ABOUT THE HARVARD INAUGURAL
Members of the Society are introduced to the Harvard Charter.
Even though many alumni/ae living in the United States and Canada could not attend the reunion held at Harvard on September 20, 2008, there is curiosity about what happened. The bottom line is that this inaugural event at Harvard was a huge success.
In brief, there was an excellent turnout of alumni/ae and accompanying spouses. Clive and Conchita Armitage traveled all the way from Queensland, Australia. Others flew in from the west coast of the United States and Canada, and there was also a good mix of people living in the mid-west, southern states, and on the eastern seaboard.
The Society met at the Harvard Faculty Club and later in the equally august setting of the Pusey Library, where an exhibition of Dunster artifacts and antiquities had been assembled by Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, the Harvard University Archivist, and her staff. The Society was treated to a rare, direct viewing of the 1650 Charter of the Harvard Corporation, drafted by Henry Dunster. This is the Magna Carta of American higher education, normally on public view only when Harvard installs a new President. The Archivist also led a brief excursion via Harvard Yard to the Dunster grave site in the Cambridge burying grounds. At the end of the day, the pleasure of learning new things and meeting old friends was enhanced by a gourmet dinner in The Jewel Box at Upstairs on the Square.
Because of the connection that runs through the life and work of Henry Dunster, the Bury Grammar Schools have caught the attention and imagination not only of the Harvard Archivist but also of the President of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust, who is an historian by trade. We hope that bodes well for future relationships between the two institutions.
The Steering Committee for the inaugural event, and most especially Francine Healey, put a lot of effort into this first overseas reunion ever attempted by the Bury Grammar Schools. But the payoff in goodwill for the Schools among a broad cross-section of alumni/ae now living in the United States and Canada, and the Antipodes, and eventually other regions of the world as well will be very large.
The Schools were also represented by Derek Calrow, a Governor and chair of the Development Committee, and by Bobby Georghiou, the Headmistress of BGSG, whose address after lunch electrified the audience, not least when she announced that Heather Sellars of the Sixth Form was preparing to swim the English Channel. Heather completed her swim in ten and a half hours just one week later.
So, the occasion was a happy and profitable one. The next time the Henry Dunster Society convenes, whether in America, Europe, or some other part of the world we hope many more alumni/ae will join us.
In brief, there was an excellent turnout of alumni/ae and accompanying spouses. Clive and Conchita Armitage traveled all the way from Queensland, Australia. Others flew in from the west coast of the United States and Canada, and there was also a good mix of people living in the mid-west, southern states, and on the eastern seaboard.
The Society met at the Harvard Faculty Club and later in the equally august setting of the Pusey Library, where an exhibition of Dunster artifacts and antiquities had been assembled by Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, the Harvard University Archivist, and her staff. The Society was treated to a rare, direct viewing of the 1650 Charter of the Harvard Corporation, drafted by Henry Dunster. This is the Magna Carta of American higher education, normally on public view only when Harvard installs a new President. The Archivist also led a brief excursion via Harvard Yard to the Dunster grave site in the Cambridge burying grounds. At the end of the day, the pleasure of learning new things and meeting old friends was enhanced by a gourmet dinner in The Jewel Box at Upstairs on the Square.
Because of the connection that runs through the life and work of Henry Dunster, the Bury Grammar Schools have caught the attention and imagination not only of the Harvard Archivist but also of the President of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust, who is an historian by trade. We hope that bodes well for future relationships between the two institutions.
The Steering Committee for the inaugural event, and most especially Francine Healey, put a lot of effort into this first overseas reunion ever attempted by the Bury Grammar Schools. But the payoff in goodwill for the Schools among a broad cross-section of alumni/ae now living in the United States and Canada, and the Antipodes, and eventually other regions of the world as well will be very large.
The Schools were also represented by Derek Calrow, a Governor and chair of the Development Committee, and by Bobby Georghiou, the Headmistress of BGSG, whose address after lunch electrified the audience, not least when she announced that Heather Sellars of the Sixth Form was preparing to swim the English Channel. Heather completed her swim in ten and a half hours just one week later.
So, the occasion was a happy and profitable one. The next time the Henry Dunster Society convenes, whether in America, Europe, or some other part of the world we hope many more alumni/ae will join us.