A Message from Chairman Chuck Harris '69
Academy Trustee and Chair of The Exeter Initiatives

“I have had the great privilege to be an Academy trustee and to participate in the unprecedented collaboration that led to The Exeter Initiatives. Over the last few years, trustees, faculty and staff have rigorously examined the school’s current programs, studied best practices from around the country, and assessed the challenges we expect during the coming decade. The integrity of the planning process has been, in my experience, remarkable.

“From the beginning, The Exeter Initiatives were never about raising large sums of money. The momentum behind the Initiatives has always been to support the people who make Exeter the best independent boarding school in the nation. To do this, we must continue to ensure that Exeter remains a school known for its preeminent academics. We must also establish Exeter as a superlative place for faculty and students to live and work. These goals lie at the heart of our planning for The Exeter Initiatives.

“The Initiatives therefore focus not only on financial aid endowment and faculty and staff compensation, but also on community and facilities needs. The decisions to renovate dormitories or to build a new health center, for instance, grew from our realization that to attract the best faculty and students we would have to modify certain programs and enhance our residential facilities. It is no accident that the interrelated objectives of The Exeter Initiatives all focus on the people—faculty, staff and students—who are central to Exeter’s academic mission.

“Thanks to early leadership support, we have already achieved important progress on several of the Initiatives, including the first Distinguished Professorships, new financial aid endowment, and full funding of the new Academy Center. The next step requires the participation of the greater Exeter family. Together we can implement the strategies outlined in The Exeter Initiatives. I encourage you to consider how your own philanthropic objectives may intersect with Exeter’s needs. The privilege of shaping Exeter’s future now belongs to us all.”