Alumni Partake In HARKNE’66 With Students

Alumni from the Academy’s class of 1966 joined students in several classes last Thursday and Friday during the HARKNE’66 program. In addition to these classes, two discussions were also hosted with help from the visiting alumni. Stephen Gardiner ’66 organized these projects in collaboration with the office of alumni affairs.

Walter Hinton ’66 felt that HARKNE’66 fostered a stronger bond between the reunion class and current students, allowing for a more interactive and immersive experience for the reunion. “It connected our class to the current students in a more thorough and meaningful way than the usual drop-ins to academic classes at reunions,” he said. Hinton explained that alumni who participated in the classes were expected to fully prepare for them, allowing them to get involved in the discussions instead of simply observing them. “We had plenty of time in advance to select the courses and were given readings to prepare for the class hour.  We were expected to and did participate fully in the HARKNE’66 classes,” he said.

“We alumni really need to be talking more and more frequently with students here. It’s just good wisdom and value that’s exchanged there.”

Peter Heyl ’66 also enjoyed the opportunity to directly interact with the student body. He described the program as a “stroke of genius.” “It gave us the opportunity to interact with current students and see firsthand the diversity of the student body,” Heyl said. “We got to interact with students and current teachers, and share their tasks of doing the readings and then discussing them.”

Heyl cherished the connections forged among students, teachers and alumni over the course of the program. He found one class in particular, a chemistry class, to be “a greater success, in that there was a lot of interaction betwixt students and teacher and alumni.” Similarly, George Kinder ’66 found it inspiring “to visit the classes, to learn from the teachers and current students and to exchange views, thoughts [and] opinions.”

Hinton attributed part of the success of HARKNE’66 to the teachers, who encouraged full involvement and deep participation by the alumni. “The teachers drew us into the group in a conscious way. In the Holocaust class, we not only participated but [religion instructor] Thomas Simpson asked each of us to say a little about why we selected that class, and the responses were revealing,” he said.

By attending Exeter classes, alumni learned more about the current state of affairs at Exeter and were able to see how the school has changed in the past 50 years. Steve Cox ’66 was “blown away” by the program, as it gave him perspective to compare and contrast the Exeter of his youth with the present day school.

According to Hinton, the Academy has shifted since his time as a student. He found the current atmosphere to be more enjoyable. “Today the atmosphere seems more collegial, positive and downright fun... and, I think, more conducive to learning. Students clearly are conscious of being citizens in a community.”

In addition, alumni also saw how members of their own class have grown and changed.

“It was not surprising to me to find the students bright, thoughtful and inquisitive, but was additionally inspiring to find how much wisdom had grown in the men of ’66 over the 50 years since their graduation from Exeter,” Kinder said. He particularly enjoyed “the beauty of the Harkness model, and the great strength of the Exeter education and the value of conversation as a way of learning.”

Likewise, Heyl was glad to see that the spirit of Harkness was still thriving at the Academy.

“[I learned that] Harkness discussions are alive and well at Exeter, and free exchange of different viewpoints are still fostered, despite the impression of some of my classmates,” he said.

Alums visited religion instructor Kathleen Brownback in her Mysticism and Ethics of the Marketplace classes. She felt that the alumni contributed original viewpoints to the class, and the organization of the program allowed them to add to the class beneficially.

Brownback, however, also saw room for improvement in the program. Only three alumni visited her Thursday class, while 15 attended her class on Friday. As a result, she felt the program could be compressed to one day.

Describing the event as successful overall, Gardner further emphasized the importance of alumni and students interacting and connecting. He hopes that other reunion classes will take on the initiative to plan similar programs in the future and plans to document the HARKNE’66 program so that other classes have the basis of the program to reference.

“We alumni really need to be talking more and more frequently with students here. It’s just good wisdom and value that’s exchanged there,” he said. “If we don’t hear from this truly extraordinary student population, we are really missing out on an opportunity for our own growth.”