A Foundational Element

Faculty are the heart of Andover’s academic enterprise. More than 200 instructors bring their expertise and compassion to every conversation, every teaching moment—in classrooms and labs, in residence halls and performance halls, on playing fields and beyond.

Throughout Knowledge & Goodness, donors have supported these scholars and mentors with both annual gifts and leadership commitments to help them further cultivate their talents. The teaching foundation—akin to an endowed professorship on the university level—stands distinct among these investment opportunities and speaks to the school’s longstanding devotion to faculty development and recognition.

1. ESTABLISHED IN 1866

The very first teaching foundation was given to the Academy in the year after the Civil War. Patron George Peabody of Maryland created it “for the purpose of endowing a Chair in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences in the School”—the income of which was to be used “toward a teacher’s salary.”

2. A DISTINCTIVE IMPACT

Today, foundations honor Andover’s most experienced senior faculty. These named positions celebrate their unique teaching abilities—and ensure the Academy retains those instructors who inspire student learning while advancing their own academic expertise. Funding furnishes the teacher’s salary and benefits, and provides additional resources for them to pursue projects and programs essential to their scholastic goals.

3. NOW 88 STRONG AND GROWING

The number of teaching foundations has grown steadily, with 88 foundations benefiting faculty, department heads, and administrators across the school. Academic disciplines from history to mathematics are represented. There are even four teaching foundations at the Addison Gallery of American Art and one for the Head of School, which is named in honor of John P. Stevens Jr., Class of 1915.

4. A RENEWED PRIORITY

Teaching foundations are a key part of the campaign goal to raise $15 million for faculty support and teaching excellence. This need is essential and ever expanding, with campaign gifts like the Currie Family Directorship of the Tang Institute and the Alice and Hugh Falls Teaching Foundation driving academic innovation on campus.

To learn more, please contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at [email protected].

Originally printed in The Vista: Views from the Knowledge & Goodness Campaign, spring 2022.