Farewell to the Oddens Farewell to the Oddens - The Taft School

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Vickers and Beechler
INFLUENCE AND IDEALS
1997—
Honoring Sir
Gordon and Lady
Ivy Kwok Wu on
the eve of the
dedication of the
new science
building
Without discounting the many priceless
personalities of Taft, I have never
associated any institution more closely
with one individual. Nor, would I guess,
has one individual ever done so much
for a single institution.
—Peter Bowden ’91
It is certainly true that the school reflects
the headmaster, and Taft has
become the finest of its kind.
—Samuel F. Pryor III ’46, P’73
Lance and Patsy always set the tone in
a way that connected Taft to its great
traditions, but kept it marching forward
into the new millennium.
—Gregory J. Seitz ’86
Craig Ambrosio
1997—
Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics
Center and the Nancy and Ben
Belcher Learning Center are added to a
renovated library.
1998—
Odden named honorary doctor of humane
letters from Hamilton College and
received Princeton Country Day School’s
highest alumni award.
1999—
Five-year Campaign for Taft closes at
$133,035,898 on December 31, surpassing
the original $75 million goal.
The New England Girls’ Prep School
Ice Hockey Association votes unanimously
to name the N.E. Championship
trophy after Patsy, recognizing her unparalleled
25-year coaching career.
2001—
In front of a
packed house,
the Odden family
gathers for the
Odden Arena
Dedication in
January: from left,
Mike Brown,
Margot, Karen,
and Jake ’86,
Lance and Patsy,
and Laurie ’89.
2000—
Lance and Patsy announce to the assembled
faculty and student body their plan to
retire at the end of the school year. John
Dayton ’64 heads the trustee committee
charged with finding Lance’s successor.
2001—
January: Odden Arena dedicated in
honor of Lance and Patsy. A record number
of alumni and parents attend,
surpassing even previous Alumni Weekend
turnouts (see page 30).
May: The Taft community honors
the Oddens’ four decades of devotion to
the school with a black-tie gala planned
for May 19 (see page 2).
Lance has done so much for our beloved
school. The King would be
proud of him and so am I.
—Nelson Howard ’25
Lance’s quiet battle for an open-hearted,
liberal-minded society is a legacy I hope
his successor will carry forward.
—David J. Piel ’42, P’72
I can say with certainty that I am sitting
in the chair I have now thanks to the
profound influence Lance had on me
as a student and then as an educator.
—Jim Mooney ’74
headmaster, Vermont Academy
American history abounds with the
unique stories of many remarkable independent
school heads. There is
another book waiting to be written,
however, and it will be called The
Oddens of Taft, or something like
that. Their tenure has always been
highlighted by its being a team effort,
and that process helped move coeducation
along.
—Peter Buttenheim ’60, P’84
Here’s to a man who could have done
or been anything that he wanted, only
to choose the noble profession of seeing
to it that others could be more than
they thought possible.
—Donald S. Tuttle III P’98,’00
Taft Bulletin 27