Faculty of the Week: Katherine Fair

By  ARYAN AGARWAL, ELLINA KIM, and NAOMI MOSKOVICH

Instructor in Modern Languages Katherine Fair smiles at her Harkness table.

Sean Ricard / The Exonian

    Teaching in the Modern Language Department is a daunting task. With students from all over the world at a variety of places in their language learning journey, having a high-energy and passionate teacher is a critical part of the Exeter experience, and none come better than Katherine Fair—known to her students as Madame Fair. An Instructor in Modern Languages, Fair teaches a variety of French classes in the department, ranging from elementary to advanced elective and literature classes. Among her many roles in the francophone community at Exeter, Fair also serves as an advisor to the French Club and oversees the fall term abroad Grenoble Study Tour.

    Fair was born in northern New York and has lived much of her life in boarding schools, including her own attendance of North Country School in Lake Placid, NY, and The Putney School in Vermont. During her freshman year of university, she spent a year in Paris, then hungry for more, she became an au pair and studied at a local high school in Normandy. During her third year in Europe, she became an exchange lecturer in Montpellier at the Université Paul Valéry.

    Discussing her time at the University of Michigan’s Residential College after university, Fair said, “My mentor at the U of M was a brilliant teacher and scholar, Sylvie Carduner, whose guidance gave me a solid foundation. I would be hard pressed to enumerate all she taught me—there was so much! From the mechanics of French pronunciation to how to conduct a seminar-style class, she guided me and other TAs with patience, respect, trust, and a sense of humor. While I was at the Residential College, in addition to teaching first and second-year language courses, I had the opportunity to TA two special seminars, one in 1981 on West Africa, and another in 1982 on the Middle East, both challenging and rewarding.”

    Fair has taught French at Exeter since 1984 and has been a pillar in the French department. Instructor in Modern Languages Richard “Monsieur” Schieber shared, “We worked together for years. We met grading AP Exams, and the way she grades and discusses her materials is amazing. I always keep an eye on what she is doing. It helps the rest of the department and me, personally.” Schieber has nothing but high praise for Fair’s style of teaching and broad knowledge of the language, especially the way she encourages all students to succeed.

    For her 8 a.m. classes, she is known to bring banana bread, brownies, and cookies for her students that she baked herself. Upper Cecily Reed experienced her baking skills firsthand: “She is the cohead of the French Club and is always so excited to teach people more about France and French culture! She taught me the crepe strategy I use today.”

    “Madame Fair regularly brings homemade banana bread to our faculty meetings, and I always look forward to it,” added Instructor in Modern Languages Amadou Talla, a colleague in the French Department. “I have always looked up to her in my 10 years at Exeter. She is always willing to offer guidance and help others in the department when needed. Personally, she inspires me to always strive for excellence. I don’t know any perfect way to say this in English, but I will say, ‘j’admire sa grande culture générale.’”

    The kindness and enthusiasm that Fair brings to each class she teaches and everywhere she goes on campus is just one aspect that makes her a gift to the Exeter community. “Madame Fair is such a nice teacher both outside and inside her classroom,” said lower Celia Ephram, who was in Fair’s class last winter. “There is always a quick exchange of ‘hello’ and ‘how are you doing’ whenever we run into each other. She is very caring about her students, and a wonderful teacher in the classroom.”

    Upper Abe Webb added, “Madame Fair pushed me to be excited about French in a way that I didn’t know I could be. I looked forward to laughing when we did fun class activities, or when we went around the table reading from the text.”

    When she’s not in the classroom, you might be surprised to find Fair always outside, running. According to Schieber, “She is a great runner; she ran the Boston Marathon several times and qualified for it, which is a very hard task.”

    For decades, Fair has been a guide to all students and an irreplaceable member of the Exeter faculty. She always brings enthusiasm, a great big smile, and sometimes even a delectable sweet treat with her everywhere she goes, whether it be in her classroom, on the path, in the kitchen, or in the streets of Paris. “After forty years at the Academy, there have been innumerable marvelous teaching and learning moments, but I cannot claim credit for any of them,” reflected Fair. “Among my favorite: students who have struggled in French reaching that magic turning point when everything starts to click for them.”