2008 Founder's Day Award Recipient

citation
Remarks by James G. Rogers III '63; P'05
Given at Assembly on May 16, 2008

Good morning Exeter. Thank you, Michael, for those kind words. Thanks also to my family, including two beautiful grandchildren, and to Carter and Eileen Wiseman and Joe and Jennifer Gould for being here on this wonderful occasion, but especially to my wife, Maureen, who has supported me through 25 years of devotion to Exeter. When she first got a glimpse of the intensity of my loyalty to Exeter, she thought I was nuts. She still does, but now understands what Exeter has meant to me and more recently to our son Jamie, who graduated in 2005.

I’ve considered many themes for these remarks, a predictable one being the route I traveled to Exeter and how it changed my life forever. That oft repeated tale is a powerful force shared by so many alumni and alumnae who believe Exeter didn’t simply change their lives for the better but profoundly changed the trajectory of their lives. This is true of my predecessor as president of the trustees, Byron Rose, and my successor, Chuck Harris.

Byron grew up in Indiana and was the beneficiary of Hammy Bissell’s remarkably simple idea that newspaper boys are energetic self starters, and smart newspaper boys could thrive at Exeter. Byron once told me that if he had not attended Exeter, an opportunity which changed the trajectory of his life, for sure, he would have stayed in Indiana, attended Purdue, become an engineer, started his own firm and raised a family in his home town. I said “Byron, you’re describing my life,” though it was certainly not the life he went on to lead.

Chuck grew up in rural North Carolina and had pretty much exhausted available educational challenges there when, thanks to a family friend, he was pointed toward Exeter. That advice changed the trajectory of Chuck’s life and his great professional success has been equaled by his loyalty and generosity to Exeter, which continue to this day.

My story is not nearly so interesting. I attended a private elementary school in Fairfield County, CT, and every member of my graduating class went on to boarding school. My family connections were to St Paul’s, but like Byron and Chuck, I had a mentor, a beloved Latin teacher who also coached football and baseball, whose advice was simple. He took me aside one day and said, “Jim, you are a lucky guy- you have the opportunity to go to the best school there is, and you should take advantage of it.” I did, and have been forever grateful.

I loved Exeter when I was here, something not every student from that era would say. It could be a tough and cold place, but I was a conventionally successful student. I did things which were both safe and respected, and in the process gained immunity from many of the difficulties experienced by fellow students. I was a good but not great student, a good but not great athlete, and was the generally well-rounded student in whom Inky Clark and other Ivy League Admissions Directors began to lose interest right about then. Good at those things then was still good enough to go on to Yale, where I began to appreciate the education I had received at Exeter, and then to the Columbia School of Architecture.

I come from a long line of architects—not only a long line of architects but a long line of architects of the same name—James Gamble Rogers. Of the six family members of that name, four have been architects—the two holdouts being my father and my son—and if I were to go into any more detail on the subject you would hear a collective groan from my family, so I won’t. But my decision to become an architect leads directly to the opportunity to speak to you today. Exeter was not high on my list of priorities then, but doing an architectural project for the Academy was an exciting prospect for my young firm, and thus begins the story of my 25 years of involvement with the Academy. Joe Gould, Director of Alumni/ae affairs in the early 80’s, contacted me about the possibility of designing the renovation of Gilman House which I eagerly took on. In the process, Joe made it subtly clear that an alumnus providing professional services to the Academy might consider a slightly more energetic effort to support it.

As I became more involved in alumni/ae activities, I understood better how Exeter depends for its continuing success on the support of its graduates—financially, of course, but in so many other ways as well. I began also to understand its natural advantage in this area, which is rooted in the simple fact that the Academy has changed so many lives so profoundly, and in the process, guaranteed a level of loyalty and appreciation which most schools simply can’t duplicate. By and large, our graduates who support the school so generously consider it a privilege, as I certainly do.

Being a trustee was the greatest privilege of all, and I’d like to share some anecdotes to illustrate why (with apologies in advance to friends, family, trustee colleagues and anyone else in the audience who has heard one or more of these stories.) Please be patient and understand that I am speaking to the students in the audience to give them a sense of the pleasure and fulfillment which can come from involvement with this school and its people.

There have been many touching and deeply meaningful moments during these years. Receiving this award in 2005, Nat Butler talked about his experience as a gay student in the early '60s and his later support of the Academy and its efforts to become more inclusive and accepting. I was extraordinarily proud of him and of Exeter that day. Of all the changes I have witnessed here, the transformation from a tough, sink or swim school into a tolerant and accepting community is by far the most important. That this has been accomplished without diluting the intellectual rigor and academic excellence of the Academy is an amazing achievement.

Some of my assignments have been just plain fun, which brings me to what I promise is the last telling of the tale of the new school tie. It seemed about fifteen years ago that the array of official school ties no longer represented the school well, especially since women didn’t generally wear ties, so I boldly suggested change, and in the process, willingly agreed to design a new one. I could spend an hour telling this story, and sometimes have, but I’ll be brief. Suffice it to say, I was pretty confident that if I could design a building, I could design a tie. After a few false starts, I called my good friend Anne Marie Samway in Gilman House and admitted I was adrift but hopeful that among Exeter’s many accomplished and creative graduates was at least one in the fashion industry. She introduced me to Bud Konheim’53, CEO of Nicole Miller. Bud enthusiastically offered the services of Ms. Miller, who I bet can’t design a building can certainly design a tie. So the first generation of new school tie was born, a striking piece of contemporary design, suitable also for bow ties, and importantly, for women’s scarves. It won general, though not universal acceptance, and a few years ago someone pointedly suggested it might be nice to have a tie which could be worn unselfconsciously in public, so our desire for a more sedate and traditional model grew. Fortuitously, Nicole Miller’s design philosophy evolved along parallel lines, resulting in the tie I wear proudly today.

Of the many wonderful and challenging experiences I’ve had over the years, chairing the Principal’s Search Committee ranks first. When trustee president Ricardo Mestres asked me to chair the committee in 1996, I, naturally, knew nothing about how school head searches were conducted. I soon learned they were commonly led by the board chair, and always dominated by trustees. The faculty had either an advisory role or was a minority presence on the committee itself. Of the many trustee assignments I had enjoyed, work with faculty members had always felt like a partnership, and it seemed reasonable to suggest a committee made up equal numbers of faculty members and trustees so I made the suggestion, somewhat tentatively, to Ricardo. To my relief, he said simply, “If that’s the way you want to do it, you should.” So the search committee for the 13th principal of Phillips Exeter Academy was born, with faculty members Susan Keeble, Kathy Nekton, Russell Weatherspoon and Peter Greer, trustees Julie Dunfey, Rick Smith, Rob Shapiro and me. This group took on arguably the most important job at any school, did it as a team, fully aware of the importance of our assignment but determined to make the most of the experience. I am proud to say, without a whiff of arrogance, we did a great job, and had a remarkably exciting time doing it. After Ty Tingley became Principal he explained what a powerful message about Exeter and its culture was sent by the makeup of that committee.

I now understand that structure as a completely natural extension of the Harkness classroom which every member had experienced as a teacher, a student—arguably both. The essence of that setting is the willingness to forego control of the outcome in the interest of a shared enterprise, the belief that the wisdom of the group is ultimately more valuable than the judgment of any individual. It also demands a commitment to rigorous preparation and participation, and confidence that collective shared wisdom will lead to a successful outcome. And it did.

So I’m still finding new ways to understand the profound impact of the Harkness table and what it symbolizes. For me it is a lifetime of friendships and learning, and a devotion to this school and what it stands for.

I’ve witnessed many wonderful changes at the Academy in 25 years. The campus has been transformed, it has become a much more caring and accepting community and continues in that effort. It is a leader among secondary schools in its commitment to environmental stewardship, responsible use of resources, and green design of its buildings. The recent announcement of tuition-free attendance for families with less than $75,000 annual income is an extraordinary reaffirmation of its belief in the importance of attracting students from every quarter. I could go on and on, describing the many ways in which this great school continues to get better every day. But I won’t.

Thank you, all, and thank you, Exeter.

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