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Mercersburg Academy

Coordinates: 39°49′42″N 77°53′57″W / 39.8282°N 77.8991°W / 39.8282; -77.8991
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Mercersburg Academy
Location
Map
Mercersburg
,
PA

USA
Information
Motto"Intergritas, Virilitas, Fidelitas (Integrity, Virility, Fidelity)" type = Private, Boarding
HeadmasterDouglas Hale
Faculty89, 70% with Advanced Degrees
Enrollment440 total
85% boarding
15% day
Average class size12 students
Student to teacher ratio5:1
CampusRural, 300 acres (2 km²)
Color(s)Blue and White
Athletics14 Men's, 14 Women's, 2 Co-ed
MascotBlue Storm
Website[2]

Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is: "[to] prepare young men and women from diverse backgrounds for life ."[1]"

History

On March 31, 1836, the Pennsylvania General Assembly granted a charter to Marshall College to be located in Mercersburg. Dr. Frederick Augustus Rauch came from Switzerland to be the first president of the college under the sponsorship of the Reformed Church in America. Dr. Rauch served as president from 1836 until 1841. His successor in the position was John Williamson Nevin who served until 1853, when Marshall College joined with Franklin College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to become Franklin & Marshall College. At this time, the preparatory department of Marshall College became known as Marshall Academy which later changed to Marshall Collegiate Institute. In 1865, the name was again changed to Mercersburg College, under whose charter the school continues to operate. The historic tie to the church continues through Mercersburg's membership in the Council for Higher Education of the United Church of Christ.

On April 27, 1893, the Board of Regents elected Dr. William Mann Irvine, who had joined Franklin and Marshall College as an instructor after receiving his Ph.D. in Political Science from Princeton University in 1892, to become the Headmaster at the age of twenty-eight. In July, Dr. Irvine changed the name of the institution to Mercersburg Academy and began his work as the founder of the present-day preparatory school. In the fall of 1893, he opened the school with an enrollment of 40 boys, four instructors and 4 acres (16,000 m2) of ground. During Dr. Irvine's tenure, three dormitories, a dining hall, gymnasium, infirmary, administration building and the Chapel were built. A new Main Hall and Annex were built after a fire gutted Old Main in 1927.

After Dr. Irvine's death on June 11, 1928, Dr. Boyd Edwards was elected headmaster, where he remained until he retired in 1941. After his retirement, Dr. Charles S. Tippetts '12 resigned from a deanship at the University of Pittsburgh to become Headmaster, where he remained for twenty years. During this time, Irvine Hall was completed and the James Buchanan cabin was moved onto the campus. His successor was William C. Fowle who came from the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Headmaster Fowle's tenure saw Tippetts Hall competed, Boone Hall constructed and Ford Dining Hall constructed. In 1969, Mercersburg again became a co-educational school and racial integration became a reality.

In 1972, Walter H. Burgin Jr. '53 was appointed the Academy's fifth headmaster. Mr. Burgin had been a member and the Chairman of the mathematics department from 1959 – 1964 and was teaching at Phillips Exeter Academy at the time of his appointment. Mr. Burgin oversaw a comprehensive reshaping of the Academy's academic facilities, the building of Lenfest Hall library and the integration of technology into community and classroom life.

Douglas Hale was appointed head of school in 1997, coming from Baylor School where he had been a teacher, assistant headmaster and headmaster since 1973. Under Mr. Hale, all dormitories have been renovated with new faculty apartments added, the entire campus has been connected electronically, and the Smoyer Tennis Center and the Davenport Squash Center were constructed. In 2005, Boone Hall was razed to begin the construction of the new Burgin Center for the Arts, which opened in the fall of 2006. The ceremony was an all-day event and a few of the important guests that attended were Benicio del Toro and Timothy P. Hartung, FAIA, Partner of Polshek Partnership Architects. The opening concert that night featured performances from world-class violinist Itzhak Perlman and the New York City Ballet.

Mercersburg Academy today

Now set on 300 acres (1.2 km2), Mercersburg is home to 440 students: 233 boys (53%), 207 girls (47%). The school has 83 9th graders; 107 10th graders; 122 11th graders; 130 12th graders; and 4 students participating in a School Year Abroad. Students come from around the world, representing 30 states and 22 countries. Mercersburg's endowment now holds more than $185 million, making it one of the highest endowment-per-student independent schools in the country. Mercersburg's endowment-per-student of $322,355, ranked it tenth among the 50 Schools Reporting the Most Voluntary Support and Endowments Per Student, 2004[2]. The school's acceptance rate is 24 percent. The school annually receives about 800 applicants for no more than 150 spots [3].

Honor Code

Mercersburg Academy holds its students to a strict Honor Code.

"As a member of the Mercersburg Academy community, I hereby agree to honor its standards of integrity, truth, and courage. On my honor, I pledge that I will not lie, cheat, or steal. In all my endeavors, I will work toward building trust by upholding, in spirit and in letter, these community standards." [4]

Also, any paper or test submitted or handed in by a student is required to have the honor code written on it: "Upon my honor, I have neither given nor received aid with this work."

Any form of violation of the honor code may result in dismissal from the institution.

Tuition, Scholarships, Endowment, and Financial Aid

Base tuition for the 2007–2008 school year is $39,100 for boarding students and $30,200 for day students. Forty-four percent of Academy students receive financial aid. The average financial aid grant is $22,000. Merit scholarships are offered, including the Regents Merit Scholarship, a selective “full-ride” scholarship decided by a student’s academic promise, [5], the Legacy Scholarship, established by H. F. Lenfest, awarded to a student whose parents or grandparents are alumni of the school [6] and The Mercersburg Scholarship, awarded to a day student entering the ninth or tenth grade. The school’s current financial endowment is $185 million. [7].

Facilities

As of the 2008-2009 academic year, Mercersburg Academy's facilities consists of 7 dormitories and 3 main academic buildings. In the mid to late 1990s, all dormitories were remodeled and outfitted with air conditioning as well as phonelines and Internet access. The Nolde Gymnasium, built in 1912, has seen numerous expansions over the years and is scheduled to begin renovation in early 2010. The Davenport Squash Center opened in 2005. The Burgin Center for the Arts opened in 2006. Designed by the Polshek Partnership, the facility includes a 600-seat main theater as well as a 120-seat studio theatre. The entire building is 65,500 square feet (6,090 m2) and consists of three floors.

Dormitories

Boys Dormitories-

  • Main Hall, boys dormitory. The original dorm; first building as part of the school.
  • Fowle Hall, boys dormitory with three floors on one wing reserved for 9th graders.
  • Keil Hall, boys dormitory located above the historic Edwards Room and Rutledge Hall (home of the English Department).

Girls Dormitories -

  • Tippetts Hall, girls dormitory; home to all entering 9th grade boarding girls.
  • Culbertson House, girls dormitory housing only 10 students.
  • Swank Hall, girls dormitory. Previously a boys dorm known as the Main Annex.
  • South Cottage, girls dormitory and historic former Civil War-era hospital.

(South Cottage and Culbertson House, to the great distress of many female boarders, are the only dorms without elevators)

All dormitories are air-conditioned and have voice and data ports in each room.

Other Campus Facilities

  • The Burgin Center for the Arts, named for former headmaster Walter Burgin, is the new fine arts building. Standing on the former site of Boone Hall, the Burgin Center provides areas for Stony Batter(the school's theatre club), Musical performance groups (concert and jazz bands, orchestra, and student bands), Visual Arts, and other activities. The yearbook (Karux) and newspaper staff also call the Burgin Center for the Arts their home.
  • The Nolde Gymnasium, which contains a large gymnasium, brand-new squash courts, and fully-equipped fitness center, and a soon to be Olympic-size swimming pool, among other equpiment.
  • The Chapel, built under the supervision and planning of Dr. William Mann Irvine by the renown architect Ralph Adams Cram of the firm Cram and Ferguson, a gothic-style church which houses a pipe organ and a traditional carillon.
  • The Lenfest Library, named for H. F. Lenfest, who also provided funding for the Burgin Center, is designed to almost mirror the Chapel. It may be noted that the front doors to both the library and the chapel line up perfectly.
  • Traylor Hall, a strictly administrative building housing admissions personnel, the Dean of Students, and the Headmaster's office.
  • Ford Hall is the dining hall for the school. Students sit down daily to enjoy a family-style meal. Downstairs in Ford is the student lounge and cafe, game room, newly renovated School Store, and the Summer Programs offices.

Athletics

Since 2000, Mercersburg has been a member of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL), which includes Blair Academy, The Hill School, Hun School of Princeton, Lawrenceville School and Peddie School. Mercersburg has produced 41 Olympians, 18 of whom were swimmers. There are also numerous Mercersburg alums playing on Division I college athletic teams. During the 2005-06 academic year, the school's football and baseball teams won MAPL league titles, as well as baseball receiving the state title. The Wrestling team includes graduates who now wrestle at schools such as : Cornell, Columbia, Navy, Appalachian State, The Univ. of Oklahoma, Cal-State Fullerton, and Lehigh.

The sports offered are as followed:
Fall
Men

  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Cross Country
  • Swimming
  • Golf

Women

  • Field Hockey
  • Volleyball
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Cross Country
  • Swimming

Winter
Men

  • Wrestling
  • Swimming
  • Squash
  • Winter Track
  • Skiing
  • Basketball

Women

  • Swimming
  • Squash
  • Winter Track
  • Skiing
  • Basketball

Spring
Men

  • Baseball
  • Lacrosse
  • Track & Field
  • Golf
  • Tennis
  • Swimming

Women

  • Softball
  • Lacrosse
  • Track & Field
  • Golf
  • Swimming

Notable alumni

Mercersburg has produced many outstanding individuals, including 48 Olympians (and nine gold medalists), seven Rhodes Scholars, several Fulbright Scholars, a Nobel Prize winner, two Academy Award winners, two Emmy Award winners, one Indian, and a Golden Globe winner.

Medal of Honor recipients

Nobel Prize recipient

Olympic gold medalists

Academy Award winners

Rhodes Scholars

  • Robert N. Cunningham Jr. 1921
  • Edward F. D'Arms 1921
  • Laurence A.L. Scott 1924
  • Dudley L. Harley 1927
  • James M. Tunnell 1928
  • Robert H. Michelet 1930
  • Cresson H. Kearney 1933

Others

References

  1. ^ Mission Statement, accessed June 28, 2006
  2. ^ Voluntary Support of Education (Updated), accessed September 26, 2006
  3. ^ FAQs, accessed August 10, 2007
  4. ^ Honor Code, accessed August 10, 2007
  5. ^ Regents Merit Scholarships, accessed August 10, 2007
  6. ^ Legacy Scholarships, accessed August 10, 2007
  7. ^ Mercersburg Academy - Boarding School Profile, accessed August 10, 2007
  8. ^ Richter, Burton, UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. Accessed July 11, 2007. "Richter's early education was at Far Rockaway High School in Queens, New York, and the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania."
  9. ^ Stewart Hoffman Appleby biography, United States Congress. Accessed July 11, 2007.
  10. ^ Mr. Coolidge's Week, Time (magazine), June 30, 1924
  11. ^ [1]

39°49′42″N 77°53′57″W / 39.8282°N 77.8991°W / 39.8282; -77.8991

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