Change is Good
I’ve been thinking a lot about change these last few weeks.  Part of that is because it’s the end of the year and the changes that are happening on campus. The seniors just left us, for better or for worse; campus is getting quiet as faculty head out for a much-deserved break; and summer programs is gearing up for the influx of campers and counselors—some of whom are our very own alumni.  It will be good to have a few of you back on campus—at least for a couple of months.  

But on a more personal level, I have many changes on the horizon. As of July 1, I’m moving from the Alumni & Development Office to the Admission Office.  While I will miss working with you all, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to help find our future alumni.  Along with the new position, I’ll become a full-fledged faculty member—YIKES! I’ll have advisees, dorm duty, coaching requirements, and… to top it off, I’m moving into Tippetts (even though I’ll always be a front-campus girl at heart). I think the toughest part of this transition will be having kids call me "Ms. Flanagan"…

Some other noteworthy changes happening at the ’Burg that you must come back to see include the re-landscaping of the front quad, class anniversary reunions that are moving to June (beginning in 2009), and the whole new crop of fac-brats that have arrived (or will soon).  Leah Rockwell’s little girl will be one in August, Jo Wrzesinsky just had a baby girl, and Amy Dickerson Mohr is due this September with a girl—just to name a few.  Some grander changes will be happening in the next couple of years; updates to the athletic center (new pool and fieldhouse), Ford Hall renovations, and an alumni hall—more on all of that to come.  

Thanks for a great year, and it’s been a pleasure to work with some of the finest people I know—Mercersburg alumni.

Jenn Flanagan ’99


New Faculty Appointments

Thomas Adams, assistant head of school for enrollment
Adams comes to Mercersburg from The Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut, where he had been director of admission since 2000 and was associate director of admission starting in 1996. Prior to The Gunnery, he was both a teacher and director of admission at The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, preceded by four years of teaching at Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York.

He succeeds Christopher Tompkins, who after eight years at Mercersburg accepted the position of headmaster at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.

Rick Hendrickson, director of athletics
Hendrickson will begin his 16th year at Mercersburg with a new role. Having served as director of summer and extended programs, as a teacher of English, and a 15-year stint as head wrestling coach, Hendrickson now assumes leadership of the Academy’s athletic department. He succeeds Ron Simar, who moves into a newly created administrative position at the Academy following 20 years in charge of athletics.

Hendrickson is one of the most successful coaches in recent Mercersburg history. He holds school marks in dual-meet coaching victories and winning percentage, coached 12 Pennsylvania state individual prep champions and 28 Prep All-Americans, and led the Blue Storm to six conference championships.

Quentin McDowell, director of summer and extended programs
McDowell, who will also take over the men’s soccer program, came to Mercersburg in 2007 to teach history. His boarding school career began as a postgraduate student at Holderness School in New Hampshire.

The captain of the men’s soccer team at Muhlenberg College, McDowell graduated a semester early and joined the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as education program coordinator and technical coordinator. He developed coaching curriculum, handled event planning, and taught coaching courses.

Wallace Whitworth, director of strategic marketing and communications
Whitworth comes to Mercersburg most recently from Georgetown University, where for four years he was executive director of marketing, communications, and constituent development in the medical center wing of the university’s Office of Advancement. Whitworth has focused the better part of his career on building marketing and fundraising programs for some of the most prestigious institutions in the country.

For 10 years at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., he served as assistant director of development for annual giving programs, where he managed a combined donor base of 30,000 that generated $5 million annually. At Lincoln Center in New York City, he was director of marketing for six years with New York City Opera, where he was in charge of all advertising and sales for a 20-week season of 19 productions in repertory each year.

Ringing in a New Bell

On May 2, following a school meeting in the Irvine Memorial Chapel, the Mercersburg community marveled as a new bell was hoisted 100 feet and lifted into the chapel’s Swoope Carillon.

The two-ton, 139-pound bell rings a C-sharp and is the third largest of the carillon’s 50 bells. The new bell was cast in England more than a year ago by Gilbert and Johnston of Croydon, England, the same company that cast the original carillon bells.

The new bell is named for and dedicated to Academy carillonneur James W. Smith, who has served the school in this capacity for 27 years. Smith came to Mercersburg as organist and choirmaster in 1965 and was later named head of the fine arts department. After the Academy became co-ed in the late 1960s, he formed the Mercersburg Chorale and the Women’s Ensemble.

Smith was appointed carillonneur at Mercersburg in 1981 following the retirement of Bryan Barker, who served 53 years at the Academy. Smith retired from teaching in 2001, and was honored with the Alumni Council Award for service and accomplishment at the Academy.

The original carillon was installed in 1926, a gift of the family of Henry Butcher Swoope, class of 1900. The largest bell in the carillon, named "Roland" for a member of Swoope’s family, has 223 pieces of copper molded into it. All of these pieces were of historic or sentimental value and were gathered from a wide variety of sources and locales.  The most famous is a shaving of the Liberty Bell from its attempted repair in 1842; also included were copper shells from battlefields and pieces from ships, and coins from a wide variety of sources.

An Historic Spring

It was an historic spring for Mercersburg’s track & field teams.

James Finucane ’08 (1600m and 3200m) and Fleet White ’08 (400m hurdles) set school records in their respective events; Finucane’s record-setting 1600m performance came at the prestigious Penn Relays. Finucane, White, and David Strider ’08 (high jump) won their events at the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championships.

On the women’s side, Lena Finucane ’09 swept the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m events, and was joined as an individual MAPL champion by Paige Summers ’11 (discus) and the 4x800m relay team of Hannah Miller ’10, Joy Mullins ’10, Soso Buggisch ’10, and Annie Spencer ’08. And five athletes—Finucane (3200m), Sarah Kolanowski ’10 (400m hurdles and 100m hurdles), Spencer (pole vault), Emily Weiss ’08 (400m hurdles), and Summers (javelin) posted times that rank in the top-ten all time among Mercersburg performances.

Events Around the Country

Chicago, Illinois
Thursday, June, 26 2008 6-9p.m
Alumni volunteers Andrew Shirk ’00, Jonathan Palmer ’99,  Emily Peterson ’97 are hosting a happy hour gathering at the Landmark Grill and Lounge, 1633 N. Halstead Street, Chicago.  We’ll provide appetizers and fun Mercersburg giveaways.
*RSVP by June 24 to Jessica Glass at 717-328-6140.

Portsmouth, Virginia
Saturday, July 5 2008, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Nita and Kevin Joseph, parents of Kevin Joseph ’11, will host  Mercersburg alumni, family, and friends for a gathering in historic Portsmouth, Virginia, followed by a virtual walking tour with Colonel Crawford of Olde Towne Theatricals. We'll provide appetizers, entertainment, and fun Mercersburg giveaways—you provide the company!
*RSVP by June 25 to De-Enda Rotz at  717-328-6178.

Denver, Colorado
August 8-10, 2008
Events include a Friday happy hour gathering, a Saturday tour of the Coors brewery and barbeque dinner, and a Sunday morning hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.
For more information, please contact Jessica Glass at 717-328-6140. Special weekend rates are available at the
Residence Inn Denver City Center.