July 2024 Alum of the Month: Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18
Hotchkiss Alum of the Month

Fifty years ago, 89 students arrived in Lakeville and ushered in a new era of women and girls at Hotchkiss. Throughout the 2024-25 academic year, Hotchkiss will reflect on their inspiring legacy, pay tribute to the achievements of students who followed in their footsteps, and gratefully acknowledge all members of the Hotchkiss community who boldly helped steer the School forward.

 

Hotchkiss Alum of the Month July 2024 Jeannie Weinberg Rose

Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 is a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. In 2011, she became the first female president of The Hotchkiss School Board of Trustees. Not since Maria Hotchkiss, founder of the School, had a woman been at the helm.

The history of female trustees on the Board began the same year that girls arrived on the Hotchkiss campus. Marcia Hincks P’84 was the first, elected in July 1973. Dr. Alberta Arthurs, dean of admissions and women’s education at Radcliffe College, and Nancy Watson Symington P’76,’78, GP’00,’10, joined soon after. These women provided much-needed perspective and left remarkable legacies behind. Symington was the first woman to become trustee emerita, and Rose became the second (and the first female graduate) when this honor was bestowed upon her in 2019.

Rose arrived on campus in September 1977 as a lower mid in the infancy of women and girls at Hotchkiss. “Hotchkiss had been coed for three years. I didn’t truly appreciate the significance or implications of how new coeducation was to the School until many years later. I joined 150 other new students on campus (about 50 were female) to meet the everyday challenges of learning to live, socialize, play sports, and study away from home. There was a tremendous amount of adjustment taking place for everyone. Hotchkiss had been built for boys and was filled with teachers who were generally accustomed to teaching boys. Three classes of girls had paved the way prior to us arriving, and I think that made a big difference.

“I loved my time at Hotchkiss, and knew I was lucky to be there from the moment I arrived. What I didn’t know was how deeply, and in how many ways, my three years in Lakeville would impact me academically, socially, and as an individual. I also didn’t realize that my Hotchkiss learning journey was only just beginning when I graduated in 1980.”

Following Hotchkiss, Rose graduated from Princeton University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. She worked for a time in the corporate finance department at GE Capital, served as a product manager for Clairol and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and co-founded a now-closed art education and consulting business called Eye on Art.

Rose joined the Board in 1996 along with her predecessor, John Thornton ’72, P’10,’11,’16. Thornton became president in 2001, and Rose served as vice president and on the executive committee before taking the helm in 2011. “I learned a tremendous amount from John and have great respect for him,” she said. “I was also inspired by several women who served before me, including Sara Thornton Clifford ’76, P’07,’23, Lisa Cholnoky ’79, and the late Katha Diddel Sussman ’75, P’07,’09,’14, as well as some of the non-alumnae educators who served on the Board and shared their significant expertise, including Kendra O’Donnell, Marjo Talbott, and Becky van der Bogert.”

Rose believed that it was essential to unify the Board, collaborate with the administration, and communicate with alumni. She noted the Board's focus on the School’s core values, excellence in teaching and learning, and continual self-evaluation and improvement. She is grateful for the many lessons, both strategic and practical, she learned from past leaders such as Thornton, Bill Elfers ’67, and Forrest Mars ’49, P’77,’82, GP’09,’09,’11,’11,’14. 

“Our School had some complex issues to work through and difficult decisions to be made during my time on the Board. We worked hard to build consensus within a Board full of different personalities and assorted points of view. The School’s other constituencies also had diverse opinions. Paying attention to all concerns and listening with an open mind to conflicting opinions was essential to working through issues. I wanted every Board member—as well as all other members of the Hotchkiss community—to know that their points of view were important, heard, and an integral part of a process to determine direction and craft the best solutions.” She noted that a constant focus on acting in the best interest of the institution enabled the Board to work through some of the most difficult issues.

Rose was quick to credit the work of her fellow Board members for their gifts of time, problem-solving skills, and extraordinary commitment to the School. “I was so fortunate to have been able to collaborate with such interesting, smart, and passionate people who all cared about Hotchkiss. Our Board was not about one person,” she explained. “It was a group effort—colleagues working together, putting their best skills and efforts into caring for an institution they all cherish.”

“I had the privilege of serving on the Board of Trustees with Jeannie for a number of years,” writes Eleanor “Duffy” Green Long ’76. “In addition to cherishing the friendship we formed, I valued her inclusive and creative leadership style. When confronted with challenges, Jeannie unfailingly sought and earnestly listened to the opinions of others before making any decisions. Most importantly, she faithfully put the good of Hotchkiss at the forefront of every action she took. I cannot imagine anyone loving our fine School and the people who have taught, worked, or volunteered for it more than Jeannie.”

Liz Hines ’93, P’27, current co-president of the Board, shared the following: “Jeannie is a leader of great vision, compassion, and humility. She led Hotchkiss through times that would have tried the souls of most individuals and did so with a degree of grace and fortitude that I will never forget. I feel blessed to know her, to have been mentored by her, and to call her a friend.”

In retrospect, Rose gives her perspective on Hotchkiss’s evolution since 1974 and the beginning of women and girls at Hotchkiss. “I think that it is a kinder, broader, more caring and student-focused place than it was in the past. Girls and women are now an integral part of the fabric of the School. I also think that the current School leadership is truly committed to constant and systematic evaluation and improvement. This, in my mind, is one of the signs of an excellent institution. Excellence and hard work remain a true standard. There is greater understanding and respect for diversity of everything—people, opinions, skills, talents, and a much greater awareness of and focus on the ‘issues’ of today and how they might and do impact individuals and the campus. Significant time is spent thinking about the implications for, and reactions of, students and adults. And there is no doubt that women play a greater role in leadership of the institution.”

Rose says she is grateful to Hotchkiss. “It provided me with an incredible education—probably even better than the ones I received in college or graduate school. I had some fantastic teachers, learned what 100 percent effort meant, and figured out how to get up and try again when things didn’t go as planned. I made some great friends who remain some of the most important people in my life. What I didn’t expect is that I would continue to learn and make more wonderful friends through my work on behalf of Hotchkiss. I am indebted to the School and feel lucky to be able to give back to an institution and a place that truly changed my life.”

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