Once at Exeter, Tom steeped himself in the experience, becoming involved with Student Council, sports and of course, his academics. And while he remembers each with great fondness, Tom is particularly proud of, and vocal about, the teaching he experienced at the Academy. "The teachers at Exeter were not pushovers," he says with characteristic directness, "they were not a cinch. But they were genuinely interested in the learning process and asked as much of themselves as their students. They put a lot of heart and soul into the process." Among others, Tom remembers classics instructor Allan Wooley '54 and English and drama instructor B. Rodney Marriott as teachers who were exacting and outstanding.

Despite an intense work life as senior managing partner of Farallon Capital Management (one of the world's top five hedge funds) and an equally busy family life as the married father of four children, Tom has stayed involved with the Academy as a volunteer and is currently serving as Exeter's campaign vice chair for the western United States. Staying connected to Exeter in this way has permitted Tom to see some of his own Exonian classmates and friends return to the Academy to teach, among them English and drama teacher Sarah Ream '75, school minister and religion teacher Bobby Thompson '72; '89, '95 (Hon.), modern languages teacher Polly MacMullen '76; '46 (Hon.) and Harold Brown '74, Exeter's director of alumni/ae affairs. "These are not only outstanding teachers," says Tom, "they are outstanding people, and Exeter is lucky to have this caliber of person return to the classroom."

Now, in honor of this group and of Exeter's tradition of excellence in teaching, Tom is generously establishing two of the Academy's first-ever Distinguished Professorships. When asked to describe his decision to make this historic gift, Tom says, "There are two things I am interested in, teachers and students, but students are really a derivative of the first group. In other words, they'll come if great teachers are there to lead them. By establishing the professorships, I'm helping to ensure that the best teachers can afford to teach, so that subsequently, the best students will enroll."

Competing in an increasingly complex recruiting market for exceptional faculty is one of Exeter's greatest tests and one of its greatest opportunities. Within the next 15 years, 40 percent of the Exeter faculty is expected to retire. This figure highlights the need for the Academy to be vigilant in its efforts to attract men and women of a caliber equal to the master teachers who are retiring. More than any other factor, these new teachers will influence the quality of education at the Academy for decades to come. Today Exeter is in fierce competition not only with other boarding schools, but also day schools, colleges, business, and industry, many of which can offer strong candidates more attractive salaries. Given the 24-hour-a-day responsibilities and the 10-year dorm commitment of a residential school such as Exeter, it is imperative that the Academy offer top compensation and an excellent quality of life to its faculty. The Faculty Endowment Initiative is ambitious, and to our knowledge, no other school and only a few colleges and universities have attempted anything similar. The highest levels of the initiative are on par with the Sterling Professorships at Yale and the University Professorships at Harvard and Princeton. The initiative will endow a total of 29 faculty positions, each of which will carry a professional development award for the instructor to use for research, conferences, travel or other enrichment activities. The professional development component will be particularly attractive to those ambitious teachers Exeter most wishes to attract, who are eager to learn and grow in their chosen fields. The comprehensive endowment levels of the initiative will enable Exeter to recruit and recognize outstanding teachers at different stages of their careers. see Endowed Positions Chart