AndoverMagazineFrontWinter2013

DAteLIne AnDoveR
Hoyt Explores Racism Definition
in Journal Article
Associate Dean of Students Carlos Hoyt has waded
into the struggle to define the term “racism” in an
article published in the July 2012 issue of Social Work
magazine. The piece, which is available at the Web
address below, is a scholarly treatise that seeks to
reconcile a variety of different definitions that have
emerged since the term’s original common application
in the 1930s to characterize Nazi theories on which
their persecution of the Jewish people was based.
As Hoyt reports, the principal dilemma has evolved
from efforts to add the notion of power to the definition,
as in the construct Racism = Prejudice + Power.
This was the position taken by Martin Luther King Jr.
Day speaker Spike Lee in January 2010, which ignited
a marked controversy on campus that played out in
the pages of the Phillipian.
Hoyt argued then—as he does in his journal piece—
that this formulation “…is an abandonment of logic
and a tendentious reengineering of a perfectly good
term to isolate white people as evildoers and let
black people off the hook even when they commit
similar offenses.” Other members of the faculty at
the time—Stephanie Curci, Chris Jones, David Fox,
and Andrew Housiaux—strongly disagreed. They
sided with the views of Henry Gates, Cornel West,
and many others, including South African martyr
Stephen Biko, who said “one cannot be racist unless
he has the power to subjugate.”
In the recent article, Hoyt explores implications of this
confusion of definition in both the classroom and casework,
and offers a solution that integrates the term
“oppression,” as in race-based oppression, and its
systemic version, institutional race-based oppression.
Hoyt, who joined Andover’s faculty in 2006, holds
a BA degree from Wesleyan University and an MSW
from Boston University School of Social Work; he is
completing his PhD at Simmons College.
R ead Hoyt’s article in Social Work
magazine at www.andover.edu/magazine.
8 Andover | Winter 2013
—Sally Holm
Gil Talbot
For the Record…
November Trustee Meeting Highlights
Academy Resources
Steve Sherrill ’71, chair of the Academy Resources Committee, reported that The
Campaign for Andover stood at $298.8 million, closing in on its $300 million goal and
December 31 deadline. Among the highlights: the campaign had raised more than
$91 million for financial aid. He also reported that Fiscal Year 2012 finished strong for
the Andover Fund ($11.4 million) and represented the best year ever in terms of cash
received ($39.2 million). (See updated campaign coverage, page 6).
In a special announcement during the November 2 trustee dinner, Head of School
John Palfrey announced two gifts totaling $1.5 million for the Peabody Museum
endowment from Marshall Cloyd ’58 and Oscar Tang ’56.
Sherrill also reported on the revival of the Andover Development Board, an
alumni organization focused on connecting younger alumni with one another and
with the Academy. The group comprises more than 230 members; approximately
50 attended meetings and events on campus the previous weekend. (See related
stories, page 49.)
Budget and Endowment
The board accepted FY12 operating results, which included a surplus of $39,000 and
endowment returns of 0.2 percent. Michael Reist, chief investment officer, noted that
the endowment’s FY12 performance compares slightly better than that of other independent
schools and colleges (approx. –0.7 percent and –0.3 percent, respectively).
Steve Carter, chief operating and financial officer, discussed budget headlines,
including some positive financial gains. Due to better than projected Summer Session
revenue and incremental tuition/fees from additional student enrollments, for
example, the Academy was able to reduce its endowment draw by $923,000.
Josh Steiner ’83, chair of the Finance Committee, acknowledged that while overenrollment
has led to increased revenue, it also has placed considerable strain on the
campus community. He thanked faculty, administrators, staff, and the team in OPP for
accommodating these additional students. Steiner then led a full board discussion of
Andover’s budget and endowment trends over the last decade. Themes for this and
future discussions included:
• How best to allocate philanthropy (Andover Fund vs. endowment vs. capital)
• How best to fund facilities renewal and technology needs
• Reducing the draw on endowment
• Taking a closer look at goods and services budgets
• Tuition as it relates to market trends, the Consumer Price Index (CPI),
and the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI)
Facilities
Shelly Guyer ’78, chair of the Building Committee, led a discussion on the status of
Isham Health Center and emerging health and wellness facility needs. The board
heard a presentation from Lavallee Brensinger Architects, a local firm with expertise
in education and health service facilities, and began preliminary discussions on how a
new facility might fit into the campus’s master planning.