As our means of communication become ever faster, I thought it prudent timing to focus on careful, thoughtful Reading and Writing—two parts of the classic triumvirate of educational goals—as my themes for this school year. While Williams certainly does not give short shrift to the ’Rithmetic portion of the age-old “3 R’s” equation, I have altered the formula to express another timeless aspect of school. Reading, Writing and Renovation reflect important facets of the Williams experience that have been in place since the School’s founding in 1891. Harriet Peck Williams believed not only in a classical education, but also in recognizing the intellectual capacity of young women by emphasizing math and science instruction at a time when such progressive thinking was hardly in vogue. Her vision has seen the School through 117 years, two campuses, and myriad refinements to both the programs and the facilities that support them. While always staying grounded in our classical education, the School does not stand still. It evolves at a healthy pace, renovating and adapting to the realities of the rapidly changing world outside.

Williams can be proud of its people, from our lauded student writers to our accomplished, engaged alumni. As Marc Bokoff ’83 noted at Parents Night this past fall, we also can be proud of how far we’ve come as a school. He recalled the excitement associated with the building of the Bulkeley Gymnasium in the early 1980s and marveled at the renovations since then. He highlighted the addition of home team turf at our Athletic Complex five years ago and now the rows of exercise equipment in the gleaming Dayharsh Fitness Center as some of the advances in the athletics arena alone. Classroom and arts spaces also have been renovated or expanded throughout the decades so that today’s science wing is jokingly referred to as the “New New New Wing” when we give alumni tours of the school.

Campus changes march hand-in-hand with other enhancements of the core curriculum, such as additions to the canon of literature taught in English class or introduction of the latest research findings in science class (Pluto not a planet? Now we know better.) Williams’ Board of Trustees looks to the Mission to sort through the dizzying array of what is new to identify what is right and best for the School. The results of their thinking are crystallized in the Strategic Plan and brought to fruition in part through the annual Fund for Williams and Comprehensive Campaign.

Williams is emerging from a phenomenal leadership phase of the current comprehensive fundraising effort, with exciting news to be announced in February. Trustees asked: What are the attributes of a first-class independent school? Through Embracing Excellence: The Campaign for Williams, the community answers this question by eschewing mediocrity and advancing the School’s positive momentum to prepare students for college, a lifetime of learning and active participation in a changing society.