About NMH Today

Frequently Asked Questions

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• Northfield Mount Hermon Program
• Fundraising
• Campus Planning
• Northfield Campus

 

NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON PROGRAM

What is the enrollment for 2007-08?

• Enrollment for September 2007 is 620, with 479 boarders and 141 day students.
• 46 percent female, 54 percent male
• 19 percent international
• Students come from 30 states and 23 countries

Tell me about financial aid.

For 2007-08, $5.5 million has been awarded in direct grants and more than $400,000 in loans to 40 percent of the student body.

What kind of students does NMH seek?

• NMH seeks diversely talented, college-bound students who aspire to make a positive difference with their lives. We want students who desire a more fertile ground for learning and who are prepared to claim responsibility for their choices. We take students who want to live this way and we develop in them the skills, character-based attitudes, discipline, and integrity to go into adulthood with the will and capacity to serve the greater good.

What is NMH’s commitment to diversity?

• We believe that acquiring insights into the backgrounds, cultures, languages, and values of others is essential to a complete education. Rooted in one’s capacity to make a positive difference in the world are a set of social skills and cultural intention that are best attained in a community that deliberately considers the complex and ever-developing topic of diversity.
• Our office of multicultural community development and the center for international education support many different groups within our diverse student population.
• As part of an ongoing commitment, the NMH Board of Trustees has created a working group to study the school’s programs for diversity and equity. In addition, members of the senior staff and faculty are participating at cultural diversity institutes around the country.

What is the schedule for 2007-08?

• We shifted from a trimester block schedule to a semester block schedule as of September 2007. The essential adjustment is that students take three major courses in each of two semesters instead of two major courses in each of three trimesters. The merits of this adjustment are as follows.
  • A more balanced structure that increases the number of key adults in the daily life of each student.
  • Extending the number of days that each course runs by about five weeks, strengthening the learning of skills and concepts that are absorbed gradually over time.
  • Expanding each student’s breadth of academic focus from two major subjects at a time to three, which supports our emphasis on interdisciplinary learning.
  • Long blocks will last between 75 and 90 minutes, adjusted from the current 90 to 105 minutes.
  • Homework assignments will be adjusted appropriately.

How has the academic program evolved in the last few years?

• The breadth and depth of our academic program continues to distinguish NMH. Each year departments complete a careful analysis of their area and develop the curriculum as appropriate. Programs and courses that exemplify our commitment to academic excellence include the NMH Ninth Grade Experience, a cluster of interdisciplinary and foundation courses for our youngest students; Humans on the Edge, an interdisciplinary religion and history course with a travel component to New Orleans that was created in response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster; and War, a history course that encourages students to discuss issues of human conflict through the ages.
• Careful scheduling, in some cases alternating years for certain courses, allows departments to continue to offer strong fundamentals as well as exciting electives. The ebb and flow of elective course offerings is a natural process related to the faculty’s developing interests and student initiatives.

Where do arts courses, rehearsals, and performances take place while the new arts center is under construction?

• While the The Rhodes Arts Center is being constructed, arts courses, rehearsals, and performances are located in the Music Hall, the upper modular classroom building, Grandin Hall, Beveridge Hall, Memorial Chapel, and an expanded visual arts facility near the farm.
• Groundbreaking for the new arts center took place in spring 2006. Target completion date is September 2008.

Have there been any modifications of the work program? The farm?

• NMH is committed to the work program, and students fulfill their four-and-a-half-hour requirement in the dining hall, dorms, library, administrative offices, farm, and more.
• The farm remains a part of the campus and the work program. Tenth graders have the opportunity to work on the farm during the term they take biology; we expect that almost every tenth grader will cycle through the farm on a work job assignment and will benefit from this integrated approach to teaching biology.

How is the residential life program organized?

• The residential program is designed to build relationships and create small circles of consistent, individualized support for students within the larger community. Faculty members serve as house directors, and faculty advisors are assigned to a small group of advisees (approximately seven students) who live in the same dorm.
• The student life curriculum (SLC) includes weekly all-school meetings, advising time, and class meetings in addition to residential house programs. It addresses a broad range of topics such as leadership development, environmental sustainability, and multicultural education to study tips, stress and time management, and nutrition. Noted speakers come to campus to present and discuss relevant topics; they often visit selected classes.

 

FUNDRAISING

How did fundraising go for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007?

• The Annual Fund closed at a record breaking $3,331,287, 5 percent more than the previous year.
• The Parents Fund exceeded its goals and raised $389,000, with 59 percent participation.
• The number of total donors increased and the average gift from all alumni increased by 23 percent.
• Total cash gifts for annual, capital, and special projects increased nearly five percent over the previous year with a record breaking $9,204,357.
• The 2007 senior class gift effort exceeded its participation goal for the third consecutive year with 99 percent, and its gift goal with $4,130. These funds were matched 2:1 from two anonymous alumni.
• The Planned Giving program recorded 23 irrevocable planned gifts entered for a total of $1,232,000. There were also 55 revocable planned gifts with a face value of $4,443,000.
• 98 current faculty and staff (28 percent) contributed to the Annual Fund and gave capital gifts. This is a 21 percent increase over the prior year.
• As of August 3, total capital fundraising (toward the transition, endowment, and campaign priorities) stood at $32,326,480.
• Major gifts: NMH received two of the largest gifts in its history with pledges of $10 million and $5 million from two different donors.
  • David F. Bolger, class of 1950, donated securities valued at $10 million to Northfield Mount Hermon. He has asked that we use his generous gift to endow scholarships, establish a faculty chair, and support an endowment for Memorial Chapel. This is the largest commitment the school has received in its 127-year history.
  • William R. Rhodes, class of 1953 and chairman emeritus of the NMH Board of Trustees, has donated $5 million for the school’s new center for the arts. To honor his lead gift toward this critical project, as well as the faithful service and support given to the school by his father, Edward R. Rhodes '16, the arts center will be named The Rhodes Arts Center.

What are the plans for a fundraising campaign?

• For the last two years, our advancement team has been working hard to raise funds for the Rhodes Arts Center, the Annual Fund, the endowment, and other priorities at the school. Last year we set records both for the total cash raised for all purposes ($10.5 million) and for the Annual Fund ($3.4 million). This is great progress, and we have now kicked off the public phase of our 130th Anniversary Campaign with the goal of reaching our $80 million target by June 2009. The campaign will support facilities needs, the endowment, and the Annual Fund.
• To date members of the board of trustees and other major donors who have close ties to the school have committed a total of $61.4 million toward different priorities in the quiet phase of the campaign.

 

CAMPUS PLANNING

What major capital projects are planned for the Mount Hermon campus?

• Several projects have been completed in the last two years:
  • Two new student/faculty residences opened in September 2005. Located beyond Memorial Chapel as an extension of Cottage Row, the dorms house 28 students and three faculty families each and cost $9 million for both.
  • Infrastructure work to replace major lines running beneath the site of the new arts center was completed during spring and summer 2006. The work was planned with regard to environmental stewardship and energy efficiency. Studies showed that the existing power plant can serve the future utility demands of the campus.
  • Two regulation soccer fields on what are known as the piggery fields on the lower campus were installed and ready for use spring 2006.
• Projects under construction or in the planning stages:
  • The Rhodes Arts Center: Cost is approximately $29 million (sited between Holbrook and Forslund); architectures Childs Bertman Tsechkares, Inc. (CBT) of Boston, MA, designed the building. NMH alumnus Sherif Anis ’85 is a member of the team. Target opening date is fall 2008.
  • Plans for additional athletic fields and tennis courts are being developed for near-term installment.
  • Groundbreaking for Bolger House, a new admission building, will take place in June 2008.
  • Athletic facilities upgrades: Architectural Resources Cambridge, Inc. (ARC) of Cambridge, MA, is master planner for athletic facilities and is working with the school on long-term program and facilities needs. Planned improvements include renovated fitness, training, wrestling, and locker room facilities; new ice rink and pool; more playing fields and tennis courts; a new boathouse; and a locker and restroom facility at the lower field. The work will be completed in phases. ARC designed Dolben Library, Blake Hall, and Bolger Arts Center.
  • Sasaki Associates of Cambridge, MA, is the landscape master planner; work includes site planning, grading, pedestrian walks and roadway planning, landscape plantings, campus lighting, and signage. The planners work closely with other architects and facilities planners.

How will these projects be paid for?

• New construction and certain capital expenditures will be funded with a combination of capital gifts and tax-exempt debt.
• Four trustees gave over $1 million each toward the physical transition of the school to one campus; Chairman Emeritus William R. Rhodes ’53 supported the new center for the arts with commitments totaling $5 million; and David F. Bolger '50 donated $2.5 million towards a new admission building.
• NMH issued, through the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, $63 million of tax-exempt, variable-rate bonds. Approximately $20 million of this was for refinancing of existing debt and $39 million was for new facilities.

What is the school’s address?

As of July 1, 2007, the school address is One Lamplighter Way, Mount Hermon, MA 01354.

 

NORTHFIELD CAMPUS

What is happening on the campus today?

• Several NMH departments still work on the Northfield campus, and Dolben Library, Revell Hall, Holton Hall, and Green Pastures are in use. The campus is heavily occupied during the summer for athletic and other camps. The outstanding performing arts camp that used the campus facilities last summer will return, but under different sponsorship; American Idol will not return.
• The school is using almost all of the separate residences at Northfield to house faculty.
• The buildings are regularly monitored, and security patrols them. Heat and electricity are maintained in all buildings; water is turned off in unoccupied buildings; the grounds are mowed in summer and roadways plowed in winter.
• Buildings and grounds receive regular repairs, but deferred maintenance projects remain on hold.

What type of buyer is most likely to want the campus?

• To date the location, size, and beauty of the campus have attracted primarily educational and faith-based organizations. These organizations naturally require dormitories, classrooms, dining facilities, etc.
• Any owner of the campus will need to have the financial capacity to maintain it. This will require a hearty, dependable revenue stream for capital investment or an endowment of tens of millions of dollars.

Is there a potential for commercial development of the campus?

The school and its advisors believe that the best use and highest value for the campus is a residential educational institution. While the campus has been visited by a number of commercial developers, the economics and low population density of the area have made this option less feasible.  

How is the school marketing the property?

• In 2005 the school engaged professional real estate adviser Landvest to find a user for the campus. LandVest has employed a variety of methods and media to market the campus to likely buyers. They advised it would take three to five years to receive mature responses from the market for this type of property.
• Marketing efforts have focused on the core campus; however, the properties owned by the school also include forests, a water company, a golf course, and over 30 residences. The school understands—and the marketing efforts reflect—that it owns a variety of asset types with different potential uses, values, and markets.
• Targeted mailings have been sent to organizations and leaders throughout the country. These have been directed to foundations, educational institutions, real estate, media, and communications executives asking that they spread the word.
• The school has listed the central 128 acres of the campus with MLS (Multiple Listing Service) at an asking price of $20 million. This price is based on appraisals and will be negotiated according to a variety of factors. The price excludes non-core campus properties such as the outlying houses, water company, timberland, golf course, and some buildings; the use and price of these facilities will be negotiated separately. Listing the property with MLS is part of a more aggressive advertising and marketing plan that, among other things, makes better use of the Internet.
• The school has received hundreds of inquiries and conducted dozens of tours for interested parties since 2005. The school has been willing to entertain any proposal by any serious buyer if the proposed solution has been in the best interests of the school.

Has the school approached corporations or state and federal governments as potential buyers?

• Several Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire state representatives, planning commissioners, land conservationists, and environmentalists have visited the campus and taken part in discussions about optional uses of the Northfield property. Massachusetts Congressman John Olver (D) has shown particular interest in the outcome.

What institutions are we unlikely to consider leasing/selling to?

• The school is willing to hear all proposals, but among the types of institutions it would be unlikely to lease or sell to, for example, would be strip mall developers or prisons.

Will the school retain any buildings or properties under any or all of the potential disposition scenarios?

• The answer to this question will depend in large part on the needs of a prospective buyer.The school has explored a variety of options for preserving the Birthplace and Homestead buildings as well as Round Top, which is jointly owned with the Powell family, Moody descendents. At this point we cannot say what might happen to the Auditorium, as its future may depend on how the rest of the campus is used by a future buyer. Other buildings such as Revell are outside of the area being listed and may be used by NMH in the future.
• The NMH Advancement Office is working with alumni and friends to honor their contributions of named items. Items of historical value, commemorative gifts from alumni donors, artwork, furnishings, and more are being appropriately catalogued and relocated to the NMH campus or stored.
• The school’s substantial forest areas represent a unique and important asset, the value of which is expected to appreciate. They may ultimately be retained by the school or placed in some form of conservation easement.
• NMH is committed to providing an education for the head, heart, and hand to current and future generations of students. As a coeducational school on a single campus, NMH has incorporated traditions from both campuses into its program. In order to be strong and competitive, NMH must focus all of its resources on the educational program. This means finding a new owner or user for the Northfield campus.