Worcester Academy
Encyclopedia
Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school
spread over 67 acres (271,139.6 m²) in Worcester
, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in grades nine to twelve, including some postgraduates. Approximately one-third of students in the upper school participate in the school's five- and seven-day boarding
programs. Currently there are approximately 80 international students enrolled from 14 different nations.
Worcester Academy is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
.
Its motto is the Greek phrase "Έφικνού τών Καλών," which translates to "Achieve the Honorable."
Worcester Academy's campus is currently spread over four main parcels: the main campus, which contains approximately 12 acres (48,562.3 m²); Francis A. Gaskill Field, a 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) parcel two blocks south of the main campus; the South Campus; and the New Balance
Fields nearly four miles away on Stafford Street, comprising 28 acres (113,312.1 m²). In 2004, Worcester Academy relocated its alumni offices to a renovated Victorian
home one block north of the main campus, at 51 Providence Street. It is now called Alumni House.
The South Campus lies between the main campus and Gaskill Field and is the major focus of the school's expansion plans. The first parcel of a former hospital campus was acquired in 2007 with the completion of the purchase and sale agreement on a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²)parcel. In January 2010, the Academy purchased an additional 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of the former hospital. Current plans call for the installation an artificial turf field in the fall of 2011. It will be outdoors and have lighting for night games. A walking path along its perimeter will connect to the entrance via a pathway. The field will serve both as a practice facility and playing field for multiple sports.
The main campus is a historic district
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
with six buildings listed as contributing properties: 81 Providence Street, Kingsley Laboratories, Walker Hall, Adams Hall, the Megaron, and Dexter Hall. 81 Providence Street is the home of the Head of School and is named "Abercrombie House" in honor of Daniel Webster Abercrombie, principal from 1882 to 1918. In 2001, the back end of the historic campus changed dramatically with the addition of Rader Hall, named for long-time faculty members Harold G. "Dutch" and Dorothy Rader. Rader Hall houses the school's library and is used for middle school classes and activities. In the past fifteen years restoration work on the historic campus buildings has been completed culminating in 2008 with the extensive renovation of the Kingsley Laboratories.
The most notable building on the campus is the Lewis J. Warner '28 Memorial Theater. Built in 1932, it was a gift from Warner Brothers Studio
President Harry Warner
, who donated the building to honor the memory of his only son. Lewis died within three years of graduating from the academy. Worcester Academy's middle school student assemblies are held in the 350-seat Hervey S. Ross Auditorium in Warner Theater.
The Middle School offers an extensive visual arts program in conjunction with introductory courses in music and theater. A highlight of the program is the Arts Café which studies the art, and cuisine, of a goal culture each year.
Theater arts courses are taught by four degreed professionals in theater arts. Three theater faculty have advanced degrees in theater. One was awarded the Olmsted Prize, a national award for teaching excellence.
Students perform in two distinct theaters:
Students perform in three fully mounted Upper School productions and a fully mounted Middle School production. One of these productions is an annual musical. Middle School students present class projects to enthusiastic friends and family.
Theater students attend professional productions at some of the great regional theaters in Boston, Cambridge, Providence, and Hartford.
Each summer, Moonstruck Theater Company http://www.moonstrucktheater.org, founded by Worcester Academy Alumna Caroline Fonseca '05, presents a fully mounted production in the Andes Pit Theater. Many company members are graduates of the Academy’s theater program, and many WA theater students gain valuable practical experience as Moonstruck Theater interns.
Extra-curricular program:
Bells, Band and Chorus: All middle school students are encouraged to take part in one of these groups meeting once a week. This program includes Beginning and Advanced Band, Chorus, and Select Chorus.
A middle school production is offered every second year. On alternate years the Upper School Musical is open to middle school students as an all-school production.
The formation of the Worcester Academy Athletic Association in 1885 was the official beginning of interscholastic sport at the Academy and like many Eastern boarding schools, Worcester Academy helped pioneer the growth of athletic competition in the United States. This tradition in sports has motivated many graduates to continue their involvement by playing sports at the college or professional level, or through coaching, officiating, management, medicine, apparel, reporting, charitable giving, and the arts.
The nickname of the school teams is the Hilltoppers due to the school’s location at the top of Worcester's Union Hill and the ram is the mascot because of the hilltop location. Approximately 60% of the students participate in an interscholastic sport on one of the 54 athletic teams. There are twenty-four different sports offered including in the fall: football, soccer, cross country, field hockey; in the winter: basketball, wrestling, alpine skiing, volleyball, hockey, swimming; and in the spring: track and field, baseball, lacrosse, crew, golf, softball, and tennis.
Hockey was first an interscholastic sport in the 1930s and after a couple of lapses returned as an interscholastic sport in 2000. The team advanced to the top level of the NEPSAC Division 2 ranks and in the 2009/2010 season joined the NEPSAC Division 1. In line with its commitment to the sport, Worcester Academy plans to offer Girls Hockey in the upcoming season.
In 2008 the Worcester Academy Girls Varsity soccer team won the NEPSAC Class B Final. The final finished off their 15-0-2 undefeated season, in which the team allowed only 6 goals all season, with 11 shutouts.. In 2009, the Girls Varsity soccer team repeated as the Class B champion, defeating the lone team that beat them during the season in a double overtime victory.
The Varsity Baseball team has consistently made post season play in the NEPSAC Class A Championship tournament which in called the Blackburn Tournament in honor of Tom Blackburn who was the long time varsity baseball coach and athletic director at Worcester Academy. The Blackburn Tournament is held each year at the Hanover Park at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. In 2011, the team won the Blackburn tournament with victories over Tabor Academy in the semi-final and Deerfield Academy in the final game. Each year the varsity team makes a week long spring training trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, practicing and playing teams from around the country.
Worcester Academy swimming had a large turnout of swimmers with 43 swimmers this past year. The team has had a tradition of swimmers earning Academic All American status.
The Varsity Football team plays at the Class A level and most of its schedule features games against other NEPSAC Class A teams. Like other Class A teams, Worcester Academy observes an unwritten rule of allowing roughly eight postgraduate players to play on its football games which allows for players who have come through its programs as undergraduates meaningful playing time. Turnout for the football team has grown from 28 players in 2008 to 52 in the fall of 2010.
On September 30, 2011 Worcester Academy officially hosted the grand opening of its $3.2 million synthetic turf facility. The Hilltoppers football team defeated Northfield Mt. Hermon 40-6 during the schools first ever night game.
On November 20, 2011, the Girls Varsity Soccer team won the Class A NEPSAC championship defeating Loomis Chaffee School by a score of 2 to 1. The Girls Varsity Soccer team moved up to Class A this year and went undefeated.
On December 3, 2011, the Girls Varsity Ice Hockey team will play its first game ever versus the Winsor School. Under Coach Tim Healey, the team will play a 19 game schedule.
In May 2010, Worcester Academy's Walk and Rock for the Jimmy Fund raised $21,862 for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer research and support at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. In 2005, two juniors, Jeffrey Rothschild '07 and Elizabeth Tripp '07 with the support of their faculty adviser, Dr. Francine Smith, founded Walk and Rock for the Jimmy Fund. The event—a walkathon and music festival—raised $221,862 over a five year period. This total includes an anonymous $100,000 donation from a Jimmy Fund supporter and parent of Worcester Academy alumni. In its first years, the event headlined the bands State Radio
and ZOX
. Other notable leaders of the event include Aaron Faucher '08, Stonleigh Caswell '09, and Jake Arthur '10. Although the Jimmy Fund Club still remains, the last Walk and Rock ended in 2010 due to the amount of time and effort it took to plan and organize.
In the spring of 2011, the We The People club won the Massachusetts championship and traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national championship. The Worcester Academy team competed with teams from every state.
In 2011, Worcester Academy's math team won its seventh (and fourth straight) Worcester County Mathematics League
championship, its seventh (and sixth straight) state championship, and its fourth New England championship (the third in six years).
Recent recipients:
In certain instances, student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include:
On October 27, 2011, the Board of Trustees announced their unanimous vote to appoint Ronald M. Cino as the 31st Head of Worcester Academy. Dexter Morse remains the Head of School until the end of the 2011–2012 school year.
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
spread over 67 acres (271,139.6 m²) in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in grades nine to twelve, including some postgraduates. Approximately one-third of students in the upper school participate in the school's five- and seven-day boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
programs. Currently there are approximately 80 international students enrolled from 14 different nations.
Worcester Academy is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council was founded in 1942 as an organization of athletic directors from preparatory schools in New England.-Member schools:* The Albany Academy* American School for the Deaf* Applewild School...
.
Its motto is the Greek phrase "Έφικνού τών Καλών," which translates to "Achieve the Honorable."
History
Founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School, the name was changed to Worcester Academy in 1847. The school moved to its current location on Worcester's Union Hill in 1869. The academy moved into the previous Civil War hospital: "THE DALE GENERAL HOSPITAL" and was renamed Davis Hall. Worcester Academy was all-male from its founding until 1856, and again from 1890 to 1974. It has been coeducational ever since.Campus
New Balance
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. , best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company...
Fields nearly four miles away on Stafford Street, comprising 28 acres (113,312.1 m²). In 2004, Worcester Academy relocated its alumni offices to a renovated Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
home one block north of the main campus, at 51 Providence Street. It is now called Alumni House.
The South Campus lies between the main campus and Gaskill Field and is the major focus of the school's expansion plans. The first parcel of a former hospital campus was acquired in 2007 with the completion of the purchase and sale agreement on a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²)parcel. In January 2010, the Academy purchased an additional 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of the former hospital. Current plans call for the installation an artificial turf field in the fall of 2011. It will be outdoors and have lighting for night games. A walking path along its perimeter will connect to the entrance via a pathway. The field will serve both as a practice facility and playing field for multiple sports.
The main campus is a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
with six buildings listed as contributing properties: 81 Providence Street, Kingsley Laboratories, Walker Hall, Adams Hall, the Megaron, and Dexter Hall. 81 Providence Street is the home of the Head of School and is named "Abercrombie House" in honor of Daniel Webster Abercrombie, principal from 1882 to 1918. In 2001, the back end of the historic campus changed dramatically with the addition of Rader Hall, named for long-time faculty members Harold G. "Dutch" and Dorothy Rader. Rader Hall houses the school's library and is used for middle school classes and activities. In the past fifteen years restoration work on the historic campus buildings has been completed culminating in 2008 with the extensive renovation of the Kingsley Laboratories.
The most notable building on the campus is the Lewis J. Warner '28 Memorial Theater. Built in 1932, it was a gift from Warner Brothers Studio
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
President Harry Warner
Harry Warner
Harry Morris Warner was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three brothers Warner played a crucial role in the film business and played a key role in establishing Warner Bros...
, who donated the building to honor the memory of his only son. Lewis died within three years of graduating from the academy. Worcester Academy's middle school student assemblies are held in the 350-seat Hervey S. Ross Auditorium in Warner Theater.
Visual and performing arts
Over the 176-year history of the school, fine arts has grown from a student activity into an integral part of the curriculum. Beginning in the 1890s, glee clubs and orchestras, organized by students, performed at term dinners and in the following decade, faculty advisers oversaw these groups. In 1901, the first play was performed by students under the direction of a faculty adviser. These groups evolved into clubs, known as Etta Kappa Alpha (theater) and the Offbeats (singing) which were important contributors to extracurricular life at Worcester Academy. In early the 1980s, courses in performing and visual art were offered. By the end of the decade a Visual and Performing Arts Department was formed. Soon thereafter, theater was offered as a course and this curriculum has expanded greatly since then.Visual art
Upper school studio art course offerings include ceramics, jewelry design, fibers craft, and architecture. In addition to drawing and painting courses, digital art is an offering. Web design and animation are also part of the art curriculum.The Middle School offers an extensive visual arts program in conjunction with introductory courses in music and theater. A highlight of the program is the Arts Café which studies the art, and cuisine, of a goal culture each year.
Theater program
Worcester Academy has been offering an extensive curriculum in theater arts since 1988. Teachers emphasize ensemble and artistic excellence. The curricular and co-curricular programs provide both serious training for those who might want to major in theater arts in college as well as opportunities for students who may be studying theater arts for the first time and wish to explore their interests.Theater arts courses are taught by four degreed professionals in theater arts. Three theater faculty have advanced degrees in theater. One was awarded the Olmsted Prize, a national award for teaching excellence.
Students perform in two distinct theaters:
- The Andes Pit Theater is a unique, experimental, flexible space that provides an intimate, immediate experience for an audience of 100
- Warner Theater, painstakingly restored in 2000 to its original beauty, is an elegant proscenium theater that seats an audience of 360.
Students perform in three fully mounted Upper School productions and a fully mounted Middle School production. One of these productions is an annual musical. Middle School students present class projects to enthusiastic friends and family.
Theater students attend professional productions at some of the great regional theaters in Boston, Cambridge, Providence, and Hartford.
Each summer, Moonstruck Theater Company http://www.moonstrucktheater.org, founded by Worcester Academy Alumna Caroline Fonseca '05, presents a fully mounted production in the Andes Pit Theater. Many company members are graduates of the Academy’s theater program, and many WA theater students gain valuable practical experience as Moonstruck Theater interns.
Upper School music academic program
- Chorus offers introductory to intermediate training in ensemble performance with a focus on developing singers’ musicianship, vocal technique and interpretive skills.
- Advanced Chorus is a performance ensemble open to qualified students by audition. The repertoire includes American, European and World music that is both challenging and rewarding to study and perform. The group regularly participates in choral festivals and has always received excellent or superior ratings.
- Wind Ensemble is open to students with a desire to play music in an ensemble setting. The repertoire is chosen to develop ensemble techniques and introduce students to varied styles.
- Orchestra includes string players, as well as auditioned woodwind, brass and percussion players. The group plays a wide variety of repertoire.
- Music Study is individual and small group lessons that are offered to members of the performance ensembles in voice, piano, woodwinds, brass, bass, and percussion.
- Music Theory meets two times weekly and is scheduled as an independent study for greater availability for students. The program is based around compositional technique of seventeenth to twentieth century tonal music and focuses on four-part writing. Courses run from Music Theory I through AP. This three-year curriculum is equivalent to three semesters of most college theory classes.
- Musical Theater in Performance is a trimester class offered every second year. Students prepare a musical review drawn from the works of one songwriter. The class was first offered in 2009 and celebrated the music of Worcester Academy alumn, Cole Porter. In 2011 students performed songs by Kurt Weill.
Extra-curricular program:
- The Academy Singers are selected from members of the choral classes. The Academy Singers perform an eclectic mix of vocal music suitable to a small ensemble, from Renaissance to modern. In addition to school performances, they often reach out to the community. Like the Advanced Chorus, the Academy Singers regularly participate in choral festivals and have always earned excellent or superior ratings.
- Jazz Combo is a small performance based jazz group (6–10 members/ rhythm section and up to 5 horns) by audition. Repertoire is based upon stylistic and historical perspectives in Jazz, with attention drawn to the innovative artists of those periods. All arrangements are original and many times created by the group during rehearsals. The combo performs at the Academy and in the community throughout the school year.
- Jazz Lab is a performance based training program for beginning to intermediate players who are interested and wish to explore jazz.
- The Hillpoppas are a student directed "collegiate" a cappella ensemble. Most of their arrangements are created by the members. The Hillpoppas fill an important spot in the choral music program, offering students opportunities as leaders and composer/arrangers working in contemporary styles.
- A full musical theater production is mounted by the upper school each year. recent productions:
- 2011 The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- 2010 Seussical
- 2009 Anything Goes
- 2008 Into the Wood
- 2007 The Mikado
- 2006 Urinetown
Middle School music
Music 6 and 7 offer general music classes. Music 8 is an ensemble class for instrumentalists and singers.Bells, Band and Chorus: All middle school students are encouraged to take part in one of these groups meeting once a week. This program includes Beginning and Advanced Band, Chorus, and Select Chorus.
A middle school production is offered every second year. On alternate years the Upper School Musical is open to middle school students as an all-school production.
Athletics
Worcester Academy is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). Worcester Academy plays most of the larger New England prep schools, and rivalries date back much more than a century. In certain sports, NEPSAC classifies the competition for post-season play and Worcester Academy competes with teams in Class A and Class B.The formation of the Worcester Academy Athletic Association in 1885 was the official beginning of interscholastic sport at the Academy and like many Eastern boarding schools, Worcester Academy helped pioneer the growth of athletic competition in the United States. This tradition in sports has motivated many graduates to continue their involvement by playing sports at the college or professional level, or through coaching, officiating, management, medicine, apparel, reporting, charitable giving, and the arts.
The nickname of the school teams is the Hilltoppers due to the school’s location at the top of Worcester's Union Hill and the ram is the mascot because of the hilltop location. Approximately 60% of the students participate in an interscholastic sport on one of the 54 athletic teams. There are twenty-four different sports offered including in the fall: football, soccer, cross country, field hockey; in the winter: basketball, wrestling, alpine skiing, volleyball, hockey, swimming; and in the spring: track and field, baseball, lacrosse, crew, golf, softball, and tennis.
Facilities
- Daniels Gymnasium (1915 with a 1983 addition) has two basketball courts, a wrestling room, a weight room, and a four lane swimming pool. Volleyball is played in this building in the fall. A running track is above the original basketball court.
- Gaskill Field (1910) is a located a few blocks south of the main campus and was completely renovated in 1995. This complex includes a football field with stands, a six lane quarter mile composition track, four tennis courts, and a baseball field.
- New Balance Field (2001) is located four miles from the main campus and it includes fields on three planes of different elevations. These are used for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball based upon the season. There is also a field dedicated to softball.
- South Campus (2011) is located just a block away from the main campus, sitting on the site of the former St. Vincent Hospital. South Campus consists of a multi-purpose synthetic turf field that hosts varsity football, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer and softball. As part of the $3.2 million project, lights were installed for Friday night football games. There is also a small walking track surrounding the field.
- Off-campus facilities: The crew teams row on Lake Quinsigamond and store their shells at the Donahue Rowing Center in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. The hockey teams principally skate at the Buffone Rink in Worcester. The golf teams play at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts. The ski team competes at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Massachusetts.
Recent highlights
In 2005–2006 the girls varsity basketball team had an undefeated season, winning the NEPSAC championship.Hockey was first an interscholastic sport in the 1930s and after a couple of lapses returned as an interscholastic sport in 2000. The team advanced to the top level of the NEPSAC Division 2 ranks and in the 2009/2010 season joined the NEPSAC Division 1. In line with its commitment to the sport, Worcester Academy plans to offer Girls Hockey in the upcoming season.
In 2008 the Worcester Academy Girls Varsity soccer team won the NEPSAC Class B Final. The final finished off their 15-0-2 undefeated season, in which the team allowed only 6 goals all season, with 11 shutouts.. In 2009, the Girls Varsity soccer team repeated as the Class B champion, defeating the lone team that beat them during the season in a double overtime victory.
The Varsity Baseball team has consistently made post season play in the NEPSAC Class A Championship tournament which in called the Blackburn Tournament in honor of Tom Blackburn who was the long time varsity baseball coach and athletic director at Worcester Academy. The Blackburn Tournament is held each year at the Hanover Park at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. In 2011, the team won the Blackburn tournament with victories over Tabor Academy in the semi-final and Deerfield Academy in the final game. Each year the varsity team makes a week long spring training trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, practicing and playing teams from around the country.
Worcester Academy swimming had a large turnout of swimmers with 43 swimmers this past year. The team has had a tradition of swimmers earning Academic All American status.
The Varsity Football team plays at the Class A level and most of its schedule features games against other NEPSAC Class A teams. Like other Class A teams, Worcester Academy observes an unwritten rule of allowing roughly eight postgraduate players to play on its football games which allows for players who have come through its programs as undergraduates meaningful playing time. Turnout for the football team has grown from 28 players in 2008 to 52 in the fall of 2010.
On September 30, 2011 Worcester Academy officially hosted the grand opening of its $3.2 million synthetic turf facility. The Hilltoppers football team defeated Northfield Mt. Hermon 40-6 during the schools first ever night game.
On November 20, 2011, the Girls Varsity Soccer team won the Class A NEPSAC championship defeating Loomis Chaffee School by a score of 2 to 1. The Girls Varsity Soccer team moved up to Class A this year and went undefeated.
On December 3, 2011, the Girls Varsity Ice Hockey team will play its first game ever versus the Winsor School. Under Coach Tim Healey, the team will play a 19 game schedule.
Clubs
Student organizations or clubs date back to the very beginning of Worcester Academy in 1834, when the Legomathenian Society was formed. Initially, the Legomathenian Society was a literary society which published articles written by students. The Legomathenian Society is now the debate club at Worcester Academy. There are 25 organizations and just a few of them are Model UN, Habitat for Humanity, the Math Team, etc.Recent highlights
In January 2010, the Worcester Academy team won the Brain Bee competition for the state of Massachusetts and Raji Pyda '12, won the overall competition. She represented the state in the national Brain Bee, which was held in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2010.In May 2010, Worcester Academy's Walk and Rock for the Jimmy Fund raised $21,862 for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer research and support at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. In 2005, two juniors, Jeffrey Rothschild '07 and Elizabeth Tripp '07 with the support of their faculty adviser, Dr. Francine Smith, founded Walk and Rock for the Jimmy Fund. The event—a walkathon and music festival—raised $221,862 over a five year period. This total includes an anonymous $100,000 donation from a Jimmy Fund supporter and parent of Worcester Academy alumni. In its first years, the event headlined the bands State Radio
State Radio
State Radio is an alternative rock band from Sherborn, Massachusetts, consisting of Chad Urmston , Chuck Fay and Mike Najarian...
and ZOX
ZOX
ZOX is a band from Providence, Rhode Island that is self-described as "violin-laced Reggae rock." The band consists of four members: namesake John Zox , Eli Miller , Spencer Swain , and Dan Edinberg ....
. Other notable leaders of the event include Aaron Faucher '08, Stonleigh Caswell '09, and Jake Arthur '10. Although the Jimmy Fund Club still remains, the last Walk and Rock ended in 2010 due to the amount of time and effort it took to plan and organize.
In the spring of 2011, the We The People club won the Massachusetts championship and traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national championship. The Worcester Academy team competed with teams from every state.
In 2011, Worcester Academy's math team won its seventh (and fourth straight) Worcester County Mathematics League
Worcester County Mathematics League
The Worcester County Mathematics League is a high school mathematics league composed of 32 high schools, most of which are in Worcester County, Massachusetts...
championship, its seventh (and sixth straight) state championship, and its fourth New England championship (the third in six years).
Other Highlights
- In September 2006, Boston MagazineBoston magazineBoston is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication for more than 40 years.-About the magazine:The magazine is self-described as:...
rated Worcester Academy the sixteenth best private school in the Boston Area, and the best in Worcester County. In an article entitled "The Right Private School for Your Kid," Boston Magazine rated Worcester Academy the best private school in the Boston area for students to exercise their mathematical talents. - Worcester Academy celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2008–2009.
- On November 20, 2011, Elizabeth Butterworth, Class of 2007, was awarded a Rhodes ScholarshipRhodes ScholarshipThe Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
. She is a senior at Princeton. Liz is the second Worcester Academy graduate to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. The first was Troyer Steele Anderson, Class of 1918, who was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1923.
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Established in 2002, this award recognizes the accomplishment of an alumnus/a who has demonstrated the Academy's mission through excellence in his or her chosen field. The award is presented annually during reunion weekend.- 2002 Recipient: Lt. Gen. Alcide M. LaNoue, M.D. '52
- 2003 Recipient: Dr. Richard Talamo '53 (posthumously)
- 2004 Recipient: Robert E. Weissman '58
- 2005 Recipient: N. Scott Knight '65
- 2006 Recipient: Sen. Louis C. D'Allesandro '56
- 2006 Recipient: Dr. Thomas V. Healey '36 (posthumously)
- 2007 Recipient: Alan J. Bernon '72
- 2008 Recipient: Michael Puk Sun Tien '68
- 2009 Recipient: Dr. Craig R. Dufresne '69
- 2010 Recipient: Dr. Chulsu Kim '60
- 2011 Recipient: Dr. Everett F. Lang, Jr. '61
Young Alumnus Recognition Award
Established in 2003, this award is given to an alumnus/a who graduated from the Academy in the past twenty years and has demonstrated success in his or her chosen field or has contributed significantly to his or her community. The award is presented annually during reunion weekend.- 2003 Recipient: Ira Stoll '90
- 2004 Recipient: Naomi A. Schaefer '94
- 2005 Recipient: Tanja Bernstein '90
- 2006 Recipient: Alta M. Boover '96
- 2007 Recipient: Neil S. Patel '87
- 2008 Recipient: Niels Tangherlini '88
- 2009 Recipient: Zoey L. Breslar '89
- 2010 Recipient: Jonathan Starr '94
- 2011 Recipient: Rodolfo P. Mareno '01
Worcester Academy Hall of Fame
The Worcester Academy Hall of Fame, established in 1976, recognizes individuals who through their many years of service and devotion to the Academy have had an important impact on the school and society. The Hall of Fame members include alumni, former faculty members, heads of school, coaches, faculty wives, trustees, benefactors and friends of the Academy. The Hall of Fame also includes alumni whose work has influenced the lives of people everywhere.Recent recipients:
- 1998 – Bruce Daniels '43, Janet Macko
- 1999 – Harold Keohane '56, Duane Sargisson '51
- 2000 – James Davis '62, Robert Hall '62, Michael Mone '60
- 2001 – Earle Leeder '51
- 2002 – David Forsberg '65, Jacques LeBermuth '24
- 2005 – Ronald A. Siff '55
- 2009 – Donald Bloom '59, Elaine Willey Bloom
Notable alumni
Notable faculty and alumni of Worcester Academy include:- William H. BatesWilliam H. BatesFor William Horatio Bates, the alternative eye therapist, see William Bates . For the United States Navy submarine, see .William Henry Bates was a member of the United States House of Representatives notable for his staunch support of the United States Navy.Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he...
1936, U.S. Congressman - John BarrettJohn Barrett (diplomat)John Barrett was a United States diplomat and one of the most influential early directors general of the Pan American Union. On his death, the New York Times commented that he had "done more than any other person of his generation to promote closer relations among the American...
1883, American Diplomat - H. Jon BenjaminH. Jon BenjaminHenry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
1984, actor, comedian - George Boardman the YoungerGeorge Boardman the YoungerGeorge Dana Boardman the Younger was born in Burma, the son of the Baptist missionaries George Dana Boardman and Sarah Hall Boardman. He returned to the United States as a boy and attended first Worcester Academy from which he graduated in 1846, then Brown University, where he graduated in 1852...
, 1846, missionary - George B. BoomerGeorge B. BoomerGeorge Boardman Boomer was a Union Army colonel who served as a brigade commander between February 12, 1863 and May 22, 1863 during the American Civil War. His principal service was during the heavy engagement of his brigade on May 16, 1863 at the Battle of Champion Hill during the Vicksburg...
1847, Civil War General - Ralph A. Doc CarrollDoc CarrollRalph Arthur "Doc" Carroll , was a Major League Baseball catcher who played in with the Philadelphia Athletics. He batted and threw right-handed. Carroll had a .091 batting average in ten games, two hits in 22 at-bats, in his one year career...
, 1909, Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Athletics, 1916. - Bill CookeBill CookeWilliam Morrill Cooke is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League who played for the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks...
1970, National Football League player - General Norman CotaNorman CotaNorman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr. was a United States Army general during World War II. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the invasion of France, codenamed Operation Neptune, and the subsequent Battle of Normandy.-Early life:Cota was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the son...
1915, portrayed by actor Robert Mitchum in the 1962 movie classic "The Longest Day" - Alta Dantzler 1996, DMA, Mezzo-Soprano
- William Stearns DavisWilliam Stearns DavisWilliam Stearns Davis , American educator, historian, and author, has been cited as one who “contributed to history as a scholarly discipline, . ....
1896, historian and educator - Clarence DillonClarence DillonClarence Dillon, , was an American financier, and namesake of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment bank.-Background:...
1904, co-founder of investment bank Dillon, Read & Co.Dillon, Read & Co.Dillon, Read & Co. was a prominent American investment bank from the 1920s into the 1960s.-Origins:Dillon Read traces its roots to 1832 with the founding of the Wall Street brokerage firm Carpenter & Vermilye. This firm was succeeded by Read & Company in which chief principal was William A. Read. ...
, father of C. Douglas DillonC. Douglas DillonClarence Douglas Dillon was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury... - John F. DrydenJohn F. DrydenJohn Fairfield Dryden was president of the Prudential Insurance Company and a United States Senator from New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".-Biography:...
, 1857, Founder Prudential Insurance, U.S. Senator - Arthur DuffeyArthur DuffeyArthur Francis Duffey was an American track and field athlete who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He was an alumnus of the Class of 1899 of Worcester Academy and Georgetown University...
1899, Olympic Sprinter, 1900 Paris - Harry B. Ellis 1940, Correspondent, Author of books on the Middle East
- General Hugh J. GaffeyHugh Joseph GaffeyHugh Joseph Gaffey was Chief of Staff for General George Patton's Third Army during World War II.-Biography:...
1916, Patton's Chief of Staff - Harold D. "Chick" Gagnon, 1919, Major League Baseball player Detroit Tigers
- Willis GoldbeckWillis GoldbeckWillis Goldbeck was an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 40 films between 1923 and 1962. He also directed ten films between 1942 and 1951. Willis graduated High School from Worcester Academy....
, 1910, movie producer and writer - Gilbert Hovey GrosvenorGilbert Hovey GrosvenorGilbert Hovey Grosvenor , the father of photojournalism, was the first full-time editor of National Geographic Magazine, serving from 1899 to 1954. Grosvenor is credited with having built the magazine into the iconic publication that it is today...
1893, founder and first editor of National Geographic magazine - Herman GundlachHerman GundlachHerman Gundlach, Jr. was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Boston Redskins. He played at Worcester Academy, then college football at Harvard University.-External links:**...
1931, Harvard football captain, Boston Brave lineman, NFL - Bruno HaasBruno HaasBruno Philip Haas was a Major League Baseball pitcher, minor league baseball executive, and many other things during a baseball career that lasted 37 years....
1915, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher and NFL player - Alan HabermanAlan HabermanAlan Haberman was an American supermarket executive who is credited with popularizing the use of the barcode in commerce internationally. Haberman was a founder and board member of the Uniform Code Council.-References:...
1947, supermarket executive credited with popularizing the barcodeBarcodeA barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,... - Ned HarknessNed HarknessNevin D. "Ned" Harkness was a successful NCAA head coach of ice hockey and lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University and of ice hockey at Union College. Harkness was also head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and later was the team's general manager...
1939, college and professional hockey coach - Brian HerosianBrian HerosianBrian Herosian was born in 1950 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Worcester Academy and graduated in 1969. At Worcester Academy he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He matriculated to the University of Connecticut where he starred in football and baseball...
, 1969, former N. F. L. player with the Baltimore Cots and C.F.L. player - Abbie HoffmanAbbie HoffmanAbbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
1955, social and political activist in the 1960s - Tom HollandTom Holland (director)-Early life:Holland was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Lee and Tom Holland. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1962. He is the uncle of Dexter Holland, the singer and guitarist for the American punk rock band, The Offspring, and father of American actor Josh Holland.-Dead Rabbit...
1962, film director - John HopeJohn Hope (educator)John Hope , born in Augusta, Georgia, was an African-American educator and political activist. He was the son of James Hope, a white Scottish merchant, born in Langholm, Scotland in 1805. Arriving in New York City in 1817, he was a successful grocer in Manhattan before moving south to Augusta in...
1890, educator and founder of Atlanta UniversityClark Atlanta UniversityClark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University... - Ernest Martin HopkinsErnest Martin HopkinsErnest Martin Hopkins served as the 11th President of Dartmouth College from 1916 to 1945.- Dartmouth Presidency :...
1896, President of Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... - Frank Reed HortonFrank Reed HortonFrank Reed Horton , was a United States educator. He is best known as the founder and first national president of Alpha Phi Omega, an international service fraternity....
1914, founder Alpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
fraternity - Tony HulmanTony HulmanAnton "Tony" Hulman, Jr. was a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana who rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and made the Indianapolis 500 popular....
1920, Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
owner - Lyman JewettLyman JewettLyman Jewett DD was an American Baptist missionary and first translator of the Bible into Telugu....
1840, Baptist missionary who translated the Bible into TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu... - Edward Davis JonesEdward Jones (statistician)Edward Davis Jones was a U.S. statistician, mostly known for being the "Jones" in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.A graduate of Worcester Academy in Worcester, MA, he co-founded the Dow Jones & Company in 1882 along with Charles Dow and Charles Bergstresser.He was not associated with Edward Jones...
1873, co-founder of Dow Jones - Arthur KennedyArthur Kennedy (actor)Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...
1930, stage and screen actor - Stephen KnappStephen KnappStephen Knapp is an American artist best known for his use of the medium of lightpainting He has gained an international reputation for large-scale works of art held in museums, public, corporate, and private collections, which are executed in media as diverse as light, kiln-formed glass, metal,...
1965, artist - Stefan Lano 1970, conductor
- Dick LasseDick LasseRichard Stephen Lasse is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League and former college football coach. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1954.-Professional career:...
1954, N. F. L. football player and college coach - Armand LaMontagneArmand LaMontagneArmand LaMontagne ranks as one of America's pre-eminent sculptors of celebrated personalities.-Education:LaMontagne is a graduate of Worcester Academy and Boston College. He is a self-taught artist who has honed his skills through practicing his profession.-Body of work:He is best recognized for...
1958, sculptor of prominent athletes - Doug LeedsDoug LeedsDouglas B. "Doug" Leeds was an advertising/media executive who is the founder and current Chairman/CEO of Storeboard Media LLC...
1965, advertising/media executive and Broadway benefactor - Arnold L. Lehman 1962, Director of the Brooklyn Museum
- Lou LittleLou LittleLou "Luigi Piccolo" Little was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Georgetown College, now Georgetown University, from 1924 to 1929 and at Columbia University from 1930 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of 151–128–13...
1912, college football coach - Michael LoPresti Jr 1967, former Massachusetts State Senator
- Andrew MamedoffAndrew MamedoffAndrew B "Andy" Mamedoff was an American pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.-Biography:Born in Thompson, Connecticut, where his White Russian family had settled in the early 1910s. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1931...
, Battle of Britain pilot - John W. MayhewJohn W. Mayhew-External links:* at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com...
1904, All-American football player and coach - Roy McGillicuddy 1915, aka Roy MackRoy MackRoy Mack was the co-owner of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League with his brother Earle Mack from through . In 1954, the brothers sold the Athletics to Arnold Johnson, who moved the team to Kansas City, Missouri one season later. Mack was the son of Hall of Fame manager and former...
son of Connie Mack; co-owner of the Philadelphia A's - Rep. Jim McGovern 1977, U.S. Congressman
- Charles E. MerrillCharles E. MerrillCharles Edward Merrill was an American philanthropist, stockbroker and co-founder, with Edmund C. Lynch of Merrill Lynch & Company .-Early years:...
1904, co-founder of Merrill LynchMerrill LynchMerrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York... - Alfred Henry MillerAlfred Henry MillerAlfred Henry "Truck" Miller was a professional football player who spent 1 season in the National Football League with the Boston Bulldogs in 1929. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.,...
, 1923, N. F. L. football player Boston Bulldogs, 1929 - Paul Mitchell, 1968, Major League Baseball pitcher
- Jessica Phillips 1989, Broadway actor
- Wesley Piermarini 2000, rower, mens double scull, 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China
- Arthur PopeArthur PopeArthur Upham Pope , was an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art.Born in Phenix, Rhode Island, graduated from Worcester Academy in 1899, and taught at Amherst College and the University of California. He married fellow Persian art historian, Phyllis Ackerman, in 1920. In 1923, Pope...
1899, Persian Art Scholar and Administrator - Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
1909, Broadway composer - Sidney Hollis RadnerSidney Hollis RadnerSidney Hollis Radner was a retired rug salesman from Holyoke, Massachusetts, who owned one of the world's largest and most valuable collections of Harry Houdini artifacts...
, 1937 magician and expert on Houdini - Naomi Schaefer Riley 1994, Wall Street Journal Editor
- Frank Rooney 1940, business executive
- Hervey S. Ross 1946, insurance executive, Academy benefactor
- Donald "Dee" RoweDonald "Dee" RoweDonald "Dee" Rowe is a former coach of the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1929 and graduated from Worcester Academy in 1947. After graduating from Middlebury College and serving in the U. S. Army, Rowe returned to Worcester Academy in...
1947, basketball coach - Thomas M. SalmonThomas M. Salmon- Early life :Salmon was born in Bellows Falls, Vermont. He graduated from Bellows Falls Union High School and attended Worcester Academy as a postgraduate year and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Boston College...
1982, Vermont State Auditor - John Edward SawyerJohn Edward SawyerJohn Edward Sawyer was a prominent academic and philanthropic administrator. He was educated at Worcester Academy and then Deerfield Academy, Williams College, and Harvard University. He served as the 11th president of Williams College, and headed the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation...
1937, President of Williams College - Dennis ShulmanDennis ShulmanDennis G. Shulman is an American clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, teacher, and ordained rabbi who was the Democratic nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District...
1968, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, rabbi, and Democratic Party nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District - Mark SladeMark SladeMark Van Blarcom Slade is an American actor.In 1956, he enrolled in the Worcester Academy with intention of becoming a cartoonist. After he filled in for a sick classmate, playing the role of an English professor in the play, The Male Animal, he decided to enter acting...
1957, TV actor - Charles StarrettCharles StarrettCharles Starrett was an American actor best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid Columbia Pictures western series. He was born in Athol, Massachusetts.-Career:...
1922, the "Durango Kid" - Ira StollIra StollIra Stoll is editor of FutureOfCapitalism.com. He was vice president and managing editor of The New York Sun, which was published from 2002 to 2008. Previously, he served as Washington correspondent and managing editor of The Forward and as North American editor of the Jerusalem Post...
1990 Author and Former Managing Editor of the New York Sun - Jacob StroyerJacob StroyerJacob Stroyer was an African-American former slave, who became preacher in Massachusetts. He is best known for his autobiography, My Life in the South....
1872, Ex-slave, minister, and author - Henry A. Sullivan 1917, composer
- Prince Nandiyavat SvastiPrince Nandiyavat SvastiPrince Nandiyavat Savastivatana was a member of the Thai Royal Family and grandson to King Rama IV.As a young man, Prince Nandiyavat graduated from Worcester Academy in 1927....
1927, member of the Thai Royal Family and grandson to King Rama IV (1851–1868), a.k.a. MongkutMongkutPhra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
, the king of Siam depicted in the musical, The King and IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in... - Royal C. TaftRoyal C. TaftRoyal Chapin Taft was a US politician and businessman, whose most distinguished post was that as the 39th Governor of Rhode Island, an office he held from 1888–1889...
1872, Governor of Rhode Island - Stanley F. TeeleStanley F. TeeleStanley F. Teele was the fourth dean of the Harvard Business School.Born on February 26, 1906, Stanley Teele grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts and attended high school there. In September, 1923, he entered Worcester Academy and graduated from there in 1924. He matriculated to Amherst College...
1924, Fourth Dean of Harvard Business School - Eli ThayerEli ThayerEli Thayer was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. Thayer was born in Mendon, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1840, from Brown University in 1845, and in 1848 founded Oread Institute, a school for young women in Worcester, Massachusetts...
1840, founder of the Oread InstituteOread InstituteThe Oread Institute was a women's college founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1849 by Eli Thayer. Before its closing in 1934, it was one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States...
and the New England Emigrant Aid Company - Webster ThayerWebster ThayerWebster Thayer was a judge of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, best known as the trial judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti case.-Background:...
1876, Massachusetts judge, presided over the trial of Sacco and VanzettiSacco and VanzettiFerdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
in 1920. - Michael TienMichael TienMichael Puk Sun Tien is deputy chairman of New People's Party, and the member of Tsuen Wan District Council. He is founder of The G2000 Group and the former chairman of the board of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation . He joined the Liberal Party in 2008, a party led by his elder brother,...
1968, Deputy, National Peoples Congress, Hong Kong and International clothing retailer - William ToomeyBill ToomeyBill Toomey is a former American track and field competitor and the 1968 Olympic decathlon champion....
1957, gold-medal winning decathleteDecathlonThe decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
in the 1968 Summer Olympics1968 Summer OlympicsThe 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country... - Howard Trivers 1926, Career diplomat and father of Robert TriversRobert TriversRobert L. Trivers is an American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist and Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. Trivers is most noted for proposing the theories of reciprocal altruism , parental investment , facultative sex ratio determination , and...
. - Benaiah L. Whitman 1883, President of Colby College and George Washington University
- Walt WhittakerWalt WhittakerWalter Elton Whittaker was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for one season. Whittaker was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts and graduated from Worcester Academy before pitching two innings in his only Major League Baseball appearance. He pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in...
1913, Major League Baseball pitcher - Lewis WilsonLewis WilsonLewis G. Wilson was an American actor from New York City who was most famous for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Batman in live action ....
1939, first BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
in the movies
In certain instances, student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include:
- David Ball 2003, New York Jets
- Colt BrennanColt BrennanColton "Colt" James Brennan is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....
2003, quarterback for the University of HawaiiUniversity of HawaiiThe University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, Quarterback for The Washington Redskins, voted third in 2007 Heisman Voting - Mo CassaraMo CassaraMo Cassara is Hofstra University's head men's basketball coach. Cassara was named head coach on May 5, 2010, agreeing to a multi-year deal with the university...
1993, Head Basketball coach, Hofstra University - Rick CarlisleRick CarlisleRichard Preston Carlisle is the head coach of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He has also coached the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, and was previously a player in the NBA. He is also one of the only 11 people to win an NBA championship both as a player and as a coach.-Playing career:Carlisle...
1979, former NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player, current coach of the NBA champion Dallas MavericksDallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011... - Jeff CrossJeff Cross (basketball)Jeffrey Andrew Cross is a retired American basketball player. He played for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association ....
, 1980, former NBA player - Patrick DowneyPatrick DowneyFor the New Zealand Lawyer see: Pat DowneyPat Downey is a former American football center in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots, and the Washington Redskins. Downey was also with the Atlanta Falcons in 2002 as a member of their Practice Squad...
1993, former NFL player for the NE Patriots, San Diego Chargers, and Washington Redskins - Obinna EkezieObinna EkezieObinna Ralph Ekezie is a Nigerian professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. His name, Obinna, means "Father´s heart".-Career:...
1995, former NBA player - Mark FidrychMark FidrychMark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....
1974, former Detroit Tiger - Jarrett JackJarrett JackJarrett Matthew Jack is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. At 6' 3" tall and weighing 197 lbs , he primarily plays at the guard position...
2002, New Orleans Hornets of the NBA - Mark JohnsonMark Johnson (first baseman)Mark Patrick Johnson is a former professional baseball player who played first base in the Major Leagues from 1995-2002 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets. He also played one season in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers in...
1986, former Major League Baseball player for the LA Angels, NY Mets, and Pittsburgh Pirates - Mike MaloneMichael Malone (basketball coach)Mike Malone is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Malone was formerly an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Hornets. He is the son of Brendan Malone, a former NBA coach...
1989, Assistant coach Golden State Warriors - Donnie NelsonDonnie NelsonDonnie Nelson is the General Manager and president of basketball operations for the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks. Donnie attended Worcester Academy for High School. He is the son of Don Nelson, the former head coach of the Golden State Warriors...
1982, former NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and international basketball coach, current President–GM of Dallas Mavericks basketball operations - Joe PhilbinJoe PhilbinJoseph Philbin is an American football coach. He is the current offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Philbin went to Worcester Academy and Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA where he obtained a B.A. in sociology as a member of the Class of 1984 and was a member of the...
1980, Offensive Coordinator for the Green Bay Packers - Sean Ryan 1998, National Football League player, San Francisco 49ers
- Craig SmithCraig SmithCraig Smith is an American professional basketball player who was most recently member of the Los Angeles Clippers...
2002, Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA - Tim WelshTim WelshTim Welsh is an American college basketball coach and the former head basketball coach at Providence College. Previously, he served as the head coach at Iona College...
1980, former Providence College coach and sportscaster - Mike Wilhelm 1986, Assistant Coach, Chicago Bulls
Headmasters of Worcester Academy
| Number | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Silas Bailey, D.D. | 1834–1838 |
| 2nd | Samuel S. Greene, LL.D. | 1838–1840 |
| 3rd | Nelson Wheeler, A.M. | 1840–1847 |
| 4th | Eli Thayer Eli Thayer Eli Thayer was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. Thayer was born in Mendon, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1840, from Brown University in 1845, and in 1848 founded Oread Institute, a school for young women in Worcester, Massachusetts... 1840, A.M. | 1847–1849 |
| 5th | Charles C. Burnett, A.M. | 1849–1852 |
| 6th | Eleazer J. Avery, A.M. | 1852–1854 |
| 7th | William S. Greene, A.M. | 1854–1858 |
| 8th | Werden Reynolds, A.M. | 1858–1860 |
| 9th | James R. Stone, D.D. | 1860–1862 |
| 10th | Ambrose P. S. Stuart, A.M. | 1862–1864 |
| 11th | Charles Ayer, A.B. | 1865–1866 |
| 12th | Albert Prescott Marble, PhD | 1866–1868 |
| 13th | William C. Poland, A.B. | 1868–1870 |
| 14th | Willard T. Leonard, M.A. | 1870 |
| 15th | Rev. David Weston, A.B. | 1870–1871 |
| 16th | John D. Smith, A.B. | 1872–1875 |
| 17th | Nathan Leavenworth, A.M. | 1875–1882 |
| 18th | Daniel Abercrombie, Litt.D., LL.D. | 1882–1918 |
| 19th | Samuel Foss Holmes, A.M. | 1918–1933 |
| 20th | Harold H. Wade | 1933–1942 |
| 21st | LeRoy A. Campbell, PhD | 1942–1950 |
| 22nd | Paul K. Phillips, A.B. | 1950–1954 |
| 23rd | William S. Piper, Jr., Ed.D. | 1954–1968 |
| 24th | Harold G. Rader, Ed.D. | 1968–1969 |
| 25th | David R. Jefferson, B.A., B.D. | 1969–1970 |
| 26th | Robert A. LaBranche 1946, M.S. | 1970–1974 |
| 27th | John A. Bloom, M.A. | 1974–1985 |
| 28th | Ben Williams, M.A. | 1985–1991 |
| 29th | John Mackenzie, M.A. | 1991–1997 |
| 30th | Dexter P. Morse,* M Ed., C.A.G.S. | 1997–present |
On October 27, 2011, the Board of Trustees announced their unanimous vote to appoint Ronald M. Cino as the 31st Head of Worcester Academy. Dexter Morse remains the Head of School until the end of the 2011–2012 school year.