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| First shot across the bow |
"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....
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| Turning his back on academic credentials |
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.
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| 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....
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:
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| Grinding out the product. |
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,
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?
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| The cold shoulder is all the rage |
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!
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."
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| 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.
-Thoreau
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Tips? Suggestions? Comments? Drop a line to: contact (at) ExeterUnafraid (dot) com
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