Exeter, NH (February 12, 2007)—Phillips Exeter Academy welcomes The Honorable Tim Wirth ’57, of Colorado, to speak during its year-long 75th anniversary celebration of Harkness teaching, on February 18 – 19. Wirth currently serves as president of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, founded to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations. He will be the 10th Harkness Fellow to visit the Academy this year and will talk on global climate change and the environment. The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Hall, located on the second floor of the Academy Building on Front Street. This event is open to the public. Wirth will also address the student assembly and visit classes on Monday, February 19.

After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard in 1961 and 1964, respectively, Wirth earned a doctoral degree from Stanford University in 1973. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1961-1967, and began his political career as a White House Fellow under President Lyndon Johnson. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education in the Nixon administration.

He returned to Colorado and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing his home state’s 2nd Congressional District from 1975-1987. In the House, he concentrated on communications technology and budget policy. In 1986, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he focused on environmental issues, especially global climate change and population stabilization. He chose not to run for re-election. Following two decades in politics, Wirth served in the U.S. Department of State in the Clinton Administration as the first Undersecretary for Global Affairs from 1993 – 1997, coordinating U.S. foreign policy in the areas of refugees, population, environment, science, human rights and narcotics.

Harkness teaching and learning began 75 years ago with an educational experiment that placed 12 students and one teacher around an oval table. It remains the hallmark of Exeter’s educational philosophy. Philanthropist Edward Harkness, Principal Lewis Perry and a group of senior faculty transformed almost every aspect of school life and influenced secondary school education nationwide. 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.

For the rest of the school 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.

Read about the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund...

Learn more about global climate change...

Read about other Harkness activities at Exeter...