Hackley Review Summer 2016

HACKLEY
HACKLEY REVIEW SUMMER 2016
The Walter Johnson Years

Honoring Character
on the Hilltop
The Hackley Lifers’
Endowment
At the end of the 2014–2015 school
year, Doug and Maripat Alpuche,
whose daughter Dominique ’13 and
son Doug Jr. ’15 were both Hackley
Lifers, wanted to make a gift in honor
of the tremendous role Hackley plays
in the character development of those
fortunate enough to have attended
the school since kindergarten.
The Alpuches established The Hackley
Lifers’ Endowment, which funds The
Hilltop Award, a cash award presented
to a member of the faculty, administration
or staff, or any subcontractor of
the school. Chosen by majority vote of
members of the graduating class who
have attended Hackley since kindergarten,
the awardee is someone who has
best inspired and promoted Hackley’s
three fundamental mottos—“United, We
Help One Another;” “Enter Here To Be
And Find A Friend;” and “Go Forth and
Spread Beauty and Light.”
The Alpuche family
This endowment also generates
income that will provide incremental
funding to a program at Hackley
chosen by majority vote of the Lifers
in each graduating class.
The inaugural winner of The Hilltop
Award was Rhonda Mair, a 22 year
employee of Flik, Hackley’s food
service provider.
The 2016 Lifers surprised Rhonda with news of the award in the Lower School Dining Hall.
One Lifer noted about Rhonda:
“She is a woman I will never forget due
to her ceaseless energy and smiles.
In Lower School, she taught me the
importance of teamwork outside of the
classroom, the notion that everyone
deserves kindness and the selflessness
required to be a kind and supportive
member of a community. To this day
whenever I see her she greets me with
the biggest smile on her face and an
embrace. I really believe she embodies
Hackley’s three fundamental mottos.”
Lifers in any graduating class
and all members of the community
are welcome to contribute to The
Hackley Lifers’ Endowment.
The 2016 Lifers with Rhonda Mair

HACKLEY REVIEW SUMMER 2016
Contents
4
Hackley Board of Trustees
Names Johnson Center
for Health & Wellness
Walter Johnson Receives
Medal of Honor
6
The Life of a School:
21 Years of Leadership
8 The Sculptor’s Vision: 21 Years
of Walter Johnson’s Leadership
By Philip V. Havens ’49
12 Strength in Partnership:
21 Years of Trustee Leadership
By Suzy Akin
18 The Spirit of Welcome and
Partnership: 21 Years of HPA
Leadership
By Suzy Akin
32
2015–16 Performing Arts
by Bettie-Ann Candelora
2015–16 Visual Arts
By Greg Cice
2015–16 Athletics
by Jason Edwards
40
Hilltop Updates
44
Commencement 2016
52
Character is Higher than Intellect
By William G. Davies
20 United, Helping Each Other:
21 Years of Alumni Partnership
By Suzy Akin
26 The Fabric of Learning: 21 Years
of Academic Program Evolution
By Philip J. Variano
On the cover: Portrait of
Walter C. Johnson by Everett
Raymond Kinstler, 2016. The
portrait now hangs in the
Lindsay Room at Hackley with
those of Hackley’s previous
headmasters.
Editor: Suzy Akin
Primary photography: Chris Taggart
Hackley Review: More color, less weight!
We have redesigned Hackley’s publications to allow us to share content more effectively
with our audiences—alumni, current families, parents of alumni, grandparents, and
friends. “Class Notes” is now its own alumni-specific magazine, and Hackley Review, with
stories about Hackley people and programs, now comes to you twice a year in full color.
Suggestions? Email us at communications@hackleyschool.org. Happy reading!
© Copyright 2016 Hackley School. All rights reserved.

On June 16, as we
prepared to print this
issue of Hackley Review, we
received word that Walter
Johnson had died peacefully
that morning from cancer.
We can think of no more
fitting memorial than the
celebration captured in these
pages of his 21 remarkable
years as Headmaster of
Hackley School. This spring,
the School commissioned this
original drawing as a gift
for Walter, showing the
Hackley Quad as it is today,
restored and re-imagined
through his vision. If you
look closely, you will see
Walter, walking home to
Gage House, as he did every
day for over two decades.
With gratitude from all of us
at Hackley School.
Artwork by Karl Tanner

4
Board of Trustees Names
Johnson Center for
Health & Wellness
This June, John C. Canoni ’86, President, Hackley Board of Trustees,
announced the Board of Trustees’ decision to name Hackley’s
newest project the Johnson Center for Health and Wellness in honor
of Headmaster Walter C. Johnson and his 21 years of leadership.
Mr. Canoni notes, “Through all
these years, Walter’s vision has
transformed our beloved campus
and our programs, and instead
of stopping as many would have
with what he had already accomplished,
he continued to look
forward, guiding the creation of
our Health and Wellness programming
and envisioning the facility
that would become its home. It is
in appreciation for his vision for
Hackley, today and in the future,
that we dedicate the new building
in his honor.”
The new Johnson Center for
Health & Wellness, made possible
by Ethel Strong Allen’s extraordinarily
generous gift and the
proceeds from the paintings she
donated to Hackley, will be a
100,000+ square foot facility that
will include: a cardio fitness center,
three basketball courts, an eightlane
pool, eight squash courts, a
fencing studio, a wrestling room,
a free weights room, a modified
indoor track, three classrooms
and a wellness studio, a teaching
kitchen, concession stand, and of
Rendering of The Johnson Center for Health & Wellness, from the south.
course locker rooms, office space
and common areas.
The facility will provide a new home
for Hackley’s exceptional physical
education and athletics programs
as well as an expanded platform
upon which the School’s important
initiatives in Health and Wellness
will continue to grow. Beginning
with the creation of a new position
for Director of Health and Well-
Being, Hackley has embraced a
wide array of programming, ranging
from mindfulness and meditation
practices at all grade levels,
nutrition education, and fitness
activities including yoga and walks
in Hackley’s own woodlands. Our
Lower School teachers established
a garden where students learn to
plant and cultivate vegetables which
they later enjoy and share, and
faculty partake in a full range of
wellness and well-being practices in
partnership with colleagues.
The Johnson Center for Health
& Wellness extends Walter’s
commitment to our founders’
vision for a community “where
it should be easy to be good” into
our second century.

Walter Johnson Receives
Medal of Honor
5
As the school year concluded, the Hackley Board
of Trustees and the Hackley Alumni Association
awarded the Hackley School Medal of Honor to
Walter C. Johnson. Fittingly enough, he concluded
his 21 years as Headmaster of Hackley School as the
21st recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest
honor accorded by Hackley to those who have served
the School and its community in extraordinary ways.
He is only the second Headmaster to receive the
honor—the previous recipient, K.C. MacArthur,
reshaped Hackley School forever with the creation of
the K–5 Lower School and the move to co-education.
Other recipients include former trustee Herbert Allen
and his son, Herbert A. Allen ’58, whose philanthropy
across generations first saved and then transformed
Hackley, as well as board presidents across decades
who have guided Hackley with dedication and vision.
Legendary Hackley History teacher, historian and
author of Where the Seasons Tell Their Story: Hackley
School’s First 100 Years, Walter Schneller—himself
a recipient of the Hackley Medal of Honor—wrote
that Walter Johnson “…exhibited outstanding leadership
qualities; clearly he would be a headmaster
for the twenty-first century.” He predicted that
Hackley under Walter Johnson’s leadership would
bring “not only a return to glory but a vision of dazzling
heights of institutional growth and development
beyond the founders’ most expansive dreams”
(Schneller 233). Mr. Schneller, too, would be amazed
by Hackley School today.
But it is Walter’s own words that capture the essence
of these last decades best. In 1998, he wrote, “The
key to belonging, the key to education of self, the key
to loving this place, is to give oneself without stint.
Distinguished accomplishment attained without effort
The Hackley School Medal of Honor
earns less respect here than a wholehearted commitment
and discipline motivated more by love than by
talent. […] Hackley’s culture honors those who make
this investment of self, whether they be students,
teachers, parents or alumni. To make such an unreserved
commitment is an act of faith and hope.”
The Medal of Honor scroll presented to Walter
Johnson honors this unreserved effort, and the gift
of faith and hope:
You challenged us all to rise to our founders’ lofty
aspiration that Hackley should be a place of beauty,
“where it should be easy to be good.” Your moral
vision, ethical leadership and intellectual rigor have
transformed both Hackley and our community’s
impact beyond the Hilltop in countless ways. You
have led us to see the view from the Hilltop with
hope and possibility, and we are grateful.
Medal of Honor Recipients
1965 Herbert Allen
1966 Laurence M. Symmes
1967 Lawrence W. Newell
1968 Carl de Ganahl ’19
1969 Maurice H. Lindsay
1972 Daniel L. Monroe ’22
1974 Adolph Herrmann’29
1975 Thomas E. Zetkov
1975 Kenneth C. MacArthur, Jr.
1977 George M. Whitmore ’45
1980 Herbert B. Grant ’35
1982 Robert W. Rowen ’22
1987 Richard G. Rosenthal
1989 G. Carl Buessow
1990 Robert M. Akin III ’54
1998 Philip C. Scott ’60
2000 Jack M. Ferraro H ’63
2002 Walter L. Schneller
2006 Herbert A. Allen ’58
2010 Thomas A. Caputo ’65
2016 Walter C. Johnson

7
The Life
of a School:
21 Years of Leadership
Schools are living organisms. Complex and
dimensional. They breathe. They grow. They
thrive on nourishment drawn from their
roots, their history. They evolve, celebrate
accomplishments, learn from mistakes, and
strive to do better for the next generation.
We who are close to a school come to understand
this intuitively, and we are protective.
We nurture it as it nurtures us. Through
long relationship, we come to breathe
together. The institution evolves, guided by a
continuity of values, of spirit.
Former students see this when they return
to the Hilltop. They admire the changes just
as they are reassured by a certain constancy
of vision with which they resonate. Parents
choose it for their children because they
connect with the sense of community this
constancy engenders.
We talk often at Hackley about “culture,”
about the shaping force of sustained commitment
to core values. That culture seems
organic, yet we know it’s the product of
hard work. Times change, new people and
new agendas emerge, and it takes conscious
effort to sustain a clear sense of who we are.
Across these last 21 years of leadership, in
what will surely come to be known as “the
Walter Johnson years,” the single most
significant aspect of Hackley has been the
commitment to the best of what Hackley
is and always has been even as we evolve
toward what more we can be.
Walter Johnson is the first to refuse credit
for the good work of these last 21 years,
pointing instead to the teams of effective
leaders—trustees, alumni, parents, teachers,
administrators and staff—whose vision,
collaboration and commitment have made
so much possible. We keep trying to applaud
him, and he keeps reminding us that he
did his part along with so many others, that
leadership is about partnership—trustees,
parents’ association, and alumni association
synergistically working in tandem with
faculty and the administration. And that
is, we admit, the Hackley way. We are
not a “star” culture; we are a community.
Iuncti Iuvamus: United, we help one another.
Pictured left: John Canoni ’86 and Tom Caputo ’65, Board presidents present and past, in the Lindsay Room.
photo credit: Haleh Tavakol ’84

8
21 YEARS
The Sculptor’s Vision:
21 Years of Walter Johnson’s Leadership
By Philip V. Havens ’49,
Former Hackley Faculty and Trustee
Twenty-one years ago, Walter
Johnson began his work as
Hackley’s new Headmaster. A
school includes all manner of
materials—physical as well as the
human resources of faculty,
parents, students, and assorted
others. Some tasks were simple
and obvious. But building a first
class school is a complex task. And
build a first class school, he did.
When you become a new Head
of School, there is no manual, no
clear steps to follow to help you
know how best to support the
faculty, staff, trustees, parents, and
alums. The challenge confronting
a new Head is similar to the one
confronting a sculptor. In front
of the sculptor is a large block
of marble. There are no lines or
markings to guide your carving.
There must be an idea in your
head—from that, you create the
design. Confronting his own block
of marble, Michelangelo envisioned
the figure of David in all
its details—the stance, the cock of
the head, the look in the eye.
Like the sculptor, the Head needs
a design and a plan, but also
needs the skills with which to
communicate with everyone in
the organization and the ability to
recognize that the challenges will
constantly change. Fortunately,
Walter had the skills and clearly
relished the challenge. He has
lived Hackley.
His paramount concern was our
students. Hackley students entered
here to be and find a friend. They
needed the culture to support and
challenge them. This had to begin
with the commitment to building
a financial aid program that made
it possible for talented students to
attend Hackley regardless of their
families’ ability to pay. It needed,
also, to provide a thoughtfully
planned curriculum that provided
students both the skills and foundation
upon which to grow, the
scaffolding to support this growth,
and new levels of challenge for
them to explore as they achieve
mastery.
He set forth to motivate students to
reach for high standards under the
direction of the talented faculty.
If he chose the right faculty and
helped those teachers set the
correct targets and standards, the
students should prosper. Along
with this work, he found ways to
rebuild a necessary sense of cohesion,
mutual purpose and shared
direction among students and
faculty. As I visit the School during
celebrations or during class time
and observe the students, it is clear
that Walter has helped Hackley
reaffirm and deepen its mission of
community.
Walter gave faculty opportunities
to rethink academic schedules
and to learn from and support
each other. He created traditions
that celebrate and honor them.
Only in a school that really cares
about teachers and teaching would
a Head give senior teachers the
prominence of literally carving
their visages into stone by creating
gargoyles in their likeness on the
new buildings. Such a gesture tells
us a great deal about the School
and the Head.
Walter has found ways to showcase
other Hackley talent. He
has invited Hackley alumni and
parents to play an important part
in the campus community, inviting
them to speak at significant events,
such as graduation. The message
he sends to the community is clear:
these Hackley grads and parents
deserve our respect. Members
of the community, particularly
students, gain a sense of admiration
for the institution to which
they belong. This is done in a few
other schools but it is certainly not
universal.
Walter appreciates Hackley history
deeply, learning more about
Hackley’s history, values and
traditions than most graduates.
The invitation carved over the
front door—Enter Here to be and
Find a Friend—had often been
celebrated but he made it central
to our understanding of the traditions
inherent to our heritage. The
Latin motto on our seal, Iuncti
Iuvamus, had little resonance until
he reminded us that it translates
to “United, we help one another.”
By honoring these intrinsically
Hackley themes and tying them to
our community’s codes of expected
behavior, he helped shape a more
respectful and caring culture.
The caring culture was also
reflected in the School’s commitment
to a strong ethical core. Rules
were enforced even-handedly and
he helped faculty, student, parent
and trustee leaders carry forth
an unwavering moral code. Long
before concerns about bullying
became a visible public topic,
Walter led Hackley to reinforce
a commitment to caring, mutual
respect. Recognizing the ownership
students took of their school,

Walter helped them build their
sense of pride in the community
they create and protect. Watch
the way Hackley Upper School
students gather and socialize.
They are enjoying their School.
During Walter’s tenure there
have been disasters. The fire that
gutted Goodhue looms as one of
the largest and most memorable
of the challenges that faced Walter
and the trustees. Yet the strong
administration had carefully built
the philanthropic resources that
made it possible to protect and
enhance critical assets beyond
that which insurance would cover.
Walter, the Board and others
managed the crisis well and we
emerged a stronger, better, more
beautiful school.
It seems as though Walter has
always been looking ahead, always
preparing for the next challenge,
always making the School ready for
what is to come. Hackley’s development
department is one of its great
strengths. Before Walter, alumni
giving was weak, endowment was
poor, and the percentage of parent
giving was substandard. Walter
led the School to accept a challenge
grant leading to significant
improvement.
Think of everything the current
campus community can now take
for granted, having never known
Hackley without them: the new
Lower School, the new Middle
School, the science building, new
track, fields and cross-country
trails which used the acreage
acquired from the Rockefeller
family to beautify and enhance
our programs, Allen Hall and
Akin Common, the redesigned
and expanded dining hall and
all the added space that supports
expanded programs and increased
flexibility, making the academic
program the priority. Plans for
the new Johnson Center for
Health and Wellness will extend
this vision. In addition to physical
enhancements, today’s students
benefit from Hackley’s expanded
global education opportunities,
including the Casten Travel
Program, the Wendt Visiting
Scholar series, and all the international
cultural exchange made
possible through Hackley’s
membership in Round Square.
Walter saw all this as enabling
a much augmented educational
program.
Now Goodhue Hall and its cousin,
the old Raymond Scientific Hall,
which now seem so naturally
connected as a result of the most
recent renovations, make a beautiful
statement. Goodhue, like the
Phoenix, grew out of the ashes of
the dreaded fire. Now the figure
of Arthur Naething is celebrated
there, just as others important to
the history of Hackley are honored
around campus. All of this was a
product of Walter Johnson’s fertile
imagination, his amazing vision
for the remaking and celebration
of a school whose history had
suffered—a school whose grand
rebirth Walter Johnson managed.
This is all the achievement of a
gifted and visionary leader who
has given heart and soul to the
enterprise. He personifies that
essentially Hackley element
of our mission statement: unreserved
effort. He has given us
his talent, his boundless energy,
and his imagination. Somehow,
like a sculptor, he saw what was
possible. He saw how to create it.
And he saw how to harness the
energy and talent of the many
who love Hackley to join together,
chisels in hand, in this grand and
beautiful project.
The Walter Johnson Years:
Landmarks and
Accomplishments
1995
Walter Johnson named Hackley’s
11th Headmaster
1996
Alumni & Development office
expanded
Parent Giving: 39%
Alumni Giving: 14%
Endowment: $8M
Annual Fund: $637,415
Financial Aid: $956,447
1997
Peter McAndrew named Director
of Finance
1998
Long Range Planning study launched,
led to creation of the Master Plan that
has guided all campus development
as well as program initiatives
Purchased 172 adjacent acres from
Laurance S. Rockefeller
The historic opportunity to purchase
172 contiguous acres—an unfathomable
opportunity in rapidly developing
Westchester County, increased the
size of Hackley’s campus from 113 to
285 acres and made way for all the
campus improvements and expanded
facilities made possible since, including
the Johnson Center for Health and
Wellness now under construction.
9

The addition of 172 acres to campus enabled Hackley to create expanded athletics facilities—
five new fields, cross country trails and the new Johnson Center for Heath & Wellness—while
protecting and stewarding a magnificent outdoor classroom for nature study.

11
1998 continued
Akin Family Chair first awarded
The Akin Family Chair was the first of six endowed
chairs newly awarded during Walter Johnson’s
tenure. These joined four existing chairs to bring
the total of endowed chairs to ten (in the order
they were established):
• The Alumni Humanities Chair, created in 1987
through the generosity of the Hackley Alumni
Association.
• The M.H. Davidson Chair in History, established
in 1987 through the generosity of friend and
trustee, Marvin H. Davidson P ’77.
• The Wallace W. McLean Chair in Mathematics,
established in 1988 through the generosity of
Wallace W. McLean ’35.
• The Headmaster’s Chair, created in 1989
through the generosity of James Dryer ’24 and
Rufus Dryer ’27.
• The Akin Family Chair, established in 1998
through the generosity of trustee Robert M.
Akin III ’54 P ’83, ’90, GP ’12, ’14 and members
of the Akin family.
• The Parents’ Chair, established in 1999
through the generosity of the Hackley Parents’
Association.
• The Ferraro Family chair, endowed in 2002 by
trustee Jack M. Ferraro H’63, Marianne Ferraro
and Jesse ’94 and Melissa ’95 Ferraro.
• The Caputo Family Chair, established in 2002
through the generosity of Thomas A.’65 and
Janet V. Caputo P ’93.
• The Sternberg Family Chair, endowed in 2004
by trustee Sy Sternberg, Laurie Sternberg, and
Matthew Sternberg ’04.
• The Allstrom Chair in Foreign Affairs, established
in 2006 in honor of Lenore and H. Williard
Allstrom, endowed by Peter Allstrom ’71.
Since 1995, 37 individual faculty members have been
awarded terms with endowed chairs. Among these
are three faculty members who have been twice
honored as chair recipients. Two more first-time
recipients and one previous chair holder have been
named to chairs beginning July 2016. Endowed
chairs serve two important functions: they support
the School’s effort to attract and retain the best
faculty by providing additional compensation, and
they allow the community to honor the great work of
the recipients by celebrating these awards.
Lambos Award first awarded
Since 1984, with the creation of the Oscar Kimelman
Award, Upper School teachers have been recognized
for excellence in teaching annually at Class Day. The
1998 introduction of the Mary Lambos Excellence
in Teaching award, the gift of the Lambos family,
extended similar honors to a Lower or Middle School
teacher. This honor rotated between Lower and
Middle School honorees until 2010 when, with the
creation of the DelMoro Award for Excellence in
Teaching in the Lower School, the Lambos Award
became the Middle School teaching award.
1999
Centennial Celebration
Centennial Campaign launched
Parents’ Chair first awarded
Herbert Allen ’58 makes $10 million gift

21 YEARS
By Suzy Akin
12
Strength in Partnership:
21 Years of Trustee Leadership:
Anyone who knew Hackley in 1995, when Walter
Johnson became Headmaster, let alone in previous
decades, can see the transformative impact of these
last 21 years.
The campus itself, of course, reveals the most
visible changes. Back in the decades when Hackley
struggled financially, new carpets, let alone new
buildings, were less the priority than sustaining dayto-day
operations. But the story of transformation
goes far beyond bricks and mortar to the intellectual,
philosophical and ethical core of the community
that is stronger than ever.
Long known as a good school in the decades since
its founding, Hackley earned the deep affection of
alumni across its first century despite financial ups
and downs and through the transition from seven- to
five-day boarding and to K–12 co-education. Through
the 1980s and ’90s, Headmasters Donald Barr and
Peter Gibbon strengthened academic programs,
attracted strong students and cultivated a loyal and
beloved faculty that included legendary teachers—
from Walter Schneller and Arthur Naething to
Doug Clark and Kerry Clingen. When Jack Ferraro
was named President of the Board of Trustees in
1990, Hackley School was, for the first time since its
founding decades, in the position to look forward and
build on Hackley’s great potential.
Trustees Dan Celentano, Tom Caputo ’65 and Jack
Ferraro H ’63 with Walter Johnson at the Founders Ball,
April 2000.
Choosing Hackley’s Next Headmaster
Jack Ferraro, father of two Hackley students in the
classes of 1994 and 1995 who joined the Board of
Trustees in 1985, was the first non-alumnus to lead
Hackley’s Board since 1969. Jack recalls his initial
reluctance to serve as President, as he knew Hackley’s
next years would be a time of significant change.
He believed the alumni on the Board sustained the
School’s traditions, and as such, should be the ones
leading change, not a parent. Bob Akin ’54, his predecessor
in the role, liked the ideas Ferraro presented
in his work as chair of the Educational Programs
Committee, and also his recommendations for raising
expectations for trustee responsibilities, and said,
“You’re going to be the guy to carry them out.”
As Board President, Jack Ferraro balanced what he
calls his “activist” approach with a strong appreciation
for the importance of protecting tradition,
working in close partnership with the Board’s senior
alumni leadership, Bob Akin and Phil Scott ’60. He
established a committee structure for the Board and
clearer expectations regarding meeting attendance
and preparation. He recalls, “It was to be understood
that being a member of the Hackley Board was an
honor, and came with responsibilities. That these
included making Hackley one of your philanthropic
priorities.” As some trustees, whose level of commitment
may have diminished or who were otherwise
unable to make their Hackley role the priority it
required, moved off the board, it made room for
new nominations, now vetted and recommended
by the Committee on Trustees. Overall, under
Ferraro’s leadership, the Board gained strength and
professionalism.
Still, when Peter Gibbon in 1994 announced his
decision to retire at the end of the 1995 academic
year, “graduating” along with the Gibbons’ youngest
child, the Board took on the single most important job
a Board possesses: to choose Hackley School’s next
Headmaster.
The Board established a Search Committee, chaired
by Tom Caputo ’65 and Diane Rapp P ’91, ’94, ’98,
and hired Educators’ Collaborative, a national search

13
2000
The Founder’s Ball raises $566,000
Jack M. Ferraro H ’63 steps down as Board
President after 10 years’ service
Thomas A. Caputo ’65 named President
2001
Walter and Tracey Johnson with Meg and Will, 1995.
photo credit: New York Times
firm, to run the search. Walter C. Johnson, then head of
the Upper School at The American School in London,
emerged as one of three finalists, the youngest of the
three and the only one not a sitting Head at another
school. The Search Committee, which represented all
the School’s constituencies, met the three finalists, and
Jack recalls that he came out of those meetings sure that
Walter was the right candidate. He hoped the Committee
would agree. “If they don’t choose Walter,” he recalls
thinking, “I’ll see them through a year, and then resign.”
They chose Walter.
Jack Ferraro considers hiring Walter Johnson to be
the Board’s proudest accomplishment during his
tenure as President. As Jack and each of his successors
have said time and again, it’s the Board’s job to choose
the Head, support the Head’s ability to achieve
his or her vision for the school, and
otherwise, stay out of the way. Current
Board President John Canoni ’86
remarks, “The level of commitment
by my recent predecessors, and
their degree of professionalism, is
surpassed only by the strength of
their partnership with Walter
Johnson. It is through that key
relationship that Hackley has
been able to consistently improve
while the entire community
has grown closer, more engaged
and more fulfilled.”
Casten Travel Program created
Inspired by Hackley’s 2000 trip to Cuba, the
Casten Travel Program was launched through the
generosity of Tom and Judy Casten P ’93, ’04
and the Casten family. Since then, 33 studentfaculty
groups have traveled to destinations as
varied as Machu Picchu, Thailand, Malawi and
London. Casten Travel Grants support faculty
travel, assuring a low student-faculty ratio, while
also providing financial aid to qualifying students
so these opportunities can be accessible to all
students. Hackley further extended its commitment
to global education with the addition of the
annual Wendt Visiting Scholar lecture (endowed
by Henry Wendt ’51), creation of the Allstrom Chair
in Foreign Affairs, and membership in the Round
Square international consortium of schools.
2002
Where the Seasons Tell Their Story:
Hackley School’s First 100 Years,
by Walter Schneller
Hilltop field and Alumni Drive
completed
Ferraro Family Chair and Caputo
Family Chair first awarded
2003
Alumni dinner at the Tower of London,
part of Walter Schneller’s book tour

21 YEARS
14
Hackley’s central pedestrian campus, made possible with the completion of the new Middle School and science buildings
and subsequent demolition of older facilities.
Preparing for the Next Century
“September 1995 was the beginning of a new era,”
Ferraro reflects. In hiring Walter, the Board made it
possible for Hackley to move ahead and to attract the
caliber of teachers Hackley needed. Hackley’s strength
was and always has been rooted in the strength of its
faculty, and during the lean years, the faculty came
to represent a barbell of sorts. Campus housing and
tuition remission assured retention of revered senior
faculty who devoted their lives to Hackley, raising their
children on campus, at a time when salaries were far
below those at peer schools, but made it difficult to
attract and then retain the high caliber young teachers
who would become the next generation of teaching
legends. Hence, the faculty comprised a group of longtenured
senior faculty and a great number of young,
new teachers just starting out—few experienced, midcareer
faculty. And the senior generation, beginning
with Arthur Naething in 1995, was starting to retire.
With its Centennial just ahead in 1999, how would
Hackley compete for that next generation of teachers?
How to keep the strong young teachers already on the
faculty from leaving as they gained experience, started
families, and sought better paying jobs? Hackley
needed to offer better pay, more housing, and facilities
that rivaled those of peer schools.
Sure, a school is about so much more than its buildings,
and Hackley ran strong programs despite
shortcomings in the physical plant. But facilities that
mirror the strength of the program help strengthen
it that much more by attracting the teachers and
students who want to work and learn there. As Hackley’s
first Headmaster, Theodore Chickering Williams,
wrote, Hackley’s environment should create a place
“where it should be easy to be good.” We rise to the
expectations set by our surroundings.
To help Hackley move forward under Walter’s leadership,
the Board approved the hiring of professional
staff in key positions. In 1996, Kathy Valyi, with her
extraordinary skill in non-profit development, took
over as Alumni & Development Director, and Peter
McAndrew, a Harvard B.A./Stanford MBA with
a background in hotel management, was named
Director of Finance in 1997. Peter brought the skilled
finance leadership that made so much of the progress
yet to come possible, while Kathy rebuilt the alumni
& development effort. The addition of professional
staff made it possible to create and manage a strong
and growing annual giving program, which in turn
allowed Peter McAndrew to plan and support effective
budgets, schedule deferred maintenance, and otherwise
assure a solid foundation for Hackley programs.
At the same time, the Board reviewed Hackley
tuition policies. Unless a school is heavily endowed,
tuition is the largest source of income, and Hackley’s
tuition—and therefore its compensation resources—
were below those of the very peer schools competing
for talent. Renewed focus on active fundraising and
competitive tuition pricing enabled Hackley to begin
to do the work ahead.
Stronger administrative staff support also enabled the
Board to more fully execute the committee structure

15
2004
Centennial Campaign closes at
$50,176,108
Sternberg Family Chair first awarded
2005
photo credit: Zan Variano ’09
Jack Ferraro had put in place. Peter McAndrew staffed the Finance
Committee, which oversaw budgets, tuition, and endowment investment
strategy, while Kathy Valyi staffed the Development Committee,
as well as the Committee on Trustees, which identified and vetted
new candidates for Board membership. Having the right people,
structure and process in place, Walter and the Board could make
their ambitious vision for Hackley a reality.
Under Jack Ferraro’s leadership, the Board of Trustees approved
the purchase of 172 adjacent acres from the Laurance S. Rockefeller
Fund in 1998, creating the unmatchable opportunity to reshape the
campus, and launched the Long Range Planning project. Led by
Trustee Dan Celentano and Assistant Headmaster Phil Variano,
the project led to the creation of the Master Plan that has guided
the vision for Hackley—both in terms of program and the campus
redesign—since its approval in 1999.
When Ferraro stepped down from the Board presidency in 2000,
after ten years, he knew Hackley’s ambitious plans would require
significant fundraising, and that wasn’t his area of expertise. “Tom
Caputo and Walter Johnson were the right guys to lead that effort,”
he notes.
Jack reflects, “It’s such a pleasure, arriving at the School now,”
given how far it has come. When his children come back to campus,
“they can’t believe what they see.” He once told fellow trustee Phil
Havens ’49 that though he didn’t have a lot of personal experience
with independent schools, he believed “we have the best headmaster
in North America.” Phil, himself a former headmaster with extensive
experience as an independent school administrator at schools
including Hackley, responded, “You do. And I DO have the experience
to know this.” Jack Ferraro, who was awarded the Medal of
Honor in 2000, earned a recognition he prizes even more highly:
in 2003, the Hackley Alumni Association named him Jack M.
Allen Hall, Saperstein Middle School,
science building, courtyard, dining
hall, loop road and central pedestrian
campus, and squash courts completed
Between 2005 and 2008, Hackley
completed the first phase of the
campus redesign envisioned by the
1998 Master Plan, which also included
new Middle School and science buildings,
dining hall, Kathleen Allen Lower
School, Akin Common and the loop
road that created the central pedestrian
campus. The result: a newly
re-centered K–12 campus.
Board of Trustees approves new
Hackley mission statement
A committee representing trustees,
alumni, faculty and parents considered
the core values and goals of Hackley
School and proposed this new mission
statement, which was approved by the
Board of trustees in 2005: “Hackley
challenges students to grow in character,
scholarship and accomplishment,
to offer unreserved effort, and to
learn from our community’s varying
perspectives and backgrounds.” Subsequently,
with Hackley’s admission into
Round Square (2012), the last clause
was revised to “and to learn from the
varying perspectives and backgrounds
in our community and the world.”

21 YEARS
16
On August 4, 2007, lightning started a fire that gutted Goodhue Memorial Hall.
photo credit: Tom Sobolik
Ferraro H ’63, honorary alumnus of Hackley School—
the only non-faculty member to earn that recognition.
Through the Centennial and Beyond
Tom Caputo ’65 took over as Board President in
2000, and his devotion and gratitude for Hackley,
born of his days as a Hackley student and as the
parent of a Hackley alumna, set the tone for his leadership,
as he consistently deflected credit to others in
a manner consistent with our motto, “United, we help
one another.” Yet his warmth and self-effacing humor
belied the extraordinary intensity of his work ethic.
As Walter Johnson noted in Hackley Review after Tom
stepped down from the presidency, “These last three
years [2008–2010], from lightning strike to economic
collapse, have been like the last miles of a marathon,
the toughest of all, and I’m more grateful than I can
say that Tom has stayed the course.”
Tom Caputo and his Board led Hackley in a dramatic,
multi-dimensional transformation. Under Tom’s
leadership as President, Hackley’s Centennial
Campaign raised over $50 million. The Lower School
Initiative that immediately followed the Centennial
Campaign raised over $8 million to support the
creation of our new Kathleen Allen Lower School,
which opened in 2007. And with this good work
nearing completion, the Goodhue fire created the
urgent need to launch the Goodhue Initiative, which
led to the opening of the new and improved Goodhue
in 2010.
Reflecting on the most significant aspects of his
tenure, Tom characteristically highlights the work
of others. He recalls, “I remember everyone was so
sad in the morning [of the fire], but by the middle of
the afternoon Walter was talking about how we can
rebuild Goodhue and it will be better than ever.” He
also highlights Hackley’s purchase of the northern
acres, which gave way to the Long Range Plan, the
Centennial Campaign, and the transformation that
occurred “under Walter’s watch,” including the
buildings but also of the community itself, while
maintaining Hackley’s distinctive “Enter here to be
and find a friend” culture. Like Jack Ferraro, Tom
was recognized with the Medal of Honor for his
outstanding contributions when he stepped down
from the Board leadership in 2010.
Tom’s successor, John Torell ’80, whose daughters
also attended Hackley, shared and continued this
commitment to Hackley culture while leading the
School through a further round of campus transformation:
the creation of an athletics fields and
cross-country complex unmatched by any of our peer

17
schools. The $90 million Legacy Campaign, launched in
2010, which John co-chairs, extends beyond the literal
aspects of physical plant to questions of culture: what
do we mean by “well-being”? How do we inhabit these
spaces? How do our facilities support the quality of life
of our students and teachers? How do we assure this
remains “a place where it should be easy to be good”?
Kroeger Arch, created as part of the renovation of
Raymond Hall and dedicated in honor of Keith Kroeger ’54
in 2014, is one such physical manifestation of a community
value. Hackley’s beloved Quad historically formed a
kind of embrace, enclosing the Upper School as a place
of beauty and of welcome, a place to which alumni return
and still feel is “home.” Yet Hackley expanded decades ago
to include the Middle and Lower Schools—and the Quad
buildings seemed to turn their back on the other divisions,
essentially walling the younger students off from the heart
of campus. The creation of the arch and the staircase that
connects it to Akin Common, the new center of the K–12
campus, creates a unified campus. Stand on the Quad, and
you can look right across to the Lower School, and wave.
Walk through, and join younger children at recess. United,
we help one another.
Hackley historian Walter Schneller once commented that
the mission of a school can be, at any time, “up for grabs,”
depending on which voices and agendas were allowed
to dominate. Two-thirds of the 23 current members of
Hackley’s Board of Trustees has been shaped by long
relationship with Hackley—nine are Hackley alumni,
and six are parents of Hackley alumni whose appreciation
of Hackley transcends their own parental concerns.
With experience extending back to the Hackley of 1951
and voices from every decade since, the Board’s collective
leadership sustains a commitment to the long view, and to
the core identity of Hackley that transcends the moment,
while also appreciating the needs of the School in the
21st century.
John Canoni ’86, who assumed the Board presidency in
July 2015, is well positioned to appreciate the continuity of
Hackley, then, now, and in the future. Reflecting back over
these last 21 years, he notes, “In my conversations with
other Board Presidents going back to Jack Ferraro, there
are two constant themes. First, the obvious good fortune
of working with Walter Johnson and a talented Board.
Second, and less apparent, is the joy and satisfaction that
accompanies the awesome responsibility. We have all
achieved success in our various careers and through our
families. But we consider leading the Hackley Board to be
a seminal achievement and great source of pride.”
2005 continued
E.E. Ford Fellows program initiated
The E.E. Ford Fellows program was initiated in
2005 through the generosity of the Hackley
community with a matching grant from the Edward
E. Ford Foundation to support Hackley’s goal of
increasing the diversity of our faculty. Between
2007 and 2012, five teaching fellows joined the
faculty for a two-year fellowship, two of whom
were offered full teaching positions at the conclusion
of their internship.
2006
Allstrom Chair in Foreign Affairs first awarded
2007
Goodhue Memorial Hall fire
Kathleen Allen Lower School completed
As the Lower School program evolved, the original
Kathleen Allen Lower School, home to Hackley’s
Lower School program since its creation in 1970,
could no longer support its programmatic needs.
Opened in 2007, the new Kathleen Allen Lower
School offers classrooms for music, Spanish,
science, technology and art, space for students to
work on Balanced Literacy, a beautiful all-purpose
room that is home to most Lower School Physical
Education, a dining hall, a beautiful, light-filled
library, and—in addition to classrooms for grades
K–4—a central courtyard containing what might
just be the best school playground ever!
Chinese language program established

21 YEARS
By Suzy Akin
18
The Spirit of Welcome and Partnership:
21 Years of HPA Leadership
“We serve the Hackley community through volunteerism in the HPA.
All the HPA-sponsored activities and events that contribute to the vitality
of the Hackley community would not be possible without our parent
volunteers, who, through their volunteerism, make this all possible. ”
—jayne lee, hpa president 2015–16
The Hackley Parents’ Association, born of the
Fathers’ and Mothers’ Associations that merged
in 1989, has long been a strong presence at
Hackley. In these last two decades, the HPA has
harnessed the tremendous vision and energy of
the parent body to further Hackley’s mission of
community, welcome and inclusion. The HPA
has also been a philanthropic leader, providing
more than $2.5 million of philanthropic support,
as Leadership Donors to The Centennial
Campaign, The Lower School Initiative, The
Goodhue Initiative and The Legacy Campaign.”
HPA programs and events increase the channels
of communication for and among parents.
Morning and evening “coffees” hosted by each
division and regular meetings with the Headmaster
create more opportunities for exchange of
information and ideas, while electronic communications
help parents find out how to get involved.
Placing a priority on welcome, the HPA works to
make sure that Hackley is a safe, welcoming and
accessible community for all. The annual Parent
Socials and the seasonal Athletics dinners hosted
at Hackley assure that all families feel comfortable
participating, regardless of means. The Hackley
Hosts program pairs each new family with a host
to help them negotiate newness and challenges.
The on-campus Pre-Prom party has become a safe,
inclusive community-wide celebration of students
as they head off to the dance. Hackley Appreciation
Day affords the HPA the opportunity to show
gratitude to not only the teachers, but to the administrative
staff and buildings and grounds staff who
do so much to keep Hackley running smoothly.
Over the past 21 years, in addition to its philanthropic
leadership in The Centennial Campaign, The Lower
School Initiative, The Goodhue Initiative and The
Legacy Campaign, the HPA has created:
• The original Dave Allison Trails
• On-campus Pre-Prom Reception
• Hackley Appreciation Day
• Hackley Reads Together and Hackley Hilltop
Series programs
• Parent Socials
• Divisional Parent Coffees
• Athletics Varsity Team Dinners
• Annual Interlude Luncheons
• The Fall, Winter, and Spring Stings (festivals
tied in with home athletics games)
• Holiday Boutique
• Hackley Hosts
• Lower School & Middle School Special Programs
• Upper School Coffeehouses
HPA volunteers also consistently support all of
these programs and aspects of school life:
• The Tuck Shop
• The Hornets’ Nest (clothing and other
Hackley gear)
• The Book Fair
• The Stings
• The Libraries
• Grandparents’ & Special Friends Day
• Middle School Grade Captains
• Lower School Class Parents

19
2008
Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational
Teaching Award first awarded
Past presidents of the HPA, gathering to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the
Hackley Parents’ Association. From left: Linda Holden-Bryant, Maria Docters,
Mary Dell Berning, Anne Myers, Connie Zuckerman, Diane Lowry, Ann Brooks,
Mara Baror, Daniela Crispi and Jan Blaire.
Each of these initiatives underscores the value Hackley places on
community, and on the theme, “United, we help one another.”
The HPA is a tremendous force in Hackley’s culture, engendering
a spirit of welcome and teamwork, and embodying the motto,
“Enter here to be and find a friend.”
We often call the HPA the mortar or glue that holds the Hackley
community together. Its success in leadership is built on its
great partnership with the faculty and administration, as well as
its capacity to liaison with the parent body. Through its broad
array of extensive programming, we as a community get to know
one another better—uniting to help one another in so many
different ways.
The HPA President serves as a resource, and is both a
partner and liaison to the Headmaster, the Board of
Trustees, and the parent community. We are grateful to
the following Presidents of the HPA whose partnership
has made so much possible these 21 years.
Janice M. Blaire
Anne R. Myers
Mara Ellen Baror
Lynda Chyhai-Sirota
Faith C. McCready
Kathleen M. Marsal
Maureen D. Wright
Connie A. Zuckerman
Theresa Beach Kilman
Mary Dell Berning
Susan K. Knox
Marie Vandivort
Sandra P. Harbison
Laurie Billings
Maria A. Docters
Daniela V. Crispi
Ann J. Brooks
Linda Holden-Bryant
Carolyn E. Carr-Spencer
Jayne Lee
Each year, the senior class chooses
a faculty member to speak at their
Senior Dinner. This individual receives
The Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational
Teaching Award created in memory
of the parents of Anton H. Rice III ’56,
Donald S. Rice ’57, William P. Rice ’62,
and John R. Rice ’64.
Akin Common & Pickert Field
dedicated
2009
Goodhue Gala raises over $1.2 million
to support the rebuilding of Goodhue
Science faculty, led by Andy Retzloff,
launches survey of Hackley’s
arboretum
2010
Ron DelMoro Award in Teaching first
awarded
Goodhue Memorial Hall renovation
completed
Sternberg Library dedicated
Following the devastating 2007
fire, the beloved Goodhue Hall was
rebuilt, saving the historic exterior
while creating within it a library,
additional classrooms and technology
labs, offices and a space for student
gathering. Consistent with Hackley’s
commitment to sustainability, the
LEED Gold-certified building integrates
geothermal heating and cooling.
Legacy Campaign solicitations begin,
July 1, 2010

21 YEARS
By Suzy Akin
20
United, Helping Each Other:
21 Years of Alumni Partnership
What matters most in the life of a
school? The kids or the alumni?
To whom does the school belong?
If you have returned to your college
alma mater when classes are in
session, you have probably felt the
odd awareness creep upon you
that the campus, which you and
your peers once dominated, now
belongs to a new generation. Buildings
change, teachers change, the
faces of the students (or, at least,
their hairstyles) have changed. It
feels familiar, yet different. Why
do they all look so young? Does
this place still belong to you? You
return for a reunion, your old crowd
is back (hair thinner, waistlines
thicker) and you feel “at home.” The
campus belongs to you again.
It’s not uncommon for an “us” vs.
“them” feeling to arise between a
school’s “present” and the alumni
representing its past—particularly
if the alumni feel handled,
managed as necessary but inconvenient.
That’s what makes the
partnership between the Hackley
Alumni Association (HAA) and
Hackley School so extraordinary.
“The work of the Hackley Alumni
Association is to perpetuate the
connection we have with one
another in support of our alma
mater, but it truly is fueled by the
students. I am continually astonished
by Hackley students (of all
ages). They are bright, funny,
articulate and engaging kids. Their
energy and enthusiasm is contagious,
and every time I interact
with them, it makes me love
Hackley even more,” says Christie
Philbrick-Wheaton-Galvin ’00
current President of the HAA.
This exact sentiment is widely
shared, as the alumni leadership has
always recognized and reinforced
the connection between alumni
and Hackley today, and remained
focused on today’s students. The
students feel the presence and the
unwavering support of the alumni.
Perhaps this is because so many
alumni return to teach at Hackley
or because so many send their
kids to Hackley. Perhaps it’s
because so many teachers remain
at Hackley long enough to know
families across generations. Maybe
it’s all these factors combined.
When John Van Leer ’65 looked
over his glasses at a student, at so
many points across his 39 years in
Hackley’s History department, and
said, “Your mother expects better of
you,” he had reason to know.
At the 1999 Centennial Celebration, Past Presidents of the Hackley Alumni Association: (front) Berkleley Johnson ’49,
John Canoni ’86, John Cooney ’76, Charlie Bates ’49, Bob Akin ’54. (Back) Nick Stewart ’59, Tony Crookshank ’57,
Conrad Roberts ’68, Belinda Walker Terry ’76, and Larry Stewart ’68.
photo credit: Armando Passarelli

21
2010 continued
Networking Initiative launched
Hackley’s Networking Initiative helps forge connections
across generations, as alumni and parents
share career guidance and, on occasion, professional
opportunities, with Hackley alumni of all ages. Since
the program’s launch in 2010, over 1100 informational
interviews have been arranged for alumni.
Tom Caputo ’65 steps down from Board Presidency
after serving 10 years
John Torell IV ’80 named President
2011
Alumni Archives Room dedicated
As part of the project to rebuild Goodhue Hall, the
Hackley Alumni Association committed its support
to the creation of the archive rooms—safe and
well-indexed storage space as well as a work room
where visitors can view and explore the Hackley
archives. The Alumni Archives Room makes palpable
that which Hackley alumni embody—the living
history of Hackley School.
New turf fields complex and Dave Allison Cross
Country trails completed
With two new turf fields, a baseball diamond and
softball diamond, and cross-country trails joining the
Pickert Field complex as well as the older Benedict
Avenue and King Field facilities, Hackley’s athletics
facilities now rivalled those of nationally-known
boarding schools and small colleges.
2012
Hackley becomes Round Square regional member
Sustained commitment to global education,
community service, the environment, leadership,
and democracy earned Hackley regional, and then
in 2015, global membership in the Round Square
international consortium of schools, the first in the
New York metropolitan area and one of only 11 in
the United States. Membership provides expanded
opportunities or international and cultural exchange
for Hackley students and faculty.
Hackley School receives
largest gift in school
history—$49,268.000
Ethel Allen bequest
Hackley launches
bus service for students
in NYC
Alumni Association establishes Alumni Financial
Aid Endowment Fund
Growth of the financial aid budget, which has
increased from $956,447 in 1996 to over $4.7 million
in 2015–16, has been a key priority under Walter
Johnson’s leadership. It’s a priority shared by the
Hackley Alumni Association, which created the
Alumni Financial Aid Endowment Fund, with preference
going to the children of alumni, in recognition
of the importance of ongoing alumni relationships in
sustaining the School’s culture and traditions.
DelMoro Baseball Field and new softball field
completed
2013
F.M. Kirby Foundation endows a financial aid fund
for two boarders in memory of Fred M. Kirby II ’37
Public launch of the $90 million Legacy Campaign
at the Harvard Club with approximately 650
attending

21 YEARS
22
“I am continually astonished by Hackley students. They are bright, funny,
articulate and engaging kids. Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious,
and every time I interact with them, it makes me love Hackley even more.”
—christie philbrick-wheaton-galvin ’00, president, hackley alumni association
Hackley alumni are involved. They
teach and mentor current students
and help young alumni build
professional networks. They return
to campus as lecturers and visiting
artists. They host student-faculty
trips in faraway places. And upon
returning to campus for reunions,
they are hosted by student ambassadors,
sit on the stands cheering the
teams alongside students and their
families, and the message is clear:
it’s not “us vs. them,” it’s “we.”
The Hackley Alumni Association
has consistently fostered this sense
of cross-generational community,
affirming a Hackley identity that
recognizes that whether you are
Class of 1945, Class of 1975, Class
of 2005 or 2015, or a one of the
coming year’s new 9th graders
(Class of 2020) or kindergarteners
(Class of 2029), you are all part
of Hackley, custodians of its past,
present and future. You have all
been and will be part of making
this incredible community what it
is, and you are all responsible for
helping it continue to thrive.
Belinda Walker Terry ’76 was
President of the Hackley Alumni
Association the year Walter
Johnson became Headmaster—the
first woman to hold this position
and a member of the fifth Hackley
class to graduate women. With her
extraordinary sense of community
and fun, she brought wonderful
energy to the Alumni Association
Board of directors and its efforts
to engage the broader alumni
community, from the 50+ Club
to our newest graduates. John
Canoni ’86 (current President
of the Board of Trustees), Bob
Kirkwood ’71, Bill Roberts ’75
and Christie Philbrick-Wheaton-
Galvin ’00 continued to build on
the Association’s efforts in their
successive presidencies.
The addition of professional staff
at Hackley helped forward their
efforts; with solid staff support,
the HAA leadership could look
beyond just running phonathons
to increasing outreach and volunteerism
to an extraordinary level.
It didn’t hurt that members of
the staff brought their own deep
connections to the alumni community—Haleh
Tavakol ’84 is part of
the single largest family to attend
Hackley, so connections come naturally.
Margie McNaughton Ford
’85, daughter of Hackley Gargoyle
Randy McNaughton, literally grew
up on campus. Other alumni have
joined the team over the years—
including Niki Doufekias ’90, Kate
Caputo ’93, Ana Venturas Ripp ’98,
Jason Rizzi ’03, and Neil Jaggernauth
’06—and each has extended
the easy relationship that assures
that Hackley is accessible to all.
Overall, the team’s energy, passion
for Hackley, and willingness to try
new things has assured that the
alumni relations program literally
“buzzes” with welcome. Through
the creation and active maintenance
of social media feeds (follow
“Hackley Alumni” on Facebook
and LinkedIn!), mentoring and
networking facilitation, camaraderie-building
giving challenges,
and humor (did you see those
awesome Hackley/Poly challenge
videos last year?) Haleh and her
team have created excitement
about Hackley life that has brought
a whole new meaning to alumni
engagement. Thinking back to
her first years working at Hackley,
Haleh notes, “We weren’t afraid
to take a step back, look at things,
reassess, and be willing to take risks
and try new things. It was important
to engage our alumni in the
School’s daily life, show them they
are relevant in today’s Hackley and
Hackley’s relevant in their lives.”
As the Alumni Association has
worked diligently to weave a
stronger web amongst alumni
and Hackley, they have remained
focused on two core principles,
“United we help one another” and
“Enter here to be and find a friend.”
Alumni events attract larger
crowds and loyal followings each
year. Better staffing and database
management allowed Hackley
to track down lost alumni and
overall, stay in touch more effectively.
Participation in Class Notes
skyrocketed, and a redesigned
Hackley Review became more

23
2014
Renovated Raymond Hall opens
A unified campus: Kroeger Arch, with its the new second floor that joins
Goodhue and Raymond, brought the K-12 campus together by creating
visual and pedestrian connection between the Quad and Akin Common.
impressive, inclusive and engaging
than ever, helping alumni feel more
connected, more excited, and more
proud to be part of Hackley.
Participation is one impressive
measure of the dramatic increase in
alumni engagement: from hovering
around 14% in 1996, nearly onethird
of all living alumni (a base that
grows annually) now participate
in alumni giving each year, almost
triple the national average. And, as
impressive as this figure is, if all
alumni who had made a gift in the
past five years gave annually, we
would have a participation rate in
excess of 50%!
We’d argue that’s just another way
Hackley shines brighter than its
peer schools. Hackley matters to its
alumni, generations who recognize
its formative impact on their lives
and their relationships.
Over the last 21 years, the HAA has
expanded its scope to better execute
its mission. Active committees were
created, and expectations assured
that the strengths of individual
Board members were consistently
leveraged to grow the capabilities
and reach of the leadership team.
John Canoni led a revision of the
Association bylaws during his presidency,
and the bylaws were revised
again under Bill Roberts’ leadership.
The Reunion Committee expanded
its role and became the “Outreach”
Committee, through which Board
members and class volunteers
could support Hackley in a wide
variety of ways—attending campus
events, visiting classes and offering
lectures, and significantly, engaging
in Hackley’s incredibly active
mentoring and networking initiatives,
which have arranged more
than 1,100 informational interviews.
Most recently, the HAA created a
financial aid endowment that gives
priority to the children of alumni—
an important recognition of the
degree to which our alumni carry
and pass along the ethos and heart
of Hackley School. “We wanted
to help make sure that qualified
children of alumni could benefit
from the exceptional education
and the wonderful experience
that Hackley provides just as their
parents had done. Establishing the
Fund also reaffirms the commitment
of the HAA for the School,”
explained Bill Roberts.
The renovation of Raymond Hall
continued the effort to modernize
Hackley’s historic Quad buildings and
extended the benefits of geothermal
heating and cooling beyond Goodhue
Hall while replacing drafty old
windows, adding a much-needed fire
escape, upgrading lighting, bathrooms
and overall, the quality of life in these
hallways. The renovation added
beautiful, sun-filled student gathering
spaces, faculty offices, as well as new
faculty apartments on the top floor
beyond the boarding corridor. Meanwhile,
the renovation and landscaping
of the main entrance and Quad
restored a gracious elegance to
welcome all to campus, and Kroeger
Arch, by inviting pedestrians to cross
from the Quad to Akin Common,
or to just stop and enjoy the view,
unified the K–12 campus both visually
and practically.
Kroeger Arch dedicated in honor of
Keith Kroeger ’54

21 YEARS
24
Women of Hackley launch event, May 3, 2016
In 1995, the Alumni Association
was sharply aware that Hackley’s
Centennial was just five years
away, an important opportunity to
celebrate Hackley’s first 100 years
and to prepare the School to enter
its second century. During John
Canoni’s presidency, the HAA sponsored
a series of regional alumni
receptions, bringing Hackley to
alumni all across the country, and
as far away as London, in celebration
of the School’s centennial and
sharing the Long-Range Plan’s
vision for the future.
In addition, the HAA celebrated
Hackley’s centennial by funding
the writing of Where the Seasons
Tell Their Story, Hackley School’s
First 100 Years, hiring the legendary
Walter Schneller, 42 year veteran
of the Hackley faculty, master
teacher, and longtime chair of the
History department, to take on this
labor of love as he eased his way
toward retirement.
This monumental project did more
than just honor Hackley’s history.
In his research, his investigations
into the history of the School’s
founding and the perspectives and
goals of its founders, as well as
through his many conversations
with alumni, faculty and trustees,
Walter Schneller surfaced and
affirmed the core values on which
Hackley was built—values that
resonate consistently across generations.
This affirmation assured
that Hackley moved into its second
century with a deep appreciation
for what makes this community
unique, helped us embrace and
forward what we most appreciate
about the Hilltop.
Increasingly, also, over these two
decades, the Hackley Alumni
Association has helped forge a
cohesive relationship with the
current campus community.
Alumni are a regular presence in
the School, helping in classrooms
when a teacher needs an expert
on a given topic. Several Board
members, past and present, are
also parents of Hackley students
and alumni, bridging the distance
between “Hackley then” and
“Hackley now” such that it’s all
just the “Hackley” we share.
Students gain a greater awareness
of the alumni community and
alumni have a meaningful sense
of the day to day of student life.
Haleh Tavakol brings her own
alumni relationship to that
day-to-day in her role as Director
of Alumni Relations and Alumni
Giving. She and current HAA
President Christie Philbrick-
Wheaton-Galvin “really work as a
team,” she reflects. “We text each
other, constantly communicating
as we think through our goals.”
The partnership has never been
better. Haleh notes, “The general
sentiment is positive; it’s fun
being a Hackley alum. We have an
extremely engaged alumni body.”
Looking forward, the HAA is
focused on expanding the mentoring
and networking programs to
connect alumni with each other and
current students. Building crossgenerational
bonds amongst alumni
is an incredibly powerful tool in
helping our constituency navigate
their careers, but also life in general.
The Hackley Veterans Association,
spearheaded by Mike Halas ’98,
has united our bravest alumni who
have served at home and overseas
dating as far back as World War II.
Next on the horizon: the celebration
of 50 years of Women at Hackley
in 2020. “The energy and engagement
of Hackley women is just
amazing,” Haleh says. “Our next
100 years are going to be great.
We recently launched Women

25
of Hackley with an event at the University
Club last May.” The group, spearheaded by
Haleh, Christie and HAA Vice-President, Sally
Parker Nichols ’87, as well as other Alumni
Board members and Trustees, was formed to
“highlight, celebrate and engage our amazing
Hackley women to help each other and the
Hackley community.” The first keynote speaker
was TIME Managing Editor, Nancy Gibbs.
The work of the HAA over these two decades
has had transformational impact on the
community. Leading the alumni body to greater
and greater engagement, the HAA has helped
advance Hackley’s mission immeasurably.
It’s hard to imagine a more moving tribute to
Hackley’s traditions and its past than the vision
for the future this makes possible.
Across 21 years of leadership, the
Hackley Alumni Association has:
• Funded the creation of Alumni Drive
• Funded the annual W.E.B. du Bois
Institute lecture and the EE Ford
Teaching Fellowship in partnership
with the HPA.
• Contributed $1 Million to
The Centennial Campaign.
• Supported the rebuilding of
Goodhue Memorial Hall and
the creation of the Hackley
Alumni Association Archive room
• Created the HAA Financial Aid
endowment fund
• Created the Alumni Service
Award created
• Bestowed 23 Honorary
Alumnus Awards
• Supported the Senior Class Trip
every year
Last year (2014–15):
• 367 alumni volunteered for Hackley
• 407 alumni attended reunions
• 350 alumni attended the annual
holiday party
• 175 alumni contributed class notes
• 1411 (a third of alumni body) gave to
the alumni fund
• 259 participated in Hackley’s
mentoring/networking program as
mentors or mentees.
2015
Hackley athletics teams win seven state championships
in the 2015–16 year
Long a source of pride at Hackley, the School’s athletics
programs have achieved at increasingly high levels over
these 21 years. Between Fall 1995 and Spring 2016, Hackley
has won 113 Ivy League Championships (out of a total
202 since the league began tracking) and 50 NYSAIS
championships (since the championship’s creation in 1999).
Walter Johnson announces his retirement
Hackley becomes Global Member of Round Square
Plans for new Center for Health & Wellness presented to
Board of Trustees
John Torell ’80 steps down as Board President
John Canoni ’86 named President
Parent Giving: 91% (vs. a national average among similar
schools of 66%)
Alumni Giving: 32% (national average: 11%)
Endowment: $37.8 million
Annual Fund: nearly $3.4 million
Financial Aid: over $4.7 million
Faculty Compensation increased 2X–3X over 1995 levels
2016
Construction begins on the Johnson Center for Health &
Wellness and four new faculty housing units
Since 1995, including the four units currently underway,
Hackley has added 11 faculty housing units, bringing its total
to 48, further augmented with a few local rentals. When the
current construction is complete, Hackley will be able to
house 54% of the faculty/administration.
Women of Hackley group, supporting connections and
mentoring among Hackley alumnae, launched
Legacy Campaign raised $86.4 million (as of June 15).
Hackley Alumni Association names Walter Johnson
Honorary Alumnus of Hackley
Walter Johnson retires, June 30, 2016

26
21 YEARS
The Fabric of Learning:
21 Years of Academic Program Evolution
By Philip J. Variano, Assistant Headmaster and Chair,
Academic Committee
In 27 years as a member of the Academic Committee
I’ve voted on countless curriculum proposals. Yet
even having witnessed the fabric of the “learning”
we offer being created, I’m still hard put to define,
delineate, or pronounce what makes our curriculum
as powerful as it is.
Hackley’s curriculum is a blend of tradition and
innovation. Yet the words “traditional” or “college
preparatory” don’t come close to defining the
complexity of charting the best possible choices to
assure the curriculum remains meaningful, challenging,
and relevant. Over the last two decades the
school has evolved from a rigorous “reading and
writing” curriculum focused on traditional methods
(60-minute composition periods, “classic” literature,
long homework assignments, Latin and Greek
classes) to a more far-reaching and modern model. At
the same time, school enrollment and selectivity have
increased, steadily resulting in a series of changes that
added more challenging options and paths to success
for students. The constant throughout this process
was Walter Johnson, Headmaster.
It’s important to note that writing, for instance, has
taken on more relevance, not less, over the years,
despite, or more accurately, in concert with the
growth of technology. Technology has allowed our
English teachers to spend more time effectively
commenting on student work, and history, science,
and even math require higher written content than
ever before. Overall, though, it’s fair to say that
analysis and problem-solving have become the dominant
themes department-wide, having carved space
from more content-driven exploration. Upper School
Director Andy King describes Upper School curriculum
this way on the school’s website:
A Hackley graduate will possess knowledge in a wide
array of fields, but also important skills such as how
to write analytically and persuasively, how to conduct
careful and responsible research, how to participate
actively and constructively in discussions and debates,
how to solve problems, how to work with a group, and
many other important academic and life skills.
This kind of balanced, process-centered approach
came from years of Academic Committee discussion
and debate, forward-looking leadership, and the work
of many department leaders and teachers who have
discovered and promoted the best possible learning
options for their students.
The way we were: Pop Lindsay’s math classroom, ca. 1950.

27
That kind of deliberate discussion has been common
over the last 21 years, and Walter Johnson was normally
in the middle of those thoughtful conversations. For
instance, we have spent much time debating the merit
of the AP program and how that program can overcontrol
the direction of the curriculum. The result was
a series of changes whereby English and History moved
away from AP classes but not the exams themselves.
Similarly, a series of committees allowed us to carefully
rethink what the schedule should prioritize. Our
revised schedule gave us 70-minute periods, community
time, and drop periods, all of which allowed us
to moderate homework and amplify that which was
meaningful to students. The change to a trimester
system gave students more time to develop and address
challenge areas before grades became final. The change
to a more humane exam period allowed students to
prepare thoroughly and perform better.
We often refer to the “aspirational” nature of our
mission statement and consider how it relates to
the type of student we want to cultivate. How do we
encourage “character, scholarship, and accomplishment?”
How can we learn “from varying backgrounds
and perspectives?” Having some kind of tested framework
within which to organize our thinking has proven
to be a good model for institutional debate on curricular
choices.
The science curriculum has seen a major recalibration
over the last decade, and was literally turned upside
down when we decided to begin with Physics in the
9th grade. In the old curriculum—a sequence still
followed by many schools—many students never got as
far as physics, and so missed out on that valuable and
in many ways most practical of sciences. Our Physics 9
course is a non-math based, inquiry-driven, hands-on
class in which students experiment and explain what
they see. This prepares them well for the more inquirybased
approach to science necessary in the upper level
courses. All sophomores take chemistry, and then most
students take biology in 11th grade—a biology course
that reflects the increasing complexity and depth of the
biological sciences today, for which students need the
grounding in physics, in experimental processes, and
in chemistry to succeed. The field of biology changes
rapidly, and our older students are now better poised to
best learn in this fast-paced area of study.
In addition, the Science department has developed
STEM programs in grades K–12, and offers researchbased
and “maker” initiatives across Lower, Middle
and Upper School.
Even students who didn’t think of themselves as
“science types” love what they learn. Katherine
Hannon, Science department chair, states; “It makes a
big difference when you are ‘doing’ science rather than
just studying it. Students test ideas, troubleshoot them,
and act on the information they acquire. They move
beyond the theoretical to actual application.”
Recently, the Upper School launched an Independent
Science Research elective, in which, over the course
of two years, students engage in hands-on research,
get to solve real problems, and work with corporations
and universities beyond the walls of the classroom,
reaching outcomes that can lead to published papers.
Our dominant position in the visual arts came about
because the Board of Trustees and Walter Johnson
recognized that Hackley School needed to be strong
across all disciplines—including the arts. Across
these last 21 years, the art program has evolved from
an “activity” to a program with equivalent weight and
strength to the other disciplines.
Visual Arts department chair Greg Cice remembers
Walter telling him that Hackley is a place where
students like to be challenged, and pushed hard. With
this in mind, he began to design a program similar to
a college undergraduate foundations program, with
meticulously high standards and expectations.
What the Headmaster had recognized was that the
visual arts could be as much an intellectual experience
as a practical experience. The arts, therefore, are not
a respite from intellect and challenge, but a means to
extend that intellectual experience visually.
Significantly, the Upper School art program takes place
almost literally at the center of the Upper School—a
metaphor, perhaps, for the centrality of visual arts
to education at Hackley. This assures that even nonartists
see and experience the energy of visual arts just
by walking down the hall and seeing artists at work.
In math, while each of the three divisions focus on
the needs of their age group, over the years we have
dramatically increased partnership and continuity
between divisions. With Eva van Buren, who previously
taught in the Middle School, as Lower School Math
Coordinator, and Dianne Fahy, who has taught math
in both Upper and Middle School, as Middle School
Math Coordinator, the department has the perspective
to respond to student needs at every point in the spectrum.
Searching for a strong, well-sequenced Lower
School math curriculum in 2008, Eva Van Buren

21 YEARS
28
Ninth Grade Physics class.
Adventure learning: Hackley students and faculty at the Round Square conference
in Canada about to try their skill at dog-sledding.
found the Singapore Math program, which is now
firmly established in grades K–7, with each year
building effectively on the previous year’s curriculum.
One outcome of the Singapore style is that all students
are now prepared to begin Algebra in the 7th or 8th
grade. This, in turn, supports more advanced curriculum
in Upper School. Eighty students this year took
one of three levels of AP Calculus Hackley now offers
(AB Calculus, BC Calculus and a one-year AB/BC
Calculus). And, since some students will complete
that curriculum by junior year, we offer the option
of continuing to Multivariable Calculus. Hackley now
also boasts three levels of Statistics courses—AP
Statistics, Calculus-based AP Statistics, and an Introductory
Statistics course for students who want to
gain math-based critical thinking skills but don’t
intend to continue on the Calculus track.
Overall, as Hackley students have excelled more
consistently in Math, the department has phased
out not only “8th grade Math” (all 8th graders take
Algebra or Geometry) but also the old two-year
Algebra II course. Diana Kaplan notes, “We just
didn’t have enough students to fill those classes.”
This comes in part from the increased selectivity
of our Upper School admissions, but also from our
trust in the work done in the earlier grades.
Bettie-Ann Candelora, our Chairperson for
Performing Arts, will tell you that growth in these
programs is rapid, and that this is only the beginning.
We’ve moved from drama clubs in the ’90’s to
having full-time acting teachers in both the Middle
and Upper divisions. Our Lower School strings and
band programs, launched two years ago, now boast
a membership of nearly half the 3rd and 4th grades.
Similarly, a shift several years ago to arts “majors”
and “minors” in the 7th and 8th grades allowed each
student to choose from a wide array of music, drama,
or visual arts and then concentrate on the area they
most love. The result was a greatly increased yield in
participation in the Upper School. Along with a slate
of acting classes in the Upper School we’ve also added
Music Theory, Musical Theater, a mentoring program
that pairs Upper and Middle School performers, and
re-launched the male a capella group.
Technology has dramatically changed the way we
teach English, and also the way students interact with
language and analysis. Nearly all student writing is
created and submitted online, with teacher comments
coming back to students in a digital form as well,
either through Google Drive, in the margins of Word
documents, through the Turn It In platform, or by
other means. Because these tools facilitate active feedback
over time—in contrast to the old model in which
a student would turn in a “finished” paper (perhaps in
a Blue Book) and the teacher would provide one set of
written comments with a grade—the writing process
becomes more of a conversation, as students propose
ideas and ask questions to which their teachers
may well respond throughout the drafting process.
Students learn to view writing as a process through
which ideas are refined and developed, in which
editing and revision are essential. Further, students

29
Members of the Class of 2014, the first to be able to start Chinese in the sixth grade, as seniors in their seventh year of
Chinese language study.
are able to pursue writing through a variety of formal
and informal means—classroom blogs, for example,
support “real time” discussion that continues beyond
the classroom.
With so much information readily available on the
internet, the department has increased its focus on
teaching students how to evaluate and distinguish
between valid and invalid sources. Students typically
evaluate a wider range of sources, need to know how to
properly cite them, and how to adhere to standards of
academic integrity. Technology vastly widens the range
of material teachers can bring into the classroom. For
example, students can explore Transcendentalism by
considering Emerson and Thoreau while analyzing
Romantic Period landscapes by Thomas Cole illustrating
parallel themes via high resolution images
made available online by the New York Historical
Society. Similarly, students can simultaneously
view and compare eight different versions of actors
performing Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy,
on their device or the classroom smartboard. We still
read widely and deeply but the “canon” has expanded
to a wider range of work, both more contemporary and
representing more diverse perspectives. Yes, we still
read “the classics”—Gatsby, A Passage to India, Shakespeare—yet
students may now consider these in a
more varied and multi-dimensional literary context.
Major writing assignments are designed to equip our
student writers for the challenges that lie ahead. For
instance, the senior theory paper—the culminating
project of the English curriculum which replaced the
“Tragedy” paper and its various successors—is in
many ways an exercise in resiliency. Thought leader
Richard “Doc Rob” Robinson reflects that Hackley
didn’t used to teach “theory”—that field of methods
and ideas that seeks to reveal what literature can
mean. “Theory” isn’t an answer in and of itself; it’s a
tool. Students learn that literary analysis is a problemsolving
exercise through which they may find insight,
using the tools available to them. The theory paper
helps students come to understand that we are always
interpreting and analyzing the world around us,
that we always bring predispositions, and that there
may always be another lens through which to view
the world.
In History, a significant and deliberate change was
the elimination of AP courses. While this might seem
counterintuitive, the elimination of “AP” courses
has allowed the curriculum to enlarge, deepen and
strengthen in scope. Our students still take AP exams in
American and Modern European History if they choose
to, but without the constraint of a year-long AP class.
This began with the redesign of the Upper School
History sequence. The traditional 11th grade “American
History” course was redesigned to become the
new sequence usually taken by 10th and 11th graders:
American History through 1900 followed by 20th
Century World History. With this came the recognition
that it is no longer possible to study 20th
Century America in isolation from the rest of the
world, a perspective that encouraged us to promulgate
global education.

21 YEARS
30
It’s fair to say that while the school’s rigorous curriculum of 21 years ago has
changed considerably, the change came deliberately and carefully, committed to
finding the best context within which our master teachers can do their work. Our
students are drawn to challenges, stimulating ideas, debate, and analysis, and the
program continually pushes them to new levels of curiosity and challenge.
As in all humanities, the need to memorize lots of
facts has been replaced by the need to know how to
interpret and use these facts. Veteran History department
Chair Bill Davies observes, “Robert McNamara
got us into Vietnam using ‘knowledge’ based entirely
on data. But no one was interpreting that data in a
broader context.” Since the advent of the web, the
priority has shifted to understanding and analysis of
the relevance and impact of facts in the contexts that
make them meaningful. History itself can change
over time. Mr. Davies notes, “There is no static
understanding.”
The emphasis on research and writing skills yields
gratifying results: Hackley juniors come through the
(sometimes grueling) process of developing an independent
research process realizing that they like the
process of pursing an area of interest in this way, and
young alumni return to campus attesting to the value
of this experience as part their college readiness.
Mr. Davies observes that today’s Hackley student
body is, generally, stronger than ever before, yet they
have grown up with different priorities and different
“inputs” created by our increasingly digital culture to
which teachers must adapt. Their lesser maturity as
readers translates as well to their writing, he notes.
“You used to expect the stronger part of your student
group to intuit the use of structure, vocabulary and
syntax because all they almost unreflectively translated
what they experienced as readers in their writing.”
Bill also noted that under Walter Johnson’s leadership,
Hackley affirmed its commitment to the
importance of the Humanities, a stance mildly countercultural
in a society that increasingly sets this aside.
The endurance of our Classics program over the
last 21 years begins with the recognition that, yes,
Hackley students still commit to (and thrive when
they) learn Latin and Greek, and that we acknowledge
Latin and Greek every day as we speak English.
They’re sometimes called “dead” languages, but the
ways of teaching them are very much alive. Classics
is a broad and deep field of study, encompassing
language and literature, history, art and archaeology,
philosophy, and linguistics, and all of these
diverse facets are addressed in our Latin and Greek
classrooms daily. The challenges of discipline and
order that push students to adapt to a new way of
considering language promote the ability to negotiate
other linguistic and cultural challenges. Also significant
is the way in which Classics invites students to
embrace the language of a living culture, in which the
structure, rules, moral and ethical codes, and deep
humanitarian appreciation for who we are connect
across the centuries.
The teaching of Modern Languages at Hackley has
expanded in two very obvious ways: At Walter Johnson’s
insistence, Hackley extended Spanish to the
Lower School and birthed the Mandarin Chinese
language program that commences in Middle School.
Now, Spanish students coming up from Lower School
have the proficiency to advance to the Spanish IV AP
level in the 10th grade, as well as two years of post-AP
Spanish Literature and Language by senior year, both
collegiate level courses. By 2018 we will offer AP
Chinese, and we note with pride that we’ve already
seen some graduates majoring in Chinese in college.
Anne Burns, our Lower School Director, credits
her incredibly reflective faculty for bringing the
Lower School curriculum to its current mature state.
“Change happens somewhat organically, owned and
run by the teachers who are constantly evaluating
what we do and how we can do things better” she
noted recently. She agrees with Diana Kaplan that
Singapore Math has yielded considerable progress
in both skills and achievement in K–4. Meanwhile,
student reading and writing skills similarly have

31
First grade students engaging in hands-on math challenges using manipulatives, part of the Singapore math curriculum in
Lower School, which builds confident problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
soared under our Balanced Literacy program, which
begins by assessing each student’s individual needs
four times a year and then tailoring their reading and
writing instruction accordingly.
The Social Studies program, recently rewritten by a
Social Studies Committee, has also expanded its focus
around the core values of Hackley’s Round Square
membership—a program that may be unique among
Round Square member schools, which generally only
focus on the Middle and Upper School levels. Anne
notes, “The Committee looked at the Round Square
‘pillars’—Internationalism, Democracy, Environment,
Adventure, Leadership and Service—identified where
we were, and then drew a map towards where we
wanted to be.”
Even before we started talking about “Health and Wellness”
at Hackley, the Lower School had begun work
on nutrition, a topic that blends our students’ learning
about health, sustainability, science and nature. In
addition to teaching plant biology in our community
garden, the science program actively focuses on experiential
learning through hands-on experimentation as
students test hypotheses and gain familiarity with the
scientific method. STEM units are reinforced annually
at our STEM night—a wonderful learning event that is
also a community building event, as Upper and Middle
School students plan and run various projects with the
Lower School students and their parents.
The addition of Spanish to the Lower School program
is one of the most significant points of evolution over
these 21 years; it is so thoroughly integrated into the
program that it’s hard to remember when it wasn’t
there. Our decision to hire native Spanish speakers and
to hold classes nearly entirely in Spanish accustoms
students’ flexible brains more rapidly to the language.
To say technology instruction is always changing and
growing is to state the obvious. For any school, just
keeping up with technology is a challenge. An ad hoc
Technology Committee formed by the Board and
the Headmaster in 2009 concluded that the school
should find a Director of Instructional Technology,
and the hire of Erich Tusch signaled the start of expansion
in our tech classes. Our one-to-one iPad initiative
is now in year two, and growth in coding education
and in curricular offerings is rapid. Technology
education from six instructors begins in Kindergarten
and extends through to the Upper School, which offers
12 different computer science classes.
It’s fair to say that while the school’s rigorous curriculum
of 21 years ago has changed considerably, the
change came deliberately and carefully, committed
to finding the best context within which our master
teachers can do their work. Our students are drawn to
challenges, stimulating ideas, debate, and analysis, and
the program continually pushes them to new levels of
curiosity and challenge. We hope and believe we are
offering our students and their families the best we
can offer, even as we know full well that soon enough,
we will be looking toward the next phases of evolution
as our program continues to grow.

32
FEATURE
By Bettie-Ann Candelora,
Performing Arts Department Chair
Hackley Performing Arts
2015–16
The growth of the Middle and Upper School
Drama programs continued as Upper
School students extended their range with
performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s
Tale in the fall. The Katrina Project in March
featured a New Orleans band. The annual
Senior Showcase performed in the NYC
Theater District in May. Middle School students
performed the 5th/6th grade play Once Upon
A Wolf, the Middle School Acting Intensive
Workshop, the Middle School Acting Intensive,
and a series of original in-class sketches.
Our Middle and Upper School Bands tackled a
variety of challenging and fun music this year,
and the Jazz Band and Jazz Combos featured
gifted musicians and vocalists. Upper School
band students mentored Middle School
students in the new Musical Mentoring program,
and a new Lower School Band Program was
initiated to provide woodwind, brass and
percussion group instruction.
In the spirit of a Hackley tradition, The choral
program added an all boys a cappella group
in the Upper School. Middle School students
featured an original student song in their
winter concert.
The Hackley Middle and Upper School strings
students successfully tackled ambitious
repertoire of Dvorak, Handel, Mozart, Bach,
and Beethoven. A new Lower School strings
program now trains 3rd and 4th grade students
on string instruments.
Lower School students presented their
annual grade level performances including
the Cinco de Mayo celebration, which is
performed in Spanish.

34
FEATURE
By Greg Cice, Visual Arts Department Chair,
and members of the Visual Arts department
K
Kindergarten
LS Lower School
Hackley Visual Arts
MS Middle School
AP Upper School AP Studio Art
2015–16
Hackley artists K–12 had another tremendous year producing
high caliber works in every discipline.
Upper School AP Studio Art Show
Kindergarteners developed understanding and
appreciation of the visual arts as they learned
about lines, shape, color, texture and more. The
theme in Grades 1–4 art studio has been “Community.”
Students drew vegetables and created
mosaic planters in honor of the new Lower School
garden, and comic strips inspired by a caterpillar
discovered in the corn. They recreated “Hackley”
with paper bag buildings, and then drew portraits
of the people who work inside. Through mosaics,
sculpture and quilts, they told the story of the
Hackley Community.
In the Middle School, the students did a lot of
looking, which led them to find new ways of
seeing and understanding the world around them,
and thereby, more ways to view themselves within
this world. Some students dove into reality,
others into textures or processes. They learned
techniques and skills to more clearly express
their ineffable experiences. They experimented
and discovered new approaches and effects.
Their efforts in drawing, painting, printmaking,
ceramics, plaster, mixed media, collage, photography
and Photoshop (among others) were
successes in and of themselves, but they also led
to the completion of many thought-provoking
works of art.
The expansive Upper School program emphasizes
drawing, with students gaining confidence and
skill across a broad range of formal issues, techniques
and media, culminating in the AP Studio Art
program. We will let the artwork speak for itself.

K
LS
K
LS
LS
MS
MS
MS
AP
AP

FEATURE
By Jason Edwards, Athletics Director
36
Hackley Athletics
2015–16
The 2015–16 Hackley Athletics year resulted in six league titles and a
record breaking seven state championships, with two All-Americans,
17 new school records, and nine students reaching significant
milestones. Especially given the outstanding attitude of our players
and coaches, it was a great year for Hackley Athletics.
Fall
Field Hockey went undefeated in league play for
the third consecutive year, and captured the team’s
first NYSAIS championship since 2003, knocking
off the five-time returning champions Rye Country
Day in a thrilling one-on-one shootout.
Football went 6–2, led by a strong group of
offensive threats including first team All-League
and All-State player Elijah Ngbokoli ’16 at running
back, and second team All-State wide receiver,
Winston Britton ’17.
Girls’ Tennis looks to build on what the graduating
seniors created with a strong group of younger
players, and we look forward to watching this
program grow.
All members of the Boys’ Cross Country team
ran personal records that showed the true grit
and determination of the team. Will Crainer ’19
medaled in the Ivy Championships, placing 15th
out of 115 runners.
Hackley Girls’ Varsity Soccer had an incredible run
to cap off the fall season, earning its first NYSAIS
title since 2009. Though led by a great group of
seniors, the team’s success was built on everyone
playing key roles through the latter half of the
season—a great team effort!
The Boys’ Soccer team went 10–2 in the league
and earned the number one seed in NYSAIS, and
its final record of 13–3–3 underscored the team’s
toughness.
Girls’ Cross Country won its fifth consecutive
League championship and third consecutive
NYSAIS title—the latter won by over 25 points,
with six runners in the top 40. Julia Stevenson ’16
(1st team All-State), is our first Individual NYSAIS
Champion in over a decade.
Winter
Hackley Boys’ Varsity Squash brought home a
share of the Ivy League title—the team’s first,
with a 9–1 record. Led by a large group of
underclassmen including first team All-League
recipients Wyatt Khosrowshahi ’17 and Willy
Ezratty ’19, the team looks to build on this exciting
season moving forward.
The Girls’ Squash team, led by seniors Katie
Bogart, Kelly Saxton, Arielle Stern, Elana Stern,
Laura Seebacher and Meghan O’Keefe, placed
second at the Squash Team Nationals in their
respective division.
The Wrestling team brought incredible dedication
and heart to a season with many ups and downs,
and prevailed in the end to place third at both Ivies
and States—congratulations! Elijah Ngbokoli (109
wins), placed 8th at the Prep Nationals to become
just the 4th wrestler in the history of the school,
and the first since 1998, to be named All-American.
The Boys’ and Girls’ Winter Track & Field teams,
led by a great group of seniors, finished third at
Ivies. Gabriella Zak ’16, Sabina Thomas ’16, Anthony
Roderick ’16 and Amin Mustefa ’17 were crowned
Ivy Champions.

FEATURE
38
Boys’ Basketball persevered through multiple
injuries to end the season in the top four at the very
difficult Collegiate Tournament.
Boys’ Fencing continued to gain strength through
a great season, and Girls’ Fencing placed second
in the league in foil. The Girls’ epee and girls’ saber
teams also placed in the top three within the league.
Margaret Scarcella ’84 returned to coach the Girls’
Basketball program, taking the team to a third place
league finish and to the semi-finals of NYSAIS.
Hackley Swimming produced an astounding
number of impressive individual performances.
Three new school records were set this season,
including one that broke Geoff Seelen ’77’s longstanding
100 backstroke record set in 1973. A
number of top competitors are returning to make
some serious noise in years to come.
Spring
Hackley Baseball earned a bid to play in the
NYSAIS tournament, led by four players batting
over .300: Danny Hernandez ’18; Second Team
All-League, Chris Wahrhaftig ’17; First Team
All-League, Ryan Smith ’17; and First Team All-
League, Steven Wahrhaftig.
Hackley Softball took home the championship
in the Second Annual Hackley School Softball
Tournament and received its first bid to NYSAIS
competition in over 5 years. Placing third in the
league with an 8–4 record, the team was led by
standout freshman pitcher Dana Van Buren.
Boys’ Tennis placed 5th overall in the league, playing
well despite the loss of many players from the
previous season. With all but two players returning,
the team looks forward to a great season next year.
Girls’ Golf finished the season 4–1–1, led by a great
group of seniors as well as some great underclassmen.
Coach Catalano has done an exceptional job
building the program.
Hackley Boys’ Golf earned Hackley’s first Ivy
League Championship and went undefeated in the
league with a 12–0 record. Bobby Hite ’19 was a
Federation qualifier, placing fourth overall at the
NYSAIS championships.
Girls’ Track & Field brought home its fourth NYSAIS
championship behind a great team effort, including
first place finishes by seniors Julia Stevenson,
Gabriella Zak and Sabina Thomas.
Hackley Boys’ Lacrosse won the Ivy League with
an 11–1 record, and earned the two seed in NYSAIS.
After out-scoring their opponents 23–8 in the
Quarters and semifinals, the team faced RCDS in
the championship. Down at the half, the Hornets
rallied in the second half to bring home the NYSAIS
championship with a 12–9 win.
Girls’ Lacrosse continued to dominate the Ivy
League, going undefeated for a 4th consecutive
year and ultimately posted an 18–1 record including
a NYSAIS championship win, the first in three years.
In a true team effort, Hackley Boys’ Track & Field
set multiple school records and claimed its 8th
consecutive NYSAIS title. Anthony Roderick ’16 won
the 100 M, 200 M, Long Jump and 4x100 meter
in both the Ivy Championships and NYSAIS. The
boys’ 4x100 meter team won the Loucks Games,
running the fastest time up until that point in New
York State.
Finally, at the NYS Federation meet, the Boys’
4x100m Relay (W. Britton, A. Roderick, D. Inzar, E.
Ngbokoli) was named Division 2 State Champions
(41.98) and placed 2nd overall vs. all public and
private schools in NY State (41.81).

39
School Records
Cross Country
Julia Stevenson ’16
4 K (14:48) and 5K (17:44)
Soccer
Sammy Mueller ’16
Season Scoring record (23)
Football
Will Cotter ’17
Single Season Passing record (1,601 yds)
Swimming
Sarah Schlesinger ’16
500 Free (5:04.68)
Garrett Towne ’18
100 back (53.16)
L. Bogart, Y. Tsukikawa, G. Towne, R. Schaum
400 Free Relay (3:18.19)
Outdoor Track & Field
Anthony Roderick ’16
Long Jump (23' 7.5")
Anthony Roderick ’16
100 Meter Dash (10.65)
Anthony Roderick ’16
200 Meter Dash (21.75)
Onye Ohia-Enyia ’18
400 Meter (48.66)
O. Ohia, E. Ngbokoli, A. Roderick, D. Inzar
4x100 Meter Relay (41.59)
W. Britton, A. Roderick, D. Inzar, E. Ngbokoli
4x200 Meter Relay (1:28.34)
D. Inzar, A. Roderick, E.Ngbokoli, O. Ohia
4x400 Meter Relay (3:21.03)
O. Curran, G. Zak, L. Stalman, Julia Stevenson
Distance Medley Relay (12:22.3)
G. Zak, N. Momani, S. Thomas, L. Stalman
4x400 Meter Relay (4:06.02)
Gabriella Zak ’16
100 Hurdles (15.12)
Julia Stevenson ’16
3200 Meter (10:38.8), 3000 Meter (9:52.34),
2000 M Steeplechase
Alexis Arnold ’16
Discus (99' 9")
Girls’ Lacrosse
Notable Accomplishments
Cross Country
Julia Stevenson ’16
5K NYSAIS Record at Van Cortlandt (18:37)
Con Ed Athlete of the Week
Football
Elijah Ngbokoli ’16
Super 11, Golden Dozen Honorable Mention
Nick Gutfleish ’16
Golden Dozen Honorable Mention
Field Hockey
Ally Petitti ’16
100 career points (108)
Arielle Stern ’16
100 career points with (103)
Wrestling
Elijah Ngbokoli ’16
Over 100 career wins (108)
All-American, Con Ed Athlete of the Week
Boys’ Basketball
Darius Inzar ’16
1000 Point Scorer (1,139)
Girls’ Basketball
Sammy Mueller ’16
1000 Point Scorer (1,321)
Con Ed Athlete of the Week
Girls’ Lacrosse
Sammy Mueller ’16
Back to back 100 goal seasons
Kat Cucullo ’16
103 career goals
Softball
Dana Van Buren ’19
102 Strike outs this season
Baseball
Steven Wahrhaftig ’17
.511 season batting average
Track & Field
Julia Stevenson ’16
All-American
Sammy Mueller ’16
Career Goals record (289)

Hilltop Updates
40
Andy Retzloff Retires
Andy Retzloff retires this
year after 31 years on the
faculty, ranked fifth in
seniority among current
faculty. Andy began his
career on the Hilltop as
a Lower School Science
teacher. He has taught
in each division since
then—5th grade Science,
Upper School Ecology,
7th grade Life Sciences, after-school nature club, faculty
advisor for the HEAL group—bringing his love of the
outdoors to scholars of all ages. Andy has worked as a
coach and a boarding associate. He helped construct
the Carl Buessow Nature Trails with Dave Allison. Andy
never simply “taught the facts”—he consistently brought
an unrivaled level of knowledge and enthusiasm to
studying and exploring nature, appreciated by students
of all ages. Most recently, Andy has also served as
coordinator of Upper School sustainability efforts. Andy
truly makes the world a better place. Andy and his wife,
Hackley Kindergarten teacher Beth Retzloff, raised two
children, both Hackley lifers, on campus. The Retzloffs
will continue to live on campus so we look forward to
seeing Andy often! We are grateful to him for leaving
such a remarkable impression on our students and
our community.
Julie Lillis Retires
Julie Lillis retired this
year after 30 years. She
joined Hackley in 1986 as
a History teacher, supervisor
of The Dial, and a
writer for Hackley Review.
In 1989, she became
Assistant Director of
Admissions, and in 1992
Co-Director of College
Counseling. While shouldering
these administrative roles, she continued to be
much admired as a distinguished teacher, particularly
in Modern European History. In 1989, the senior class
dedicated its yearbook to her and in 1991 she received
the Kimelman Award for distinguished teaching. As
Co-Director of College Counseling for 23 years, Julie
earned the deep gratitude and affection of countless
Hackley students and parents. Her empathy and insight
made her an exceptional counselor, forging connections
not only within our community but in the broader
professional world of her fellow counselors and Admissions
Deans. She has tempered student and parent
anxieties with an astute balance of candor and diplomacy,
and has been a powerful advocate in support of
Hackley students to colleges. A campus resident all these
years, she raised two daughters, both Hackley lifers now
graduated from college. She and her husband, Dick,
are moving to the Washington, DC area to be near her
parents. We wish her all the best in her next adventure
and count on her staying in touch!

41
Kathie Szabo Retires
Lower School teacher
Kathie Szabo leaves
Hackley this year after
22 years of service. Kathie
has taught third and
fourth grade since joining
the Lower School faculty
in 1994. Under her quiet,
steady guidance, students
have expanded their love
of reading, learned to
draft, edit and write their first research papers, and
moved confidently onward with the skills needed to
become a Lower School “senior” in the 4th grade.
Kathie also helped create, launch and for many years
manage the Lower School after school programs, in
which more than a generation of Hackley children
have flourished. She is also the mother of two Hackley
alumni. We are grateful to Kathie for all her good
work over these last 22 years and wish her the best in
her retirement.
Eliot Smith Heads West
Upper School teacher
Eliot Smith leaves Hackley
this June after twelve
years as a member of the
Upper School History
department. He is moving
to Houston, TX where
his wife, former Hackley
French teacher and Upper
School Dean, Anne
Longley, takes on a new challenge as founding head of a
new Upper School at St. Francis Episcopal Day School.
Since joining Hackley’s History department in the
2004–2005 school year, Eliot has been one of the
Upper School’s most respected and effective teachers.
In his time at Hackley, he has taught a wide range of
history courses, including two, History 9 and Media
and Culture, for which he led the development. Eliot’s
classroom is a special place, welcoming students with
music every day, and full of purpose, focus and playfulness
where students are engaged, challenged and
supported, and where they become better writers. Eliot’s
teaching excellence was formally recognized in 2011 with
the M.H. Davidson Family Chair in History, and he has
been a dedicated academic advisor as well as a mentor
to fellow teachers. He also developed Hackley’s student
Coffeehouse tradition, events that also afforded us
opportunities to see Eliot’s musical talents on display. In
a 2012 Hackley Review profile, his former student Peter
Barrett ’11 said, “Doc Smith is the Hackley Dos Equis
man: ‘The most interesting man on the Hilltop!’” We are
grateful to Eliot for his distinguished service to Hackley
and wish Eliot and Anne well in their latest adventure.

HILLTOP UPDATES CONTINUED
42
Lauren Sheng Leaves
Board of Trustees
Lauren Sheng P ’11, ’13
steps down from her
role as a Hackley trustee
this year after six years
of service. Elected to the
Board in 2010, Lauren’s
exemplary service to
the Board includes her
long-running tenure
as a member of the
Finance Committee, a member of the Audit Committee,
and a former member of the Educational Programs
Committee. She has played an active and integral role in
Hackley’s Alumni Networking program. Lauren’s philanthropic
leadership has been remarkable during her
tenure, helping to inspire many to support our Legacy
Campaign. The Board of Trustees deeply appreciates her
dedicated service.
Marvin Neuman ’63
Steps Down as
Advisory Trustee
Marvin Neuman ’63
conveyed his decision
to resign his role as an
Advisory Trustee. Elected
in June 2010, Marv’s
dedicated service to the
Board includes his tenure
as a member of Buildings
and Grounds Committees.
His exemplary philanthropic leadership has contributed
greatly to the vibrancy of the physical environment in
which our students thrive. The Board express its deep
thanks for his dedicated service.
Jumaane Saunders ’96
Named to Board of
Trustees
Jumaane Saunders ’96
has been appointed to the
Hackley Board of Trustees,
effective July 1, 2016. He
will serve as an Alumni
Trustee for a three-year
term concluding June 30,
2019. He is the first to fill
a new board position, the
Alumni Under 40 Trustee, created by the Board to bring
the perspective and experiences of our younger alumni
to the Board’s discussions and policy deliberations.
Similar to the Young Alumni Trustee position (currently
filled by Sarah Unger ’03), candidates considered are
alumni who are actively engaged with the school and
who are under the age of 40 at the time of their appointment.
This position will fill one of the three Alumni
Trustee positions mandated under Hackley’s by-laws.
As an alumnus of Prep for Prep, Jumaane Saunders
attended Hackley as a boarding student from the 7th
to the 12th grade, participating in NEALSA (Hackley’s
Diversity Club), and playing lacrosse and football
throughout his Hackley career. He received his BA in
Biology and Religious Studies from Macalester College
in 2000, and his MA in Educational Politics and Finance
in 2005 and his Master of Education in School Leadership
in 2012, both from Columbia University Teachers
College. Jumaane is the founding Elementary School
Principal at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, which
was opened in 2013. Prior to this role, Jumaane worked
as a biology teacher with Teach for America, a chemistry
teacher at The School of the Future, a Senior Manager
at Kaplan Inc, and as the Director of External Programming
at The School at Columbia University.
Jumaane and his wife, Mónica Amaro, who is Director
of Admissions at Manhattan Country School, have three
young children and live in New York City.

Hackley School
Hackley School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, religion,
gender identity, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities
generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, religion, gender identity, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational
policies, admissions policies, scholarship or athletic and other school-administered programs.
43
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
2016–2017
Officers
John C. Canoni ’86,
President
Theodore A. Mathas,
Vice President
Sy Sternberg,
Vice President
Susan L. Wagner,
Treasurer
John R. Torell IV ’80,
Secretary
Board of Trustees
David A. Berry ’96 MD, Ph.D.
Christopher P. Bogart
Roger G. Brooks
John C. Canoni ’86
Thomas A. Caputo ’65 *
H. Rodgin Cohen
Maria A. Docters
Dawn N. Fitzpatrick
Jason J. Hogg ’89
Linda Holden-Bryant
Keith R. Kroeger ’54
Kaveh Khosrowshahi ’85
Michael H. Lowry
Theodore A. Mathas
Timothy D. Matlack ’70
Diane D. Rapp
Harvinder S. Sandhu, M.D.
Jumaane Saunders ’96*
Sy Sternberg
John R. Torell IV ’80
Sarah Unger ’03*
Susan L. Wagner
Pamela Gallin Yablon, M.D.
*Alumni Trustee
Honorary Trustees
Herbert A. Allen ’58
Daniel A. Celentano
John T. Cooney, Jr. ’76
Marv H. Davidson
Jack M. Ferraro H’63
Berkeley D. Johnson, Jr. ’49
Philip C. Scott ’60
Advisory Trustees
James L. Abernathy ’59
John J. Beni ’51
Harold Burson
Mark R. Gordon
Robert R. Grusky ’75
Koichi Itoh ’59
Michael G. Kimelman ’56
Jonathan P. Nelson ’64
Conrad A. Roberts ’68
Lawrence D. Stewart ’68
HACKLEY PARENTS’
ASSOCIATION
Priya Krishna,
President
Lisa Torell,
Executive Vice President
Pallavi Shah,
Administrative Vice President
Maggie Walker,
Upper School Vice President
Michelle Dhanda,
Middle School Vice President
Chitra Dhakad,
Lower School Vice President
Debbie Linnett,
Secretary
Torrie Pizzolato,
Treasurer
Erica Napach,
Assistant Treasurer
HACKLEY ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION, INC.
Officers
Christie Philbrick-Wheaton-
Galvin ’00,
President
Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87,
Vice President
Daniel E. Rifkin ’89,
Treasurer
Board of Directors
Marc S. Brodsky ’86
R. Raleigh D’Adamo ’49
Patricia M. Raciti
DeCenzo ’02
Henry E. Dunn III ’58
Nordia A. Edwards ’99
David E. Friedman ’95
Bernard M. Gordon ’03
Jedd A. Gould ’85
Eric B. Gyasi ’01
Michael P. Halas ’98
Michelle Annunziata
Hambright ’94
Richard C. Hodgson ’51
James Holden, Jr. ’66
Thomas S. Karger ’63
Timothy L. Kubarych ’06
Joseph P. Marra ’86
Lauren E. McCollester ’82
Tanya N. Nicholson Miller ’90
Nicole R. Neubelt ’91
Sallyann E. Parker Nichols ’87
Angelique E. Parnell ’10
Christie Philbrick-Wheaton-
Galvin ’00
Neal R. Pilzer ’74
Daniel E. Rifkin ’89
Anastasia E. Venturas Ripp ’98
Conrad A. Roberts ’68
William G. Roberts ’75
Jasmine C. Swann ’96
Belinda L. Walker Terry ’76
Honorary Directors
John C. Canoni ’86
Philip C. Scott ’60
HACKLEY SCHOOL
Michael C. Wirtz,
Headmaster
Communications Office
Steven D. Bileca,
Assistant Headmaster
Susan Akin,
Director of Communications
and Community Relations,
Editor, Hackley Review
Waits May,
Director of Online
Communications
Development and
Alumni Affairs Office
John P. Gannon,
Director of Development
and Alumni Affairs
Haleh Tavakol ’84,
Director of Alumni Relations
and Alumni Giving
Cindy Urick Stickles,
Director of Annual Fund
Marjorie G. McNaughton
Ford ’85,
Assistant Director of
Alumni Relations
Marlene Myhal,
Event Coordinator
and HPA Liaison
Jen Bisschop,
Alumni and Development
Associate
Kara Forcelli,
Development Assistant

On June 11, 2016, Hackley graduated its 116th class. Congratulations to the Class of 2016!

Commencement
45
Cum Laude Induction 2016
On June 6th, 2016, 17 members of the Class of 2016 were inducted into Hackley’s chapter of the
Cum Laude Society.
Katherine O’Connell Bogart
Maximillian Kang Gene Chen
Karina Maria Franke
Irene Eunbe Kim
Eugene Alexander Linden
John Charles Peruzzi
Mackenzie Lee Price
Marc Elliott Rod
Zachary Samuel Shalett
Akira Shindo
Arielle Anna Stern
Elana Irene Stern
Julia Anna Stevenson
Jason Daniel Traum
Basia Nicole Van Buren
George Nelson Wangensteen
Gabriella Maria Zak
Excerpted from the Cum Laude Address
In my brief experience, I’ve noticed that part of being good at
whatever you do—artist, investor, lawyer, doctor—is having a
flexible mind, to be constantly learning and growing. Said differently,
the smartest people I know are often the ones who say “I
don’t know,” and then figure it out anyway. As an example, at my
job today, I pick stocks. The hardest part of the job is knowing
how to allocate my time as there are 500 companies in the S&P
alone. There are plenty of things I don’t know as I research. So,
bouncing new ideas off friends and debating the pros and cons of
investments allows me to be a more efficient and more effective
investor. Learning from others and harnessing collective brainpower
helps fill gaps in my own knowledge and highlight what
new questions need to be asked.
—Noah Silver ’06

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED
47
Class Day Awards
On Class Day and Commencement, Hackley honors students for character and accomplishment as it bestows
an array of traditional awards, many of which have been awarded annually for decades. These are just a few
highlights of the recognitions that resonate across generations.
To request a full list of this year’s awards, contact alumni@hackleyschool.org
Oscar Kimelman Award
Chosen by vote of the Class of 2014 to recognize
the teacher who has most contributed to their own
subsequent progress
Jenny Leffler
Anton & Lydia Rice Inspirational Teaching Award >
Chosen by the Class of 2016
Vladimir Klimenko
Yearbook Dedication >
Chosen by the Class of 2016
Seth Karpinski
Bruce F. Roberts Scholar-Athlete Award
Julia Anna Stevenson ’16
Richard Perkins Parker Memorial Cup >
For the student who epitomizes the Hackley ideal
Joshua Ryan Greenzeig ’16

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED
49
Commencement 2016
Excerpted from the Salutatory Address
Encouraged to take those risks, we grew accustomed
to the discomfort that ultimately breeds
success. We live in a world where comfort has
become a value and a life goal. But the security of
our comfort zone can limit us. Research indicates
that we can perform at our best by finding that
sweet spot just beyond our personal comfort zones,
where we tap into our potential and creativity.
Hackley has encouraged us to push beyond our
comfort zones and to grow and develop new areas
of strength. You see this with the ballet dancer who
decides to run cross country and then shatters
school records, the non-confrontational student
who becomes a nationally recognized debater, the
student government leaders and athletes who take
the stage at coffeehouse and blow everyone away
with their immense talent, or perhaps the least likely
public speaker in the grade addressing hundreds of
you today.
As we leave the Hilltop, this culture of encouragement
stays with us as we transition into a new phase
of our lives to remind us not to shy away from that
which makes us uncertain or uncomfortable.
—Jason Daniel Traum ’16
Excerpted from the Valedictory Address
I see my friends passionate about things because
they want to be, not because they feel obliged
to be. This culture of individuality is not only
tolerated, but encouraged and celebrated. We
occasionally slip into being the mindless sheep
that high school students usually are, but we
have escaped this label more than any group of
students I have encountered.
In my mind, we have always been the grade that
didn’t care. When I say this I mean that pretending
not to care about something just to fit into some
mold of how you are supposed to be is the
ultimate form of caring. […] The most “successful”
people are the innovators and the rule breakers
who did not find success by doing what others
said they should, but rather by forging their own
paths, finding their niches in the world, and doing
the things that they truly wanted to do.
To me, the beauty of life is that it ultimately falls
upon you to determine its meaning. […] The path
to mediocrity is to do everything that is expected
of you.
—John Charles Peruzzi ’16

COMMENCEMENT CONTINUED
50
Commencement Address
Ben Ratliff ’85, jazz and pop critic for The New York Times, and author of
four books, most recently Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age
of Musical Plenty, offered this year’s Commencement Address.
First I would like to say that I feel gratified and
surprised to be here speaking to you today.
As I stand here I am remembering the last time
I got up and felt mildly scrutinized in front of
Hackley School, which was almost exactly 31 years
ago. I’m not counting the blurry day of graduation
itself. There was a day near the end of the school
year called Awards Day. I was notified in advance
that I would be receiving an award: the Alan Seeger
Prize, for writing. I did some writing for the school
newspaper, and thought of myself as a writer, and
I cared about being recognized as one a lot more
than I would have let on—in fact, this was a rare
case of having your wishes understood without
saying them out loud.
Awards Day took place at an afternoon assembly
in the gym. I think that I wore some kind of dark
blazer, and I know I wore an old pair of tan pants.
As someone recently reminded me, we took our
English exams in the morning in our coats and ties.
After that, and a few hours before the assembly, I
was talking with some friends in the Upper School
hallway, outside of the study hall. I bent over and
ripped the seat of my pants, a total vertical tear
from the middle back belt loop all the way down to
near the bottom of my zipper.
My jacket didn’t go down far enough to cover the
tear—not even close. It seemed that I was going
to have to walk up to the podium and accept an
award with my underwear hanging out. As perhaps
many of you have done in awful dreams. Perhaps
they would cancel they award? No, they wouldn’t.
Here is what I assumed: that nobody would help
me in this situation, because everyone is locked
into a role. Every year there is a blank line next
to the school’s writing award, and the role of the
school is to fill it. The role of the populars is to
point and laugh at a ripped-pants calamity. The
role of the less populars is to say “uh oh!” and then
walk away quickly. The kid who goes in front of
the school with his pants ripped in half also has a
role. In Scotland and Wales, until the 19th century,
members of local communities were selected as
sin-eaters. They would eat a piece of bread that
had been placed on the body of someone recently
deceased, thereby absorbing that person’s sins. I
felt that I might be providing a service like that for
the school.
I went close to a bitter, extreme place of not
wanting the stupid award anyway, and turning
against the school for its awards and rituals and
occasions. None of it was about me, anyway,
I started to think. This is about a prep school
carrying on its narrative of greatness. Why don’t
they give us what we want most and let us go
home?
But my friend Marco Ranieri, who was and still is
tall and thin, offered me his jacket, with a longer
cut in the back, which basically covered the tear. In
fact, I think it went like this: A good friend helped
out; a couple of people laughed, because it was
funny; a few others were sympathetic; nobody else
really noticed because they were thinking about
their own problems, in a perfectly non-selfish way.

51
I thought, this isn’t going to be so bad. And then
I thought: who cares. There is a negative and
destructive who-cares, and there is a positive whocares.
The positive one is a liberating and creative
force. You tend to feel it more naturally as you get
older, but older people shouldn’t be deriving all
the benefit it of it. You can choose to access the
positive who-cares right now.
I accepted the award, which was the Oxford Book
of Modern Verse 1892–1935, edited by W.B. Yeats.
There was a bookplate pasted to the inside front
cover with my name and the name of the award in
calligraphy, probably written by my Latin teacher,
John McAuliffe, who took these things wonderfully
seriously. I loved that bookplate. I couldn’t really
make peace with the book. Pre-World War II
modern English poetry felt moldy to me and
categorically not in my line, because at the time I
understood myself to be interested in Miles Davis,
James Baldwin, Sam Shepard and punk rock, none
of which, in my experience, was taught at Hackley
then. I’m sure they are now.
Here my story turns. A few years ago a really
brilliant and funny writer told me about something
that can only be found in that book. I looked in the
book and found it on page 1. I had never gotten
that far. Yeats, the poet, who was the compiler of
the book, took a famous passage of prose written
by the 19th century essayist and art critic Walter
Pater about the Mona Lisa, and rearranged that
piece of prose into a short poem, making it the
first poem of his anthology. The poem begins:
She is older than the rocks among which she sits.
Like the Vampire,
She has been dead many times
And learned the secrets of the grave.
Yeats called no attention to the fact that he did
this and made no apologies for it. He just did it. He
turned a piece of criticism into a piece of poetry
and called it one of the best poems of the past
fifty years. What an amazing and daring thing
to do. It fits in with what I came to care about
in my line of work, which is writing about music,
describing a piece of art, considering its essence
more than its form, and trying to make the reader
understand it in a new way. I had been so sure
for so long that this book I’d been given was
the great backwards, a symbol of a stuffy and
outdated club I would never allow myself to join.
And there on the first page of it was my Miles
Davis, my punk rock.
And what about Alan Seeger, for whom the writing
prize was named? He was a poet. He was the
brother of the musicologist Charles Seeger and
the uncle of the folk singer Pete Seeger. He went
to high school at Hackley—he graduated in 1906.
He fought in World War I in the French Foreign
Legion. Three weeks from now it will be 100 years
since the day he died in battle. After graduating
from Harvard and before the war, Alan Seeger
hung out in Greenwich Village, where he met and
made a great impression on Yeats’s father, the
artist John Butler Yeats, who wrote about him to
his son. “In conversation he is eager, yet never
vehement or imperious,” the older Yeats wrote
about Seeger. “He had no desire to affect the
minds of others, though so eager for the truth.”
John Butler Yeats also said this about Alan Seeger:
“I think he is the only solitary I met in America,
that is to say its most interesting man.” I would like
to take this moment to note that in high school, if
you were solitary, you were generally presumed to
be not interesting.
I think high school is the period of time when you
are most tempted, or even forced, to categorize
yourself, just as I categorized myself in my reaction
to the events surrounding that excellent award
book and even the book itself, and as I am sure
I categorized my place in the school as a social
being and a scholar. You are much less locked in
than it may appear. You have energy and brilliance,
and your choices are wide open. Some of you may
know this and some of you may not. You will all
start to see it.
—Ben Ratliff ’85

52
FEATURE
By William G. Davies
Chair, Hackley History Department
“Character is
Higher than Intellect”
Early in his tenure as Headmaster, Walter
Johnson posited the ideal that Hackley
believes, with Emerson, that “Character is
higher than intellect.” The idea has resonated
so well with our sense of mission at Hackley
that we claim it as part of our vernacular.
In the following text, adapted from a Chapel
Talk offered to Hackley seniors in January
2016, History department Chair Bill Davies
explores the active mandate inherent in this
idea—what it demands of us, and its implicit
charge to our students to “Go forth and
spread beauty and light.”
My advisees somehow uncovered the fact that, a
long time ago now, I was a monk, and they began
demanding that I “tell everyone about being a monk.”
Well, I’m not really the person who’s going to do a
chapel talk based on personal revelation. And, sad
to say, there’s not much to reveal even if I were that
person. No scandals, and not even a really good life
lesson to pass on to you. But, I began to wonder if
there was anything in my long-ago monastic experience
that might be thought-provoking for you at this
moment, and I came up with something.
It’s possible that you remember from some history
class or other that St. Benedict was the guy who
basically started western monasticism. And you may
remember that he wrote a Rule for monks to follow.
Out of that Rule emerge the three Benedictine vows,
which aren’t the ones you think they are. They’re not
poverty, chastity and obedience. They are stabilitas,
humilitas and conversatio morum.
The first is stability—you stay in one monastery,
rather than moving around; the second could actually
be implied to be obedience, and often is; but it’s the
third that I want to talk about. “Conversatio morum”—
loosely, conversion of manner—is a Latin translation
of the Greek word metanoia. Metanoia, in turn, refers
to turning around, most profoundly a turning around
of the inner person. It would be easy to say, as some
sloppy monastic thinkers do, that one “turns around”
by doing what the Rule tells you to do. But that’s not
what the Rule actually says.
The first word of the Rule’s Prologue is ausculta:
listen. “Ausculta, O fili, praecepta magistri.” “Listen,
my son, to the precept of the master…” And the very
next phrase is, “et inclinam audis cordis tui;” “incline
the ear of your heart.” That is not an admonition to
Bill Davies
photo credit: Gabriel Cooney

53
rule-following, though it must be said that lots of
rules do follow. This is, rather, a call to become a new
person, and to do so constantly throughout one’s
life. Beyond that, it is not a call to passive receptivity,
but one to employ the heart—the very being—as an
organ of understanding, to do that not singly and
alone, but in the company of a community, and then
constantly to transform what one has “heard” to
action. This is metanoia.
Most of you have been at Hackley for at least four
years, and some of you have been here for thirteen.
If you’ve been listening, you have heard the phrase
“Character is higher than intellect.” That statement
came from the pen of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who
uttered it in a famous speech, given in 1837, called
“The American Scholar.” The speech is an attempt to
define the particular nature of the American scholar,
as well as his duties as a thinker. Oliver Wendell
Holmes called Emerson’s speech our “intellectual
declaration of independence.”
Hackley is a secular institution, so it doesn’t actually
have a “sacred text” to which we can all, by common
agreement, refer as a source of received wisdom.
But I would go so far as to suggest that, should the
Trustees ever be casting around for something like
a sacred text, “The American Scholar” is a good
candidate. Like Benedict, Emerson impels us toward
listening, toward metanoia and toward action.
Emerson argues in his speech that men as individuals
are parts of Man, or mankind. He is passionate
in his assertion that we fail to reach a state of
sublimity or divinity if we remain merely men and
fail to achieve oneness with Man. Early in his argument
he says:
Man is thus metamorphosed into a thing, into
many things. The planter, who is Man sent out into
the field to gather food, is seldom cheered by any
idea of the true dignity of his ministry. He sees his
bushel and his cart, and nothing beyond, and sinks
into the farmer, instead of Man on the farm. The
tradesman scarcely ever gives an ideal worth to his
work, but is ridden by the routine of his craft, and
the soul is subject to dollars. The priest becomes a
form; the attorney as statute-book; the mechanic, a
machine; the sailor, a rope of a ship.
The danger for the American scholar, in Emerson’s
view, is that, like the farmer, the tradesmen or the
mechanic, he will be “a mere thinker,” and not
Man Thinking. That is, he will become, again in
Emerson’s words, an isolated “… parrot of other
men’s thinking” and not a creative agent at one with
mankind. He will be passive, not active, listening

FEATURE
54
Building and rebuilding a self requires more than “parroting
other men’s thinking.” The stream of the self must have a source
to which it may return. Do not forget to “incline the ear of your
heart,” and to let that heart be set aflame.
perhaps with his literal ears and his brain, but not
with his heart, not creating in his being. “The one
thing of value in the world,” says Emerson, “is the
active soul.” “The soul active sees absolute truth; and
utters truth, and creates.”
“Listen,” says Benedict, “and incline the ear of your
heart,” in order constantly to create a new man. “The
soul active,” says Emerson, “…utters truth, and
creates.” In both cases, a turning around of the inner
person—a metanoia—a kind of learning, but one that
goes beyond receiving information to transformative
creativity. Both learning and listening are, for both
men, active undertakings. “Character is higher than
intellect” asserts Emerson:
The mind now thinks; now acts…When the artist
has exhausted his materials, when the fancy
no longer paints, when thoughts are no longer
apprehended, and books are a weariness—he has
always the resource to live. Character is higher
than intellect. Thinking is the function, living is
the functionary. The stream retreats to its source.
A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong
to think…. Time shall teach him that the scholar
loses no hour which the man lives.
Emerson does not dismiss received knowledge—
knowledge of the past as found in books is an
important source of education for him. It is important,
then, to remember that the assertion “Character is
higher than intellect” is not intended to denigrate
intellect, but to elevate character. For Emerson,
though, action in relation to experience—“living”—
is the path to becoming Man Thinking, in oneness
with mankind, and thus the path to the sublime.
“Action” is not, for him, found in frantic activity. He
warns constantly against “intellect” as a collection
of harvested ideas; against, as it were, memorized
genius. “Genius” he writes, “is always sufficiently the
enemy of genius by over influence.”
Here you sit in January of your senior year. This
might be a good time to emulate Janus, after whom
the month is named, and to look both forward and
back. In a few months’ time, you’ll head off to
college, to another institution of education. I wonder
what you will take from Hackley to that new experience.
Of course you should take the “stuff” you’ve
learned—conjugations, formulas, the names of
treaties, the plots of novels. You’ll need those, and
I certainly hope we’ve honed your intellect in the
study of languages and math and history and English,
and everything else. But these are the bushel and
cart of the student, the tools of mere thinkers, not of
Man Thinking. Here is one more quotation from “The
American Scholar”:
History and the exact sciences [the wise man]
must learn by laborious reading. Colleges, in like
manner, have their indispensable office,—to teach
elements. But they can only highly serve us, when
they aim not to drill, but to create; when they
gather from far every ray of various genius to their
hospitable halls, and, by the concentrated fires, set
the hearts of their youth on flame.
Yes, you will take from Hackley much of history and
exact science, and you head off to more “laborious
reading,” but you have more important work to do.
Building and rebuilding a self requires more than
“parroting other men’s thinking.” The stream of the
self must have a source to which it may return. Do not
forget to “incline the ear of your heart,” and to let that
heart be set aflame. It’s the work of metanoia, the work
of character. And “Character is higher than intellect.”

Walter C. Johnson
Headmaster, 1995–2016
Those of us who remember Hackley before Walter,
and those of us who know the facts about what he’s
accomplished here, know that without a doubt he is the
best Headmaster this school has ever seen. He raised
money so we could have a real endowment, he rewrote
the salary scale to enable us to attract and retain the
best teachers, and he built or rebuilt half the buildings
on campus…and he did thousands of other things.
But he did something else for Hackley, something a
lot more important. He imposed a moral vision on the
school. Before Walter we were a good school, but we
didn’t really stand for anything. We really didn’t know
who we were. Now, after 20 years we have a palpable
mission and not only do we have a moral vision, it’s
a shared vision. We know what we stand for. And we
owe that to one person.
In order to impose a moral vision you have to have one.
And that was Walter. He always knew what the right
and the wrong of a situation was, and what roadmap he
was going to follow to get to an ethical outcome. And
if it was hard, or inconvenient, or if it got people mad, it
didn’t matter. We were going to do the right thing.
—Philip J. Variano
Acting Headmaster
A leader is not somebody who takes you where you want to go. That’s a tour guide.
A true leader is someone who takes you to a place that you didn’t even know existed, and along the
way explains why you’re going there, so when you get there you cannot imagine being anywhere else.
With his transformative vision for Hackley, Walter has been that for all of us, and more.
—John C. Canoni ’86
President, Board of Trustees

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