The Citation of Merit is the school’s highest alumni honor and is given each year to a person whose life work best typifies the school motto: Not to be ministered unto but to minister. The recipient’s life and actions must demonstrate something humanitarian apart from a vocation or service. He or she must have gone above the ordinary demands of life or occupation. Success in a chosen field does not necessarily quality a person for the honor. At the same time, it is possible for a person to be eminently successful and go beyond the call of duty to serve others.
An alumni committee meets each January to review names that have been recommended by fellow alums and to determine the recipient. Alumni are encouraged to put forth the name of an alumnus or alumna to be considered. Eligibility for the Citation of Merit is also extended to those who are or have been connected with the school or who have shown special interest in Taft. Candidates must be living to receive the award. The name of the recipient remains secret until Alumni Day, when the award is bestowed by the Headmaster at the Alumni Luncheon.
All Citations, since the award’s creation in 1960, hang in a place of honor along Main Hall. The Citation of Merit is a reminder of Taft’s commitment to serve others.
John Merrow II
Class of 1959
(Read John's remarks here)
Your commitment to education in the United States has guided you in your life's work. You have deepened the conscience of the country to examine the status quo of public school education and the problems facing parents struggling to raise children by drawing the attention of the government and the nation at large to their needs. Your own school experience provided you with the skills and confidence to succeed in your quest to serve others.
Following a family tradition, you enrolled at the Taft School, where you honed your writing skills as a member of the Press Club and writing for the Papyrus. Upon graduation from Taft, you attended Dartmouth College, taking time off to become a newspaper reporter in the midwest. Returning to Dartmouth, you received a bachelor of arts degree in English and became a public school teacher in Port Washington, New York. In the classroom, you carried on the legacy of Mr. Sullivan, one of our devoted English teachers, as you planned lessons to inspire your students. Moving south to teach at Virginia State College by day and in a federal correctional facility by night, you taught English to students and inmates. Those experiences made you ponder schools' expectations for students and realize the disparity in standards. Later, while pursuing a doctorate at Harvard University, you learned ways to change public school education in the United States.
As a reporter for the Institute for Educational Leadership, you produced documentaries on the plight of public schools. Your success on The Merrow Report, Frontline, and The Newshour is renowned. You received many awards over the years, among them, the George Foster Peabody Award, that recognizes distinguished and meritorious public service. Seeking ways to document challenges facing educators, you visited schools and communities across the nation, and talked to teachers, students, and families. You published their stories in books, weekly columns, and journal articles. You challenged higher education's mission, forcing colleges and universities to examine their instructional practices. Through your own experiences, you understood that education is more than learning in a classroom, and that the gift of life carries with it the obligation to try to make the world a better place. Your ability to impart knowledge has motivated others to change how we educate children to improve the quality of their lives.
It is most fitting that Taft School honors you with our most prestigious award, the Citation of Merit, for your continuing efforts to raise learning standards for all students thereby providing equality in education in this country. As a journalist, teacher, and advocate, you personify Taft School's guiding principle: Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret.
May 2009.
To nominate someone for the Taft Alumni Citation of Merit award
Simply send a message to CitationofMerit@TaftSchool.org.
Please include the person's name, class year, and the reason you think they should be considered.
Thank you.
Citation of Merit Awards
1960 Thomas D. Thacher, Class of 1899
Robert A. Taft 1906
Charles P. Taft 1913
Henry N. Mallon 1913
Robert L. Johnson 1914
Linn F. Cooper 1917
Yale Kneeland, Jr. 1918
1961 Frederick H. Wiggin, Jr. 1899
J. Irwin Miller 1927
1962 M. Heminway Merriman 1897
Mason W. Gross 1929
1963 Mr. & Mrs. Paul Cruikshank
1964 Austin D. Barney 1914
1965 Sherman Baldwin 1914
1966 Francis O. Ayres 1927
1967 Harold Howe, II 1936
1968 John M. Schiff 1921
1969 Henry S.F. Cooper, M.D. 1913
1970 Barclay Robinson 1915
1971 James I. Armstrong 1937
1972 John C. Esty, Jr.
1973 Harmar Brereton 1927
1974 John Lyman 1914
1975 Donald V. Buttenheim 1933
1976 John H. Mallon 1915
1977 Orin Lehman 1938
1978 Kate Peterson Mailliard
1979 Charles C. Finucane 1924
1980 E. Philip Snyder, Jr. 1938
1981 Henry L. Hillman 1937
1982 Deane Keller 1919
1983 Horace D. Taft 1943
1984 Andrew K. Marckwald 1930
1985 Robert W. Sweet 1940
1986 Henry W. Taft 1943
1987 Harold B. Whiteman, Jr. 1937
1988 Louis F. Laun 1938
1989 George H. Weyerhaeuser 1944
1990 Centennial Year-No award given
1991 Henry P. Becton 1933
1992 Maynard Mack 1927
1993 Katherine duPont Gahagan
1994 Peter R. Fink 1951
Charles E. Yonkers 1958
1995 William R. Duryee 1923
1996 William H. Risley 1935
1997 William A. Waldron 1931
1998 Lee Paul Klingenstein 1944
1999 Donald F. McCullough 1942
2000 H. Wick Chambers, Jr. 1927
2001 Lance R. and Patricia K. Odden
2002 Cheves M. Smythe 1942
2003 Alfred Gilman 1958
2004 Wesley S. Williams, Jr. 1959
2005 John L. Vogelstein 1952
2006 Samuel F. Pryor III 1946
2007 John A. Logan, Jr. 1942
2008 John S. Wold 1934
2009 John Merrow II 1959
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