Northfield Mount Hermon School

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Northfield Mount Hermon School
Discere et Vivere
Learn and Live
Address
One Lamplighter Way
Northfield/Gill, MA, 01354
USA
Information
Denomination Non-Denominational
Founder Dwight L. Moody
Head of school Thomas K. Sturtevant
Enrollment

620, 490 boarders and 130 day
Faculty 180
CEEB Code 220730
Houses See Dormitories
School type Independent, secondary, coeducational, boarding
Tuition $39,300 Bording, $28,200 Day
Endowment $180 million
Grades 9-12
Campus size 1,100 acres (4.5 km²)
Accreditation(s) NEASC [1]
Mascot Hogger
Team name Hoggers
Yearbook Gemini
Newspaper The Bridge
Established 1879
Homepage http://www.nmhschool.org

Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH) is a ninth-twelfth grade private, college preparatory school located near the Connecticut River in the town of Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, United States.

Contents

[edit] History

The school was originally founded by famed Protestant evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody as two separate institutions: Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879, and Mount Hermon School for Boys in 1881. Moody envisaged both these schools as parts of his dream to provide the best possible education for less privileged people. Indeed, even, in their infancy, Moody’s schools matriculated students whose parents were slaves, Native Americans, and from outside the US -- something that was unimaginable in many elite private schools at that time.

Moody located the girls' school in Northfield, Massachusetts, the town of his birth, and the boys' school several miles away in the town of Gill. After the schools merged in 1971, both campuses remained in use until the Northfield campus was closed in 2005. Moody's birthplace and burial place are both located on the Northfield campus.

In Moody's view, Christian religious education was an essential part of the objective of his schools. However, under subsequent administrations, the schools became more theologically liberal and ultimately became nonsectarian and ceased evangelization of students. (This change put them at odds with other Moody institutions such as Moody Bible Institute in Chicago). Spiritual life continued to be an important part of the schools, but religious services ceased to be compulsory and students were no longer instructed in Christian doctrine.

In 1934, reformist headmaster Elliot Speer was murdered by a shotgun blast through his study window. The crime was never solved. The book Murder at Mount Hermon: The Unsolved Killing of Headmaster Elliott Speer by Mount Hermon alumnus Craig Walley proposes a possible solution.

In the 1970s and 1980s, many U.S. private secondary schools that had previously offered single-sex education either became coeducational unilaterally or merged with other schools to become coeducational. In what was then a controversial decision, Northfield Seminary and Mount Hermon School merged to become a single coeducational institution in 1971. The settlement at NMH of mutually accepted terms was a contrast to the takeover of Abbot Academy by its neighbor, Phillips Academy. The schools had been run for many years by a single board of trustees with a similar mission and vision. The new school was dubbed Northfield Mount Hermon School. Both original campuses were retained at that time, a frequent bus schedule to connect the two campuses (five miles apart) was added but students were (and still are) segregated by sex at the dormitory level.

The school operated on two campuses up until the end of the 2004-05 school year, but consolidated all students and classes onto its Mount Hermon campus when the school's trustees decided that students would best benefit educationally and socially in a smaller, more close-knit community. The capital resources required to maintain duplicate facilities on two campuses and the size of the endowment also influenced the decision. The beautiful Northfield campus has been placed on the market. In addition to the campus itself, the school owns several dozen housing units in the adjacent village that faculty and staff members, as well as the local golf course and water company. Ideally, the school would like to sell the campus to another educational institution. The trustees are committed to the appropriate stewardship of the Moody legacy sites: Round Top (Dwight L. and Emma Moody's burial site), the Birthplace, the Homestead, and the Auditorium.

In 1976, a history of NMH entitled So Much to Learn [2] was written by Burnham Carter to commemorate the school's 100th anniversary.

[edit] Northfield Mount Hermon today

All students are required to participate in the school's work program. The school's handbook states, "The work program is a tradition that dates back to the school's beginning and allows students to know the dignity of labor. The program creates a sense of investment in the welfare of the school and a unique community spirit." Student jobs include washing dishes, shelving books in the library, and making maple syrup on the farm. Utilization of the school's farm has been greatly reduced since the merge of the two campuses. Some students' work duties include editing the school newspaper, performing residential leadership duties, presiding over computer labs, or printing photographs.

The percentage of international students at NMH is above the average of many elite private schools, at 20 per cent compared to perhaps 10 per cent at other institutions. (The 2006-07 handbook lists about 120 students with non-US addresses, more than three-fourths of them from East Asia.) In many cases, international students make a connection with the school through family members who attended NMH. Earlier in the school's history, some international students were evangelized by Moody or his affiliated denominations and religious missions in the 19th century.

NMH has, during the late 20th century, been viewed as informal, tolerant, and progressive. The students at NMH have in the past been described as more culturally or politically liberal than students at other New England private college preparatory schools, although one of its strengths is its richness of diversity and its students' acceptance of differing points of view, though some feel that there is a pronounced liberal slant to the opinions on campus.

In 2004, the trustees of Northfield Mount Hermon School decided to close the Northfield campus and to consolidate the school as of September 2005 with a smaller coeducational student body on the Mount Hermon campus. This decision has been controversial. Before consolidation, the school had about 1,100 students enrolled per year; enrollment has now settled to slightly above 600 students.

In May 2006, it was announced that David Bolger '50 would donate $10 million in securities to the school. It is the largest gift in the school's history. In addition to his $10 million gift, in October 2006, it was announced that David Bolger will donate another $2.5 million to fund a new admissions building. In June 2006 it was announced that William R. Rhodes '53 had donated $5 million as the lead gift for the upcoming $29 million arts center. The arts center, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008, will be named Rhodes Center for the Arts in honor of Rhodes and his father Edward, class of 1916.

In November 2006, the school announced that it would abandon its trimester block schedule in favor of a semester block schedule, beginning in 2007-08 school year.

[edit] Athletics

Fall Season

  • Regatta (|)
  • Cross-Country (|)
  • Field Hockey (*)
  • Football
  • Soccer (|) [2006 New England Champions]
  • Boy's Waterpolo
  • Dance (*)
  • Girl's Volleyball (|)

Winter Season

  • Alpine Skiing (|)
  • Nordic Skiing
  • Swimming (|)
  • Basketball (|)
  • Ice Hockey (|)
  • Wrestling [2008 New England Champions]
  • Dance (*)

Spring Season

  • Baseball
  • Crew (|)
  • Golf (*)
  • Lacrosse (|)
  • Softball
  • Tennis (|)
  • Track (|) [2007 New England Champions]
  • Girls' Waterpolo
  • Ultimate Frisbee(|) [2007 New England Champions, 2008 New England Champions]
  • Boy's Volleyball(|) [2005 New England Champions, 2008 New England Champions]
  • Dance (*)

(*) -- Denotes Co-ed teams (|) -- Denotes separate, male or female teams

[edit] Campus

View of the Mount Hermon campus showing construction on the Rhodes Center for the Arts, set to open in fall 2008
View of the Mount Hermon campus showing construction on the Rhodes Center for the Arts, set to open in fall 2008

Assorted NMH maps

[edit] Dormitories

Boys' Dormitories

  • London ("Cottage 1" or "C-1") - Freshmen dorm
  • Monadnock ("Cottage 2" or "C-2") - Closed for renovation during the 2007-2008 school year.
  • Hayden ("Motel-H")
  • Shea Family Cottage ("Sub-Zero" or "Shea")
  • Overtoun - ("Tron")
  • North Crossley (divided into Lower North Crossley and Upper North Crossley in 2005)

Girls' Dormitories

  • Manchester ("Cottage 5" or "C-5") - Freshmen dorm
  • Hubbard ("Cottage 4" or "C-4") - Closed for renovation during the 2007-2008 school year.
  • Mary E. Mackinnon Cottage ("New Girls' Dorm" or "Mac")
  • Wallace Hall - Sophomore, Junior, Senior Girls' dorm. Divided into North and South Side.
  • Rikert
  • South Crossley (divided into Lower South Crossley and Upper South Crossley in 2005)

[edit] Classroom buildings

  • Cutler Science Center - Named after headmaster Cutler, the Cutler Science Center is home to the following:

basement: computer science, photography, film production and costume production; 1st floor: physics; 2nd floor: chemistry; 3rd floor: biology

  • Blake Hall - Donated by S. Prestley Blake in 1993, Blake Hall contains 5 classrooms and the religious studies office. It has also contained the Dance Program offices and is connected to Granden Auditorium where dance rehearsals and performances take place; these will be relocated to the Rhodes Center for the Arts upon completion.
  • Beveridge Hall - Beveridge is the largest multi-subject classroom building. It contains a dining room on the first floor lounge to provide students breakfast in the morning. The floor plan is the following: basement: foreign language; 1st floor: humanities, misc.; 2nd floor: math & misc.
  • Lower Modular - The Lower Modular contains English studies and several Humanities classes.
  • Upper Modular - The Upper Modular contains the following: Humanities, Theatre classroom, Dance classroom, Arts Program office, soundproofed practice rooms
  • Art Studios (Pottery Shed, Milk Shed, etc.: on the farm) - all arts courses
  • Music Building - One of the oldest buildings on campus, the Music Building has several classrooms, a digital music studio and a recitation hall.

All art programs and offices will be relocated in the new Arts Center during the summer of 2008.

[edit] Rhodes Center for the Arts

Donated by William R. Rhodes, upon completion in 2008, the Arts Center will house all of the arts at NMH.

  • Architect: Childs Bertman Tseckares, Inc. (CBT), of Boston, MA
  • Schedule: groundbreaking September 2006; target completion: around August 1, 2008
  • Size: 63,000 square feet (5,900 m²) on three levels
  • Cost: $30 million
  • Site plan: The facility will be located on the eastern edge of campus between Holbrook Hall and Forslund Gymnasium, where Recitation and Silliman Halls once stood. Here, the center for the arts will provide a visible image of the “new campus” identity, redefine the landscape and academic quad, create community as it sits along current student paths, and take advantage of shared parking in support of our plan to pedestrianize the center of campus.
  • Unique design features: 1) An interior “street” that runs on an axis through all three levels, connecting the different parts of the building; 2) a tower, that echoes Blake Hall, Memorial Chapel, and the towers of Northfield, and will house the carillon from Northfield's Sage Chapel ; 3) will be LEED certified.

See http://www.nmhschool.org/artscenter/ for more information

[edit] Other buildings

This listing does not include the offices that may be included in classroom buildings (ex: International Students Assoc. in Beveridge basement) or on campus faculty housing.

  • Blake Hall - Student Center, Student Activities office, the Press Box Snack Bar, NMH Book Store, and Mail Center.
  • Grandin Auditorium (formerly Camp Hall) (attached to Blake) - Auditorium used for dance, occasional performances, and movies
  • O'Connor Health Center - 24/7 medical staff, beds, x-ray machine, and counselors' and psychiatrists' offices
  • Alumni Hall (formerly "West Hall") - cafeteria and conference rooms
  • Cottage III ("C-3") - makeshift Admission office. A new $5 million admission office has been set for completion in the near future.
  • Oaknoll Cottage - administration office
  • Holbrook Hall - head of school's office, deans' offices, and college counseling
  • Memorial Chapel - Built by NMH students in 1899, Memorial Chapel is home to a beautiful organ and a multi-million dollar audio/visual system. The chapel is multifaith. It is also used when the entire school must gather inside, for all school meetings and lectures by guest speakers.
  • Schauffler Library - library, media lab and info commons housing IT
  • Farm - a functional New England farm, with cattle, horses, and chickens, as well as a ciderhouse, sugarhouse, and vegetable and flower gardens
  • Forslund Gym and James Gymnasiums (The Forslund addition to James Gym was built in the 1960s) - basketball courts, wrestling gym, weight room, locker rooms, swimming/water polo pool, trainers, and athletic department offices
  • McCollum Ice Rink - fully functioning hockey arena with heated bleachers
  • Power Plant - a fully functioning power plant providing the NMH community with heat and hot water through an underground steam transport system.
  • Laundry Building- a building next to the power plant where students send their laundry.

[edit] Biblical reference

Mount Hermon is referred to in the Bible as comprising one of Joshua's conquests: “Thus Joshua took all this land: the mountain country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain--the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, from Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon.” (Joshua 11:16-17).

D.L. Moody's aspirations for a young men's school are expressed in Psalm 133, from which he chose the name "Mount Hermon": “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm 133:1-3)

[edit] Leadership positions

NMH students are able to apply to various different leadership positions. The Center for International Education selects a number of International Ambassadors (IAs) whose job it is to welcome new international students at the beginning of each year, as well as to promote diversity throughout the entirety of the year. Peer mediators are nominated by faculty members who think they are worthy of helping settle roommate issues between students. The highest honor an NMH student is awarded is Student Leadership. SLs are akin to prefects. They function as members of the NMH staff--handing out restrictions and meeting with dorm faculties--as well as assisting students in any ventures.

[edit] Student Life

[edit] Clubs and organizations

Students participate in a diverse variety of extracurricular organizations. NMH's Student Activities office provides support, services, and resources for student organizations, including places to meet, materials, and funding.[1] Organizations are listed below.[2]

[edit] General

  • Activities Programming Board (APB) ― Students help plan weekend activities and raise school spirit.
  • Chess Club ― For students interested in playing chess, possibly competitively with other schools.
  • Debate Team ― Debaters test their skills against each other and in interscholastic competition.
  • GEECS ― GEECS for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (a recursive acronym), it is primarily the school's computer club.
  • NMH Farm ― Students press cider, make maple syrup, harvest vegetables and flowers for drying, work in the greenhouse, and drive horses.
  • NMH Outreach ― Volunteer in a variety of community projects and programs.
  • Peer Education Program ― Students are selected and trained to be resource people for the community.
  • Student Congress ― NMH's student government, members are elected by class and by house.
  • WNMH Radio 91.5 FM ― The school’s FCC licensed FM radio station (broadcasts 24 hours every day to campus and the tri-state area and webcasts around the globe) with student and faculty DJs: WNMH Website

[edit] Literary

  • The Bridge―The student newspaper expresses a strictly student point of view. Name was temporarily changed to "The Hermon Echo," but was reverted back to "The Bridge" in the fall of 2007.
  • Chinese Language Magazine―Published once each term with articles by students from Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan, and from NMH Chinese classes.
  • The school yearbook, called Gemini, compiled and edited by students.
  • The Globe―A magazine for international students, published once per term.
  • International Connections-The Center for International Education's monthly newsletter.
  • Mandala―The NMH art and literary magazine published yearly.

[edit] Multicultural groups

  • American Indian Students Association (AISA)
  • Asian American Students Association (AASA)
  • Circle of Sisters (COC) ―Nurtures the intellectual, social, professional, spiritual and physical growth of women of African-American, Hispanic, and Caribbean descent.
  • Francophone Organization for More Awareness of Global Equity (FROMAGE)-Group interested in raising money for causes in French-speaking countries as well as general awareness of the surrounding world.
  • International Students Association (ISA)―Provides support for international students and helps the entire student body become more aware of different cultures.
  • Men of Color Alliance (MOCA)―This group is focused on developing leadership, solidarity and support networks for male students of color.
  • Muslim Students Association (MSA)
  • Spanish and Latino/a Students Association (SaLSA)
  • Whites Examining Racism and Culture (WERC)―An anti-racist group explores the racial and cultural identities of white Euro-Americans in the context of race relations in the U.S.

[edit] Performing arts

  • Chamber Music Group
  • Symphony Orchestra
  • Chamber Orchestra
  • Concert Band
  • Concert Choir-has been performing NMH's Christmas Vespers yearly in different cities
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Student-run a cappella groups: Hogappella (all male), the Nellies (all female)
  • NMH Dance Company and Junior Dance Company―three to four major productions a year
  • NMH Singers
  • Select Women’s Ensemble
  • Theater―three to four major plays a year and student-directed one-act festival
  • World Music Combo

[edit] Social concerns

  • Alliance for the Humane Treatment of Animals
  • Campaign AIDS―Raises awareness and funds for women, girls, and children affected with the AIDS virus in Africa
  • Gay-Straight Alliance(GSA)

[edit] Spiritual life

  • Jewish Union (JU)―Organization provides support for Jewish life at boarding school; has weekly shabbat services and celebrates all major holidays.
  • BREAKAWAY (NMH's largest Christian fellowship, meets weekly)
  • Chinese Christian Fellowship
  • Deacons of the Church of Christ (Protestant)
  • Interfaith Council
  • Korean Christian Fellowship
  • Muslim Student Association
  • Quaker Student Association
  • Unitarian Universalist Student Association
  • Spiritual Seekers
  • Nature-Based Beliefs (Neo-Pagan)
  • Native American, Hindu, and Buddhist groups are available if there is interest

[edit] Prominent alumni

The following is a list of notable alumni from Northfield Mount Hermon School, sorted by graduation year. NMH has the largest living alumni population among all boarding schools in America.[citation needed]

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness.
Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

1880s

1890s

1900s

1930s

1940s

  • Tad Mosel 1940—Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright for All the Way Home
  • Charles T. Duncan 1942—Member of Iran-US Claims Tribunal, The Hague; was the NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney during Brown v. Board of Education (deceased)
  • James W. McLamore 1943, founder of Burger King
  • William S. Edgerly 1944—Chairman emeritus, State Street Boston Corporation (CEO 1975-91)
  • Lucy Wilson Benson 1945—Appointed CEO of the Federal Aviation Administration; former under secretary of state

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

[edit] See also

[edit] Images

Campus view

View of the gymnasium

Student center

Topographic map of NMH School environs

[edit] External links