Gifts That Make a Difference

The Alice MacRae Kissel ’29 Fund

Alice MacRae Kissel, mother, world traveler, and member of the Class of 1929 with a quiet but lifelong admiration for the School, made a multimillion-dollar gift to Brearley through a bequest, the largest ever received by the School. The first installment of $1.5 million was transferred to Brearley in late 2003.

“We are deeply grateful for Mrs. Kissel’s extraordinary gift,” says Dr. Stephanie J. Hull, Head of the School.  “It is one of the largest gifts ever given to Brearley’s endowment, and in addition to its size, it is unrestricted and therefore provides the School with tremendous flexibility. We are creating the Alice MacRae Kissel ’29 Fund to honor Mrs. Kissel and her generosity to the School.

“The joy in learning of this generous gift,” notes Dr. Hull, “was tempered by our regret that we did not have the opportunity to thank Mrs. Kissel for her generosity to Brearley while she was still living. Unlike many of our alumnae who have told the School of their estate plans, Mrs. Kissel did not. In her quiet way, however, she contributed significantly to ensuring the future of her beloved school, and we are forever indebted to her.”

The Dorothy Schiff ’20 Science Chair

Dorothy Schiff, a member of Brearley’s Class of 1920, was memorialized by an extraordinary gift to the School, contributed in 2005 by the Dorothy Schiff Foundation. The gift endowed the Dorothy Schiff Science Chair, to be held by the Department Head. The gift caps both the Foundation’s long and generous history of giving to Brearley and the School’s recent substantial investments in the science program.

Foundation decision makers Adele Hall Sweet ’43, Sarah-Ann Backer Kramarsky ’52 and Mortimer Hall, were unanimous in their enthusiasm for endowing the science chair. By their gift they intend to honor their mother’s memory with a “living memorial,” to contribute to the experience of Brearley students today and to celebrate the School’s extraordinary teaching.

Dorothy Schiff led the New York Post for more than three decades. She became its owner in 1939. In 1943 she became its editor-in-chief and publisher, positions she held until selling the paper in 1976 to Rupert Murdoch, its current owner. She is at the center of a six-generation Brearley family. A lifelong learner with a particular interest in the scientific developments of her day, her tenure as editor-in-chief of the Post coincided with the nation’s early exploration of nuclear science as well as the post-Sputnik upsurge in commitment to science education in the United States. She is remembered as a voracious reader and, in the words of her daughter Adele Sweet, was “the personification of intellectual curiosity.”

In addition to being a consistent top level donor to the Brearley Annual Fund, the Dorothy Schiff Foundation helped the School purchase the East 77th Street building used for faculty housing, was an early contributor to the Bridges to Learning program and made possible the construction and equipping of the twelfth floor student publications office, known affectionately as “The Pub.”

Brearley Honors Teaching

Over the years, Brearley donors have created six special funds whose purpose is to help the School honor excellence in teaching. “Teaching is an art,” says Heyden White Rostow ’67, Academic Dean and Dean of the Faculty, “and we are pleased to have these dedicated resources to honor the special qualities of our teachers, whether they are faculty members with long experience or relative newcomers at the start of their careers. We want our faculty to know they are valued, and we want to reward teaching talent and keep it at Brearley.” Faculty award recipients are announced on Last Day, and the names of honorees are included in the Last Day coverage in the Fall issue of the Bulletin.

Chairs for Excellence in Teaching

Established in 1984, the Chairs for Excellence in Teaching honor outstanding teachers for their commitment to teaching excellence. There are three chairs, one of which must be awarded to a Lower School teacher; once selected, honorees hold their chairs for multiple years. Recipients are chosen for their outstanding classroom work and their exemplary contribution to the Brearley community. Along with the honor of being chosen, chair holders receive a modest award stipend.

The Margaret Harding Lower School Fellowship

This fellowship, established in 2002 in memory of Margaret Riker Harding, Head of the Lower School from 1963 to 1985 and a member of the faculty for forty-four years, is awarded to a younger teacher in the Lower School for a one-year term. Intended to encourage the best young teachers to remain in the profession, the award recognizes the recipient’s promise and carries a small stipend.

The Master Teacher Fund

Over the years, many of the “stars” in the Brearley teaching firmament have been faculty members who came to the School when they were new to the profession. They grew in skill and stature with the support of senior colleagues, and when they themselves became “senior” they passed along to beginning teachers the standards and practices that make a Brearley education what it is. The Master Teacher Fund honors this historical pattern by offering senior faculty members time and a stipend to work with a new teacher over the course of his or her beginning semesters at Brearley. The new teachers benefit greatly from this close connection, and the mentors in turn are inspired by the energy and vision of new teachers coming into the profession.

The Class of 1992 Faculty Award

Each spring, members of Class XII are invited to submit nominations for an award established by the families of the Class of 1992 in recognition of the extraordinary commitment of the Brearley faculty to their students. The Head of the School, in consultation with the Dean and Division Heads, chooses from among the seniors’ nominees to honor a faculty member for distinguished teaching. Because it comes from their students, recipients experience this award as an especially significant tribute.

The Sandra Lea Marshall ’73 Award

This award was established to honor members of the Brearley faculty who have reached out well beyond the call of duty to help students who are experiencing difficulties of any kind. Chosen by former recipients of the award, each year’s honoree receives a stipend that is meant “for travel or other such other purposes as will give pleasure to the recipient.”

The Serena Marshall Weld 1901 Award

Brearley has long recognized the value of giving teachers time to recharge and refresh and, thus, Brearley teachers, unlike many of their independent school peers, become eligible to apply for sabbatical leave after several years at the School. Many teachers use their sabbatical leave for travel or for some combination of travel and study either in their professional field or in an area of personal interest. The Serena Marshall Weld Award provides a teacher on sabbatical with supplemental money to support travel or other pursuits.