WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Our mission, as 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:06.080 always, is to take really complex, dense information 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.039 and distill it into knowledge that actually sticks 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:12.000 with you. And today, we are taking a journey 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.919 through... Well, through the history, the finances 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:19.160 and the culture of an institution that is, you 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.059 could argue, the blueprint for elite American 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:24.399 education. We are talking about Phillips Academy, 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:26.640 but of course, everyone knows it as Andover. 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:28.480 Right. And it's so easy to think of these places 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.760 as, you know, modern creations of wealth. But 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.060 Andover's history is, it's truly foundational. 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:36.340 When you look at the source material, the dates 00:00:36.340 --> 00:00:38.520 just jump right out. They really do. It was founded 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:42.759 in 1778. 1778. It's the oldest incorporated academy 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:44.960 in the entire United States. They started educating 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:48.020 students during the most volatile and uncertain 00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:50.380 phase of the American Revolution. And that deep, 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:52.820 deep history is matched by its output, which 00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:54.719 is just astonishing. We're talking about a school 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.880 whose alumni list includes two U .S. presidents. 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:00.899 George H .W. Bush and George W. Bush. And five 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:02.979 Nobel laureates. That number of Nobel winners, 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:05.379 you know, it ties it with only three other high 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:07.579 schoolers in the entire world. That track record 00:01:07.579 --> 00:01:09.400 alone tells you this isn't just a prep school. 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:13.000 It's a centuries -old engine of influence. So 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:15.640 our source material for this deep dive is a genuinely 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.780 comprehensive stack. It covers everything from 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.680 the original intent of its founders to its staggering 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.040 financial mechanisms today. And its academic 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:26.700 philosophy and some of the more recent cultural 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:28.920 reckonings it's had to face. It's all in there. 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:31.000 So let's frame our central question for this 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.980 deep dive. We really have to understand how a 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:37.099 school established in the late 18th century with 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:40.799 this very narrow, very specific goal. To prepare 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:43.280 young Calvinist students for the ministry. That 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:45.819 was it. Exactly. How does that school possibly 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:48.579 evolve into what it is today? One of the world's 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:51.180 highest ranked nonsectarian, and this is crucial, 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:54.599 need -blind college preparatory schools, backed 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:58.680 by an enormous $1 .41 billion endowment. That 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:00.400 transformation is the whole story. It requires 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.719 a deep dive into centuries of decisions. And 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.760 the school's own identity really acknowledges 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:07.879 that link between the past and the present through 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:10.180 its mottos, right? Absolutely. The main mottos 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:12.599 are in Latin. The first and maybe the most famous 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:17.020 one is non -civi. Which means not for self. It's 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:20.580 this ideal of selfless service, which is particularly 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:22.939 potent for an elite institution that's designed 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:25.699 to train leaders. Decisely. And the second one, 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:27.560 which is just a perfect anchor for analyzing 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:31.419 almost 250 years of history, is Phoenix Origine 00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:33.840 Pendant. The end depends upon the beginning. 00:02:34.270 --> 00:02:36.370 Exactly. So we are going to spend this entire 00:02:36.370 --> 00:02:39.270 dive tracing that lineage of Andover and really 00:02:39.270 --> 00:02:41.889 examining how well it has managed to uphold that 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.569 selfless ideal of non -Sibby while navigating 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.569 these massive shifts in, well, in theology and 00:02:47.569 --> 00:02:50.210 wealth and in educational philosophy. All right. 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:52.789 Let's unpack that beginning then. So let's start 00:02:52.789 --> 00:02:55.509 at the beginning. We're talking 1778. Right in 00:02:55.509 --> 00:02:57.750 the middle of the revolution. And the founder, 00:02:57.889 --> 00:03:00.509 Samuel Phillips Jr., he wasn't just some educator. 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:03.550 He was a local businessman from a really influential... 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:05.939 New England family. And his vision for the school, 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:07.780 it wasn't broad at all, was it? It was laser 00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:10.419 focused. Incredibly focused. The whole point 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:13.819 was to create a school to educate Calvinist students, 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:16.639 specifically for the ministry. That was the mission, 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.780 an explicitly theological one. And you can't 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:21.960 overstate the context of the founding of the 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:24.620 American Revolution itself. Our sources really 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:26.879 highlight that New England's traditional educational 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.800 system was... Well, it was in complete disarray. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.159 Oh, totally. The war had created this huge educational 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:37.219 vacuum. I mean, think about it. The Boston Latin 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:39.500 School, which was the big name, actually had 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:42.319 to shut down. Why was that? Its headmaster was 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:44.759 a loyalist. So when the British evacuated Boston 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:49.840 in 1776, he fled north to Canada. Just packed 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.000 up and left. So Phillips Academy was founded 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.379 in part to step into that void. Exactly. It wasn't 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:56.539 just filling a need. It was establishing a new 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.340 patriot -aligned educational stronghold. And 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:01.659 the founders themselves, Samuel Phillips Jr., 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:03.580 the first head of school, Elipha Pearson, they 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:05.919 were actively involved in the war effort. I mean 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.240 actively involved. They were literally manufacturing 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.639 gunpowder for the Continental Army right there 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:12.960 in town. So these were not just academics sitting 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:15.500 in an ivory tower. They were revolutionaries 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:18.100 with a plan for the future leadership of the 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.930 country. And they saw the revolution not just 00:04:20.930 --> 00:04:24.350 as a military conflict, but as, well, an opportunity 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:27.769 to get resources for their new school. What do 00:04:27.769 --> 00:04:29.769 you mean by that? The source material notes that 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:31.730 they actually tried to stock Andover's first 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:34.990 library with books that had been confiscated 00:04:34.990 --> 00:04:37.170 from the homes of wealthy, loyalist families 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:39.569 who had fled the area. Wow. So they're building 00:04:39.569 --> 00:04:42.350 their library with the spoils of war, essentially. 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:44.899 It speaks volumes, doesn't it? It shows just 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:47.740 how immediate and strong the political ties were 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:50.139 between the Academy and the new American establishment. 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:53.420 And that patriot connection gets even more deeply 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:55.439 cemented when you look at who they hosted. Right. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:58.180 George Washington himself, while he was president, 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:01.139 made a personal stop at the Academy in 1789. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:04.360 That is a massive early sign of institutional 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:06.759 approval from the highest office in the land. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:09.120 And Washington's visit wasn't just a one -off 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.199 photo op. The connection was sustained. Eight 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.920 of Washington's own relative nephews and grandnephews 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:19.139 attended Andover in the years right after his 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:22.319 presidency. So from its very first decade, Phillips 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.839 Academy was directly linked to the political 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:26.959 and social elite who were going to guide the 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.939 new republic. And when it came time to define 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:32.100 the school's visual identity, its seal, they 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:34.519 went back to another key revolutionary figure. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.279 Paul Revere. Such a great detail. He didn't just 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.360 ride. He was a designer. He designed a very complex, 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:43.160 very symbolic seal. It had all these key visual 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.439 motifs. There was a beehive. Symbolizing industry, 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:47.839 community, everyone working together. Exactly. 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.079 There were crops for plenty and prosperity. The 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.980 sun for enlightenment and knowledge. And surrounding 00:05:53.980 --> 00:05:56.360 all of this were those two Latin mottos we started 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.139 with. Non -sibi, not for self. And finis origin 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:02.420 pendet, the end depends upon the beginning. Powerful 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:05.399 mottos. But the Academy's original constitution 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:08.819 also had two other really important aspirational 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:11.139 phrases that speak to their goals. Which were? 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:14.160 Youth from every quarter and knowledge and goodness. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:17.100 So youth from every quarter. That sounds like 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:19.860 an early commitment to diversity, right? Geographic 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:21.970 diversity, at least. That was the intention, 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.290 absolutely, drawing students from all over, not 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:28.470 just the local town. But the other part, knowledge 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:31.629 and goodness, reminds us of that underlying Calvinist 00:06:31.629 --> 00:06:35.209 purpose. The education was strictly for fostering 00:06:35.209 --> 00:06:38.009 virtue and preparing students, at least initially, 00:06:38.269 --> 00:06:41.329 for religious or public service. And that vision 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:44.009 of expanding access to education, even though 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:46.110 it was just for boys at first, it sort of paved 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.600 the way for its sister institution. It did. In 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.579 1828, Abbott Academy was established right on 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:53.800 a neighboring campus, and it became one of the 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:56.300 first secondary schools for girls in all of New 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:58.699 England. It's important to see Abbott Academy 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:01.449 as this parallel. equally pioneering effort. 00:07:01.589 --> 00:07:04.029 For sure. But, you know, the administrations 00:07:04.029 --> 00:07:06.310 of Phillips and Abbott were very careful to regulate 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:08.430 and limit contact between the male and female 00:07:08.430 --> 00:07:10.430 students, despite being right next to each other. 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:13.069 They kept a strict social distance that really 00:07:13.069 --> 00:07:15.350 reflected the morals of the time. Which, of course, 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:17.730 eventually changed, leading to that landmark 00:07:17.730 --> 00:07:21.410 1973 merger. And the start of coeducation at 00:07:21.410 --> 00:07:24.050 Phillips Academy. But as the academy flourished 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:27.009 early on, it was still deeply anchored by this 00:07:27.009 --> 00:07:28.889 Orthodox theology. You could really see that 00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:30.829 with the Andover Theological Seminary. Right. 00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:32.750 It shared the campus with Phillips Academy for 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:36.189 almost 100 years. From 1808 all the way to 1907. 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:39.889 And the founding of that seminary is just a fascinating 00:07:39.889 --> 00:07:43.990 snapshot of early 19th century religious politics. 00:07:44.389 --> 00:07:46.649 What happened? Well, it was founded by Orthodox 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:49.730 Calvinists who had become really alienated by 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:52.149 the theological drift they saw happening at Harvard 00:07:52.149 --> 00:07:54.870 University. A more liberal direction. Exactly. 00:07:54.930 --> 00:07:57.730 When Harvard appointed a liberal Unitarian professor 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:00.870 of theology, these traditionalists basically 00:08:00.870 --> 00:08:03.850 picked up and moved to Andover to create a sanctuary 00:08:03.850 --> 00:08:06.720 for strict doctrine. So it was a conscious deliberate 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:09.540 rejection of Unitarianism. And the Phillips family, 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.000 I assume, was on board with this. They provided 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:14.519 significant financial backing to the seminary. 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:17.399 The two institutions were even governed by overlapping 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:20.480 boards for a while. This strong, traditional, 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:22.600 and really well -funded Calvinist foundation 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:26.240 is what defined Andover's early identity. And 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.980 crucially, it set the stage for the rivalry that 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.100 would become its most famous cultural marker. 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:35.139 That theological split is the perfect bridge 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:38.159 into the next phase, isn't it? Defining the rivalry 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.799 and the academy's path to becoming this modern... 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.100 powerhouse. We have to talk about Andover versus 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:45.879 Exeter. This is, I mean, truly America's oldest 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.539 high school rivalry. But the origin is even more 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:50.820 specific than most people realize. It's personal. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:53.840 It's a family feud. Samuel Phillips Jr. founded 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:57.480 Phillips Academy in 1778. Just three years later 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:01.240 in 1781, his uncle, John Phillips, founded Phillips 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:03.559 Exeter Academy just down the road in New Hampshire. 00:09:04.110 --> 00:09:06.110 So the entire educational dynasty was established 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:08.389 by two family members with these parallel but 00:09:08.389 --> 00:09:11.190 competing visions. Exactly. And as you mentioned, 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:13.490 that early rivalry, it wasn't really about athletics. 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:15.750 It was all about theological positioning. Right. 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:18.409 Because Andover was so fiercely committed to 00:09:18.409 --> 00:09:20.789 Calvinist orthodoxy, to the point of hosting 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:22.889 the seminary that literally fled from Harvard, 00:09:23.090 --> 00:09:26.350 it became the main prep school funneling graduates 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:29.029 to Yale. Which was seen as the more Calvinist 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:31.289 -friendly university at the time. And Exeter. 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:33.649 Well, Exeter, being founded by John Phillips, 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:35.950 was considered a little less overtly religious. 00:09:35.990 --> 00:09:39.330 It was more welcoming to Unitarians. So as a 00:09:39.330 --> 00:09:41.649 result, Exeter became the dominant feeder school 00:09:41.649 --> 00:09:44.409 for Harvard. That's just astonishing, a centuries 00:09:44.409 --> 00:09:47.230 -old rivalry that's actually rooted in an 18th 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.309 century theological schism over Unitarianism 00:09:50.309 --> 00:09:53.490 versus Calvinism. It makes the modern -day football 00:09:53.490 --> 00:09:55.769 game feel like a much higher -stakes historical 00:09:55.769 --> 00:09:58.269 conflict. Well, the rivalry endures, of course. 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:00.490 The football game is one of the nation's oldest, 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:03.350 played annually since 1878, though they started 00:10:03.350 --> 00:10:05.149 playing sports against each other way back in 00:10:05.149 --> 00:10:08.029 1861. But institutionally, the religious heart 00:10:08.029 --> 00:10:10.570 of that rivalry has completely faded. Completely. 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:13.039 Even though the Phillips Academy Constitution 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:15.840 originally required all teachers and trustees 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.960 to be Protestant, a real commitment to that initial 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.179 Calvinist mission, our sources confirm that both 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:25.139 schools are now entirely nonsectarian. So we 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:27.440 see this transition from a religious mandate 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:30.600 to a secular idea of excellence. But Andover 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.279 actually went through a bit of a slump after 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:35.539 the Civil War. It took three visionary headmasters 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:38.320 to really revive and transform it. Cecil Bancroft, 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:41.639 Alfred Stearns, and Claude Fuse in the late 19th 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:43.960 and early 20th centuries. Bancroft's tenure was 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:45.700 really critical for the academics, right? It 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.440 was. He dramatically improved Andover's academic 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:51.279 reputation by reforming the curriculum. He made 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.960 sure the courses met and even exceeded the increasingly 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.620 tough expectations of major university presidents. 00:10:57.059 --> 00:10:58.919 And he looked abroad for inspiration. He did. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:01.740 He proactively studied the best practices of 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:03.490 elite English public... schools, you know, places 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:06.210 like Eton, and he imported and adapted successful 00:11:06.210 --> 00:11:09.330 educational models from Europe. This era also 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:11.649 established this really intense focus on college 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:14.769 placement and academic rigor. The sources describe 00:11:14.769 --> 00:11:18.029 a sink or swim policy. Oh, yeah. Underperforming 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:21.070 or undisciplined students were, frankly, expelled. 00:11:21.610 --> 00:11:23.990 And the placement statistics from that time, 00:11:24.029 --> 00:11:26.629 they really confirm the results of this pressure. 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:29.240 Let's look at the data from the 1930s. Okay, 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:32.960 so in 1931, 64 % of Andover graduates were placed 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:37.159 at Yale, Harvard, or Princeton. 64%. And by 1937, 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:40.059 that astonishing concentration of success had 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:44.080 jumped to 74%. Wow, so that's what cemented Andover's 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:46.700 identity, not just as a religious academy, but 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.120 as the premier engine for producing Ivy League 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.559 students. But to maintain that status, especially 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:53.799 with rising competitors, the physical campus 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:56.139 needed to be modernized. The school needed money. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.519 And this is where we meet the pivotal figure 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:01.879 of Thomas Cochran, class of 1890. Cochran, a 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:04.419 powerful banker, a partner at J .P. Morgan. And 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:07.259 he had this singular, incredibly ambitious vision. 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:09.700 He wanted to make Phillips Academy the most beautiful 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:11.600 school in America. He didn't have any children, 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:14.259 and he decided to dedicate his immense philanthropic 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:16.879 resources to Andover. And the financial scale 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.039 of his gift is staggering, especially when you 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:21.139 think about the time period. He donated roughly 00:12:21.139 --> 00:12:24.629 $10 million to the school. That money funded 00:12:24.629 --> 00:12:27.330 a huge campus expansion, including the library, 00:12:27.710 --> 00:12:30.309 the dining hall, the world -class art gallery. 00:12:30.529 --> 00:12:32.990 And when you adjust that $10 million for inflation... 00:12:32.990 --> 00:12:35.750 It's equivalent to about $181 million today. 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:38.490 But here's the most fascinating detail about 00:12:38.490 --> 00:12:41.070 Cochran's commitment. And this really speaks 00:12:41.070 --> 00:12:44.139 to that non -SIBI ideal. It's the definition 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:47.139 of it. When he died, his entire estate was probated 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:49.940 at only $3 million. Wait, so he gave the school 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.580 more than three times the value of his own final 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:56.039 net worth? Yes. This level of disproportionate 00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:59.139 transformative giving just immediately professionalized 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:01.139 the fundraising game for elite high schools. 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:04.039 It fundamentally changed Andover's ability to 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:06.539 compete on the world stage. It moved it from 00:13:06.539 --> 00:13:09.279 a regional academy to an architectural and financial 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.500 giant. It sets a precedent that philanthropy 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:14.080 doesn't just fund buildings. It funds an entire 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.519 institutional leap forward. Beyond what the donor 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.519 could even personally hold on to. And while the 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:20.700 campus was being rebuilt with this huge infusion 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:24.440 of cash, the school also took its first tentative 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.419 and often conflicted steps toward diversity. 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:29.220 Phillips Academy does have a history of some 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:31.980 remarkable firsts, even if they were slow to 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:34.360 really take hold. It was one of the first New 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.620 England boarding schools to admit black students, 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:40.100 starting as early as the 1850s. And in the 1870s, 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:42.019 it educated stewards who participated in the 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:44.960 Chinese educational mission of 1872. Including 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.259 Liang Cheng, who later served as the Chinese 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:50.960 ambassador to the U .S. And yet, this early progress 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.059 stalled, which highlights a real contradiction, 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:55.789 doesn't it? It does. The sources reveal that 00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.509 under Bancroft's successors, black representation 00:13:58.509 --> 00:14:02.070 actually declined drastically. Between 1911 and 00:14:02.070 --> 00:14:05.210 1934, only four African -Americans attended the 00:14:05.210 --> 00:14:07.830 academy. Just four. And other institutional biases 00:14:07.830 --> 00:14:10.929 persisted well into the 1940s when the administration 00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:13.350 actively capped Jewish enrollment at roughly 00:14:13.350 --> 00:14:15.649 5 % of the student body. So this is a crucial 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:18.470 paradox to understand. The school had the ideal 00:14:18.470 --> 00:14:21.029 of youth from every quarter literally written 00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:23.330 into its constitution. But the cultural reality 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:25.830 of maintaining an elite, predominantly white 00:14:25.830 --> 00:14:28.049 Protestant identity in the early 20th century 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.230 led to explicit limitations on access for non 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:34.090 -Protestant and non -white students. This conflicted 00:14:34.090 --> 00:14:37.009 era finally started to shift pretty dramatically 00:14:37.009 --> 00:14:39.289 in the post -war period under head of school 00:14:39.289 --> 00:14:42.879 John Kemper. Right. He actively led a process 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.759 of democratization. He really tried to dismantle 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:48.019 some of the structures that reinforced social 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:50.559 exclusion. He was responsible for abolishing 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:53.100 the school's secret societies in 1949. He was. 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:56.279 He recognized them as sources of elitism and 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:58.820 exclusion, though our sources do note that at 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:02.039 least one society still operates today. And more 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.259 significantly, he ended mandatory attendance 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:07.360 at religious services in the early 1970s. Which 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:09.820 really signified the definitive move away from 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:11.980 the founder's core Calvinist mandate. And that 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:14.620 drive toward democratization, it all culminated 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:17.600 in 1973 with the merger of Phillips Academy and 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:20.940 Avid Academy. After nearly 150 years of regulated 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:24.500 contact, the two institutions became one co -educational 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:27.299 powerhouse that really cemented its modern identity. 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.100 And this institutional maturation also led to 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:32.240 greater coordination within that whole secondary 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.289 education world. It did. Andover helped establish 00:15:35.289 --> 00:15:38.409 the 10 Schools Admission Organization in 1952, 00:15:38.570 --> 00:15:40.830 which was designed to standardize the application 00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:43.809 process for the top prep schools. And later, 00:15:43.990 --> 00:15:46.250 it became a founding member of the Eight Schools 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:49.350 Association, formalized in 2006. Positioning 00:15:49.350 --> 00:15:52.529 it globally at the absolute apex of pre -collegiate 00:15:52.529 --> 00:15:56.470 education. Okay, that moves us right into the 00:15:56.470 --> 00:15:58.710 contemporary reality of Phillips Academy Section 00:15:58.710 --> 00:16:00.750 3, where we're going to look at the raw data, 00:16:00.909 --> 00:16:03.990 extreme selectivity, massive wealth, and the 00:16:03.990 --> 00:16:06.149 demographic profile of the student body today. 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:08.580 And we have to start with selectivity, but size 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:11.820 is a really key factor here. Andover is intensely 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:14.039 selective. The acceptance rate usually hovers 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.480 around 13 percent. But what's unique is how large 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.320 it is. Right. It's not a tiny boutique school. 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:20.639 Not at all. Our sources cite this fascinating 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.200 statistic from 2016. Phillips Academy was actually 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.519 larger in student population than the other three 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.870 most selective boarding schools combined. Wow. 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:30.789 So it manages to maintain extreme exclusivity 00:16:30.789 --> 00:16:33.129 despite its scale. Exactly. And we saw during 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:35.110 the pandemic that the selectivity just intensified 00:16:35.110 --> 00:16:37.590 even more. The acceptance rate dropped to a mere 00:16:37.590 --> 00:16:41.330 9 % in 2022. Suggesting that in times of uncertainty, 00:16:41.570 --> 00:16:44.309 these elite boarding schools become even more 00:16:44.309 --> 00:16:46.570 desirable commodities for parents. For sure. 00:16:46.830 --> 00:16:49.250 Now, let's talk about the financial profile, 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:51.710 because the scale of the wealth is just critical 00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:54.009 to understanding the school strategy. Okay, lay 00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:57.080 it on us. As of September 2024, The endowment 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:02.639 was reported at $1 .41 billion. $1 .41 billion 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.160 for a high school. It's an absolutely monumental 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.759 figure. It provides a level of financial stability 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.599 and operational freedom that few colleges, let 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:13.880 alone other high schools, can even dream of. 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:16.180 And to make sure that endowment keeps pace with 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:18.720 their goals, they recently ran a huge capital 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:21.380 campaign. A very successful one. Between 2017 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:25.079 and 2023, the campaign raised $408 .9 million. 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:27.539 But what's crucial here, and this ties back to 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:30.160 that non -CBI deal, is where that money was earmarked. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.200 increasing the financial aid endowment. And another 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:38.839 121 million was targeted for modernizing key 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:41.640 campus facilities. That financial cushion allows 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:45.099 them to pursue this ideal of access. But we have 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:47.599 to acknowledge the immediate sticker shock. The 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:50.579 cost of admission is enormous. It is. For the 00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:54.099 2024 -25 school year, boarding tuition is $73 00:17:54.099 --> 00:18:00.480 ,780. Day students pay $57 ,190. And the rate 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:02.920 of tuition growth over the years has been relentless. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.759 Let's look at the numbers. In the 2001 -02 school 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:09.980 year, boarding tuition was $26 ,900. Okay. Just 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:12.740 10 years later, 2011 -12, it had jumped to $42 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:16.680 ,350. And now, just over a decade later, it's 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:20.799 at $73 ,780. That is almost a threefold increase 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.319 in costs in just over two decades. Which makes 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:25.720 the school's financial aid policy a genuine necessity 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:27.759 if they're going to fulfill that youth from every 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.220 quarter ideal. Right. So since 2007, Andover 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:32.799 has used a need -blind admissions policy. Meaning 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.160 a student's ability to pay is completely excluded 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.140 from the admission decision. And beyond being 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:39.599 need -blind, they guarantee they will meet 100 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.779 % of the demonstrated financial need for every 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:43.839 single student they admit. And the data supports 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:46.539 this commitment. 47 % of the current students 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:49.200 receive some form of financial aid. and 12 % 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.559 are on a full comprehensive scholarship. And 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:53.619 they actively try to diversify the application 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:57.299 pool with programs like ILEA. Right. The ILEA 00:18:57.299 --> 00:18:59.880 program provides funding for prospective financial 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:02.460 aid applicants and their guardians, especially 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:05.059 from historically underrepresented backgrounds, 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:07.519 to visit the campus during the admissions process. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.220 It removes that first financial hurdle of just 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:12.779 traveling to Massachusetts for a tour. So we 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:14.539 have a school where nearly half its students 00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:17.019 get aid, but it also has one of the highest tuitions 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:21.160 in the country. It begs the question, how integrated 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.339 is the student body really? Let's look at the 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:26.759 demographics, starting with race and ethnicity. 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:29.819 The Academy reports that 59 % of students identify 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:32.279 as people of color, which makes the student body 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.400 significantly more racially diverse than the 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:36.859 state of Massachusetts as a whole. But our sources 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:39.220 provide this fascinating comparison of how those 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.380 numbers change depending on how the data is collected. 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:45.200 They do. When you look at the 2021 -22 NCES data, 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.440 the federal data, which requires a single racial 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:50.859 identification, the numbers were 36 .5 % white. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:56.500 33 .0 % Asian, 10 .2 % Black, and 10 .5 % Hispanic. 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.759 Okay, so that's one picture. But if you compare 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:01.099 that to a student newspaper survey from March 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:04.180 2023, which allows students to identify with 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.900 multiple categories, the picture shifts. In that 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:10.859 survey, 50 .2 % identified as white and 42 .9 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:13.319 % identified as Asian. So the student's ability 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.279 to select multiple identities really complicates 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:18.230 that standard federal reporting. It suggests 00:20:18.230 --> 00:20:20.769 a highly nuanced and multiethnic student population. 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:23.970 The survey also showed a slight increase in black 00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:27.690 students, up to 13 .4%. And the school has a 00:20:27.690 --> 00:20:30.829 huge global reach, too. About 15 % of the student 00:20:30.829 --> 00:20:33.470 body are international students, totaling 184 00:20:33.470 --> 00:20:36.630 as of March 2024. And it's interesting to note 00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:38.930 that 55 of those are actually U .S. citizens 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:41.630 who live abroad, showing the school's draw even 00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:43.930 among expatriate American families. We also have 00:20:43.930 --> 00:20:45.789 to consider the continuing power of tradition 00:20:45.789 --> 00:20:47.910 and legacy in this kind of... highly selective 00:20:47.910 --> 00:20:50.329 environment. Oh, absolutely. The sources indicate 00:20:50.329 --> 00:20:52.549 that about one in every eight students, so 12 00:20:52.549 --> 00:20:55.809 .9%, has a parent who is an alumnus. They have 00:20:55.809 --> 00:20:58.349 deep family ties to the institution. And even 00:20:58.349 --> 00:21:01.190 more, at least one in five students has a sibling 00:21:01.190 --> 00:21:03.849 who attended Phillips Academy. So that legacy 00:21:03.849 --> 00:21:06.849 factor reinforces that while access is theoretically 00:21:06.849 --> 00:21:10.130 wide, tradition maintains a really strong gravitational 00:21:10.130 --> 00:21:13.150 pull. Now let's combine that financial data with 00:21:13.150 --> 00:21:16.319 the admissions reality. Despite this robust financial 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.980 aid program aimed at broadening socioeconomic 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:22.720 access, the student survey from March 2023 painted 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.759 a very clear picture of affluence. What did it 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:29.279 find? Nearly half of the student body, 46 .8%, 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:31.220 reported coming from family household incomes 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:35.079 over $250 ,000 a year. Over a quarter million 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:38.160 a year. And on the other end. Conversely, only 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.079 11 .3 % of students reported coming from family 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:44.339 incomes under $100 ,000 per year. So while the 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:46.420 school effectively meets the need for those lower 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:48.799 -income students, the high concentration of wealth 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.759 at the upper end means the community is still 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:52.839 predominantly made up of students from the highest 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:55.559 socioeconomic strata. And that creates a real 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:57.880 tension, doesn't it? The policy achieves access 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.559 for a few, but the culture and the norms are 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:02.500 defined by the majority of students who come 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:05.529 from extreme privilege. Absolutely. And finally, 00:22:05.650 --> 00:22:07.869 the political snapshot of the campus shows just 00:22:07.869 --> 00:22:10.509 how far the institution has moved from its conservative 00:22:10.509 --> 00:22:14.750 Calvinist origins. The 2023 student survey indicated 00:22:14.750 --> 00:22:18.849 a decidedly liberal tilt. 38 .8 % identified 00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:21.410 as liberal. But what's particularly striking 00:22:21.410 --> 00:22:23.769 in that data is the high percentage of students 00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:25.950 identifying outside the traditional political 00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:29.569 mainstream. Right. We saw 8 .0 % who identified 00:22:29.569 --> 00:22:32.549 as communist or socialist, which is a surprisingly 00:22:32.549 --> 00:22:34.759 high number. for a prep school survey. And that 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.339 group is nearly equal in size to the percentage 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:39.819 who identified as conservative, which was only 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.619 8 .6%. So that political distribution suggests 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:45.000 a campus environment that not only tolerates 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:47.940 but actively encourages critical and highly progressive 00:22:47.940 --> 00:22:50.400 political dialogue. And the religious data confirms 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:53.380 the secularization. Over 40 % of the student 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:55.740 body identified as either agnostic or atheist. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.119 Compared to only 22 .5 % identifying as Christian 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.339 and 16 .9 % as Catholic. The theological anchor 00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:05.700 that defined the school's beginning has clearly 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:08.480 been removed, replaced by a much more secular 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.759 and skeptical student body. We've established 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:13.940 the historical foundations and the modern profile. 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:18.359 Now we shift gears to Section 4, the academic 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:21.420 rigor and the sheer scale and design of the campus 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:23.619 that houses it all. Let's look at the structure 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:26.059 of learning. So Phillips Academy uses a trimester 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:28.740 program. The academic year is divided into three 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:31.380 distinct terms, each lasting about 10 weeks. 00:23:31.579 --> 00:23:33.640 And this structure provides enormous flexibility 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.000 and intellectual breadth. And the resources they 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.299 devote to instruction are just incredible. The 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:41.440 school employs 232 teaching faculty and offers 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:43.799 around 300 different courses. All while maintaining 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:46.380 an enviable seven to one student faculty ratio. 00:23:46.940 --> 00:23:49.339 That low ratio combined with the huge curriculum 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:51.720 is what really facilitates the deep personalized 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:54.099 engagement you expect at this level. What's particularly 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:56.319 fascinating about Andover's curriculum philosophy 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.019 is its relationship with the Advanced Placement, 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:01.849 or AP, program. Oh, this is the ultimate irony. 00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:04.769 Phillips Academy actually co -authored the study 00:24:04.769 --> 00:24:07.390 that led to the creation of the entire advanced 00:24:07.390 --> 00:24:10.089 placement program back in the 1950s. So they 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:12.250 were instrumental in creating the gold standard 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:14.630 for high school curriculum acceleration across 00:24:14.630 --> 00:24:16.930 the whole country. Yet they've walked away from 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:19.069 it in the 21st century. Why would they do that? 00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:21.670 The sources indicate that Andover made a very 00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.609 deliberate decision to de -emphasize AP classes. 00:24:24.890 --> 00:24:28.069 And the rationale is simple. They want to maintain 00:24:28.069 --> 00:24:31.150 absolute curricular flexibility and intellectual 00:24:31.150 --> 00:24:33.450 independence. So they prefer to design their 00:24:33.450 --> 00:24:37.420 own advanced innovative courses. Exactly. Courses 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:39.859 that often exceed the difficulty of the AP curriculum, 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:43.519 but without being constrained by the rigid, standardized 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.119 curriculum and testing requirements that are 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:49.059 dictated by the College Board. It's a huge statement 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:50.920 about their confidence in their own academic 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:53.720 design. That decision really underscores their 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:56.500 intellectual independence. Another marker of 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:58.740 that unique approach is their grading system. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.079 Right. Phillips Academy does not rank students, 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:03.480 which is designed to foster collaboration over, 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.099 you know, cutthroat competition. They use a unique 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:10.119 6 .0 GPA scale. Where 6 .0 is outstanding, 5 00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:13.480 .0 is an honors grade, and 2 .0 is still a passing 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:15.920 grade. The goal is to move the student's focus 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:18.900 away from that hyper -competitive ranking. We 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:21.539 know from a 2023 student survey that the average 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:25.579 GPA was quite high at 5 .41, which demonstrates 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:28.500 success across the student body. And in addition 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:30.920 to the regular academic year, the school also 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:33.210 runs a popular five -week summer section. It 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:36.029 does. It dates all the way back to 1942. It serves 00:25:36.029 --> 00:25:38.470 about 600 students entering grades 8 through 00:25:38.470 --> 00:25:40.950 12, extending their educational reach beyond 00:25:40.950 --> 00:25:43.210 the traditional academic calendar. Now let's 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:45.309 consider the physical environment. The campus 00:25:45.309 --> 00:25:49.829 is colossal 706 acres, located in Andover, Massachusetts. 00:25:50.390 --> 00:25:52.569 And the oldest parts of the campus core are highly 00:25:52.569 --> 00:25:55.039 protected. They're listed on the National Register 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:57.299 of Historic Places as part of the Academy Hill 00:25:57.299 --> 00:25:59.759 Historic District, which encompasses the historic 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:02.500 sites of the former Abbott Academy and the Theological 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:05.259 Seminary. And the scale and the beauty of the 00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:08.000 campus were intentionally engineered. We mentioned 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.319 Thomas Cochran's desire to make it the most beautiful 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:13.019 school in America. And to achieve this, Andover 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:16.359 hired Frederick Law Olmsted, the legendary landscape 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:18.819 architect behind Central Park, and his firm. 00:26:19.600 --> 00:26:22.099 Olmsted's advice on campus design started in 00:26:22.099 --> 00:26:25.819 1891 and continued for five decades. So they 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:27.960 ensured the campus was laid out with this grand, 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:31.140 intentional, and aesthetically consistent architecture 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:33.599 and landscaping. And when you walk that campus, 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.960 you encounter buildings named after some truly 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:38.579 significant alumni and historical figures. At 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:40.599 Bullfinch Hall, which houses the English department. 00:26:41.069 --> 00:26:43.930 Built in 1819, named after Charles Bullfidge, 00:26:44.069 --> 00:26:46.309 the noted architect who actually taught the hall's 00:26:46.309 --> 00:26:49.349 designer. Or Morse Hall, which contains the math 00:26:49.349 --> 00:26:51.710 department, named after Samuel Morse, class of 00:26:51.710 --> 00:26:54.109 1805. The inventor of the telegraph and Morse 00:26:54.109 --> 00:26:57.000 code. These buildings really anchor the curriculum 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.140 to the school's historical achievements. Fast 00:26:59.140 --> 00:27:01.240 forwarding to the 21st century, you find the 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:04.460 Geld Science Center, built in 2004. This modern 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:06.480 facility, which includes a campus observatory, 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:08.880 is named after Richard L. Geld, class of 41. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:11.720 The heir to the Clairol Hair Care Company. So 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:14.200 that philanthropic lineage established by Cochran 00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.119 continues to fund these major institutional leaps 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.809 in areas like science and technology. The Oliver 00:27:19.809 --> 00:27:23.089 Wendell Holmes Library, known as the OWHL, is 00:27:23.089 --> 00:27:25.450 another historic centerpiece. It was built in 00:27:25.450 --> 00:27:28.589 1929 in the Georgian Revival style, holds over 00:27:28.589 --> 00:27:31.329 80 ,000 books, and it's named after the poet 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:34.119 and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Class 00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:37.140 of 1825. But though it's historic, it's far from 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:39.619 outdated, right? It houses everything from a 00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:43.180 silent study room to a modern maker space. Blending 00:27:43.180 --> 00:27:45.839 tradition with cutting -edge technology. I love 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:47.880 that the campus itself is just filled with these 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:49.880 historical anecdotes. The connection to Harriet 00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:52.400 Beecher Stowe, for example. Stowe House, one 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:54.500 of the dormitories, was her family's former residence. 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:57.079 It's a wonderful human detail that grounds the 00:27:57.079 --> 00:27:59.779 history. Stowe's husband taught at the theological 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:02.000 seminary when they lived there, and she famously 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.460 used the very first royalty check she received 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:07.140 from her groundbreaking novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:09.299 to renovate the house. And it was physically 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:12.299 moved to its current location in 1929 and is 00:28:12.299 --> 00:28:14.480 still a central piece of the residential campus. 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:17.180 Speaking of residential life, the sheer size 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:19.759 of the student body and campus requires a really 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:22.319 sophisticated organization system. Which they 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:24.319 call the cluster system. And the cluster system 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:28.279 is the backbone of student life. which vary widely 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:30.940 in size, are grouped into five distinct clusters. 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:34.000 Each cluster serves as a subcommunity of roughly 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.440 220 students and about 40 faculty affiliates 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:40.259 who live nearby. And this system manages orientation, 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:44.019 social events, study breaks, and provides crucial 00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:46.980 faculty supervision and interaction. Ensuring 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:50.859 that even on a massive 706 -acre campus, students 00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:53.700 feel a sense of a smaller, more cohesive community. 00:28:54.460 --> 00:28:57.180 Moving on to Section 5, we need to discuss the 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:59.920 truly unique cultural assets that Phillips Academy 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:02.660 has. I mean, this is where the institution really 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:05.220 transcends high school status and enters the 00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:07.859 realm of world -class cultural stewardship. It 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:09.779 operates at the level of a small university. 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:12.240 You have to start with the Addison Gallery of 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:14.720 American Art. This institution was yet another 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:16.960 gift from Thomas Cochran, and it's open to the 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:19.960 public. And its collection is genuinely world 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:22.180 class. This isn't just a nice school gallery. 00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:25.460 The permanent collection includes seminal American 00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:28.619 works like Winslow Homer's iconic painting, Eight 00:29:28.619 --> 00:29:31.440 Bells. Alongside pieces by John Simpleton Copley. 00:29:31.869 --> 00:29:34.130 Jackson Pollock, Frank Stella, Andrew Wyeth. 00:29:34.289 --> 00:29:36.589 And to demonstrate its significance, the gallery 00:29:36.589 --> 00:29:40.069 underwent a major $30 million renovation and 00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:43.230 expansion between 2008 and 2010. Just imagine 00:29:43.230 --> 00:29:45.630 having access to American masterpieces as part 00:29:45.630 --> 00:29:47.230 of your high school experience. Then you have 00:29:47.230 --> 00:29:49.710 the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, 00:29:49.750 --> 00:29:53.170 founded in 1901. This institute is completely 00:29:53.170 --> 00:29:55.829 unique for a secondary school. It is one of the 00:29:55.829 --> 00:29:58.230 nation's major repositories for Native American 00:29:58.230 --> 00:30:00.650 archaeological collections. And unlike the Addison 00:30:00.650 --> 00:30:02.700 Gallery, This is primarily a research facility. 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:05.160 It's accessible to researchers and public school 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:07.119 groups, mainly by appointment. And the Peabody 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:09.259 Institute is really noteworthy for its proactive 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:11.900 stance on ethical stewardship. It has been a 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:13.559 leader in compliance with the Native American 00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:16.660 Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, 00:30:16.859 --> 00:30:20.839 since the early 1990s. That commitment to repatriation 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:24.339 and respect for historical resources that aligns 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:26.660 correctly with the ideals of knowledge and goodness. 00:30:27.509 --> 00:30:30.430 Shifting from institutional assets to student 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:32.990 achievements, the extracurricular life is just 00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:36.230 highly sophisticated. The Philippian, the school's 00:30:36.230 --> 00:30:39.130 weekly newspaper, has been publishing since 1857, 00:30:39.430 --> 00:30:45.150 and the independence of the student body is fiercely 00:30:45.150 --> 00:30:47.890 protected. The paper's mission states that it 00:30:47.890 --> 00:30:51.769 is entirely uncensored and student -run. Which 00:30:51.769 --> 00:30:53.970 fosters a level of journalistic maturity and 00:30:53.970 --> 00:30:56.049 accountability that you just rarely see at the 00:30:56.049 --> 00:30:57.950 high school level. But the true highlight of 00:30:57.950 --> 00:31:00.490 student intellectual rigor in recent years has 00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:03.230 to be the Phillips Academy poll. This is the 00:31:03.230 --> 00:31:05.890 first public opinion poll conducted by high school 00:31:05.890 --> 00:31:08.250 students that has achieved national recognition. 00:31:08.789 --> 00:31:11.619 The poll gained national media attention. including 00:31:11.619 --> 00:31:13.900 features in The New Yorker, for his accuracy 00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:16.680 in predicting the 2022 midterm election results. 00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:18.900 It's evidence that these students aren't just 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:21.559 reading textbooks. They are engaging in sophisticated, 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:24.339 rigorous, and relevant social science research 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:27.259 that influences real -world political commentary. 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:30.220 Athletically, the philosophy is summed up by 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:33.269 their motto, Athletics for All. And just like 00:31:33.269 --> 00:31:35.549 their academic history, their athletic history 00:31:35.549 --> 00:31:38.230 is foundational. Andover participated in the 00:31:38.230 --> 00:31:40.150 first ever high school football game in American 00:31:40.150 --> 00:31:44.329 history back in 1875 against Adams Academy. Today, 00:31:44.450 --> 00:31:47.369 it's a massive athletic powerhouse within the 00:31:47.369 --> 00:31:50.049 New England Preparatory School system. The school 00:31:50.049 --> 00:31:53.289 offers 29 interscholastic programs. And an incredible 00:31:53.289 --> 00:31:56.910 44 intramural or instructional programs. That 00:31:56.910 --> 00:31:59.470 variety is remarkable. It offers everything from 00:31:59.470 --> 00:32:02.589 fencing and tai chi to figure skating and ultimate 00:32:02.589 --> 00:32:05.630 frisbee. The commitment is clearly to universal 00:32:05.630 --> 00:32:08.509 participation, not just varsity excellence. Though 00:32:08.509 --> 00:32:10.289 they achieve excellence as well. Oh, for sure. 00:32:10.619 --> 00:32:12.920 The boys' crew team, for instance, has competed 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:15.440 internationally at England's prestigious Henley 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:17.680 Royal Regatta, showing that their commitment 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:19.960 extends to the highest levels of global amateur 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.259 competition. Now, in the spirit of comprehensive 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:24.359 knowledge, we have to shift our focus to the 00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:26.960 necessary counterbalance, the controversies. 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:29.519 These issues reflect the ongoing struggle of 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:32.059 a traditional institution trying to meet the 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:34.579 evolving modern standards of equity and accountability. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.079 And they test that ideal of non -civi fundamentally. 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:41.720 The source material outlines three key areas 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:44.480 where Phillips Academy has faced intense scrutiny. 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:48.000 The first was in 2013 when the school drew national 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.960 attention for apparent gender bias. This was 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.420 highlighted specifically by a noticeable lack 00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:56.559 of female representation in major student leadership 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:59.059 positions at the time. And it sparked internal 00:32:59.059 --> 00:33:01.519 and external debate about whether the merger 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:04.500 with Abbott Academy in 1973 had really created 00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:07.950 equal opportunity. Following that, in 2016 and 00:33:07.950 --> 00:33:11.230 2017, the most serious historical allegations 00:33:11.230 --> 00:33:13.869 surfaced. Reports identified former teachers 00:33:13.869 --> 00:33:15.829 who had been involved in inappropriate sexual 00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:18.390 contact with students over a period of time in 00:33:18.390 --> 00:33:20.430 the school's past. The school's response was 00:33:20.430 --> 00:33:23.069 immediate and comprehensive. They hired an independent 00:33:23.069 --> 00:33:25.470 law firm to investigate the allegations of historical 00:33:25.470 --> 00:33:28.029 misconduct. And school officials stressed that 00:33:28.029 --> 00:33:30.210 transparency and a commitment to ensuring these 00:33:30.210 --> 00:33:32.230 transgressions would never happen again were 00:33:32.230 --> 00:33:34.740 paramount to rebuilding trust. And the most recent 00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:36.559 and profound reckoning happened around issues 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:40.140 of racial equity in 2020. Right. This was driven 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:42.400 by the rise of the anonymous Instagram account 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:45.099 at Black Atandover, which started circulating 00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:47.740 dozens of detailed stories from students identifying 00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:51.519 as Black. These narratives detailed painful personal 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:54.339 experiences with racism on campus. But this went 00:33:54.339 --> 00:33:56.759 far beyond just documenting individual racist 00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:59.680 incidents, didn't it? It did. The core of the 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:02.259 critique focused heavily on systemic issues within 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:05.220 the school's disciplinary apparatus. Students 00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:07.839 reported perceived racial disparities in disciplinary 00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.320 outcomes, arguing that the system emphasized 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:13.219 punitive measures over restorative justice. And 00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:15.059 there were also concerns raised about a lack 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:17.559 of due process outlined in the student handbook's 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:20.099 procedures. The public nature and severity of 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:21.900 this critique, which was covered in national 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:24.539 outlets like The New York Times, prompted a significant 00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:27.489 institutional response. The administration formed 00:34:27.489 --> 00:34:30.269 an anti -racism task force, which spent two years 00:34:30.269 --> 00:34:32.469 investigating and released its final report in 00:34:32.469 --> 00:34:35.570 March 2022. These controversies are vital parts 00:34:35.570 --> 00:34:38.409 of the institution's current story. They really 00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:40.690 force a critical assessment of whether the wealth 00:34:40.690 --> 00:34:44.210 and resources, the $1 .41 billion endowment, 00:34:44.230 --> 00:34:47.369 the world -class facilities, are truly serving 00:34:47.369 --> 00:34:50.909 the ideal of non -CB and the youth from every 00:34:50.909 --> 00:34:53.329 quarter motto. Or whether institutional traditions 00:34:53.329 --> 00:34:55.590 and biases continue to undermine that mission. 00:34:56.170 --> 00:34:59.309 These are the necessary struggles of a 247 -year 00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:01.730 -old institution striving for modern relevance. 00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:04.590 So to conclude our deep dive, we have to look 00:35:04.590 --> 00:35:07.369 at the colossal cultural footprint Phillips Academy 00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:09.889 has left on the world stage, beginning with its 00:35:09.889 --> 00:35:13.300 list of notable alumni. which reads like a global 00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:15.900 power index. It is truly a list of distinction 00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:18.679 across every field imaginable. Again, we emphasize 00:35:18.679 --> 00:35:21.599 the two U .S. presidents, the five Nobel laureates 00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:23.500 and the six Medal of Honor recipients across 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:26.059 four different American conflicts. But the list 00:35:26.059 --> 00:35:28.039 is so diverse. You have leaders in law enforcement 00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:30.519 like FBI Director Christopher Wray, figures in 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:32.900 finance and philanthropy like Ed Bass and Facebook 00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:35.059 co -founder Chris Hughes. The sheer volume of 00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:37.710 influential people is staggering. And this influence 00:35:37.710 --> 00:35:40.610 extends into culture and sports. You see actors 00:35:40.610 --> 00:35:43.170 like Humphrey Bogart, Jack Lemmon, and Olivia 00:35:43.170 --> 00:35:46.070 Wilde. You find the creator of Tarzan, writer 00:35:46.070 --> 00:35:49.110 Edgar Rice Burroughs. And in sports, the legendary 00:35:49.110 --> 00:35:52.500 NFL coach Bill Belichick. The variety proves 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:54.960 the school is not just a political feeder, but 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:57.719 a multifaceted cultivator of talent. It also 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:00.079 has international reach, educating figures in 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:02.699 foreign affairs and royalty, like King Jigme 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:06.000 Kezar Namgyal Wangchuk of Bhutan. And going back 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:07.940 to its original purpose of fostering goodness, 00:36:08.280 --> 00:36:11.119 it educated one of the most prominent 19th century 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:13.920 abolitionists, Theodore Dwight Weld. Phillips 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:16.440 Academy's identity is just so distinct and recognizable 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:19.579 that it's become cultural shorthand for the elite 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:22.039 in popular media. Which brings us to its footprint 00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:24.780 in literature and film. In literature, you see 00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:26.920 the duality of the school's reputation captured 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:29.820 perfectly. F. Scott Fitzgerald in This Side of 00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:32.920 Paradise portrays Andover through this aspirational 00:36:32.920 --> 00:36:36.239 lens, calling it a college -like democracy. But 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:38.760 you contrast that with J .D. Salinger's decidedly 00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:40.820 more cynical perspective in The Catcher in the 00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:43.880 Rye, where a boy from Andover is used specifically 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:46.980 to embody an air of pretentious boy, a symbol 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:49.599 of entrenched social status and condescension. 00:36:50.110 --> 00:36:52.590 And that tension between the school's stated 00:36:52.590 --> 00:36:55.429 democratic ideals and the perceived pretension 00:36:55.429 --> 00:36:58.070 that comes with its social status, it's permanent. 00:36:58.510 --> 00:37:01.730 Tom Wolfe leveraged this reputation, using Andover 00:37:01.730 --> 00:37:04.030 as the ultimate shorthand for the elite prep 00:37:04.030 --> 00:37:07.170 look in his 1977 book. And in film, it serves 00:37:07.170 --> 00:37:09.309 as an immediate marker of high -level pedigree. 00:37:10.050 --> 00:37:11.869 Incentive a woman when Al Pacino's character 00:37:11.869 --> 00:37:14.070 makes a mistake about the former president's 00:37:14.070 --> 00:37:16.210 background. Chris O'Donnell's character instantly 00:37:16.210 --> 00:37:18.769 corrects him, emphasizing that George H .W. Bush 00:37:18.769 --> 00:37:21.139 attended Andover. That correction is essential 00:37:21.139 --> 00:37:23.139 to establishing the character's lineage and social 00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:24.760 standing. And of course, for pop culture fans, 00:37:24.980 --> 00:37:27.139 the lore extends into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:29.480 where it's established that Tony Stark attended 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:33.360 Phillips Academy from 1977 to 1984 before moving 00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:36.860 on to MIT. It places the institution firmly in 00:37:36.860 --> 00:37:39.119 the public imagination as the place where future 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:42.360 geniuses and power players are forged. So what 00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:44.510 does this all mean for you, the listener? Our 00:37:44.510 --> 00:37:46.550 deep dive has taken us on a remarkable journey, 00:37:46.769 --> 00:37:49.030 tracing Phillips Academy from its earliest days 00:37:49.030 --> 00:37:51.949 as a small, fiercely orthodox Calvinist ministry 00:37:51.949 --> 00:37:54.210 school founded during the height of the revolution. 00:37:54.309 --> 00:37:57.710 To the massive, globally influential and secular 00:37:57.710 --> 00:38:01.949 $1 .41 billion endowed powerhouse it is today. 00:38:02.360 --> 00:38:04.800 It represents a really successful institutional 00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:08.900 evolution. It transformed itself into a non -sectarian 00:38:08.900 --> 00:38:11.659 school that tries to balance its extreme wealth 00:38:11.659 --> 00:38:14.500 and exclusivity with a profound commitment to 00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:17.320 access. Evidenced by its need -blind policy and 00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:19.659 its promise to meet 100 % of demonstrated financial 00:38:19.659 --> 00:38:22.420 need for nearly half of its students. Phillips 00:38:22.420 --> 00:38:25.599 Academy in microcosm exemplifies both the incredible 00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:28.119 resilience and continuity of American educational 00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:29.860 tradition, it's still the oldest incorporated 00:38:29.860 --> 00:38:32.860 academy, and the ongoing... complex struggle 00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:36.079 for true equity within elite institutions. The 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:38.300 generosity of the need -blind policy sits in 00:38:38.300 --> 00:38:40.579 sharp contrast with the demographic reality of 00:38:40.579 --> 00:38:42.860 pervasive wealth and the difficult public reckoning 00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:44.920 over historical misconduct and racial equity. 00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:47.699 The institution has successfully shed the original 00:38:47.699 --> 00:38:50.719 theological mandate that required all teachers 00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:53.940 and trustees to be Protestant. That demonstrates 00:38:53.940 --> 00:38:57.179 a clear embrace of radical, necessary change. 00:38:57.420 --> 00:39:00.760 And yet it chooses to retain that powerful foundational 00:39:00.760 --> 00:39:05.469 Latin motto, finis origin pendet. The end depends 00:39:05.469 --> 00:39:07.969 upon the beginning. Which raises a powerful question 00:39:07.969 --> 00:39:10.070 for you to consider as you process this history. 00:39:10.250 --> 00:39:12.849 If the end that Phillips Academy seeks today 00:39:12.849 --> 00:39:16.050 is defined by radical global access, socioeconomic 00:39:16.050 --> 00:39:19.750 integration, and social equity, how much do those 00:39:19.750 --> 00:39:22.889 revolutionary era beginnings, founded by Calvinist 00:39:22.889 --> 00:39:25.690 businessman manufacturing gunpowder, tied to 00:39:25.690 --> 00:39:28.190 powerful political elites, and initially constrained 00:39:28.190 --> 00:39:31.250 by the cultural biases of the time, how much 00:39:31.250 --> 00:39:33.170 do those beginnings still shape the institution? 00:39:33.530 --> 00:39:35.909 How does a school so reliant on tradition and 00:39:35.909 --> 00:39:38.389 the perpetuation of family lineage manage to 00:39:38.389 --> 00:39:40.750 fully embrace a future defined by radical change, 00:39:41.030 --> 00:39:43.949 ensuring that non -cibi truly means not for self, 00:39:44.010 --> 00:39:46.050 for everyone? A perfect thought to end on as 00:39:46.050 --> 00:39:48.150 we contemplate the weight of history versus the 00:39:48.150 --> 00:39:50.170 speed of change. Thank you for joining us for 00:39:50.170 --> 00:39:52.130 this deep dive into Phillips Academy. We will 00:39:52.130 --> 00:39:52.769 see you next time.