On Thursday, October 15, the Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees convened on campus for the first time since the fall of 2019, and remained through Friday for a series of committee meetings and announcements. The Board of Trustees is comprised of 21 people, composed largely of Choate alumni and parents, and are responsible for supporting the School’s overall mission, strategic and financial goals, and governance. Members of the Board are vetted and nominated by the Trusteeship Committee.
The most recent Board meeting was the first of three quarterly meetings scheduled to occur this academic year. In the meetings, they reviewed the 2020-2021 academic year and shared updates on the state of the school’s financial issues, physical plant, academic goals, and student life going into the 2021-2022 academic year.
On Thursday, select committee meetings occurred throughout the day. The Executive Committee met to review the School’s annual goals, the Admissions, College Counseling, and Strategic Marketing Committee (ACCSM) evaluated the Class of 2021’s college application process and matriculation statistics, the Audit & Finance Committee reviewed the School’s finances, and the Buildings & Grounds Committee inspected the maintenance of facilities on campus. In addition, eight members of the student body — three seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores — were invited to participate in the Student Life & Activities Committee meeting at Ruutz-Rees.
The session opened with a brief overview of student perspectives delivered by Student Body President Abby Lu ’22, followed by updates on Choate’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives given by Dean of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Rachel Myers, and finally, student life, by Mr. Velez. Then, invited student guests introduced themselves to the Board of Trustees, in which they had an opportunity to ask students about their candid experiences and reflections on current life at Choate. In particular, they talked about how the 2021-2022 academic year compares to the mostly remote and socially distanced 2020-2021 academic year and how the pandemic affected student-athletes in the Classes of 2021 and 2022. Regarding student participation in Board of Trustees meetings, Mr. Velez said, “The students are the ones who are living the experience, and by not including them, we’re not getting a comprehensive picture. That’s also why we put together panels of students or invite students to the table. We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to be representative of the entire student body.”
Reflecting on the experience, Chair of the Judicial Committee Wylie Doak ’22 said he appreciated how caring and respectful the Board was of students’ opinions. Fourth form attendee Amanda Benneh ’24 shared a similar sentiment, saying, “I felt extremely grateful to be able to share my experiences with a group of open-minded and accomplished adults, including faculty and alumni. I went into the meeting ready to accurately represent my experiences leading up to this fall and was pleasantly surprised when I noticed how attentive and willing the Board of Trustees were to listen and take notes on everything we mentioned.”
Fourth former Brecken Cullinan ’24, added, “The most intriguing part about the meeting was hearing my peers speak about their experiences last year and what they have grown to appreciate more this year. There was a positive consensus that Choate has done a good job accommodating the transition from last year to this year. Even though this year has been hectic, Choate is striving to provide a balance for its students.”
On Friday, a general session was led by Head of School Dr. Alex Curtis and Interim Head of Student and Academic Life Ms. Katie Levesque, with the entire Board of Trustees present along with invited guests. In attendance were Ms. Aliya Cox and Ms. Tiffany Rivera, Co-Chairs of the Faculty Committee; Ms. Helene Ramirez Guerra, the Director of Financial Aid and Senior Associate Director of Admission; Lu and Doak. Throughout the meeting, new members of the Board of Trustees were sworn in, and the finalized version of the 2021 Strategic Plan was shared. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was also held to celebrate the reopening of the newly reconstructed Hill House, which had undergone repairs after a lightning strike during the summer before the 2019-2020 academic year.
Reflecting on the events, many student attendees were excited to see how their contribution to the meetings could have a lasting effect on the Choate community. Cullinan said, “I know that the Board of Trustees is constantly striving to improve student life on campus, and I am curious to see how the perspectives and conversation from this Student Life and Athletics panel will shape their decisions for the future!”
