GAUDEAMUS IGITUR: THE MIDNIGHT SCREAM OF '92

As promised, the inaugural Gaudeamus Igitur!

Much of the matters I've been discussing here are difficult. The fierce loyalty that many feel for their alma mater is such that Exeter Unafraid is simply beyond the pale. For some, that I could violate the schoolboy code and speak openly about such things - that's what's truly problematic.

As I have said elsewhere, it isn't despite my devotion to Exeter that I feel compelled to expose the unfortunate realities - it's because of it.  As such, I steadfastly refuse the temptation to be made into an enemy of the Academy! Instead, I embrace the call to serve as the loyal opposition. I invite you to join me to seek a moral renaissance that can only begin by restoring Exeter's integrity.  

That being said, it's easy to get enmeshed here in negativity over the current leadership. What is the antidote?

To show the affection and admiration I have for this great institution, I offer Gaudeamus Igitur. Here, I'll lovingly share the anecdotes and adventures from both my student and faculty days. I trust you will find these enlightening, entertaining,  and entirely Exonian.  

This week, in honor of the end of the term, the tale of the Midnight Scream of 1992. 

Prefer a podcast?  Available here for stream/download.

***

Cowpath

One fine fall afternoon, a crew of seniors congregated in my "flight deck" faculty apartment in Wentworth Hall. Our conversation turned to legendary pranks. 

In the Old School, before coeducation came along in the 1970's, the all-testosterone chemistry sparked some elaborate stunts. Back in the day, a VW "Bug" had somehow been hauled up onto the Assembly Hall stage. On another occasion, a cow. What's wonderful about the cow conspiracy is that it must have had a farm kid connected to it. Someone knew what no city dweller would - you can get a cow to climb stairs. But unlike most gravity-driven phenomena, what goes up in this case doesn't necessarily come down so easily. And there are a lot of steps to get from the Assembly Hall stage to the street.

After passing on this and other Academy lore, the seniors began to ponder how they might make their mark. As it happens, I shared an idle idea that passed through my mind in student days. I never found the time to carry it out - just another near-forgotten adolescent daydream.

The core concept was to take one of the Academy's longstanding forbidden traditions to a new level. The Midnight Scream was particular to the institution because of the peculiar pedagogy that set it apart from other schools. Much has been said of the vaunted Harkness education, seminar-style teaching around a round table. That, combined with another element, is what forges the extraordinary alloy of an Exeter education. The teaching does not focus on exams. This comes from the conviction that life requires constant readiness. Any pedagogy that culminates in some big test is not the proper way to prepare students for what John Phillips called "the great end, and real business of living." So, instead of exams, students at Exeter are constantly peppered with quizzes. In effect, every day is a test that should be gone after as if it were the final exam. That is a philosophy to live by!

At schools that operate around exams, terms end over several days depending on any given student's schedule. After the end of classes, exams begin and things die out with a whimper. But at Exeter, everyone finishes the term at the same time. And so - it ends with a MIDNIGHT SCREAM!!!!

In its classic formulation, the Midnight Scream consists of students opening up their dorm room windows just before midnight. When the bell in the Academy building's tower rings signaling the moment, Exonians let out a howl only matched by non-Exonian teens at the height of Beatlemania. 

Lots of visitors to Seacoast NH

Back in the 70's, the school began to crack down on this tradition. Word had it that those nearby on farms complained. After the scream, cows refused to give up milk for days. To enforce the ban, faculty would carefully monitor the situation from outside. As kids opened windows to carry out this nefarious deed , faculty on patrol would call out to discourage transgressors. Still, it was hard to squelch the scream. 

My notion was to introduce technology into the mix. There is, after all, a limit to the volume any one teenage can muster. But what if all the stereos on campus were brought to bear?

The seniors embraced the idea. The conspiracy to carry it out was now underway. At that point, I properly distanced myself from the proceedings. It was their prank, after all. Moreover, it would be unseemly for a faculty member to engage in such activity. However, I offered to volunteer, albeit informally, as the faculty advisor. They accepted my offer. As such, I insisted that they respect one key boundary. No major rules could be broken in executing this stunt.

The initial idea was to craft a recording and then broadcast it out of WPEA, the student radio station. Everyone would tune in to it, and so be in synch. As the year passed and the end-of-term loomed just weeks away, a fundamental problem because clear. There was no way to play this out of WPEA without violating my ground rule. It would require that someone sneak out of the dorm after-hours to get to the station then located in the old library. During one of our infrequent check-ins on the matter, the conspirators expressed their frustration. How could they accomplish this without breaking any major rules?

I suspect they were looking for me to give them an easy out, to either explicitly of tacitly sanction the needed rule-breaking to facilitate the original plan. Of course, I did neither. I insisted that they find some means to carry out the caper within the duly agreed limits. I encouraged them to meet the challenge. That is, I argued, what made it a worthwhile prank. If it could be easily accomplished, where would be the greatness?

I didn't hear from them for awhile. Then, as graduation neared, I was informed that a solution to the problem had been found. I didn't know the details of their preparations, but I would guess that agents passed the word from dorm-to-dorm, student to student.

On the night following the last day of classes, as midnight neared, my fellow dorm faculty assembled dutifully outside to carry out one of our last tasks for the year. We chatted amicably in anticipation to the usual struggle to suppress this voluminous expression of adolescent enthusiasm. The conspirators had managed to maintain secrecy. My colleagues were clueless. As we fanned out around the dorm, a few commented on how unusually quiet things were. Perhaps this venerable tradition had died? It seemed odd - was something up that we had somehow missed?

And then.... 

All at once, windows across campus flung open with loudspeakers perched at the ready, tuned to a nearby broadcaster. Moments later, the voice of the overnight disc jockey at WHEB, the 100,000 watt powerhouse rock station in Portsmouth, announced that he was going to play a special request to and from the students at Phillips Exeter Academy. The recording produced in the WPEA studios then blared across campus for a minute that seemed like an eternity. It was so loud that as my colleagues called to me to try to coordinate some kind of response, their instructions were unintelligible in the din.

I will refrain from attempting to describe the actual contents of the recording. You had to be there.

After, the DJ played Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate." I remember some girls in Amen Hall spilled outside to dance.

I feigned surprise and indignation alongside my colleagues. No, they didn't like getting bettered in this practical joke. At graduation, after the shock had settled down, the Principal showed herself to be a better sport by honoring the undertaking with an aside in her graduation address.

It wasn't till years later that I fessed up my small part to any former colleague. As I explained to the conspirators, what little I added was simply a graduation gift from the Class of '79 to the Class of '92.

***
And - a special shout-out of congratulations to the Class of 2019!

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Twitter @EUnafraid.

RAWSON: GUILT BY TRADE ASSOCIATION + THE MAN WHO WOULD BE PRINCIPAL

A noted author and authority

Phillips Exeter Trustee President Tony Downer said that  Bill Rawson cleared a high bar in announcing his promotion from interim to full Principal last January: 

We are a community that expects the exceptional from our leadership. We seek in our Principal an individual who does not simply understand our values, but who models those values in how he or she lives. 

Unlike his predecessors who distinguished themselves in academic endeavours, Rawson returned to the Academy through a different route. There's one thing you can say about his decades practicing law. He appears to have been a standout in his profession (for those that missed it in my previous post, this remarkable moment in his career is captured in a must-see three minute video).

Is it even imaginable that the search advisory committee charged with clearing candidates last year failed to review his distinguished background? Then, presented with the committee's candidates, surely the Trustees reviewed their fellow alumnus and former colleagues' work history.

Besides Rawson, there are four JDs currently serving on the Academy's board, including the Trustee President. They must have done their duty to carry out the proper due dilly before appointing him interim, much less Principal, right?

His Chosen Work: Crucial & Controversial 

Rawson's chosen field in law is crucial and controversial. His particular expertise, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), affects the health and wellbeing of everyone in the United States. His choice of clients?  Now, that's a matter of some concern. Some jaundiced souls might get the impression that his services were in great demand by --- no, I won't even attempt to characterize them. I will leave it to you, gentle readers, to make your own unbiased determination. Let me know what you think.

First, it's well to note that what's publicly available only gives a glimpse of Rawson's professional work. Maybe what I've uncovered isn't a representative sample. But it makes one thing clear: we deserve to have an honest appraisal of how he spent his career in law. As yet, my request for information from Rawson and the Trustees has gone unanswered. So, let's give them the benefit of the doubt. It's a busy time of year. 

While we're waiting for them to get back with their responses, let's review what's ready-to-hand. 

Begin with CropLife America, formerly known as the National Agricultural Chemicals Association. It is "the national trade association that represents the manufacturers, formulators and distributors of pesticides." 

In 2012, Rawson filed a 42-page amicus brief for them advocating against a federal ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide. What's chlorpyrifos? 

According to the Pesticide Action Network: 

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide known for its damaging effects on the human nervous system.... These neurological effects pose especially elevated risks for children as their brains and nervous systems develop...Humans can breathe or be exposed to dust from chlorpyrifos that drifts from nearby fields into homes and schools. 

While Rawson's work on this is some year's past, the issue lives on. Efforts to address this pesticide continue, most recently with a state ban in California (click here for the Washington Post's reporting on the struggle between consumer advocates and industry).

(Update: the FDA moved forward to ban chlorpyrifos to protect farmworkers and children in 2022.) 

 Perhaps a Pattern 

Next, consider Rawson's work for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Toy Industry Association. 

ACC is one of the largest trade organizations in the country with a $100 million dollar annual budget. You may have heard about their efforts against regulating greenhouse gasses that drive climate change 10 years ago. Now, they've shifted gears. Members are part of the solution to the problem, so they say. Oh, and they're a champion of sustainability, too!  What's not to like?

Fated to encounter orthophthalates?

Rawson advocated on ACC's behalf for the overturn of San Francisco's ban on phthalates. According to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, these plastics softeners "are endocrine disruptors, and exposure to phthalates has been linked to breast cancer, developmental issues, decreased fertility, obesity and asthma." 

The American Chemistry Council also figures in one of the most controversial public health debates since cigarettes - flame retardant chemicals used in home furnishings. 

The controversy over these chemicals and the industry's efforts around them are the centerpiece of a compelling documentary, Merchants of Doubt. It details how the strategy and tactics used by Big Tobacco spawned an industry of spin and deception deployed for other problematic products. It has also been adapted by climate change deniers. 

The controversy over flame retardants became a national topic of discussion in 2012 with the Chicago Tribune's expose Playing with Fire, revealing the vast apparatus of manufacturers, trade associations, lobbyists and whatever other instruments of influence they mustered for their cause. 

For New Englanders, the story had a local face. Hannah Pingree, former speaker of the Maine House, raised awareness nationally about both the hazards of these chemicals and the industry machinery promoting their continued use. This opinion piece she co-authored, Hold chemical companies to account, gives a concise summation of the issue from her perspective.   

Pingree appeared alongside Rawson at a U.S. Senate hearing that addressed flame retardants, also in 2012. As I mentioned in the last post ("Introducing William K. Rawson, Esq.) he was a minority witness. He represented Albemarle Corporation, a flame retardant manufacturer and ICL-IP, an Israeli importer of these chemicals. This recent profile of Albemarle in The Nation is a must-read: 

Like other makers of dangerous chemicals, Albemarle has stayed one step ahead of the law and public outrage by perfecting a cynical version of the classic bait-and-switch scam. When regulators ban one flame retardant because of its undeniable health impacts, the manufacturers simply tweak a molecule here and there to produce a similar but legally distinct product. Then they give that product a new name and hustle it back onto the market. 

There's a great deal more to be gleaned from the transcript and video of this hearing. Pingree had this to say, respectfully, about some of those at the table that day:

No Hollywood ending to our story

... what we learned is that the chemical industry does not always tell the truth. And they will do a variety of means to beat back regulation of chemicals, especially considering they are making considerable profits selling these chemicals...We had many of the companies represented at this table, the American Chemistry Council, spending huge amounts of money misleading legislators and doing whatever they could to deny that, for example, the chemical Deca had both health impacts and was building up in people. So I have great respect for all the folks up here, but I really would say as a parent I do not trust these companies to tell the truth about their chemicals, and I do not think the American public or you, as Senators, should either.

I will be returning to look more closely at this hearing so we can come to understand it fully. It tells us a great deal about Attorney Rawson. 

It's well to note, the controversy over flame retardant chemicals continues. This 2017 opinion piece in Maine's Bangor Daily News shows that the well-funded industry promoters are still at it.  

SIDEBAR STORIES WITHOUT THE SIDEBAR    

Chemicals, Cancer & Seacoast New Hampshire 

In their eagerness to appoint Rawson, perhaps the Trustees were unaware of what seacoast residents cannot ignore: cancer clusters linked to toxic chemicals in the area. 

Over the past five years, the issue of chemical contamination causing pediatric cancers in the region have been a top-of-mind issue for those in the region, home to a superfund cleanup site. There's extensive coverage of this in local media. It has received statewide-attention from the Governor's office on down. 

So this matter of Rawson's past working with petrochemical and pesticide clients may have special meaning to seacoast residents. How appropriate is it to have a former attorney for such interests serve as a moral leader in this community? 

Smart about ALEC

Both CropLife America and ACC are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is the pay-for-play "bill mill" where, according to the Center for Media and Democracy:

...corporate lobbyists and state legislators vote as equals on ‘model bills’ to change our rights that often benefit the corporations’ bottom line at public expense... Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. 

Here's a glimpse of ALEC's role here. The industry forces are powerful, and they can overwhelm local governance. So the strategy is to be sure to take these matters out from federal control. From there, ALEC and its allies introduce bills at state legislatures. The added element is typically a State Policy Network-affiliated "think tank." These pass along purportedly independent studies that are, in fact, public relations cover for the ALEC-authored legislation. 

What's grotesque here is that often the rationale for taking things from federal jurisdiction is to promote local control. But the industry trade association/ALEC/think tank nexus operates on a national level. So this is, in fact, a loss of local governance. All this is largely driven by "dark" money. The think tanks are almost invariably 501(c)3 public charities. The tax-deductible donations made to them can be kept anonymous. As such, this subversion of our democracy is taxpayer-funded.

 ***

Next up, the first "Flashback Friday." This time, a recollection from my days on the faculty. Here, the insider account of the legendary Midnight Scream of 1992.

***

 

Afterwards - The Man Who Would Be Principal

 

Bill Rawson was hired as Interim for two years in the Summer of 2018. Repeatedly, faculty expressed reservations about this process. It was a time when the Academy was forced to address its unfortunate history of operating without appropriate policy and process. Many I spoke to both in and outside of the Academy community found there was little to be concerned with since he was only hired as an interim. This was a stopgap measure. A proper, formal search process would soon follow.

 

Rawson was asked how his role of interim differed. "In some sense, I am in the same position as any principal who intends to retire in two years. I have some near-term goals, and I will also initiate conversations that will extend well beyond my period of service...my job is largely to pose questions, not to answer them."

 

Actually, much of his initial efforts were directed at making sure questions weren't asked.

That August saw the release of the "overview" of the "independent investigation" into sexual assault on campus. The "overview" was dumped late one Friday afternoon in August. Despite multimillionaire-dollar investments in both the "independent investigation" and a parallel non-independent one, none of their findings was on the agenda at Exeter Leadership Weekend just weeks after. I published something about it in the local newspaper to coincide with the alumni gathering.

 

Next, Rawson answered one of the gnarliest questions - what to do with Rev. "Bobbie" Thompson? Thompson had been on paid leave since 2016 following embarrassing revelations about his response to a campus sexual assault featured in the Boston Globe. Then, the school's "independent investigation" found that Thompson and his wife had "failed in their responsibilities to address alleged misconduct impacting the health, safety and welfare of students in a proper and effective manner." Before the end of October, Rawson closed this out "amicably." Thompson retired, but without emeritus status. Some of his supporters wondered how Thompson could have agreed to this. The actual extent of the sizable settlement wasn't disclosed - but you might say it was at least as big as a house.

Then, some six weeks later, before Rawson had even completed a single term of his two-year contract, the Trustees sent the General Alumni Association Directors new marching orders. One of the Directors summarized how they were directed:

"...the board asked the GAA members to speak to a 'circle of alumni' and ask them whether they were in favor of Bill Rawson becoming Principal.  Keep in mind the request was given on December 14th with a two week deadline; not a great time to be asking for people's time, but I did reach out to ten classmates."

Rawson's unexpected promotion was announced on January 25th. Tony Downer, Trustee President, said that this decision followed "extensive outreach to discern the Exeter community's views." The school reported that he went on to say that "Trustees gathered alumni input through outreach undertaken by the 18 directors of the General Alumni Association who serve as representatives of the alumni body."

This is at odds with the GAA Director's information suggesting that this "extensive outreach" was actually rather limited - at least in regard to alumni. That director had contacted 10 alumni.  Say that was average. So, under 200 alumni had been asked for their input. Given that the entire alumni community numbers around 21,000, that's under 1%.  The Trustee President's claim of an "extensive outreach" seems, at best, a gross misrepresentation. 

The Trustees' holiday gift for Bill Rawson

The core question here is - why the rush to promote the Interim?  It would have been easy for the Trustees to gather input from alumni and others for at least a month or so. The previous search for a Principal included extensive email outreach plus "alumni get-togethers," in-person gatherings in major cities across the United States. Why not at least send out an email to alumni rather than task the GAA Directors?  If the process brought negative feedback, the Trustees could have started a search committee by the end of the school year and still have plenty of time. The previous full search, complete with "alumni get-togethers," took only about seven months.

 That same GAA Director went on to offer what information he was able to gather to explain this sudden turn of events:

"I'm learning of all this in real time too...there was a 'chorus' of strong support for Bill across the different groups polled (students, faculty, staff, alums) which made the board's decision easier. The decision to act now to hire Bill was because 1) having him as a candidate in a national search might impact the search, i.e. discourage candidates from applying, 2) he has exceeded the school community's expectations in every way imaginable, and 3) the school community has been suffering for years from all the misconduct issues (which are not entirely behind us) and there was a collective anxiety to get on with a transition." 

Given the problematic way alumni were "polled," how much confidence should their be that this same flawed methodology wasn't also used with the other groups?

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Tips? Suggestions? Comments?  Drop a line to: contact (at) ExeterUnafraid (dot) com

Twitter @EUnafraid.

INTRODUCING WILLIAM K. RAWSON, Esq.

A standout on the panel, U.S. Senate, 2012

We're about to wade into troubled waters.

Where we left off (The Interim Maneuver, 22 May), Bill Rawson had been selected by Trustees to serve as Interim Principal in what appeared to be a perfunctory process. He won out over a surprisingly limited field of candidates, only one with the credentials normally expected for leading a private secondary school. Unfortunately, none had the specialized expertise to do the job that needed to get done

What job?

Typically, an "interim" is just a placeholder. But here, the need to address outstanding problems called for something more - an independent outsider to bring a reality-check. This specialized interim leadership, sometimes termed an "intentional interim," requires a specialized expertise. Basically, an intentional interim is a consultant empowered to be a change agent. So as to assure their independence and objectivity, they are obliged to depart at the end of their assignment, typically under two years. After, the assignment is over, they have no further ties to the organization. There's no fear or favor since there's nothing to gain or lose beyond accomplishing the task at hand.

The Academy is a textbook example of an organization in need for such a break in typical leadership, an interregnum to get its bearings. What are the signs (adapted here from ministry)? First, Principals appointed at the Academy are normally expected to carry out a 10-year commitment. Tom Hassan lasted less than six, Lisa MacFarlane just half that. Churning leadership indicates underlying structural problems. 

Hassan: a change in contract

Another marker for intentional interim work is when leadership has been compelled to leave, or does so under the cloud of some moral failure. Check the box. Hassan drew censure - not by his own employer, but by The Association of Boarding Schools. 

So the Academy has been reeling. Two Principals now down and out under the storm of a campus sex abuse scandal. By any measure, the institution has been in desperate need for the professional services of an intentional interim.

I am not the only person to recognize this.

In The Exonian, as the Interim Principal Advisory Committee completed its task, History Instructor Michael Golay went on record to underscore the need for something more than a stand-in while searching for a permanent Principal. The choice for interim is “more important than the permanent appointment down the road...the problems that the interim is going to have to deal with are so important and so urgent that we need to make progress on them in order to get a strong set of candidates for the 16th principal position.”

Golay was remarkably outspoken in his criticism of the Committee:

We went weeks without hearing anything from the trustee head of the advisory committee. I haven’t heard anything from any of the members of the committee. And my guess is that most of my colleagues would say the same thing if you ask them: that the operation has not been, in any sense of the word, transparent.

There's a few more things to unpack here to get a fuller understanding of how Bill Rawson became Interim Principal. There's a few missing pieces, too, before we can have a comprehensive picture.

First, the process apparently wasn't a smooth a slam-dunk. The Interim Principal Advisory Committee launched on February 26th. Committee Chair Claudine Gay set the soft deadline for input on March 7. That's a very narrow window. Still, it took time for the committee to conclude its work - finished when it presented three candidates to the Trustees on April 23rd. The Exonian reported that this was behind schedule.

Downer’s initial statement in February that the final decision would be made soon has also led many to question why the process took far longer than originally anticipated. “Nobody expected it to go on for three months,” Golay said.

Already behind-the ball, now it was in the Trustee's court. Faculty member Andrew McTammany, a member of the advisory committee, expected a quick decision. “There’s an urgency because the interim principal would ideally be placed and learn about the job from our current principal before she leaves,” he said.

What delayed this urgent undertaking?

Dissension over Due Dilly?

As I mentioned, there's some pieces missing from the puzzle to explain the delays in the search and selection process. One possible stumbling block: Rawson's professional experience.

The school's disclosures about Rawson's professional career are rather limited. In the original coverage of the committee's candidate selection, he's the only one to decline an interview by the Exonian's reporters. Instead, one of his former teachers, Jack Herney, delivered the inside dope:

He’s been a student, a parent, a faculty member, a trustee. That’s quite a combination. Clearly somebody like that would know the school very well...Very few people, I would guess, know the Academy from as many different perspectives as Mr. Rawson.

Then, in his candidate statement, he only makes a passing reference to his 30+ year professional career, mentioning only his "...experience building a law practice, chairing a department, and mentoring younger lawyers."

But what kind of law practice?

The Academy's announcement gives a sketch: 

Rawson practiced law at the international law firm of Latham & Watkins in the Washington, D.C, office...in addition to co-founding and chairing the firm’s environmental department in Washington, he served on several firm management committees, including recruiting, finance, and associate career development and training.

Following a few links sent by a fellow Exonian, I started searching for what I could find about Rawson - alternate professional biographies and examples of his environmental work. I found this in a book he co-authored:

William K. Rawson is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Latham & Watkins LLP where he chairs the office’s Environment, Land & Resources Department. He also co-chairs the firm’s global Chemical Regulation and Product Defense Practice Group. Mr. Rawson maintains a broad-gauged environmental regulatory and litigation practice focusing on high-stakes chemical-related issues arising under most major environmental statutes and also in connection with congressional investigations, state legislative initiatives, and high visibility coverage by national news media. He has extensive experience dealing with complex issues pertaining to hazard, exposure, and risk assessment and risk communication. In 2006, Mr. Rawson testified before the full Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on TSCA reform.

Clients include obscure outfits like Croplife America and the American Chemistry Council.

But what does this all mean?

Request for Information: Trustees

Paging Tony Downer...

Last week, I sent emails to both Rawson and the Trustees to be sure that the scattered pieces of his work accurately represents his vocational interests. I included a few questions including this:

"Product defense" for the petrochemical and pesticide industry appears to have been his metier. How does "product defense" differ from, say, criminal defense work?

Criminal defense attorneys may zealously defend an individual accused (and even demonstrably guilty) of despicable crimes- something that some would find morally abhorrent. Still, they may be motivated by a transcendent ideal, that everyone is entitled to such a defense. As such, this vocation is in alignment with the Academy's Non Sibi ethos. How does work in "product defense" align with some transcendent value, with Non Sibi?

I provided a partial list of court filing and the like that I had discovered. I grouped these under various chemicals they address. I included a link to background materials on the chemical, then to his filings for particular clients.

Response? Thus far, not a peep - not even an acknowledgement of receipt. Here's what I sent to Tony Downer, the President of the Trustees. It contains numerous links and citations. I welcome those practicing law - especially environmental law - to review. If this is in your purview, please tell me how this looks from your professional perspective. 

Into the ring with Boxer

Many of the legal documents are simply outside of my ambit. Easier to understand is an exchange in 2012 between Sen. Barbara Boxer and William K. Rawson, Esq. representing the Albemarle Corporation, a domestic producer of flame retardants and ICL-IP, an Israeli importer of the same.

I offer this without comment - Rawson answering the question:

Do you agree that chemical manufacturers should have to prove through unbiased studies that their products are safe for pregnant women, for infants, and for children before they can sell those chemicals in the U.S.?

Next up, I'll delve into this in detail explaining why what is portrayed in this exchange is telling and troubling - aside from the obvious. See "Rawson: Guilt by Trade Association."

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Tips? Suggestions? Comments?  Drop a line to: contact (at) ExeterUnafraid (dot) com

Twitter @EUnafraid.

THE INTERIM MANEUVER

First shot across the bow

First, a note on the nomenclature.

"Exeter Unafraid" is the nom de guerre of the crew of sexual assault survivors and supporters raising the first public objection over the Academy's "independent investigation" in September, 2016.

It was part of a coordinated strategy to nudge then-Principal MacFarlane back on course. Initially, she appeared eager to do the right thing - an honest, forthright approach. She seemed supported by then-President of the Trustees, Nicie Panetta. Soon, the default modus operandi of other organizations, something lesser than my idealized Exeter, seemed to set in.

Rumors were that MacFarlane had come under pressure from the Trustees who wished to micromanage these matters. Just before Exeter Unafraid was unveiled on the eve of Exeter Leadership Weekend in September 2016, I had a lengthy phone conversation with her. Without tipping my hand, I tried to communicate what was coming - an opportunity for her to chart her own course, to follow her previous good intentions. I'm not sure she picked up on this. It was an amicable conversation, and I got a look-ahead to her talking points for the coming weekend.

The Exeter Unafraid launch was a sterling success (with one key exception), complete with coverage in the Boston Globe. Unfortunately, Principal MacFarlane didn't take the bait. Instead, she doubled-down on what seemed to me to be a tragic wrong turn. At about the same time, Panetta left the board without explanation. A long-time Trustee, a financier named Tony Downer, took the reigns. What were the mechanics/politics behind this changing of the guard? There's no way to tell. The internal processes of the Trustees are typically opaque. Though we are alumni, no outsiders can be Trustees as in many other institutions, they feel distant. They seem to operate like a secret society.

But I digress....

Turning his back on
academic credentials

As promised, let's talk about how Bill Rawson came to be the Academy's 16th Principal, the first with no significant professional academic credentials in the modern era.

With the unexpected resignation of Lisa MacFarlane announced on February 2, 2018 - whether she was forced out or quit was never entirely clear - the school needed a new head. Actually, it really wasn't ready for that. Poor MacFarlane didn't have a chance because what the school needed after her predecessor, Tom Hassan, was interim leadership. How the Trustees apparently were unwilling or unable to recognize this - will explore that another time.

Interim leadership is a particular expertise. It's probably better known in ministry where it is an identified calling with special training. As it happens, I've actually worked in that capacity. I have hands-on experience in the process and benefits and so appreciate what it can - and sometimes must - bring. It's more of a consulting gig than anything else. The challenge is to take on the kind of systemic issues that normal leadership cannot. For institutions with issues, it's essential. If done properly, it can open the door to a renaissance. The new, permanent leadership is able to operate without being hamstrung by legacy issues. Without that, systemic problems will resurface, sooner-or-later. The problems will not go away on their own.  

But will it fly? Your ideas,
not the table...

The Trustees are fully within their rights to appoint anyone they want to serve as Principal Instructor. That was written into the school's founding charter, the Deed of Gift, from 1781. But dictates acceptable in the 18th and 19th century are problematic today. Since the school's transformation under Lewis Perry's inspired leadership, students are shaped with an egalitarian mindset built around discussion and deliberation. The Academy's "Harkness Experience" of learning around a round table is inimical to top-down hierarchies.

Unfortunately, not every Exeter alum seems to have gotten the same takeaway from this extraordinary education.

Within days of MacFarlane's resignation, Downer was on campus. I offer the following anonymous account without comment, save for the fact that I confirmed it was from a current faculty member who participated in the meeting described:

Tony Downer met with the faculty today.....the trustees are planning on appointing a 1 to 2 year interim from within. It will be someone at the school or someone who has been at the school who has administrative experience. A number of people voiced hope that the trustees would do a thorough search and perhaps consider an interim head who specializes in these types of situations. (There are many former heads who do this type of work.) No go. Tony...told us that they couldn't bring in an outsider because the faculty has a trust issue. Many of us tried to explain that the lack of trust has originated in the decisions made by the trustees that aren't transparent and appear to be out of touch with the needs of the school. He was pushed on the need to bring people from outside the Exeter family onto the board. He wouldn't acknowledge the comment. He ended the meeting by inviting us to write him.... 

On February 26, 2018, an e-mail went out to all employees on announcing an "Interim Principal Advisory Committee" detailing the process:

Grinding out the product.

The members of the committee will play a lead role in soliciting advice related to the interim search from the wider on-campus community and in conveying the key findings and observations to the Trustees. Once a set of candidates for the interim position is identified, the committee will invite additional feedback from the community before preparing a recommendation to the Trustees, who will make the final decision on the interim appointment....

The selection process begins immediately, with this invitation to submit your confidential views about the challenges the Academy will face in the coming year and who you think is best able to meet them. We particularly welcome your input on the following questions:

1. What are the qualities and experiences most important to seek for the role of Interim Principal?

2. What should be the highest priorities for the Interim Principal during her or his period of service?

3. Should the Trustees focus only on candidates internal to the community, or should they be open to considering external candidates?

4. Should the Interim Principal serve for one year or two years?

5. Whom would you recommend as a candidate for Interim Principal?

All members of the Academy community are encouraged to send confidential advice and nominations directly to the Trustees...

Now, the notice requested response by March 7 to "be most helpful to the search process." Unfortunately, I was late in the game. My inside source had sent it to me immediately after receiving it. But I didn't realise what it was until weeks later. Note, also, that alumni interest and input isn't mentioned. I am not aware of any solicitation that went out to the alumni body. But since it did say "all members of the Academy community," I thought to chime in.

On March 22nd, some two weeks after the suggested deadline, I sent an email to Claudine Gay, the "Interim Principal Advisory Committee" chair. Professor Gay, in addition to being an Academy Trustee, is a rising star at Harvard. She should have been an excellent choice for helming this task. 

My introductory communication was just that - I introduced myself:

Dear Professor Gay,

I'm afraid I just received this, forwarded from xxxx. I hope it isn't too late to provide input.
I'm wondering - this is the internal request for the on campus community. But what of the off-campus community? I didn't see such a solicitation directed towards alums. Did I miss that? I hope you're able to tap the enormous wealth of this network to find either the right candidate - or someone who can refer you to one.....

Toss in my bona fides.Yes, I know what I'm talking about. I can be helpful. 

...In any case, please let me know if my input can still be of some use. I would like to explain in some detail the power of having proper, professional interim leadership in ministry and how it can and should be applied here.

Let me know how we might connect. I am writing you from Cape Town, South Africa. But will be in Boston next week and in New England for some weeks after.

Non Sibi,

-CL

OK. I know. I left out the fact that I had violated the schoolboy code just months before when I talked to the Boston Globe's Spotlight team. It wasn't like I thought I could slip that past her. But she couldn't know that I had gone so far as giving a tour of the campus to one of their reporters. Still, was there no chance for my redemption through selfless service?

The cold shoulder is all the rage

The good professor responded in a pricelessly perfunctory fashion:

Dear Carl,

Thank you for your message and for sharing your views on the interim search. I will be sure that your input is represented in our deliberations.

Best,

Claudine

Now, I suppose I should just have accepted my second-class status. But - but - I guess I just have to blame my Harkness Experience. In other words, I don't know how to shut up. So I sent off another 400-or-so words "for sharing (my) views on the interim search." 

Here's a taste:

Please understand that the abuses recently exposed reveal systemic problems in administrative and Trustee accountability that remain unaddressed. These are exactly the things that only a professional interim - an outsider empowered to make fundamental change - can hope to address. Leaving this work undone by having some insider will likely leave the systemic problems in place. As I warned the President of the Trustees nearly 25 years ago, "Is it necessary for the institution to suffer another national scandal before it cleans house?"

I closed by reiterating my offer to meet when I arrived back in the USA - or to talk via phone.  

No reply.

When I landed 12 days later, on April 4th, I pinged her again. This time, a quick response!

Dear Carl,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your message. Thank you.

Claudine

Now, I can't blame Professor Gay for shutting me out (see the entire correspondence here). But it seems that I wasn't alone. The fact that there wasn't any outreach to alumni - such a wealth of contacts, if nothing else.   

Almost three weeks later, on April 23rd, Professor Gay's "advisory committee" had apparently completed its work. This yielded three candidates, none specialized in interim work. Only one had experience as a private secondary school head . Was there a dearth of qualified interim leadership?  

Out of curiosity, I called Carney Sandoe & Associates, located in Boston, a firm that specializes in "Faculty Recruitment, Leadership Search, and Strategic Consulting Services for Educational Organizations." Did they have anyone on tap that might be right? Absolutely.  

William K. Rawson, a former Trustee, got the gig on May 21. He'd also worked in the admissions office for two years before embarking on a career as an attorney at a prestigious law firm. Apparently, he wasn't without management skills according to the Academy's announcement about his hire. "In addition to co-founding and chairing the firm’s environmental department in Washington, he served on several firm management committees, including recruiting, finance, and associate career development and training."

Crossing the Rubicon in style, iacta alia est!

What else did we know of his professional career? Oddly, he was the only candidate that passed on having an interview with the student newspaper. His personal statement, too, focused on other matters - mostly his work with the school, which seemed appropriate for a career-changer.

I was guardedly optimistic, despite the hapless "Advisory Committee" process. He was, in fact, my pick of the three candidates. Also, the word was the faculty liked him, too. Best of all, a classmate who had served alongside him on the Trustees said he was one of the few who challenged orthodoxy. He asked tough questions. Maybe he'd have a natural knack for interim work! 

Still, I had some fundamental issues with his ability to do this work here. Even if he had a genius for it, he was too close to Exeter to have the requisite objectivity. Also, key to interim work is the willingness to let go after, at most, two years. Interims seldom can be considered for the permanent job because it would compromise their ability to carry out their special function. And when they go, they don't look back. Rawson was unlikely to sever all ties with the school after his term of service ended. Worse, there were unanswered questions about his time as Trustee. Was he a party to the problems, or the loyal opposition to mismanagement?  

Of course, this only takes us up to his becoming Interim Principal. How he was promoted - that's for another time. 

Next up: among other things, will take a moment to differentiate myself from The PATH Forward (Phillips Exeter Alumni for Truth and Healing). While we share many of the same goals and interests, there are fundamental differences. 

...Which reminds me of an anecdote from New York City in the 1980's. The Unitarian-Universalist church downtown had a sign out front where they would feature quotes that captured their independent, free-thinking spirit. One week, they posted H.L. Mencken's brilliant observation "Where all think alike, little is thought."  

As fate would have it, the first letter of the quote fell off, turning "where" to "here" - yielding a somewhat different meaning. This bit of destiny forced the congregation into a radical reflection on the sameness of independent, free-thinking types.

I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! 

                                                                                                                                  -Thoreau

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FINIS ORIGINE PENDET

A shadow over Phillips Exeter Academy

A string of recent events motivate me to launch this blog. I feel I've been holding onto some secrets about my alma mater, Phillips Exeter Academy. Time to make these public.

This isn't the first time I've done the unthinkable - broken the schoolboy's code of silence, sort of a white-shoe version of the Mafia's omertà. I first crossed the line almost three years ago, not long after the sex abuse scandal there first broke. What was so secret? I was a whistleblower when I returned to serve on the faculty in the early 1990's.

The sad reality is that most of the incidents recently revealed were known - or should have been known - decades earlier. Back-in-the-day, I made a lot of noise, making sure that everyone from the President of the Trustees on down had no plausible deniability.  Still, I kept it in-house.

I've certainly second-guessed myself on that decision. Those were different times. I remember trying to tell one of my classmates, someone I count as a lifelong friend, about what had happened. But the loyalty to the school is fierce. As I started to detail the events, she held out a hand.

"I cannot listen to any of this," she told me. Then, fast-forward 20+ years as the scandal unfolded. She asked "why didn't you tell me?"

***

More beautiful than California

This renewed need for public disclosure followed deliberation as to whether to attend my 40th Exeter reunion, now some two weeks past. Aside from the fact that I live in Cape Town, South Africa, I didn't want to possibly spoil the mood of the festivities. This unsettled business would be out-of-place to share with my classmates. If I went, I'd have to deal with the institution's current leadership - unpleasant pleasantries.

Still, I wanted to be present despite my absence. At first, I thought I might pen an opinion piece for the local newspaper, spinning out an idea I'd tossed around with an editor there.

I'd written two pieces for him earlier, the first soon after I'd first spoken out about past abuses publicly. That was published during the school's "leadership weekend" in 2016, the annual weekend gathering of the most committed alumni volunteers and parents. The resounding silence that followed was deafening. As one classmate had advised me when I told him my plans to attend the event, "dress warmly for the cold shoulder you'll receive."

Then, my follow-up came two years later, also timed for the "leadership weekend." This was weeks after the school released its long-awaited "independent investigation" into campus abuses. Where the Phillips Exeter report fell short was also greeted with a shattering silence. For a community that prides itself on spirited discussion, such a loss for words with a controversial topic is telling. As Cicero observes, "cum tacent, clamant."

The idea for this new piece was to put the world of the Academy in the context of larger cultural happenings. I had a working title:  Phillips Exeter: More MAGA or #MeToo? It was a provocative concept. Despite the progressive sensibilities that many in the Exeter community pride themselves on, traditional hierarchy and oppression still rule.

But as I prepared my draft, breaking news interupted my reunion timeline for publication. The alumni sexual assault survivor group, Phillips Exeter Alumni for Truth and Healing (PATH), was preparing to break off its relationship with the school. This was significant. It had been officially recognized by the school, and had been the locus of significant dialogue. But the relationship had soured after the release of the "independent investigation." They called for a do-over, with over 400 alumni signing on to the petition.

The school responded - albeit after dragging it out as long as possible. This five-month delay was fully in keeping with the "independent investigation" itself. While these typically take 10 months to complete, this ran nearly three times that!  For comparison, the Mueller Investigation was over in a total of 674 days - the Academy's, 861. What finally arrived as an answer to the petition was the last straw - I needed to hold back for their announcement of a breakdown in the relationship with the school. It came out last Wednesday.

Next, the utterly unexpected and unimaginable -

Over the past three years, the Academy's leadership has been consistent in one claim:  don't look back, look forward! However shoddy their treatment of alumni affected by past sexual assaults on campus, they were doing a sterling job with their current counterparts. If nothing else, we should all take solace in that.

Apparently, the students didn't get the memo.

They staged a campus protest about sexual assault response on the 9th. This engaged better than a quarter of the entire student population, with as many as 300 participating. Check the terrific reporting by The Exonian, the student newspaper, in this well-sourced 3,000-word story. See additional reporting here, which reveals a particularly troubling statistic. Apparently, the school's new post-scandal agreement with the local police has forced them to refer some 64 reports of campus troubles over the last 20 months. Do the math - that's about one a week while school has been in session.

Er, um...that's at Phillips Exeter Academy!!!

As good as the reporting is, nothing compares with the actual audio of the 2+ hours of exchanges between the school Principal and students. The protestors provided this audio selection that highlights their frustration with the school's leadership. For those who prefer the raw truth, you can find the complete, unedited recording of the encounter here.

Next up: an introduction to the new Academy Principal, Bill Rawson. How is it he happened to end up in that role following the departure of his two predecessors under a cloud of scandal? Finis Origine Pendet, indeed!

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