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Scroll down to view a recording of the Lufkin Prize ceremony.

By Darryl Gangloff

Bill Fenton P’26,’26, director of the Hotchkiss Observatory, director of the Class of 2017 EFX Lab, instructor in physics and astronomy, and head coach of varsity volleyball, received the Lufkin Prize on May 12 during a ceremony in Katherine M. Elfers Hall.

Established in 2006 thanks to the generosity of Dan Lufkin '49, P'80,'82,'88,'23, the Lufkin Prize is awarded annually to a faculty member of character, commitment, and skill who serves as a role model to Hotchkiss students. It is the School's highest honor for our outstanding educators. 

Head of School Craig W. Bradley reflected on the purpose of the prize and the role teachers play in the life of the School. “Being a teacher is not just a job. It is a calling. A vocation. It requires expertise, tremendous dedication, care, patience, and energy, especially in a highly demanding, residential school like Hotchkiss,” he said.

Dean of Faculty Shannon Clark introduced Fenton, highlighting the breadth of his work at Hotchkiss since his arrival in 2006. Over the past two decades, Fenton has served as a teacher, dorm head, coach, director of the Observatory and EFX Lab, and Summer Portals program director for astronomy and electric guitar-building workshops. Clark praised his intellectual curiosity and creativity.

“Constantly looking for new ways to engage his students and learn with them, Mr. Fenton models a life in which ‘fun’ is defined through inquiry, discipline, and learning,” Clark said. “His students describe him as remarkable, compassionate, and understanding.”

One student wrote that Fenton “pushes his students to come to conclusions on their own, always knowing how to give just enough support to foster both learning and independence. He has been the backbone of my experience at Hotchkiss.”

During his remarks, Fenton blended humor and gratitude as he reflected on his path to Hotchkiss and the community he has found here. He spoke about his love of puzzles and challenges as a child, his years studying physics, and the journey that brought him back to northwest Connecticut to teach. He grew up about 30 miles from Lakeville, and he was excited to apply for a Hotchkiss instructor position.

“I think when I first got here, I thought of it as a job,” Fenton said. “But somewhere along the way, it became a life.”

He reminisced about raising his family on campus and getting his first passport to travel the world. “I've taken students to Chile to see a total solar eclipse and spent time in places I never would have imagined visiting.”

He described the joy he finds in helping students work through challenges in the classroom, the Observatory, and the EFX Lab, encouraging them to “build things and figure them out, which, for me, still just feels like solving puzzles.”

Fenton returned repeatedly to the importance of community. He celebrated Hotchkiss faculty members who continue to inspire him, including Dave Thompson, Liz Dittmer, Nathan Seidenberg, Bridget Dixon Moon, Douglas Kneeland, Thomas Herold, and Christopher Oostenink. He described how each of them contributes to the spirit and strength of the School.

“The magic is the people,” Fenton said. “The faculty, staff, and students in the classroom, on the fields, in the MAC.”

Throughout his speech, Fenton asked the crowd for the collective nouns for animals, from “a crash of rhinoceroses” to “a parliament of owls.” He tied this lesson into his closing remarks.

“How do you define this amazing group of people?” he asked. “That live and work together? That teach and learn together? That solve puzzles together? Take care of each other? It turns out, if they’re Bearcats, it’s called a sleuth. A sleuth of Bearcats. I don’t know exactly how that name came to be, but I kind of like to think it’s because we’re all figuring things out together.”

Fenton ended his speech by thanking Lufkin and the Hotchkiss community.

“I’m really grateful I found my way here to be part of this sleuth of Bearcats,” he said. “Thank you to my sleuth at Hotchkiss.”