Faculty Discuss Exeter’s Future In Strategic Planning Meeting
Exeter faculty gathered at the third and final strategic planning meeting of the academic year to discuss the school’s future last Wednesday, April 2. The meeting covered topics such as the recent “SLUT: The Play” screenings on campus, doctor Debby Herbenick’s sex-education assembly, possible new options for senior year projects and off-campus opportunities, prospective changes to the current daily schedule or yearly calendar and ways to make the campus more environmentally sustainable. Classes were cancelled on Wednesday so the faculty could spend the day discussing these issues.
“We are supposed to be keeping open minds and allowing ourselves to be imaginative—with regard to curriculum, student life and Exeter’s role in the larger world of education.”
The day was led by the Steering Committee, a group of faculty members who look for ways in which the school can better serve the needs of the Academy’s evolving community. Before the meeting on Wednesday, the Steering Committee had compiled past ideas and filtered through them to create this list of viable topics for discussion. According to Academic Support Counselor Pamela Parris, some topics were a possible Harkness Institute for Teaching or Learning, ideas on how this year’s experiences should inform our way forward as an evolving schools and suggestions on how to develop new “learning lenses through which [the school] can view topics such as the search for justice, understanding the human experience and solving the world’s dilemmas.”
The meeting began with a communal gathering of all faculty and some staff members, during which principal Lisa MacFarlane and English instructor Barbara Desmond, among others, spoke to the group about the purpose of the day and the topics to be discussed. According to MacFarlane, strategic planning attempts to anticipate the needs of the future Exeter community—to look at the toddlers of today and imagine what they will be like when they apply to the Academy. She and Desmond encouraged the introduction of new ideas to the discussion but also presented a list of important issues that were brought up at the two previous meetings.
After MacFarlane and Desmond, Herbenick spoke to the general assembly about supporting a healthy sexual environment on campus. In light of recent press releases uncovering several sexual misconduct cases of students by faculty that took place at Exeter decades ago, this discussion held strong relevance to Exeter’s current situation, especially as some faculty members had attempted to create dialogues with students about the case discoveries. Herbenick, whose assembly speech on Friday centered around sex and encouraged open discussion about the topic, recommended ways “to get more men involved” in the coming years. Later in the day, faculty were divided into small groups of about four people each and were told to choose two specific topics to discuss, allotting an hour of discussion time per topic.
In her small group, Parris discussed off-campus options for seniors and the possibility of making senior projects mandatory. She said that currently senior projects are voluntary, but, for many students, the self-initiative aspect of projects can contribute to the fun of working on one. “You learn something by failing/not completing something, but that’s important to have that experience even if it doesn’t come out as you expect,” she said. “As soon as you require something, it’s not as much fun as if you require it yourself.”
Parris also discussed conflicts in scheduling. Exonians’ school days don’t end until 6 p.m., while other prep schools finish the academic day at about 3:30 p.m. Parris mentioned that some faculty suggestions included ending Exeter’s tradition of fat blocks, but added that often “the sciences need those for labs.” She said that the faculty will always be working to find new ways to relieve students of pressure.
Parris also mentioned that the administration is trying hard to keep the discussions open for different ideas. Although no concrete changes have been decided upon, she acknowledged that progress is being made. “They are narrowing it down, and that’s how the process works, that you narrow it down,” she said. “I think it’s a good idea to say, ‘We’ll choose maybe three or four real ideas that we’ll implement as changes,’ because you can’t make all the changes that you want.”
Exeter can often keep its faculty and students so busy focusing with current situations that our community can forget to consider the future. The Strategic Planning meetings allow faculty the chance to consider sometimes drastic changes to the way it functions. As Instructor of English Jane Cadwell pointed out, “It is my understanding that we are supposed to be keeping open minds and allowing ourselves to be imaginative—with regard to curriculum, student life and Exeter’s role in the larger world of education.”