Peter Vale, the team is blessed with tons of talent
and the future looks quite bright,” said Kent.
Girls’ Lacrosse Takes Share of
Inter-Ac Title
F
or the second straight year, the girls’ lacrosse team took at least a share of
the Inter-Ac title, winning the regular season title this year, but unfortunately dropping the Inter-Ac Tournament final to Agnes Irwin.
The team ended the season with a 10-4 record. According to head coach
Anna McDermott, the team’s success was truly the result of a total team effort. The
highlights of the season included clinching the Inter-Ac Championship in a six minute overtime session against Springside, beating a strong Agnes Irwin team 12-4
during the regular season, beating public school powerhouse Strath Haven, 12-11
in the Katie Sampson tournament, and winning a nail-biter over rival Germantown
Academy 15-14. “Four senior student-athletes, Christina Clark, Kaitlyn Fallon, Jane Gartland,
and Kelsey Reinhard, led this team with their sportsmanship, spirit, determination,
and desire,” said McDermott. “While juniors Logan Greer, Ashley Aruffo, Callye
Komlo, and Britt Steidle helped control the midfield, and junior Megan McFarland
was the anchor of the defense.”
Dance To Be Offered As A Winter Sport
Next Year
D
ance has been added as a new winter sport offering beginning in 20062007. Mandie Banks, a Lower School Drama teacher and choreographer
for the Middle and Upper School, will head the program.
The emphasis will be on jazz and musical theatre dance. The class
will meet the same as a sport (every day after school from 3:45 - 5:30) and it will
consist of a rigorous physical warm up, technique (where they will learn a variety
of technical dance steps and terminology), choreography to various modern broadway shows (such as “Chicago”), and will then end with a cool down. At the end
of the winter sport season, the students will participate in a recital, which will be
combined with the “One-Act Festival”—an Upper School offering in which the
students, write, direct, and perform original one-act plays. In order to prepare for the rigorous dance schedule next year, Banks will be refining her existing talents by taking dance classes this summer at the renowned Koresh
School for Dance in Philadelphia. Boys’ Basketball
Tops Off Year
With Post-Season
Accolades
A
fter wrapping up one of the
most memorable seasons in
Episcopal Academy athletics
history, the accolades for the
coaches, players, and the team began
pouring in.
The team finished the season with an
overall record of 27-4, playing a truly national schedule. The team finished
as Inter-Ac Champs with a perfect 100 record in regular season league play,
earned a #1 ranking in Southeastern
Pennsylvania in both the Philadelphia
Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer,
and was named the “Best Ever” boys’
basketball team in the Inter-Academic
League by the Daily News. Individual highlights included Wayne
Ellington, Gerald Henderson, and Mike
Yocum being selected to the first team
All Inter-Ac team. Henderson and Ellington were also selected as the league’s
Co-MVPs, both were selected as McDonald’s All Americans, both were
named to the U.S.A. Under-19 National Basketball Team, both were named
as the Markward Basketball Club’s
co-players of the year, and both were
named the Associated Press’ co-winners
of the State Player of the Year.
In addition, Mike Yocum, Tim Ivory,
and Charlie Barks were honored by the
Markward Basketball Club at its March
8th luncheon, receiving the club’s “Unsung Hero Award.”
Finally, Coach Dan Dougherty earned
his 500th coaching victory at Episcopal Academy and remains the city of
Philadelphia’s all-time winningest high
school basketball coach.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 18
Athletics
Lower School At Devon Launches
Rowing Program
4th and 5th graders are logging the miles as they
Row across America.
Fourth graders Madeleine Blommer and Richard Palazzese enjoy their workout.
T
he Lower School at Devon has launched a rowing program for its 4th and
5th grade students. The students have been challenged to “Row Across
America”—a feat that is measured by the cumulative miles students row
on machines located in the school’s fitness center. Physical Education
instructor Brian Kline based the program on the Concept2 (rowing machine manufacturer and promoter of rowing challenges) One Million Mile Challenge, which
rewards rowers who log one million miles.
Five weeks into the program the students had a combined distance of 164 miles
logged from just over 26 hours of rowing. Since the program started in late February, the group most likely won’t realize their goal of rowing to California, but they
have sparked the interest and competitive spirit that will make next year’s challenge
attainable.
While the motivators for the program are personal and class success, Kline is considering the inclusion of sponsors and charities next year. Sponsorship goals will
encourage the students to work for others and will incorporate another level of fun
into the program.
19 C o n n e c t i o n s
Allison Fitzpatick
Honored As Finalist
At Aimee Willard
Dinner
S
enior Allie Fitzpatrick, who is
heading to Bucknell University next fall, was honored as
a finalist at the annual Aimee
Willard Award Dinner. The award has
been presented annually since 1997 to an
Inter-Ac senior girl who is a multi-sport
athlete and exemplifies Aimee Willard’s
qualities: intense, focused, tenacious,
coachable, and proud to be representing
her school. Willard, a standout athlete
at the Academy of Notre Dame and
George Mason University, was tragically murdered in 1996.
Fitzpatrick, a four-time Inter-Ac diving champion and standout soccer
player and track participant, was Episcopal’s nominee for the award.
The Episcopal Academy 2006 Winter Athletic Awards
Next Year’s Varsity Captains and Improvement Certificates:
Team of 1999 Boys Swimming Award – David Fell
Boys Basketball
Captains Patrick Kelly& Michael Nealis
Most Improved Charles Barks
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Tucker Brown
Girls Basketball Captains Ashley Aruffo and Caroline Komolo
Most Improved Katharine Ivory
The Most Outstanding Swimming Award – Julie Heier
Ice Hockey Captains William Brinks & William Oldfather
Most Improved Taylor Hess
Boys Squash
Captains Benjamin Lurio & Yasha Shahidi
Most Improved Benjamin Lurio
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Alexander Raiken
Captains Logan Greer & Anne Madeira
Most Improved Anne Madeira & Kim Kirkpatrick
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Kelsey Reinhard
Boys Swimming Captains C.J. Murdoch & Christopher Cox
Most Improved C.J. Murdock
Wrestling Career Contribution (Allman Award) – Richard Brooman
Boys Diving
Most Improved Zachary Hawkins
Girls Swimming
Captains Kerri McShane & Jessie Small
Most Improved Bridget McShane
Girls Diving
Most Improved Caryn Clark
3. The Chestnut Hill Academy Wrestling Invitational – Champion
Boys Winter Track
Captains Geoffrey McQuilkin & Gregory Cohn
Most Improved David Rinnier
4. The Girls Inter Ac League Squash Championship – Champion
Girls Squash
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Lauren Griesser & Denise Kossuth
The George Greenwood Winter Track Award – Christopher Jahnle
The 1994 Team Winter Track – Claire Pelura
Bates Sharp Wrestling Trophy – Charles Alexander
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Zachary Morse
Girls Winter Track Captains Eugenia Norcini & Alexandra Peters
Most Improved Alexandra Hahn
Wrestling
Swimming Bowl for Girls (A Moyer Kulp Award) – Lauren Griesser
Captain Glenn Gallagher
Most Improved John Gormley
Junior Varsity Captains and Improvement Certificates:
JV Boys Basketball Captains Blair Fox
Most Improved Christopher Angelos
School Awards and Championships:
1. The MASA Boys Sportsmanship Award
2. Valley Forge Military Academy Wrestling Tournament – Champion
5. The MASA Girls Squash Championship – Champion
6. The Girls High School National Squash Tournament – Third Place
7. Neumann-Goretti Girls’ Round Ball Tournament – Finalist
8. The Eastern Girls’ Swimming and Diving Championship – Sixth Place
9. The City of Palms Basketball Invitational – Finalist
10. The InterAc League Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament – Champion
11. The Boys InterAc League Basketball Championship – Champion
9th Boys Basketball Captains Thomas Sacchetta
Most Improved Stephen Faulkner
Special Awards:
JV Girls Basketball
Captains Emmaline Imbriglia
Most Improved Jules Rodin
Boys Basketball Wayne Ellington, Jerome Henderson, Michael Yocum
JV Boys Squash
Captains John Spilman Levering
Most Improved Andrew Nathan Nassau
Girls Basketball Brittany Perfetti, Kaitlyn Fallon
Boys Squash
Trevor McGuinness, Todd Harrity
JV Girls Squash
Captains Caroline Cannon & Kristin Grogan
Most Improved Ashley DuBay
Girls Squash
Logan Greer, Anne Madeira, Sandra Mumanachit
Girls Swimming
Jessie Small, Julie Heier, Allison FitzPatrick
Boys Swimming
David Fell, Kevin DiSilvestro, Thomas Bergstrom
Wrestling
Charles Alexander, Richard Brooman, Zachary Moorse
Special Awards:
Class of 1929 Gold Basketball – Wayne Ellington
Daniel J. Dougherty Basketball Alumni Award – Jerome Henderson
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Michael Yocum & Timothy Ivory
Team of 1983 Girls Basketball Plaque – Kaitlyn Fallon
Girls Basketball High Scorer Plaque – Brittany Perfetti
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Ashley Aruffo
Ice Hockey-Hebbard – Alexander Terzian
Roger C. White Award – Joshua McLane
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Matthew Ciccotti
Wayne Astley Award (Squash) – Todd Harrity & Brandon McLaughlin
First Team All Main Line Times Teams
First Team All Inter-Ac Certificates
Boys Basketball Wayne Ellington, Jerome Henderson, Michael Yocum
Boys Squash Trevor McGuinness, Todd Harrity
Girls Basketball
Brittany Perfetti
Girls Diving Allison FitzPatrick
Girls Swimming
Ashley DiSilvestro, Julie Heier, Jessie Small
Girls Squash Logan Greer, Anne Madeira, Sandra Mumanachit
Wrestling
Zachary Morse, Richard Brooman
BB Reath Plaque (Squash Tournament) – Trevor McGuinness
EHSHL First Team All Star
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Maxwell Young
Ice Hockey
Christopher O’Brian, Brendan Welsh, Matthew Teti
1989 Girls Squash Cup – Sandra Mumanachit
The Heckscher Bowl (Girls Squash) – Logan Greer
The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize – Logan Greer
1969 Swimmers Bowl – David Fell
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 20
Arts
Lower School
Student Wins
National Music
Composition
Award
L
ower School at Devon fifth grader, Karen Christianson, was selected this
spring as one of the best young composers in the United States by the
Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in the 2006 Student Composition Talent Search. Seventeen winners were selected from a nationwide
pool of applicants ranging from elementary school through university levels. Karen was the only winner at the elementary school level, and she was the only winner
from Pennsylvania.
Her winning choral composition, “Psalm of Thanksgiving,” was also performed
at the MENC national meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 21st. Scored for soprano and alto voices with piano/organ accompaniment, it has also been performed
by the choir of historic Christ Church in Philadelphia, where John J. Binsfield III is
organist and choirmaster.
Karen studies music theory and composition with Matthew Glandorf and organ performance with Alan Morrison, both on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of
Music in Philadelphia. She also studies piano with Donna DePasquale Harrington
and violin with Jessica Weber in the after-school program at Episcopal. Karen has
played numerous times in recital in the Philadelphia area, and she
is one of the youngest members of the Philadelphia chapter of the
American Guild Organists. She was also one of two Episcopal students to sing with the Kodály National Choir this spring (see story
at right).
Students To
Perform With
Kodály National
Choir
T
wo Lower School students
were selected to participate
in the Kodály National Children’s Choir, which performed
on March 11th in Charlotte, NC. Matthew Vegari and Karen Christianson,
along with Music and Choral Instructor
Susan Johnson, represented Episcopal.
The Organization of Kodály Music
Educators has established this national choir, which is comprised of 150
elementary-aged students who have
been instructed in Kodály music education classrooms for at least two years.
Those selected are talented, motivated,
passionate about singing, and excel in
the choral skills of solfege, ear training,
sight-singing, sight-reading, and harmony. The Episcopal Academy begins
Kodály instruction for all students in
pre-kindergarten.
Fifth Graders Perform At
District Choir
S
ixteen Lower School at Devon fifth grade students
were selected to perform at the District 11 Elementary Songfest at Perkiomen Valley Middle School West,
in Zieglersville, PA, this past
April.
The group is a dedicated bunch, with
students rehearsing before school several times a week in order to master the
repertoire. Stephen Fisher, director of
the Philadelphia Boys Choir, conducted
the performance.
Pictured at right in front are: Avery Patterson,
Naquan Rice, Sean Fahey, and James Costalas.
In the second row from left: Caroline Hompe,
Haley Hammerschmidt, Emma Schaafsma, Sydney
Francis, and Julia Fay. In the top row are Schuyler
Aitken, Emily Scullin, Sara Holston, Carter Ganntt,
Ciara Pettinos, Julianna Suplee, and Maggie
Haraburda.
21 C o n n e c t i o n s
Karen Christiansen and
Matthew Vegari
Domino Club’s “Oklahoma!” Garners Rave Reviews
T
he Domino Club presented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” on March 17th and March
18th to standing-room-only crowds. More than 60
students took part in the production. Guiding the
performance were Director Gabrielle Bernard, Musical Director John Powell, Choreographer Mandie Banks, and Technical
Director Brandon Koenig.
Theater Department Chair, Gabrielle Bernard, notes “We
worked so hard from December to March to bring Episcopal
this classic story of life and love in the Midwest, when times
were changing and the world seemed a much smaller place.
This was our ‘big game’ in the theater and it was great for our
students to see their teachers and mentors in the audience. I
am so proud of them all.”
Some other reviews included:
“When I got home I gave my wife an ‘Oklahoma’
hello,” —Tim Gavin, Religion Teacher and Form Dean
“Outstanding… I danced all the way home and when I
woke up this morning I was singing ‘Oh What a Beautiful
Morning,’” —Dan Dougherty, Math Teacher
“The kids did a fantastic job,” —Carol Tassoni,
Upper School Administrative Assistant
“It left me toe-tapping, hootin’, and hollerin’ till the
sun came up,” —Holly Johnston, Religion and History
Teacher and Form Dean
Theater Students Participate In “Shared Experience” At Wilma Theater
F
ifteen Episcopal Domino Club members participated in an acting technique workshop conducted by
Shared Experience, a British theatre company, and
made possible by the Wilma Theater’s outreach educational program. The program highlighted movement-based
acting. In addition, the students took a closer look at the creative process behind a script and the production itself. The
workshop was lead by Kate Saxon, guest director of Shared
Experience’s current production “9 Parts of Desire,” a onewoman show that ran from February through March at the
Wilma.
Episcopal senior Alicia LaPalombara commented on the
workshop, “It was such a different approach to getting us to
convey emotion.” Meghan McCormick, a junior added, “It
was so impressive to watch her [Saxon] clear definitions of
nine different characters. She became different physically, her
accents became different and her whole personality changed.
It was amazing.”
After the workshop, the group of students watched a performance of “9 Parts of Desire.” In addition, Episcopal
seniors Sarah Orr and Alicia LaPalombara are conducting
their senior projects in conjunction with the Wilma Theater
this spring.
Shared Experience. Pictured from left are: Meghan McCormick, Kate Saxon,
guest director, Kelsey Platt, Annie Imperatrice, Alexa Marymor, Jen D’Angelo,
Alicia LaPalombara, Front row: Gabrielle Bernard, Chair, EA Theater Dept.,
Stephanie Kilpatrick, EA Lower School Drama teacher, and Anne Holmes,
Outreach Coordinator for the Wilma.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 22
Arts
Middle School Stages “Romeo And Juliet—
Together (And Alive!) At Last”
T
he Harlequin Club of the Middle School presented
its spring play, “Romeo and Juliet—Together (and
Alive!) at Last,” by Sandra Fenichel Asher, based on
the play by Avi, on May 19th.
The story line deals with the question of “What is love?”
That’s the question Ed Sitrow asks himself when he discovers
that his best friend, Pete Saltz, is in love with Anabell Stackpool but is too shy to even look at her. When Ed discovers
that timid Anabell feels the same way about Pete, he and Lucy
Neblit enlist their friends to help bring the lovesick pair together. They convince the principal to let them stage their
own version of “Romeo and Juliet,” which they have been
studying in English class, and rig the casting so that Pete is
Romeo and Anabell is Juliet. The plan seems like a perfect
one, until a number of details threaten to derail the production.
On the day of the performance, everything that can go
wrong does. Yet, in spite of everything—or maybe because of
it—true love triumphs in the end.
Students Enjoy Spring
Student Art Festival
A
s usual, this year’s school-wide Spring Student
Art Show was a huge success. Events were held at
Merion and Devon with fantastic input and participation from parents, faculty, and staff.
23 C o n n e c t i o n s
Ed Sitrow (Taylor Platt, center) wonders aloud ‘What is love?’ when he learns
that his best friend Pete Saltz (Mac Lee) is in love with Anabell Stackpoole
(Emily Rea), but the two of them are too painfully shy to even look at each other.
Fourth Grade Students at
Merion Perform “Memorial”
T
his spring, Allison Keffer’s fourth grade class at
Merion produced and performed “Memorial,”
an oral history theater project based on the stories of war veterans. The performance was held
on May 23rd to coincide with the Memorial Day Holiday.
The students interviewed veterans
at the Veterans Affairs Medical Hospital in Philadelphia and wrote a play
based on their lives. This year they
met one of the Tuskegee Airmen, a
female Puerto Rican school teacher who was recruited to the army to
help with translation, and veterans
from WWII, the Korean War, and
Vietnam.
“There were some very funny stories in the play, as well as some very
moving moments,” said Susan LaPalombara, a Middle and Lower School
Drama teacher that helped the students bring their interviews to life.
“It ws a nice way to set the stage for
Memorial Day.”
Alumni
Alumni Lacrosse Game – Pictured left to right: Rich Aldridge ’85,
Andy Hayes (Head Coach, EA Varsity Lacrosse team), Brian Mann ’81,
Eric Gregg ’96, David Reape ’80, EA alumnus, Chris Fallon ’98, Josh
Hollinger ’00, Gordon Cooney ’77, Tim Muir ’99, John Wynne, Hon.
(Guest Coach), Ralph Sando ’89, Jamie Creed ’00, Andy Nadler (Asst
Coach, EA Varsity Lacrosse team), and Will Gibbs (Head Coach, EA JV
Lacrosse team).
Alumni Ice Hockey Game – Pictured left to right : BJ Stone ’05, Ben Glauser ’98,
Carl Kraus ’91, Lou Merlini ’99, Scott Huston ’91, Jan Koziara ’94, Dean Boyd
’96, Bryan Aronchick ’99, Drew Evans ’02, Rob D’Angelo ’98, Jamie Evans ’96,
Eric Kraus ’94, Steve Venzie ’96, Joe Auteri ’88.
Alumni Water Polo – Participating alumni pictured Ed McAnany ’94, Andrew
Torre ’98, Dan Connelly ’99, Austin Frieman ’99, Mike Good ’99, Steve Kossuth
’99, Matt Welde ’03, Richie Clark ’04, Robert Havens ’04, Brint Markle ’04,
Lauren Owens ’04, Sam Rogers ’04, Vikram Singh ’04, Eric Turner ’04, Stephan
Connelly ’05 and Spencer Hoffman ’05.
Alumni Sports
Alumni Ice Hockey
This winter, the alumni decided to mix things up and play the
3rd Annual Blue/White Alumni Ice Hockey game as a warmup before taking on Haverford Alumni in a new tradition.
Episcopal Academy’s alumni beat a “more mature” Haverford Alumni team 8-4.
Alumni Water Polo
Alumni returned to the pool with varsity players over winter
break to participate in the annual alumni water polo game.
This year, the “Old School” (’90s) team won 17-13 over the
“Young Guys” (’00s).
Alumni Squash Round Robin
Thirteen alumni and 11 members of Episcopal Academy’s
varsity squash teams gathered at the Merion Cricket Club this
January to play or watch some good squash.
Alumni Lacrosse
Under the leadership of Guest Coach John Wynne, Hon., Episcopal Academy lacrosse alumni defeated GA lacrosse alumni
for the second year in a row! The winning goal was scored by
Josh Hollinger ’00.
Alumni Squash Round Robin – Pictured left to right: Dave McMullin ’55, Brian
Callahan ’85, Jay Aikens ’71, Lauren (O’Connor) Sullivan ’88, Anne Madiera ’08,
Tom Williams ’71, Charlie Ogelsby ’63, Lexi Van Arkel ’08, Dave McNeely ’96,
Andrea McNeely ’98
Upcoming
Alumni Events
September 8, 2006
8th Annual EA Alumni Golf Invitational
September 27, 2006
Groundbreaking at the New Campus
November 10
Alumni Awards Dinner
fall 2006
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 24
Alumni
2006
H
Alumni Weekend
undreds of alumni returned to the Merion and
Devon Campuses on Friday, May 5 and Saturday,
May 6 to celebrate reunions and reconnect with
friends and classmates. The weather could not
have been more beautiful, making for a picture-perfect
weekend. Alumni joined our Upper School students in
chapel on Friday morning as Dave Scott ’56 addressed the
crowd with his perspective on the chapel theme “Risk and
Resilience.”
A number of alumni took the opportunity after chapel
to visit a senior English elective class on J.R.R. Tolkien,
while others took a closer look at the Merion Campus
led by student tour guides. Ryan Hall overflowed during
lunch as the alumni listened to a new campus update from
Ham Clark and were treated to a choral performance by
Episcopal’s very talented vocal ensemble.
Following lunch, some alumni left for tours of the new
campus while others walked down the street to tour the
Barnes Foundation. Still others participated in an Oral
History Project conducted by members of the 7th grade,
answering questions about their experiences as students at
Episcopal, and being videotaped for posterity. As Friday
drew to a close, alumni from the class of 1941 through
the class of 2001 gathered in the Annenberg Library for
a Welcome Back Alumni reception to honor the 25th &
50th reunion classes, as well as Episcopal’s record-breaking
varsity basketball team led by head coach Dan Dougherty,
Hon. The great class of 1956 celebrated phase one of their
50th Reunion celebration in Ryan Hall on Friday night at a
dinner hosted by Ham Clark. Classmates regaled each other
with stories and memories from their days at Episcopal long
after the dessert plates had been cleared from the table.
Saturday brought more beautiful weather and more
alumni back to campus. The 50th Reunion class honored
fallen classmates at a special memorial service in Christ
Chapel led by Chaplain Jim Squire, Hon., and members
of the 50th reunion committee. Following the service,
the chapel filled with alumni eager to listen to the panel
discussion “Seizing Opportunity: A Look at Episcopal’s
Bob Mascioli ’86, Cathy Mascioli, Dan Dougherty, Hon., Linn Carpenter, Hon.
Ham Clark, Karl
Rugart ’41,
Conrad Rugart
’76, Charlie
Ogelsby ’63
John Crockett ’91,
Maggie Crockett
(John’s wife),
Chuck Crockett ’76
Kim Richter ’88 (holding
daughter Sydney), Gina
Buggy, Hon.
Tim Kent, Hon., Cheo Scott ’00
25 C o n n e c t i o n s
Bill Rapp ’56, Wayne Ellington ’06, Mary French, Hon., Dave Scott ’56
Rob McCallion
’80, Rich Aldridge
’85, Brian Mann
’81, John Wynne,
Hon., Gordon
Cooney ’77, Chris
Flynn ’84
Tom Williams ’71,
Sarah Baker ’01,
Max Perkins
History of Determining Its Own Future From Philadelphia
to Merion to Newtown Square.” The panel was moderated
by Gee Heckscher ’56 and included Jim Garrison ’75, an
architect with the Hillier Group, Inc.; Jay Crawford ’57,
former head of school and member of Episcopal’s Major
Gifts Committee; J. Brian O’Neill, founder and chairman
of O’Neill Properties Group, LP and a trustee; and Bernard
Cywinski, Executive Vice President and Principal for Design
at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, an architectural design firm. All
are key members of the school community who were part
of the decision process to build the new campus. They also
discussed the development of the current Merion Campus
from the time the school moved from Philadelphia through
the present day. Clips from this discussion will be available
on the Web site later this summer.
While more than 80 alumni gathered for lunch in Ryan
Hall, our men’s lacrosse alumni took on GA’s lacrosse
alumni in a showdown on the field. Joined by the varsity
coaches, surrounded by varsity lacrosse spectators, and led
by guest coach John Wynne, Hon., Episcopal defeated GA in
a close 4-3 game. Several tennis alumni matched up against
the varsity boys’ team in a round robin with George Shafer,
Hon., pacing the sidelines. Parents, students, and faculty
joined alumni to cheer on the schools’ teams during a jampacked afternoon of sports vs. GA. In the late afternoon out
at the new campus, members of the class of 1966 met at the
Wiola School House to view the virtual tour of the future
campus on DVD, and take a tour with Len Haley, Hon.,
Head of Facilities for Episcopal. Saturday evening brought
the weekend to a close with off-campus parties celebrating
the 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 55th,
60th, and 65th reunions. It was a joy to see everyone
back on campus and the Alumni Office looks forward to
celebrating with you again soon!
Members of Saturday
afternoon’s panel
discussion (pictured left
to right): Gee Heckscher
’56, Jim Garrison ’75,
Jay Crawford ’57, Brian
O’Neill, and Bernie
Cywinski.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 26
Alumni
Alumni Society Hosts Annual Career Day
T
hirteen alumni and three parents joined the Alumni Society
on campus this spring to participate in its annual Career
Day program for the senior class. The
speakers addressed topics in the fields
of psychology (Sandy McCurdy ’57 and
Andrew McMeekin ’91), advertising
and marketing (Joe Giles ’80 and Steve
Strawbridge ’88), law (Rex Gary ’73
and Omar McNeill ’85), medicine (Mike
Ciccotti, parent and Ralph Sando ’89),
journalism (Ron Burke, parent and Art
Carey 68), and business management
(Mark Hess, parent and Vince Powers
’84). In addition to attending two of the
aforementioned sessions, students were
required to attend a networking workshop, led by Joe Auteri ’88 and Ann
(Madara) Kraftson ’85, that introduced
the basic concepts of networking. These
tips-of-the-trade were later put to good
use as students mingled with the speakers during a “Meet and Greet” session
From left to right: Sandy McCurdy ’57, Mark Hess, Joe Auteri ’88, Mike Ciccotti, Steve Strawbridge ’88,
Ann (Madara) Kraftson ’85, Omar McNeill ’85, Ron Burke, Rex Gary ’73, and Art Carey ’68.
before lunch. George Bell ’75 rounded
out the program with a riveting keynote
address on the topic of “following your
passion.” He regaled the audience with
stories about his unique life and career
journey and the lessons he learned in
dealing with the combination of adversity and success.
Alumni Regionals
H
ead of School Ham Clark and Director of Alumni Clayton Platt
’73 spent some time this winter and spring touring the country
bringing new campus updates and Episcopal greetings to alumni
gatherings in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego,
Denver, Washington (DC), and New York City. In each location, alumni
were treated to a first-look at the most recent design concept for the new
campus in Newtown Square and the floor was opened for questions about
the state of the school. One particular highlight was the presence of John
Wager ’29 at the California Club in Los Angeles. John is Episcopal’s oldest
living alumnus, and he was the center of attention in a city that knows its
share of celebrities. Many thanks go out to Brad Frank ’85, Dennis Siegler
’81, Bob Sayre ’49, Greg Penske ’80, Lee Samango ’91, Jeb Hook ’74,
Alan Lukens ’42, and Corky Hart ’63 for their help in making the regional
receptions a success. As always, these receptions prove to be a great way
to bring alumni together in a perfect atmosphere to reconnect with what’s
happening back in Merion and Devon.
Additionally, the Class of 1966 sponsored a “Mini-Reunion” for friends,
family, and other baseball-loving alumni on Saturday and Sunday, March
25-26. Jeff Kuch ’66, graciously hosted a dinner on Clearwater Beach
Saturday night and a Phillies/Red Sox spring training game at Brighthouse
Field in Clearwater, Florida on Sunday afternoon. Ham and Ceci Clark
were guests of honor. Steve Dittmann ’66, was instrumental in helping
work out logistics for this fun event. A great group assembled, and the
Head of School left happy as his Red Sox prevailed, 3-2.
Clearwater, FL
New York City
27 C o n n e c t i o n s
EA Boys Varsity Basketball Pre-Game Reception
C
lose to 150 alumni and guests
gathered at the University
of Pennsylvania’s Dunning
Coaches’ Center before the
Episcopal Academy vs. Neumann Goretti varsity boys’ basketball game this
winter. At least three generations of
Episcopal alumni and students nourished themselves before heading over to
the arena to cheer on the Churchmen in
what was one of the most memorable
events in Episcopal’s rich history of athletics.
Besides the final score and how that
came about (winning on a last second
shot by Wayne Ellington), the most fantastic aspect of the game was how it
unified the entire Episcopal Academy
community. For what may well have
been the first time in Episcopal’s history, virtually all of its constituents were
focusing on an Episcopal event at the
same time.
While more than 4,000 people attended the game at the Palestra (about half
were Episcopal fans), thanks to ESPN2,
Loyal EA Alums from the New York region watching the Episcopal vs. Neumann-Goretti game in
New York City.
alumni all over the country were able
to watch the game live. In fact, alumni gathered in New York City, Boston,
Washington D.C., Denver, Charlotte,
and Chicago (among many other spots)
and raised a few glasses and then the
roof. It was a great night for fans of
basketball, but even more important,
it was perfect opportunity for alumni
who might have drifted away in recent
years to remember how much fun it is
to cheer for the Blue and White.
San Francisco
Los Angeles
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 28
Spirituality & Community Life
S
enior Chelsea Scott and faculty member Steve
Rudnitzky are this year’s recipients of Episcopal’s
community service awards.
Scott received the Lenard Haley Community Service Award. Scott won the award for her participation in
Episcopal’s Aid for Friends program, the Martin Luther King
Day of Service, and the
Pine Ridge Reservation
program in South Dakota. She has also been
a dedicated and faithful
volunteer to the women
and children at St. Barnabas Mission, a shelter
for abused women.
The Lenard Haley Community Service Award is
named in honor of the
founder of Episcopal’s
nationally recognized volunteer community service
program and goes to a
student who has demonstrated a real commitment
to community service.
Rudnitzky, who teaches
Upper School mathematics, received the Spirit
of Volunteerism Award.
The 2005-2006 Episcopal Academy
Rudnitzky has worked
Community Service Award winners
with the community serChelsea Scott and Steven Rudnitzky.
vice program at Episcopal
in many different capacities, including overseeing the Episcopal recycling program,
taking students to and volunteering at nursing home facility
Saunders House, helping to feed the hungry at the University
City Hospitality Coalition, and tutoring children at the Honickman/Comcast Learning Center.
The Episcopal Academy Spirit of Volunteerism Award is given every year to someone other than a student, who through
support, participation, and guidance has exhibited outstanding dedication to community service.
Both winners are given a silver bowl for helping to make
the community service program successful.
29 C o n n e c t i o n s
pring Community Service Events…
Scott, Rudnitzky Win
2005-2006 Community
Service Awards
The SUN*Y Celebration was held on May 13th. This
was the 20th year that Episcopal and the Philadelphia
Department of Recreation have sponsored this event
for physically challenged adults at Carousel House
in Fairmount Park… Director Rob Trumbull and 14
students and two faculty members (Anne Raverby
and Eric Jones) will once again visit the Pine Ridge
Reservation in South Dakota to help construct bunk
beds with the Re-Member organization for members
of the Lakota Souix Nation… Episcopal hosted the
moms and children from St. Barnabas on May 17th
for a barbeque. This is an annual event where the
moms and kids come out for an evening of food and
games. St. Barnabas is a home for abused women…
In conjunction with the music department, a number
of Episcopal’s music groups were very busy visiting
nearby schools and retirement homes this spring…
The Middle School students were also busy visiting
local day-care centers to read to the children. They
also helped with the paper recycling on the Merion
Campus… The EAPA Habitat house in Chester is
nearing completion, and a formal dedication ceremony
will be held in the fall… Brendan Fitzpatrick’s fourth
grade class at the Lower School at Devon met their
counterparts from the Cornerstone Christian Academy
at the Greater Philadelphia Book Bank for a day of
community service work… And the regular, ongoing
projects continued: the Pre-k class visited Dunwoody
retirement village, the Middle School visited St.
Katherine’s School for special needs children, and
the community served dinners at University City
Hospitality Coalition in Philadelphia.
Community Service Group
Heading to Tanzania This
Summer
D
irector of Community Service, Rob Trumbull, and
Head of School, Ham Clark, will travel with six
students this summer to Tanzania to aid residents
of the small town of Mika. The six students are
Chris Cox, Julia Clark, Cameron Sieber, Becca Odell, Jon
Trumbull, and Laura Butler.
The group will leave for Tanzania on June 21 and return to
Philadelphia on July 5. They will be flying to Nairobi, Kenya
where they will be met by their host, Dr. Hector Alila, who
will then drive the group seven hours to Mika, located just to
the east of Lake Victoria in Tanzania near the Kenyan border.
The village has no running water or electricity, is extremely
poor, and has been hugely affected by the AIDS epidemic.
According to Dr. Alila, there are virtually no middle age
people in the village, only children and older adults. The
Episcopal group’s focus will be working in the local school
teaching English, as well as digging a well in the village. There
will be guest speakers to talk about Tanzanian history and culture, and the group will visit some of the neighboring towns.
They will end their two-week stay with a two-day visit to the
Serengeti National Park.
This is the inaugural trip, and Rob Trumbull is hoping
that it can become an annual experience for Upper School
students.
Fifth Grade Students
at Merion Sponsor Book
Drive for Mutombo
Foundation
S
tudents in the fifth
grade at the Lower
School at Merion organized a book drive and
sale this past spring to help raise
money for the Biamba Marie
Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC).
The hospital is one of the
major undertakings of the
Dikembe Mutombo Foundation (www.dmf.org), which
is dedicated to improving
the health, education, and
quality of life for the people
of the DRC.
The students asked Episcopal
community members to donate gently
used children’s books, which were then resold in a book sale
held on May 25th.
2006-2007 Upper
School Vestry Members
Announced
E
piscopal announced its 2006-2007 Upper School
Vestry members on Friday, April 28th. The vestry
helps shape and promote the year’s chapel theme, is
charged with conducting Episcopal’s chapel services in conjunction with the Chaplain, organizing the school’s
annual Can Drive, providing numerous community service
activities in the city, and shaping the character and moral direction of the school.
Next year’s members include (from left to right, back
row): Rahul Jha, Chris Cox, Nicole Spagnola, Ben Mickel,
Kevin DiSilvestro; (front row) Mia Kent, Alex Jahnle, Michael
Harvey, Rich Rosati, and Julia Clark.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 30
Class Notes
E dited by THE A lumni OFFICE
Class of 1946 60th Reunion (left to right): Winkie
Bennett, Austin Hepburn, Hap Aller, John Walton,
Price Heppe, Don Cooper, Andy Warren, Bob
Shriver, and Ed Buckley ’45.
Class of 1941 65th Reunion (left to right): Jim Earle ’42, Gardiner
Rogers, Cliff Lewis, Roger Miller, Karl Rugart, Ty Griffin, Paul
Kitchen ’42, and Charles Lee.
41 The Class of 1941 very much enjoyed
all of the available activities associated
with this year’s Alumni Weekend and its
65th Reunion. Starting with the Alumni
Lunch on Friday, Ty Griffin (and Sonia),
Andy Knox (and Cas), Roger Miller (and
Edith), Gardiner Rogers, and Karl Rugart (with Patsy) were present to kick off
the festivities for the class. Cas and Andy
Knox later took the van tour of the Newtown Square Campus which they found
very interesting. Karl Rugart, along with
Patsy and daughter Cynthia (AIS ’73 and
an adopted member of Episcopal ’73),
were joined by the Knox’s as they represented the class of 1941 at the Alumni
Reception on Friday evening in the Annenberg Library. Part of the fun of that
event was meeting the great Episcopal
boys’ basketball team that received so
much attention this year. The lunch on
Saturday welcomed the Class of 1956
into the august membership of the Old
Guard, while classmates Cliff Lewis (and
Jacqueline), and Charles Lee (and Caroline), joined the fun on Saturday night at
the Devon Campus. Jim Earle ’42 (and
Barbara) and Paul Kitchen ’42 (with Dorothy) were welcome guests at our dinner.
Before the evening ended, Karl Rugart
thanked Ham Clark, Head of School, for
all the events that the school had put together for the weekend and expressed his
appreciation to Ham’s wife Ceci, Clayton Platt ’73, Director of Alumni, Bruce
Konopka, Director of Annual Giving,
Caroline Jaeger, Major Gifts Officer, and
special hostess, Cannie Shafer, Hon.,
Head of Lower School at Devon, for attending their party on Saturday night.
42
The Class of 1942’s 65th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
31 C o n n e c t i o n s
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
43
Davis Pearson and Mittie Barron
Quay, of Avalon, NJ, were married on
February 11, 2006 in Grenada, West Indies.
46 Winkie Bennett reports: “The Alum-
ni Office did a masterful job over the
long weekend entertaining graduates of
Episcopal. Our Class of 1946 was represented by the following: myself, Hap
Aller, Ed Buckley ’45, Don Cooper, Bill
Forrest, Austin Hepburn, Price Heppe,
Bob Shriver, John Walton, and Andy
Warren. All of us were able to get to one
of the luncheons, Friday Reception, or
Saturday dinner (at the Devon Campus).
In addition, sporting events, tours of the
Newtown Square Campus, class room
interaction, and chapel services were
available. The present students seemed
very involved in helping to entertain,
asked many questions about Episcopal
as we knew it, and made the event and
our 60th Reunion memorable.”
47
The Class of 1947’s 60th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
51
Barry Pennell writes: “The class of
’51 has always had so much fun at reunions that we just can’t stop having
them…or maybe it’s just a really, really cool game of ‘Last Man Standing.’
Harry Stewart came up with the idea…
an off-campus reunion at a place most
of us had never heard of: The Biltmore
Davis Pearson ’43
and Mittie Barron
Quay were married on
February 11, 2006.
Estate, (read Vanderbilt), near Asheville,
N.C. Ground Rules: No golf, no tennis,
no fishing. Just old men and their vastly
prettier wives, eating, drinking, strolling,
talking, in one of the most spectacular
estates in the country. Attendees were:
Dave and Jane Acton, Fred and Alexa Aldridge, Dave and Carol Allen, Jack and
Susan Edson, Paul and Payne Finegan,
Jim and Priscilla Foley, Alex Haslam,
Tim Hutchinson, Barbara Knoll, Bob
and Lois Lowry, Charley and Martha
McMahon, Nick and Susan Nixon, Barry and Janet Pennell, Harry and Louise
Stewart, Fred and Mary Tucker, Jim and
Jody Wheatley.”
52 The Class of 1952’s 55th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
Craig TenBroeck reports: “Last year on
January 27th my son, Christopher ’93
and his wife Sarah, presented me with my
first grandson, Dean Nicholas. Not to be
outdone, my son Philip and his wife, Melissa, contributed Hayden Philip to the
family last January 12th. Twelve days later, my daughter Leslie and her husband,
Neil, added William Michael Atmore to
the roster! So now I have three grandsons all born in January. I’m still hoping
for a granddaughter so I don’t have to
play favorites with the boys!”
56 David Scott writes: “I am very pleased
to say that the Class of 1956 50th Reunion was a big success for everybody
who attended. I had the honor of representing the class as the guest speaker
at Friday’s chapel, and his address to the
Class of 1956 50th Reunion (left to right): Front Row: Bill Ross,
Dave Carey, John Roberts, Bill Graburn, Steve Patt, Benjie
Neilson, Ray Harlan, Bill Powell; Second Row: Norm Vadner, Mike
Schermerhorn, David Scott, Hugh Fryer, Tom Etter, Bill Rapp, Ray
Burton, Gee Heckscher, Roger Colley.
Fred Tucker ’51 and
Barry Pennell ’51.
students on “Risk and Resilience” resonated with everyone in attendance. The
class was saluted by the faculty and students alike, and was treated to superb
music from the String Ensemble, the Vocal Ensemble and the Jazz Combo. The
music was great! Needless to say, the
addition of coeducation is not the only
thing that has changed since we graduated. The rest of the day Friday was filled
with opportunities to learn about what is
happening at Episcopal today, and what
the school will look like when it moves to
Newtown Square in a couple of years.
“The Barnes Museum offered a wonderful change of venue for some in the
afternoon, while others joined the van
tour offered for the new campus. Speaking of the new campus, Head of School
Ham Clark did a masterful job conducting a virtual tour of the Newtown Square
Campus using a DVD that allowed us to
sweep in and out of computerized renderings of the new campus. Friday evening’s
reception afforded us the opportunity to
meet and greet Coach Dan Dougherty,
Hon. and his fabulous boys’ basketball
team who gave our school such great
PR this year. Many of us had our pictures taken with the two superstars who
are headed to Duke and North Carolina.
What a thrill! Later at the reception, Bill
Rapp and I presented Ham Clark with
a check representing the 50th Reunion
Class Gift (we still have a chance to
build on what we’ve raised until June 30,
2006). Certainly one of the highlights of
our weekend was the class dinner, hosted
by Ham and Ceci Clark, that provided
us with the perfect chance to share some
priceless memories about our formative
years at Episcopal, and a tip of the glass
Class of 1961 45th Reunion (left to right): Front row:
Weaver Lilley, Cappy Markle, Ted Watters, Steve Banta,
Sandy Stengel, Marty Snyder. Second row: Bill Burdick
(honorary member of the class and slightly hidden),
Brooks Bromley, Ted Parker, Sandy Delone, Sam Walker,
Bill Gregg, Frank Maxwell. Third row: Corky Wheat, Goose
Clement, Sam Chew, Rich Schwartz, Steve Irving, Stu
Glasby.
to some guys who should have been with
us.
Perhaps the centerpiece of our time spent
during Alumni Weekend was the 50th
Reunion Memorial Service on Saturday
morning. This was a very moving time
for all who participated, and the service
proved quite poignant as we shared our
memories of those among our class who
have departed. Our thanks go to Bill
Rapp for his excellent work putting this
service together. We stayed in the chapel
for the panel discussion that dealt with
the evolution of Episcopal from an inner city school, to its move to Merion
and now its plans for relocation to Newtown Square. The panel was brilliant,
and included as moderator our own Gee
Heckscher, who, along with Jim Garrison ’75, Jay Crawford ’57, Brian O’Neill
(past parent and trustee), and Bernie
Cywinski (architect), discussed issues
surrounding old and new architecture,
rationales for even looking beyond the
borders of the current campus, and what
the future holds in store for Episcopal in
its new home.
“A special treat for those sticking
around campus on the afternoon were
all the varsity sports being played against
Germantown Academy. Some of us witnessed six different sports during the
afternoon! The final touch for our time
together was our class dinner at Philadelphia Country Club, courtesy of our
host, Bill Ross. This venue couldn’t have
been better, and we enjoyed the company of our guests Joan and John Jarvis,
Hon. and Dede and George Shafer, Hon.
John Jarvis had clearly spent much time
with our Reunion Yearbook, which was
a beautiful collection of biographical information, pictures, essays, and clips of
old Scholiums. George Shafer regaled us
with stories about the 135-lb football
team and varsity tennis. At the urging of
our former faculty guests, we shared stories about our late, great teachers such as
Doolittle and Balsley.
“We were grateful for all the help our
friends in the Alumni/Development Offices gave in making this reunion so
special for us, and of course to all those
who served on the reunion committee,
including Norm Vadner who tirelessly
tracked down missing classmates in an
effort to make sure we reached as many
of the class as we could. The only thing
that could have improved this experience would have been the presence of
more classmates, but it’s our hope that
we will see those we missed at our 55th
in 2011 – in Newtown Square! The following classmates were in attendance
during Alumni Weekend: Jim Bromley,
Ray Burton, Dave Carey, Roger Colley,
Tom Etter, Hugh Fryer, Bill Graburn,
Ray Harlan, Gee Heckscher, Benjie Neilson, Stephen Patt, Bill Powell, Bill Rapp,
John Roberts, Bill Ross, Mike Schermerhorn, David Scott, and Norm Vadner.”
57
The Class of 1957’s 50th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
59 Hilton Smith is actively involved with
two businesses in Seattle with his son
Dan—Waterways Cruises and Port Orchard Railway Marina. He is a member
of the Board of Trustees of Saint Martin’s
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 32
Class Notes
Class of 1966 40th Reunion (left to right): 1st row :
Dave Rogers, Charlie Hickok, Will Kirkpatrick, Bill
Longacker, Mark Kennedy, Dave Wood, Tom Ross,
Chip Poole, Bill Morrison; 2nd row: Jay Wurts, Rick
Hole, John Platt, Jim Apesos.
College and commutes with his wife on
long weekends to their new townhouse
in Eagle, ID, near Boise. Dan is COO of
Waterways Cruises, married and is the
proud father of two children – Vlad and
Sophia. Hilton’s other sons are also active. Stuart is a computer programmer in
Carlsbad, CA and recently engaged and
Will graduated from college in 2005 and
is working in San Diego, CA. Hilton’s
wife Shirley spends her time taking care
of her aging parents, working as a CASA
volunteer (providing legal support for
abused children), and baby-sitting the
“zoo” – three cats (Bobby Cat, Emily,
and Annie) and their dog Lucky. He has
recently exchanged e-mails with Episcopal classmates Sandy Stidham, Bix
Bush, Rowley Watson and Curt Wiler.
Hilton says: “Curt is the most professional amateur photographer I have ever
seen—EA should display his work.”
61 Cappy Markle writes: “After many
Class of 1961 members caught up with
old friends and acquaintances at the
school in the afternoon, the class gathered at the lovely home of Ann and Marty
Snyder to celebrate its 45th Reunion in
style where it was treated to cocktails
and dinner, including Texas barbeque
beef among other delightful delicacies.
Rev. Sam Walker led the assembled in a
prayer and moment of silence to remember those classmates who have passed
on. After many rounds of speeches and
awards, the group settled into getting reacquainted and caught up and sharing
old memories. Cheli and Steve Banta
won the award for coming the longest
distance (The Phillipines). Others who
made a long-distance commute included
Sam Chew, Corky Wheat, Beth and Sam
Walker and Ruth and Frank Maxwell.
33 C o n n e c t i o n s
Class of 1971 35th Reunion (left to right):
Chris D’Angelo, Knox Cummins, Mark
Cornish, Jay Aikens, Dick Fenimore,
Harrison Crecraft, Eben Kent, Rod Platt,
Bill Herman, Tom Williams, Don Wynne,
Jim Amsterdam, and Eric Stein.
Class of 1976 30th Reunion (Kneeling in front): John
Leisenring, Conrad Rugart, Andy Hartzell, Steve
Brooks; Standing in the second row: Chuck Crockett,
Jamie Holt, Rob McMenamin, Bruce Stone, Ed Ferrara;
Standing in the back row: John Archer, John Medford,
Tom Hilberts, Peter Fowler, Steve Devlin, Dick
Walling, David Butterworth, Rod Wolfson
It was also fun to see local classmates
including, Peggy and Brooks Bromley, Harrison “Goose” Clement, Sandy
Delone, Buzz Dewey, Stu Glasby, Julie and Bill Gregg, Sue and Steve Irving,
Anne and Cappy Markle, Debbie and
Ted Parker, Richie Schwarz, Ann and
Marty Snyder, Alice and Sandy Stengle,
Susan and Ted Watters, and Jamie and
Weaver Lilley. Some of the classmates
who could not make the festivities sent
emails wishing the group well, including:
Al Stewart, from Scotland, Nick Morris, and Cromby Sims. Others, who had
planned to come but at the last minute
were unable to due to family or business
commitments included Rusty Haines,
Bill Riley, Andy Hopkins, and Tony
Langham. The group wanted to pass
on thanks to special guests Bill Burdick,
Hon., DeDe and George Shafer, Hon.,
Ceci and Ham Clark, and Clayton Platt
’73 who helped us share fond memories
of Episcopal. In addition, the class extends a special thanks to Ann and Marty
Snyder for opening their home to provide such a wonderful setting and for
planning the menu and to our Reunion
Committee and especially Cappy Markle for his leadership and efforts to pull
the event together.”
George Lilley reports, “I will be in Scotland in May and I will retire in July. I had
lunch with Dick Boekenkamp, Hon.,
this fall. He is retired and looks and acts
very much the same. I enjoy coaching,
sailing, hiking, travel, and community
volunteer work.”
Sam Walker writes, “After 35 years of
active parish ministry, college teaching,
and public service, ‘retirement’ back to
North Carolina seemed good. We renovated and remodeled our home and for
three years have been counseling ‘at risk’
kids in public schools through the Mental Health System of North Carolina.
Beth (7th grade Language Arts teacher)
and I spend more time with our children
and grandchildren in South Carolina
and Colorado. We are also gardening,
playing some golf, and relaxing when
possible. There are several books in
me just waiting to be written! Alas, I’ll
probably need a good pen name.”
62
The Class of 1962’s 45th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
66
Chip Poole writes: “Fifteen members of the class returned to celebrate
our 40th Reunion and were surprised
and amazed how little we had changed
from those callow youths of 1966. No
name tags were needed especially if we
looked past the pervasive tinges of gray,
the lengthening foreheads and our prosperous waist lines. In alphabetical order
—much like we spent our formative
years at EA—Jim Apesos, Steve Dittmann, Charlie Hickok, Rick Hole, Mark
Kennedy, Will Kirkpatrick, Bill Longaker, Bill Morrison, Jim Parry, John Platt,
Dave Rogers, Tom Ross, Dave Wood
and Jay Wurts attended, some with their
spouses and some with their Tabulas
but, interestingly enough, no one with
both. In addition to all the scheduled
activities, Len Haley, Hon., Director of
Plant and Operations at EA and Alumni Director Clayton Platt ’73 (brother
of John) gave our group a guided tour
and a sneak peek of a virtual tour of
the new campus in Newtown Square. It
will really be quite spectacular. Saturday
Brant Singley ’80 (right) is pictured
here with his nephew, Drew Evans
’02. Brant was recently at Duke
to attend Drew’s Phi Beta Kappa
induction ceremony. Drew graduates
from Duke this May.
Franco DiMartino ’91 holds his new
son Jason, born March 21, 2006.
Andrew McLuckie ’88 and Susan Hellberg were
married on November 4, 2005.
evening most of us gathered for cocktails and a wonderful four-course Asian
meal where we all had a chance to meet
and speak with Ham Clark and his wife
Ceci as well as to catch up with each
other, rehash some of our shenanigans,
remember classmates and teachers—
some who are no longer with us—and,
to a person, praise EA for a great education and many lasting memories and
friendships.”
Phil Gleason was sorry to miss the 40th
reunion. He reports: “I’m still practicing
business and energy law with Bernstein
Shur, coming up on my 30th anniversary with the firm in September. Mary and
I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in January. Hanna graduated from
Lawrenceville in June and is a freshman
at Colorado College. Henry is a sophomore at Kents Hill School, a small Maine
boarding school, but is transferring next
year to North Yarmouth Academy, a
day school in Yarmouth with better soccer and lacrosse programs (his primary
interests). We moved to a new house (a
few miles from the old one, a little bit
more room, much more land) last August. I’m doing plenty of skiing (three
trips to Colorado and Utah this winter
as Eastern skiing was mediocre at best),
fly fishing, road biking, and swimming,
although I’ve recently had to quit running (and therefore triathlons) due to
chronic knee and back issues. Otherwise, I’m in great physical shape and
determined to stay that way. Visitors
to Maine from Episcopal’s Class of ’66
are welcome. If I were at the reunion,
I’d propose a toast and/or moment of
silence for John Musselman, whom I
still think about and miss after all these
years.”
Barry Masuda’s son Tyler is a starting
outside linebacker for the Pennsbury
High School freshman team. He spends
time with his family at their Yardley residence in Bucks County, and in their
home on the Gulf of Mexico during
school breaks.
67
The Class of 1967’s 40th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
71 The Class of 1971 reports: “Kudos
and many thanks to Tom Williams and
his wife Tricia for throwing such a great
35th Reunion party for the Great Class
of 1971! We all had a terrific time (some
of us left in the wee hours of the morning!) and it was clear that we still know
how to party like it’s 1971. The food
was fabulous (did we eat sushi in 1971?)
and although it was a little too chilly to
hang out on the deck and see the incredible view, we had a blast inside telling
stories about our days at Episcopal.
And just to keep us a little honest, Dick
Borkowski, Hon. and his lovely wife
Bunny (also an honorary alum) were
able to shed the light of truth on some
of our inflated memories. It was great
to see Bork, even though he threatened
some wind sprints after dinner. And a
special thanks to Ham Clark and his
wife Ceci for making the round trip to
Chester Springs during the busiest night
of their year, and to Rod Platt’s brother Clayton ’73, the new Tony Brown in
the alumni office, for not getting lost.
Harrison Crecraft won the longest drive
award, coming up from Virginia, and
he and Rod Platt took the most advantage of all the activities scheduled on
campus, such as the tour of the Barnes
Museum on Saturday afternoon. Rod
was even seen toting a fancy camera
around Friday night at the Alumni Reception, bringing back strong memories
from our upper school days. Speaking
of the Alumni Reception, for those of us
there, it was a thrill to meet in person
the 2006 Boys’ varsity basketball team
that gave us so much to be proud of this
year. Someone thought they overheard
Tom Williams asking Gerald Henderson
about tickets to Duke basketball games
next year. All in all, the consensus was
that we don’t look so bad after 35 years
(has Eric Stein aged at all?) and that we
missed our classmates who could not
join us for this reunion. The following
classmates made it to Tom and Tricia’s
on Saturday May 6: Chris D’Angelo,
Knox Cummins, Mark Cornish, Jay Aikens, Dick Fenimore, Harrison Crecraft,
Eben Kent, Rod Platt, Bill Herman, Tom
Williams, Don Wynne, Jim Amsterdam,
Eric Stein, Bruce Godick and Fred Dittmann. Bruce and Fred actually came a
little late as they were acting in separate
performances on stage. Were they expecting a cast party, perhaps? We’ll see
everyone at our 40th in 2011!”
72
The Class of 1972’s 35th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
73 Jim Brooke writes from Tokyo: “In
mid-June, the Brooke family is leaving
Japan, completing five years. At the same
time, I am leaving The New York Times
after 24 years. Bloomberg has recruited me for what looks like a dream job:
roaming Russia while writing features,
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 34
Class Notes
Eric Lind ’81, Joe Urbani ’81, Ted Keffer ’81 and Bill Hill ’81 met
up at Kelly’s Pub in Bryn Mawr to celebrate their 25th Reunion
during Alumni Reunion Weekend in May.
Todd Harrity ’09 (member of EA’s boys’ varsity
tennis team) matched up against Andy Kronfeld
’77 for some heated tennis during the EA Alumni
Tennis round robin this spring.
energy stories, and analysis. First, I go
back to school—to Middlebury’s intensive Russian summer to upgrade the 3.5
years I had a while back at Yale. (I take
the pledge not to speak English for nine
weeks.) In September, Will and Alex,
our 14-year-old twins, start boarding
school—Will to Andover, and Alex to
St. Paul’s, my alma mater. James, 16, and
my wife Elizabeth move to Westchester County, NY, where her parents and
sister live. On Sept. 23, I move to
Moscow, going ahead solo for now.
With the five of us going in four
different directions, I have just signed
everyone up for Skype! Best to all my
classmates at Episcopal. If anyone comes
through Moscow, drop me a line at:
[email protected].”
74
Alexander Andrews reports: “I live
on a 40-acre farm north of Columbus,
OH with three horses, a dog, four cats,
a wonderfully understanding wife of 25
years, and two kids—one a freshman at
Carnegie Mellon, the other a sophomore
in high school. I’ve been practicing law
with the same firm (now 185 lawyers)
in Ohio for 25 years and manage our
Columbus office. My practice is largely
business, commercial, product liability,
and real estate litigation. I was recently
admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and expect to
spend more time in Philadelphia. I was
at a dinner at The Rabbit Saturday night
with another Episcopal expatriate Gus
Borda ’75. Gus lives in New Jersey and
works for Chubb Insurance.”
75 Did anyone hear Clem Cole and his
wife Maggie during their five minutes
of fame on NPR’s Weekend America
35 C o n n e c t i o n s
Helen St. John Farnum
– daughter of Chip ’84 and Kate
Farnum.
Saturday on April 22? It was the 20th
Anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident.
Maggie and Clem are heavily involved
with the Chernobyl Children’s Project
USA – www.ccpsua.org.
76 Jamie Holt writes: “On the Saturday
night of their 30th reunion, 25 members of the class of ’76 and their spouses
attended a dinner party at Hollie and Jamie Holt’s house in Wayne. Many of the
class are local, but a number of out-oftowners did attend—Peter Fowler came
from San Francisco, Steve Markus from
Los Angeles, Steve Brooks from Cape
Cod, Roly Morris from New York, and
John Leisenring and Drew Schaefer
from Washington, DC. The weather cooperated and the party was graced with
a guest appearance from Ham and Ceci
Clark and Clayton Platt ’73. The allschool party continued at 333 Belrose
in Wayne. They are looking forward to
seeing the gang at the 35th!”
77
The Class of 1977’s 30th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
The Daily News reported that actor
Matt Damon will play Gordon Cooney
in a movie about his work with fellow
Morgan Lewis attorney Michael Banks
and their 15-year effort to free a wrongly convicted death-row inmate.
Frank Leto is currently “of counsel” to
the firm Brett Senior and Associates in
Conshohocken, PA.
81
Ben Thompson and Bill Hill write:
“Several members of the Class of 1981
made the pilgrimage Friday evening,
May 5th, to the Merion campus for a
gathering in the Annenberg Library
(and not a single shout of “Get out of
my library!” was heard), which featured a tribute to this year’s awesome
EA basketball team. The four proud
representatives of the Class of 1981
who attended—Bill Hill, Brian Mann
(and his daughter), Ted Coxe (and his
wife Polly) and Ben Thompson—for the
most part huddled under the stairs, overwhelmed by the presence of what looked
like the entire 50th reunion class of ’56
and their giant foam check which they
presented to the school. After a couple
of cocktails and some quality conversation with Coach Dougherty and Mr.
Carpenter (who stayed away from any
discussions of “Ethan Frome,” but just
barely), the members of the Class of
’56 were led off by a bagpiper to their
50th Reunion dinner in Ryan Hall. We
took this as our cue to head over to Bala
Cynwyd for cheesesteaks at a local pizza emporium suggested by honorary
Class of ’81 members-for-the-evening
John Hill ’82 (Bill’s younger brother)
and Susan Milner (Friends Select Class
of ’82), the latter of whom served to restrain us somewhat from wallowing in
our overly kind and self-congratulatory
memories of Episcopal. The travel team
then reunited at the Wayne Hotel for a
“5-School Party” attended by graduates of Episcopal, Haverford, Baldwin,
Shipley, and Agnes Irwin. (Brian Mann
had peeled off earlier in the evening
to rest up for his threatened return to
lacrosse greatness in Saturday’s alum-
Twins Olivia (blue-striped
hat) and Elan (red-striped
hat) get ready for a run with
their dad, Greg Siegler ’85.
Some members of the Class of 1986 enjoying their 20th
Reunion at The Ugly Moose in Manayunk: John Pressman,
Bruce Walsh, Bill Ross, David Dugery, J.D. Cassidy, Edwin
Van Dusen, Andrea (Belefonte) Puppio, and Greg Johnson.
Andy Kwak ’86 and PA Senator Connie Williams (mother
of Besty ’93 and Jenny ’96) at a ribbon-cutting ceremony
in January 2006 for the opening of Andy’s new medical
center, The Lumen Laser Center in Bryn Mawr.
ni lax game.) We were joined there by
the most loyal non-graduating-alum in
Episcopal history, Douglas Lovell. More
cocktails ensued, and we exchanged further stories. A shout out is appropriate
here also to Ted Coxe’s highly patient
wife, Polly, who put up with us all. The
fiesta broke up around 12:30 a.m. The
Saturday gathering at Kelly’s in Bryn
Mawr featured, in addition to Bill Hill
and Douglas Lovell, Eric Lind, Ted Keffer, and Joe Urbani. Ted’s brother, Bill
Keffer ’84 and his family also stopped
by Kelly’s briefly. We were also joined
by two representatives of the Episcopal Alumni Office, Jen Slike and Jeff
Day who presented the attendees with
stylish, Episcopal baseball caps embroidered with “25th Reunion” on the back.
Although outnumbered by a Shipley reunion at the upper bar and Villanova
students at the lower bar, the Class of
’81 made the most of the evening as
they recounted old stories, discussed
what they were currently doing, and,
of course, had a few more beers (except
for Joe Urbani who was running in the
Broad Street 10-miler the next day).”
Kirby Kean is the proud father of fivemonth-old son, Evan.
82
The Class of 1982’s 25th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
84
Chip Farnham and his wife Kate
welcomed their second child, Marshall
Edwards “Ned” Farnham, on March
14, 2006. Ned joins his proud big sister Helen.
85 Annor Ackah co-founded a boutique
investment bank focused on advisory
for asset based financings, growth equity, and M & A. Annor lives and works
in the Los Angeles area.
Greg Siegler writes: “In the middle of
January, my family and I spent a week
on Oahu. I was checking my e-mail occasionally while there, and I received the
message from Episcopal that the basketball game against Neumann-Goretti
would be on national television the next
day—mid-afternoon Honolulu time. Although the TV in my hotel room didn’t
get ESPN2, I was able to go down to the
Chili’s restaurant right there on Kuhio
Avenue in Waikiki to watch the second
half, as Episcopal held on and pulled out
the big win. (As I recall, I missed the first
half while I was hiking up and down Diamond Head.)”
86
Bruce Walsh writes: “The Class of
1986 celebrated its 20th over the course
of Alumni Reunion Weekend, May 5
and 6. By all accounts, or at least from
what we can remember, it was a success
and an enjoyable weekend for everyone
who participated and attended. It was
terrific to see classmates again, catch up
on what is happening in everyone’s lives,
and enjoy a weekend of great weather
and fun. Twenty-nine class members
were in attendance, not including significant others, for some, if not all, of the
various events. Friday night’s activities
included a reception at Episcopal followed by a party at the home of Debbie
and J.D. Cassidy. Saturday evening saw
dinner and drinks at The Ugly Moose
with special guests, Len and Edna Haley.
The following were in attendance over
the course of the weekend: Greg Bolton,
Greg Buzan, J.D. Cassidy, Nick Christos, Bill Crockett, David Dugery, Lara
(Spratt) Hartin, Tim Janetta, Greg Johnson, Andy Kwak, Paul Ladner, Karen
(Marston) Wilson, Bob Mascioli, Gerry McLaughlin, John McMeekin, Greg
Milbourne, John Pressman, Jim Prusky,
Andrea (Belefonte) Puppio, Jamie Richter, Bill Ross, Eric Seestedt, Jason Shell,
Jonathan Stinnett, Rodger Strickland,
Chris Tinari, Michael Vadner, Edwin
Van Dusen, and Bruce Walsh. Special
thanks to the following: Debbie and J.D.
Cassidy for opening up their home to
host on Friday, David Dugery for securing The Ugly Moose for the party, and
Jim Prusky and Bill Crockett for working the phones and talking up the events.
Additionally stay tuned for the “Unofficial Class of 1986 Directory” coming
out this summer. If anyone has updates,
please email them to Bruce Walsh at
[email protected].”
Andy Kwak celebrated the opening of
his new medical center, The Lumen Laser Center in Bryn Mawr in January
2006. The Center offers leading edge
laser procedures for vascular problems
such as varicose veins and also for aesthetic enhancement. Andy is also on
staff at the Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania as a specialist in minimally
invasive procedures.
87 The Class of 1987’s 20th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 36
Class Notes
Sharon (Moore) LeRoux ’91 with her sons Grant
(age 4), Jacob (age 1) and husband Grant.
Jamie Richter ’86 and Kim Zinman Richter ’88
are pictured at the EA Alumni Basketball reception
in January with Episcopal’s youngest basketball
fan, their new daughter Sydney Harrison Richter
born December 11, 2005.
Andy ’91 and Dottie Person sit with their new son,
John Thomas “Jack” Person born February 24,
2006.
88 Drew Hallowell, a Philadelphia Ea-
porary worship bands. Two years ago,
the band was invited to Richmond, VA
to sing at the General Assembly, which
is the meeting of all the Presbyterian
churches in the U.S. (they meet every
two years). In the summer of 2007, the
choir is going to be going on a singing
tour of Europe for about 10 days. We
also do two big concerts – one around
Easter and the other around Christmas.
Last year’s Christmas concert featured
over 100 singers, plus orchestra. Every
other year, around Christmas, we also
sing at Longwood Gardens (this coming Christmas season we will be there). I have recently been ordained as a deacon at the church. As you can probably
gather, my church life is the most important to me, and that is why I am now
looking at seminaries to go into the
ministry. There have been quite a number of changes in my life that led me to
this and I am looking forward to the
experience.”
gles team photographer and contributor
to every Eagles publication, has earned
Pro Football Hall of Fame accolades
once again. His unique photo during
the Eagles-Cowboys game on Oct. 9,
2005 earned Hallowell third place honors in the features category of the 38th
Annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Photo Contest. The photograph will be on
display at the Hall of Fame in Canton,
OH. The photo, entitled “Texas Stadium Sun,” is the second picture to earn
Hallowell acclaim. His shot of Correll
Buckhalter leaping for a touchdown in
the 2003 win over Miami earned Hallowell honorable mention in the 36th
annual contest. That photo, entitled
“Got Air?” is currently on display outside the NovaCare Complex auditorium
in the rotunda. Drew’s photos can be
viewed at www.philadelphiaeagles.com
and www.drewhallowell.com
Mike Milone and his wife Stacy welcomed baby girl Saylor Frances, their
first, on February 13, 2006.
89 Bob Allison reports: “I currently live
in downtown Nottingham, PA, but I am
looking to move back to the West Chester area soon. I was recently promoted
to an Information Systems manager for
IKON Office Solutions. I am based out
of their corporate headqurters in Malvern, PA and manage our PC repair
technicians for the Mid-Atlantic area. I
have been with the company for a little over a year and love it so far. I am
also attending Westminster Presbyterian
Church in West Chester, PA where I sing
in both our choir and one of our contem-
37 C o n n e c t i o n s
Stephanie Baum writes, “After living
in London for seven years working as
a journalist for CMP Information and
Associated Press Radio’s European
bureau, I have recently moved back to
the U.S. and I am working as a freelance
journalist.”
90
Betsy (Godshalk) Richard and her
husband Glenn welcomed baby Alexander James Richard into their family on
November 18, 2005. The family is moving to Guam for two years (beginning in
August 2006) for her husband to serve
as a radiologist at the Naval Hospital
there. Betsy will continue to practice
dermatology in Guam on a part-time
status.
91
Joe Bongiovanni writes: “On Saturday, May 6, 2006, the Class of 1991
celebrated its 15- year reunion at Georges Restaurant in Wayne. Twenty-five
members of the class reunited along
with spouses and guests. Jane Oberwager traveled the longest distance
—all the way from Milan, Italy. Classmates also traveled from Chicago (Brian
Coyne), Atlanta (Sharon (Moore) LeRoux), New York (Catherine Rosato and
Jenn Tierney), Washington DC (Catherine (Blume) Meyerle, Matt Michael,
Alyson Read and Becky Demorest), Providence (Mike Negrey) and Cape Cod
(John Crockett). There were also
many local alumni in attendance (Brandon Whitaker, Andrew McMeekin
and Heather (Flick) McMeekin, Scott
Huston, Holly (Sando) Rieck, Peter
Rudnick, Matt Pesot, Joe Bongiovanni, Brigette Erwin, Chris Nelson, Kristy
(Moses) Murray, Rich Meyers, Mike
Rickels and Sean McDermott). It was
a great opportunity to reunite during
Alumni Weekend and catch up on life,
careers, and family. Much thanks goes
to the Reunion Committee who encouraged attendance and participation in
Annual Giving. The Class of ’91 hopes
to circulate an e-yearbook and directory
complete with photographs from the reunion and photographs from classmates
who could not attend. The Reunion
Committee also collected many fabulous
stories from classmates both present and
absent. If you would like to share photographs, stories or updated information,
please contact Joe Bongiovanni at
[email protected].”
Carl Kraus ’91 (left) and
Eric Kraus ’94 stand with
their sister Kirsten (Kraus)
Anch ’97 and her new
daughter Juliana.
Class of 1991 – 15th Reunion (pictured from bottom to top): Catherine (Blume) Meyerle,
Matthew Michael, Sharon (Moore) LeRoux, Jenn Tierney, Brandon Whitaker, Andrew
McMeekin, John Crockett, Mike Negrey, Scott Huston, Holly (Sando) Rieck, Peter
Rudnick, Brian Coyne, Matt Pesot, Joe Bongiovanni, Brigette Erwin, Chris Nelson, Kristy
(Moses) Murray, Rich Meyers, Jane Oberwager, Catherine Rosato, Mike Rickels, Alyson
Read, Sean McDermott, Heather (Flick) McMeekin, and Becky Demorest.
Brad Boyd and his wife Kerry welcomed
a new baby boy, Colin Patrick, into their
family on September 14, 2005.
Jennifer (Goldstein) DeFilippi lives in
Pennington, NJ and edits lifestyle books
for Rodale.
Franco DiMartino and his wife Jen welcomed their first baby, son Jason, on
March 21, 2006.
Amanda Dugan has opened her own
clothing store, Brick Lane, in Venice,
CA.
Brigette Erwin and her husband Vincent
Stinger welcomed their daughter, Jacqueline Brigette Stinger, on August 13,
2003.
Sharon (Moore) LeRoux is a full-time
mother of two boys, Grant IV (age 4)
and Jacob (age 1). She and her husband,
Grant III, own four small businesses in
areas of real estate, auto care, and boating recreation. They live in Atlanta,
GA.
Heather (Flick) McMeekin & Andrew
McMeekin had their second child on
March 13, 2006—a baby girl named
Paige. Her older brother Andrew is
adapting well and loves his new little sister. Heather is working at Turner
Investment Partners as an analyst and
portfolio manager, and Andrew is a psychologist with a private practice in the
area.
Christie (Spratt) Moylan lives in Evergreen, CO with her husband Eamon and
their one-year-old son, Leaf Patrick.
Jane Oberwager reports: “I moved to
Italy with my husband, Raffaele, as he
took a job with the Italian stock exchange. I’m in the process of starting a
small business, Villa Nobile (villanobile.
com) selling/exporting high-end artisanal home decor accents to the U.S.
and worldwide. It’s been fun and challenging, and a Web site should be up
and running soon. We are enjoying life
back in Milan, but of course miss Philadelphia a lot.”
Andy Person and his wife Dottie welcomed John Thomas “Jack” Person into
their brood on February 24, 2006. Jack
joins his proud siblings, Elise, Caroline,
Drew, and Mary Kate.
Josh Russell is living and working in
Denver, CO.
Jenn Tierney accepted a position as
a kindergarten teacher at Episcopal’s
Merion Campus for the 2006-2007
school year.
Catherine (Manning) Treacy lives in
the Art Museum-area of Philadelphia
with her husband Michael, their 2-yearold daughter Erin, and two Labrador
retrievers. Catherine is a Benefit Consultant with Towers Perrin’s Personalized
Technology Solutions group in Philadelphia. She received her MBA from
Villanova in the spring.
92
Joseph N. Bongiovanni
V (“Quin”), son of Anne
and Joe Bongiovanni ’91,
models his new Episcopal
sweater.
Dan Leibovitz is the new head coach of
the men’s basketball team at the University of Hartford.
93
Jeff Greco reports: “In 2000, I left
the area after the death of my brother,
Joe Greco ’90, to pursue a music career
down south. I have recently moved back
to the area from Hilton Head Island, SC
where I was a musician and a DJ full
time, playing in various types of formats
including solo, duo, trio, and a five-piece
band in Savannah, and on Hilton Head,
where I had the opportunity to open for
Fastball, Angie Aparo, and The Wailers.
I met my wife Lucie Joanne Knipe, from
London, England, on the island and we
married in 2001 and have five wonderful dogs. We have come back to the area
to be closer to family and to open a Dog
Grooming shop in Devon, PA, Lucie’s Pet
Grooming Shop. I have recently had the
opportunity to interview for a position
at 102.9 WMGK and I am also going
to continue performing music in the surrounding area. I am in regular contact
with a bunch of guys from my class;
Rick Scorzetti, Dave Tozzi, Phil English,
Mike Abate, Mike Zirilli, Chris Daniels,
Mike Coffey, Kevin Shields, Steve Behrle, Dave Grau, and Matt Greim. I look
forward to being more active in Episcopal events now that I am local.”
The Class of 1992’s 15th Reunion
will be celebrated at Alumni Reunion
Weekend April 27 and 28, 2007. For
more information, please contact the
Alumni Office.
Jennifer Ounjian lives in Delray Beach,
FL and is currently the Executive Vice
President and General Counsel of CareersUSA, a national staffing firm.
Courtney Banks was appointed vice
president of Homeland Security for
Raytheon Company’s Intelligent and Information Systems business.
Stefan Slowinski married Gisela Winslow in August 2004 in her home town
of Sydney, Australia. Michael Coffey
was best man. Stefan and Gisela have
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 38
Class Notes
1991 classmates Heather (Flick) McMeekin holding
her son Andrew H. McMeekin, Jr., Jenn Tierney, Kristin
(Moses) Murray, and Laurel (West) Lennon holding her
daughter Katherine Tyler Lennon.
John Kamfonas ’05 (Columbia), Pat
Pasquariello ’05 (Franklin & Marshall),
Kit Zipf ’05 (Navy), and Bernard Yaros
’05 (Williams), all varsity squash players
at their respective colleges, were in
attendance at a banquet held during the
College Squash Association National
Tournament held in Princeton, NJ.
1996
Members of the Class of
Your reunion is around the corner. Grab a pencil and write this down:
Class of 1996 10th Reunion – Friday, November 24, 2006. Please send
any updated contact information (home and/or business) to the Alumni
Office so we can keep you in-the-loop regarding reunion plans! Email
your updates to [email protected].
The Turner family at Lindsey and David’s
wedding – Eric ’04, Bob, Lindsey, David’03,
Elle, Carolyn, and Andrew ’06.
Wendy Miller, Kristen (Black) Kelly and
Todd Saylor ’94 were there to celebrate,
as were Kristin’s brothers Carl ’91 and
Eric ’94. John and Kristin had a baby
girl, Juliana Marissa, on November 23,
2005. Kristin completed her masters in
elementary education at the University
of Denver last spring and lives with her
family in Alma, CO, just outside Breckenridge.
Josh Sherman lives in New York City
and works for Deutsche Bank.
recently moved back to London after
spending two years living in Paris. Stefan works as an equity research analyst
with Societe Generale and Gisela is a
business analyst with Deutsche Bank.
94
Brett Eskin is leaving WYSP-FM
(94.1) after nine years. He spent three
years there as musical director. Brett will
be an assistant programming director at
an alternative station in Chicago.
95
Laura Rooklin was accepted into
NYU’s Food Studies master’s program.
She began her studies in January 2006
and expects the program to last about
two or three years, during which she
hopes to be able to build her “food resume” and thoroughly enjoy all of the
epicurean delights that New York City
offers.
96
Dave McNeely lives in Philadelphia and works as a National Brand
Manager for Viva Vino, an Italian wine
distributor.
39 C o n n e c t i o n s
Maria Solomon recently accepted a job
as an Event Coordinator with Octagon,
Inc. working on the Sprint Account.
Steve Venzie reports: “I graduated from
Villanova Law School in May 2005,
passed the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bar Exams in October 2005 and
received my license to practice law in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania in December 2005. I am currently working as a
contract attorney at Morgan, Lewis &
Bockius LLP in Philadelphia.”
Leonard Wood returned to campus in
February as the 2006 Miner Merrick
Guest Lecturer. He spoke to the Upper
and Middle School during chapel and
visited some classrooms during the day.
Leonard’s chapel address focused on
“crossing boarders and pursing interests.”
97
Kristin Kraus married John Anch
on December 11, 2004. Rachel (Canuso) Holt was her matron of honor
and Kellen Heckscher was a bridesmaid.
98
James Decker and his wife Kristin
live in Aston, PA and celebrated their
first wedding anniversary on October
23, 2005. While James works as an International Underwriter by day, he has
also started his own fitness consulting
company called Outwork Fitness, LLC.
In 2005, James competed in 11 Triathlons, winning 3rd overall in a nationally
sanctioned event in October. Kristin
competed in seven races, winning the
Tim Kerr 10K in Avalon, NJ and placing in the top 40 out of 15,000 in the
Broad Street Run in Philadelphia. James
trained for, and competed in, the St.
Anthony’s Olympic Distance Triathlon
held on April 30, 2006 in St. Petersburg,
FL as a member of the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training.
James and Kristin were featured in the
February 2006 issue of Men’s Fitness as
winners of the “Designing the Ultimate
Home Gym” makeover.
99 Jeff Porter is a marketing production
coordinator with Comcast SportsNet in
Philadelphia.
Lisa Smith ’01 at Souk’s weekly outdoor market while
on assignment with the Peace Corps in Morocco.
00 Edgar Q. “Ted” Bullock, IV is currently on active duty in the Air Force
and was scheduled to leave for Iraq on
May 11 with a stay of four months.
Cecilia Collins received her MTh in
Biblical Studies from the University of Edinburgh in November 2005
and is currently working on her MSc
Osteoarchaeology, also at the University of Edinburgh, which should
be completed in November 2006.
EA Alumni catch up at the Princeton vs.
Williams squash match. (Left to right)
– Greg Snyder ’05 (Princeton), Bernard
Yaros ’05 (Williams), and Paul Mirabello ’04
(Princeton).
01
Sarah Baker teaches Middle and
Upper School Latin at the Agnes Irwin
School, where she is also a cross country
coach. Sarah was recently appointed to
the Episcopal Alumni Society Board of
Managers for a three-year term.
Peter Clark currently works for The
Scripps Research Institute in San Diego,
CA, as a research assistant on a crystallization of protein in microcapillaries
project in a Cell Biology lab.
Ned Hole works for Sperry Mitchell &
Company in New York City.
Members of the Class of
2001
It’s time to start thinking about
your reunion. Grab a pencil
and write this down: Class of
2001 5th Reunion – Saturday,
November 25, 2006. Please
send any updated contact
information (home and/or
business) to the Alumni Office
so we can keep you in-theloop regarding reunion plans!
Email your updates to
[email protected].
02
Ted Mathisen will join the Lower
School faculty and Episcopal science department this fall. He has received his
B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and did some work with school
groups through the Spacecraft Planetary
Imaging Facility in Ithaca. At Cornell,
Ted was also a member of the Ski Club.
Ted Oberwager accepted a job working
on Wall Street following his graduation from Georgetown University this
spring.
(Left to Right) Bernard Yaros ’05, Maxi Prinsen
’05, Ben Stokes ’02, Ashley Eyre ’04, and Mairin
Barnes ’04 met up at the Cornell vs. Williams
Mens and Womens Varsity Squash match in
January.
05 David Allen went to Italy this May
for Gordon College’s Choir Tour.
Elisse Douglass placed fifth in the 60m
hurdles (9.04 seconds) at the Women’s
Indoor Heptagonal Championships this
February scoring two of Columbia’s 31
points.
John Kamfonas, Pat Pasquariello, Kit
Zipf, and Bernard Yaros all played
varsity squash this year at Columbia, Franklin and Marshall, Navy, and
Williams respectively. They were in
attendance at the College Squash Association National Tournament held in
Princeton, NJ and look forward to seeing each other at the tournament for the
next three years.
Chris Sherwin traveled with Washington and Lee’s male a cappella group,
Southern Comfort, to perform at The
Homestead after Christmas. They were
invited by the resort to be part of the
holiday entertainment and gave evening
performances there.
03
Rory Everitt is the president of his
fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, at Stanford University.
David Turner married Lindsey Dorsz on
August 6, 2005.
Jamie Zug will be spending her 20062007 school year in Tanzania and
Kenya.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 40
Milestones
Marriages
Wanda & Paul Gilhool ’87
Paul Jude Gilhool 1/30/2003
Vincent & Brigette (Erwin) Stinger ’91
Jacqueline Brigette Stinger 8/13/2003
Lucy & Richard Moore ’87
Claire Moore 5/25/2004
Tammi & Greg Venzie ’91
Matthew Arthur Venzie 8/16/2005
Alicia Goldstein to Jim Prusky ’86
April 3, 2004
Christine & Jack Zinman ’87
Anna Marguerite Zinman 8/2005
Kim & Jamie Wolitarsky ’92
James Wolitarsky 9/29/2005
Christine Newcomb to
Jack Zinman ’87
August 2004
Marica & Peter Angelides ’88
Madeline Audrey Angelides 10/11/2001
Greg & Coryell (McIlvain) Urban ’94
Carolyn Havens Urban 10/9/2005
Stacy Duca to Mike Milone ’88
May 21, 2005
Jill & Paul Chambers ’88
Colin Chambers age 4
Rubie Chambers age 2
Shea Michael Chambers 3/15/2006
John & Kirsten (Kraus) Anch ’97
Juliana Marissa Anch 11/23/2005
Mittie Barron Quay to
Davis Pearson ’43
2/11/2006
Simon Amies to Margaret Hare ’89
June 2003
Peggy Pei-Yi Hwan to
George Hebard ’91
3/4/2006
Gisela Winslow to
Stafan Slowinski ’93
August 2004
John Anch to Kirsten Kraus ’97
12/11/2004
Gina Barson to Ted Bullock ’00
9/24/2005
Lindsey Ann Dorsz to
David M. Turner ’03
August 6, 2005
Births
Donna & Basil Beltran ’80
Noah Basil Beltran 3/9/2006
Paula & Joe Giles ’80
Maxwell Joseph Giles 12/25/2002
Kate & Chip Farnham ’84
Marshall Edwards Farnham 3/14/2006
Beth & Bill Pope ’86
Nicholas George Pope 1/17/2001
Brian William Pope 12/31/2002
Thomas Hayes Pope 5/12/2005
Michael & Susan (Edwards) Yadgar ’86
Paul Michael Yadgar 7/7/2004
Matthew Thomas Yadgar 12/30/2005
Karen & Mike Vadner ’86
John Vadner 2/15/2003
Ashley Vadner 2/4/2006
41 C o n n e c t i o n s
Daniel Walker & Amy Davis ’88
Emma Fox Walker 3/26/2006
Stacy & Mike Milone ’88
Saylor Frances Milone 2/13/2006
Kim (Zinman) ’88 & Jamie Richter ’86
Sydney Harrison Richter 12/11/2005
Danielle & Gerard Rosato ’88
Ava Diane Rosato 12/30/2002
Simon Amies &
Margaret (Hare) Amies ’89
Jackson Theodore Hare Amies
5/21/2005
Deaths
William W. Dormon, Sr. ’29
10/2/2005
H. Williamson Ghriskey ’30
3/3/2006
Theodore Weston, II ’35
4/26/2006
Kent Packard ’38
1/14/2003
William T. Gibson ’41
5/1/2006
Duffield Ashmead, III ’43
3/13/2006
Sarah & Bob Clark ’90
Matilda Canavan Clark 3/23/2006
David R. Dorrance ’46
3/14/2006
Glenn & Betsy (Godshalk) Richard ’90
Alexander James Richard 11/05
Thomas M. Davis, Jr. ’48
12/18/2005
Rafhia & David Hamilton ’91
Xander James Hamilton 2/22/2006
C. Brinton Medford ’48
11/16/2005
Matthew &
Melanie (Sophocles) McGuire ’91
Connor Ford McGuire 2/21/2006
Scott Murphy ’54
4/13/2006
Heather (Flick) ’91 &
Andrew McMeekin ’91
Page Flick McMeekin 3/14/2006
Dottie & Andy Person ’91
John Thomas Person 2/24/2006
Claudia Parra-Pavez &
Peter Rudnick ’91
Paula Ignacia Rudnick 2/23/2005
Leonard V. Day, Jr.’58
3/14/2006
R. Douglas Irwin ’56
12/8/2003
Howard L. Murray, III ’79
4/9/2006
from the Development Office
at t h e e p i s c o pa l ac a d e m y
Achieving Global Perspective
The Episcopal community explores current world
issues and the role education plays in ensuing future
global stability with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Achieving Global Perspective
Former Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev
gives answers to tough
questions.
O
Jay Sherrerd ’47 and another guest
43 T r a n s i t i o n s
n Thursday and Friday March 30th and April
1st, a number of distinguished Episcopal guests,
Head of School Ham Clark, and several faculty
members, had the pleasure of dining with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at a private event
hosted by trustee Brian O’Neill and his wife Miriam at their
home in Newport, RI.
Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the evening was
a spectacular journey across history, with discussion covering current world issues and the role that education
plays in ensuring future global stability. During a lengthy
question and answer session following dinner, inquiries developed by history teacher Chuck Bryant’s students were
posed to President Gorbachev, and his answers helped give
depth to issues such as Iraq, current Russian president
Vladimir Putin’s domestic agenda, and how the president
viewed his own place in history. Most telling was the president’s statement that he felt his greatest contribution to
Chip Hollinger, Hon. and Chuck Bryant, Hon., Episcopal history teachers, spent
time discussing global affairs and the impact Episcopal graduates might make
in the world.
Kiono Thomas, Morrison Heckscher ’58, Development Director Meg Hollinger,
Fenella Heckscher, and Brooks Thomas ’49.
Mikhail Gorbachev with Episcopal parents Susan and Jeremy Coote.
l to r: Ray Welsh, Ham Clark, and Brian O’Neill
the world was his dedicated work with former presidents
Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush to bring the Cold
War to a close, minimize the threat of nuclear conflict, and
promote world peace.
All due to the generosity of Brian O’Neill, the Episcopal
guests were flown to Newport from the Philadelphia area,
stayed at the beautiful Chanler at Cliff Walk Hotel, and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails at the O’Neill home prior
to President Gorbachev’s arrival. Before being flown back to
Philadelphia on Friday, guests were treated to a private tour
of the Doris Duke home Rough Point, which was followed
by brunch.
The Development Office would like to offer its deepest gratitude to the O’Neill Family, and all the members of O’Neill
Properties Group for their dedication, attention to detail, and
hard work in making this event a magical night for the Episcopal Academy.
Peter Quimby shares a moment with Mikhail Gorbachev.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 44
Episcopal Announces New Capital
Campaign Director And Campaign Team
Meg Hollinger, Director of Development
Bruce Konopka, Associate Director of Development
Carolyn Jaeger, Director of Planned Giving
Jeffrey Day, Director of Major Gifts
Clayton Platt, Director of Alumni
Donna Jumper, Capital Campaign Assistant
P
aige Peters assumed the Capital
Campaign
Director
position on June 1st. Paige
graduated in May with her
MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Prior to business school, Paige served
as Director of Major Gifts at The Peddie School, a private boarding school
located near Princeton, NJ. In addition to her major gifts experience, Paige
has several years of experience in annual giving and alumni relations. Peters
grew up in Bryn Mawr, PA and received
her B.A. from Hamilton College.
The Ever Episcopal Capital Campaign
Team also includes Meg Hollinger, Director of Development, Bruce Konopka,
Associate Director of Development, Carolyn Jaeger, Director of Planned Giving,
Jeffrey Day, Director of Major Gifts,
Clayton Platt, Director of Alumni,
and Donna Jumper, Capital Campaign
Assistant.
45 T r a n s i t i o n s
$90 Million
Moving Forward:
Ever Episcopal
Campaign Update
85 Million
80 Million
A
75 Million
65 Million
60 Million
55 Million
50 Million
45 Million
M
A
U
VI D
Q
E
I
ES
70 Million
ER
S
s of May 15th, $45.5
million dollars has
been raised towards
a goal of $90 million.
The $45.5 million includes
approximately $20 million
raised for the land purchase.
Thank you to our leadership
donors for making this
monumental project possible!
Look for Episcopal’s inaugural
Campaign Newsletter this
summer. In addition to a
campaign update, major
donors will be announced.
Luncheon Honors Scholars and Episcopal Benefactors
(Top of photo, from left) Mike Shouvlin, John Rettew, and Dave Crockett
represented the Class of 1950, which endowed the Scholar Leader, Athlete,
Artist Fund at the time of their 50th reunion.
The Burke Family Fund was initiated in 2004. Episcopal Academy Board
Chairman Gretchen Burke is pictured with (from left to right) Burke Family
Scholars Shanika Griffiths, Camille Mason, and Jackie Bailey.
Charley Kurz and Kurz Scholar Stephen Shanahan ’07 (at left). Charley and
his wife Dorothy, his children Katie ’95 and Chad ’00, and the Kurz Foundation
established the Kurz Scholar Fund in 2000 in response to Episcopal’s strategic
plan focusing on “The Challenge To Lead.”
45 T r a n s i t i o n s
47
To honor the memory of Amanda Moses ’94, her family, classmates, and friends
endowed a fund at Episcopal. Current Moses Scholars, Zoe (second from left)
and Hannah (second from right) LaPalombara are pictured with Kathy Shelton
(far left, Amanda’s mother) and Kristy Moses Murray ’91 (Amanda’s sister).
Partnering With
Corporate America
O
n Tuesday, April 18th, more than a dozen local
business leaders with ties to Episcopal sat down
at the Overbrook Golf Club for an idea session on
ways for the school to secure corporate financing
or sponsorship for programs on the new campus in Newtown
Square. The session was facilitated by Donna AltenpohlDeasey, former marketing executive at Cigna and Episcopal
parent, and Head of School Ham Clark.
As Episcopal begins rolling out its Ever Episcopal Capital Campaign (which is currently in the quiet phase targeting
lead donors and board of trustee members), the group focused
on ways that corporate sponsorships or partnerships could
advance existing programs at Episcopal. Many of the ideas
focused on the school’s community service program, scholarship programs, possibly providing day care options for local
corporations, or providing facilities for local summer learning programs.
While the session was strictly for brainstorming, the group
was clearly impressed with the work that has been done in developing the new campus and the possibilities it provides.
Those in attendance included: Bobby Kutteh (who helped
facilitate the meeting), Paul Hondros, Ken Lawrence, Roy
Simpson, Mark Turner, Bruce White, Joe Zoll, Jeremy Coote,
Charles Valutas, James Mackey, Matt Naylor, Bill Stallkamp,
Carol Kutteh, Ham Clark, and Meg Hollinger.
Calling all Legacies!
A
s Episcopal begins the process of planning how
we will move ourselves from Merion to Newtown
Square, we become more and more aware of the
wonderful history of our school. At the same time,
some gaps in our institutional knowledge base also come to
our attention. One of the areas where our information is incomplete is the history of family connections at the Academy
over its 221-year history.
We are interested in collecting data on any family relationships you might be aware of, especially those going back to
the 1920’s and earlier. Please let us know, for
example, if your Uncle John Smith attended Episcopal as a member of the class of
1915. We will most likely have a record
of John Smith ’15, but we might not
know he was related to you!
So have some fun, do some work
on your family history, and share
with us any family relationships
you have who attended Episcopal
(whether graduates or not) and
help us better understand some
of the great intergenerational family traditions of this school. Aunts.
Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, etc,
we’re interested in every possible relationship, and don’t be afraid to go back
as far as you can! Current relationships
are important too.
SP R ING 2 0 0 6 48
Seven Benefits of a Gift Annuity
There’s rarely been a better time to obtain a charitable gift annuity from The
Episcopal Academy. Low interest rates and fluctuating markets are causing
people to think twice about their financial decisions and to consider the
seven benefits of Episcopal’s gift annuity program.
Attractive Rates
When you compare our gift annuity rates with what you might receive from
a savings account or a certificate of deposit, you will likely be pleasantly
surprised. For example, the payment rate for a 70-year-old senior is 6.5
percent. At age 80, the rate is 8.0 percent, and if you are 90 or older, you
could receive 11.3 percent. In other words, a $100,000 gift annuity would
provide an 80-year-old person $8,000 every year.*
Regular Payments
Annuitants receive their checks or direct deposits every quarter. Receiving
your regular payments on a specific, predetermined date is comforting and
also helpful for planning purposes.
Fixed Income.
Your payment rate will be locked in at the time you obtain your gift annuity.
It will not rise or fall with the economy. Instead, it will be the same amount
every year—and that can mean a lot in uncertain times.
Please Complete And Mail This Form
Please send me a complimentary illustration showing the benefits I/we could
receive from a gift annuity with Episcopal.
Age(s)
/
Asset: M Cash
Amount $
M Stock
M Please contact me. The best time to call is:
Name(s)
Address
City
State/Zip
Lifetime Benefit
Gift annuities are for life. No matter what your age now or how long you
live, your payments will continue right to the very end. And if you have a
two-life gift annuity, when one person dies the other can continue to receive
the same amount for the rest of his or her life. This benefit of ongoing
payments can provide security for each spouse and they enter their older
years.
Phone number
Dependable Source
Episcopal stands behind all of our gift annuities. We have a reserve fund
set aside to meet our obligations and, what’s more, we back up our annuity
obligations with the full financial assets of our organization. We want you
to feel safe and secure and to have confidence that your payments will
continue without fail.
Are you dissatisfied with low returns from
your CD’s, stocks, and savings accounts?
An Episcopal Academy Charitable Gift
Annuity may be the answer for you!
Relief from Taxes
Since part of your contribution for a gift annuity is considered a charitable
gift by the IRS, you will receive an income tax charitable deduction to apply
on an itemized return. Also, during your life expectancy, you will be able to
claim part of the annuity payment as tax-free income.
Simple Process
Obtaining a gift annuity from Episcopal is much easier than most people
think. We provide you with a tailor-made illustration, with your age and
contribution amount included, so you can see how it all works. We provide
materials you can share with your family and advisor(s).
Another benefit we should note is the enormous satisfaction you will
receive for making a charitable gift in this manner. Every time you receive a
payment, you will be reminded that your gift annuity will eventually benefit
The Episcopal Academy.
For your personalized gift illustration, fill out and return the response
form below. Or call our planned giving office at 610-617-2252. Please
understand that we will not pressure you in any way to proceed with a gift
annuity if you ask for further information. Our role is to simply provide
clear illustrations and to let the seven benefits speak for themselves.
*Note: Rates are somewhat lower when the annuity is for two persons. Like most
charities, Episcopal uses the rates recommended by the American Council on Gift
Annuities.
49 T r a n s i t i o n s
Mail this form to:
The Episcopal Academy, Office of Planned Giving
376 N. Latches Lane, Merion, PA 19066-1797
Through a gift annuity, the Episcopal Academy can provide
you with guaranteed, fixed annual payments, which are based
on your current age. A portion of a gift annuity is tax-free,
plus you will qualify to receive a charitable tax deduction.
Example
($10,000 Gift, One Annuitant)
AgeRate
Annuity
Deduction
70
6.5%
$650
$4118
75
7.1%
$710
$4563
80
8.0%
$800
$5005
85
9.5%
$950
$5331
90
11.0%
$1100
$5893
Call the Episcopal Academy Development Office to request a
personal illustration. 610-617-2252.
Please note: These examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not
intended as legal or tax advice.
Goal Annual Giving
Works for
a Lifetime
Support for Annual Giving helps
to inspire and prepare Episcopal
graduates to make a difference over
a lifetime. Contributions to the
Annual Fund are at work every day,
365 days a year, to support initiatives
and opportunities for every student
at The Episcopal Academy. Gifts to
the Annual Fund sustain the school’s
mission of educational excellence,
community service programs, fitness
and competition, fine arts, music and
spiritual life.
Last year parent participation alone
was at an all-time high, and with
increased participation of many
constituents, we exceeded our goal
by over $200,000. For 2005-2006,
gifts to the Annual Fund continue
to help close the gap between total
expenses and the revenue generated
through tuition and endowment.
Every gift, large or small, makes a
difference.
$1,700,000
As of
May 25, 2006
Raised $1,593,248
Alumni $ 440,608
Parents $645,342
Past Parents &
Grandparents
$106,587
Matching Gifts $48,947
Contact Bruce Konopka, Director
of Annual Giving, at 610-617-2233
or [email protected] or visit
www.ea1785.org to make your gift
online.
Thank you for
supporting the
Episcopal Academy
Annual Giving
Campaign 2005-06.
Other $
351,764
Scholium Subscription
Mark your Calendar for a
groundbreaking event…
And be a part of Episcopal
Academy history.
September 27, 2006
If you would like to receive the
2005-06 Scholium, EA’s student
newspaper, please contact
Nancy Taylor in the Alumni Office
at 610-617-2249 (phone),
610-667-8629 (fax), or e-mail
[email protected]. Annual
subscriptions are offered to
alumni free of charge, but you
must register with us each year.
Keep in touch!
Look for your invitation and details
in the mail this summer.
The Episcopal Academy
Merion Station, PA 19066-1797
A ddress Service Requested
Non-profit org.
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 50
Downingtown, PA