Exeter, NH (October 17, 2006)—Phillips Exeter Academy will host Dr. Nina Russell, ’82, senior program officer in charge of HIV, TB and Reproductive Health programs for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as the fifth Harkness Fellow to speak in the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of Harkness teaching. Dr. Russell will speak on "Harkness & Non-Sibi – Do Bent Arrows Really Fly Around Corners?" at assembly on Friday, October 27, and on "Accelerating Development of an AIDS Vaccine: A New Approach," during a public address at 7:00 p.m., that evening in Assembly Hall, on the second floor of the Academy Building on Front Street in Exeter. The evening event is free and open to the public.

During her visit, Dr. Russell will also work with students and faculty in the science department. Currently, Dr. Russell focuses on the foundation's efforts to develop effective vaccines for the AIDS/HIV global crisis. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, she worked at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, where for six years she worked on clinical HIV vaccine trials as part of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

Dr. Russell received her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio. She completed her residency at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the Montefiore Medical Center-Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Harkness teaching and learning began 75 years ago with an educational experiment that placed 12 students and one teacher around an oval table and remains the hallmark of Exeter’s educational philosophy to this day. Philanthropist Edward Harkness, Principal Lewis Perry and a group of senior faculty together transformed almost every aspect of school life and influenced secondary school education throughout the country. The Harkness plan offers a generous opportunity for dialogue and the ability to hear the voice of each student. The Harkness table places students at the center of the learning process and encourages them to learn from one another.

Throughout the year, lectures, exhibitions and visits from a distinguished group of Harkness Fellows will be a part of the celebration for this historic Harkness milestone. Many of the featured guests are alumni/ae, who will each spend several days on campus attending classes, meeting with students and faculty, and giving talks.

For more information, please call Rick Schubart at (603) 777-3589. For directions to Phillips Exeter Academy, call (603) 777-4330. For more information on other events, contact the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at (603) 777-4309, or visit the Academy website at www.exeter.edu.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, students come from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds. The diverse student body comes from approximately 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 26 foreign countries.

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