Rosenthal Field transformed: The power shovels are piling up the last of the debris for removal as the demolition phase of building the new Harker School performing arts and athletic centers wraps up. Stay tuned for updates as interesting milestones are reached!
Beginning in June 2016 Harker launched two new state-of-the art building projects on the upper school campus, the result of a $45M capital campaign. The 33,000 square-foot athletic center, opening August 2017, features a 12,000 sq.-ft. gym, athletic training room with advanced hydrotherapy unit, and spacious team rooms. The Rothschild Performing Arts Center, opening spring of 2018, features a 450-seat theater with fly loft and hydraulic orchestra pit, a state of the art scene shop, vocal, instrumental, theater/musical theater classrooms and dressing rooms. For more information visit the news and video links below or contact communications@harker.org
The 2016 Harker Golf Classic united Harker alumni, parents, alumni parents and their friends at the renowned Stanford Golf Course to raise funds for Harker’s General Endowment. For the second year in a row, the event was presented by the Harker Alumni Association.
The April 11 event brought 96 golfers out on a pleasant spring day. Jeremy Pomer ’91 was the event chair, while former Harker faculty member Howard Saltzman and current lower school math teacher Pat Walsh served as honorary marshals for the day. The marshals had a great time handing out prize ribbons and libations to golfers.
“Everyone had a wonderful time, made all the more meaningful with the knowledge that it was good fun for a good cause!” enthused Karri Baker ’84, director of alumni relations.
A variety of special awards and prizes, as well as numerous generous sponsors, helped make the day special. Capping off the event was a 19th hole reception with live music on the clubhouse patio for golfers, as well as non-golfers, wishing to join in on the fun.
A highlight of the day was the announcement of the winning foursomes. The winning men’s foursome comprised Harker parent Mike Armstrong, Trask Leonard, Josh Breeding and Rodney Plett ’81. The winning women’s foursome comprised Thu Ka, Connie Kim, Kavita Patel and Kavita Tankha, all Harker parents.
The Stanford Golf Course, designed in 1930 by renowned golf course architects William Bell and George C. Thomas, is located in the foothills above the Stanford University campus. In 2009, it was rated the nation’s third-best college course by golf coaches.
Due to the strong response received in meeting the Rothschild Challenge, and the second inspirational matching-gift program currently in place, the groundbreaking for the new events center is on track for spring 2016, announced Chris Nikoloff, head of school. The funds needed to complete the campaign will continue to be raised as construction begins. The completion date will be influenced by the ability to reach the goal. Should the objective be met, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for fall 2017.
Learn more about capital giving:
How to plan your giving: Choose where to direct your gift, how to make your gift and learn about more giving opportunities.
Donate now: Donate now or learn other ways to make your charitable gift.
It was easy to understand the “Sky’s the Limit” theme of this year’s Night on the Town gala, held May 9 on the top of a hill with spectacular views of the mid-Peninsula, at the home of Susan and Scott McNealy (Scout, grade 8; Colt, grade 10; Dakota, grade 11; Maverick ’13).
The 300 attendees moved throughout the home visiting areas including the champagne patio, “view of the valley” swing spot, theater, casino and silent auction table. Guests enjoyed dinner under a beautiful sunset, and performances by several of Harker’s dance, show choir and instrumental ensembles.
Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, capped the dinner portion of the evening with the announcement that an additional $7 million had been pledged to the new gym and theater buildings from an anonymous donor who had already pledged $3 million during the initial Rothschild Challenge phase of the campaign. (Look for full coverage on the new gym and theater buildings in the advancement section of the summer issue of the Harker Quarterly.)
This year marked the first time the annual Harker Golf Classic was presented by the Harker Alumni Association. The successful event took place on April 13 at the renowned Stanford University Golf Course, raising funds for Harker’s General Endowment Fund.
The 2015 Harker Golf Classic brought together Harker alumni, parents, alumni parents and their friends, totaling about 80 golfers. The fundraiser was largely spearheaded by alums Jeremy Pomer ’91 and Jeff Rogers ’84. Former Harker faculty member Howard Saltzman and current lower school math teacher Pat Walsh served as honorary marshals for the day, handing out prize ribbons and libations to golfers.
A variety of special awards and prizes, as well as numerous generous sponsors, helped make the event special. Capping off the occasion was a 19th hole reception on the clubhouse patio for golfers, as well as non-golfers, wishing to join in on the fun.
At the end of the day, the winning foursome was announced: Jen Eng, Raymond Hsieh, Herb Repp and Robert Nakamura.
The Stanford golf course, designed in 1930 by renowned golf course architects William Bell and George C. Thomas, is located in the foothills above the Stanford University campus. In 2009, it was rated the nation’s third-best college course by golf coaches.
“It was a great game of golf and, more important, all the participants left with the wonderful knowledge that they had helped raise funds for Harker’s General Endowment, which will benefit future generations of students,” enthused Karri Baker ’84, director of alumni relations.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
The Krishnamurthi/Iyengar Family
From sports to performing arts to longrange strategic planning, Ashok Krishnamurthi, his wife Deepa Iyengar, and their two sons (Gautam ’11 and Sidhart, grade 11) have been involved in just about every Harker activity imaginable.
In 2006 Krishnamurthi, a current member of the Harker Board of Trustees, and his wife helped make Phase III of Harker’s master site plan a reality. Krishnamurthi and Iyengar supported the planning and construction phases of Nichols Hall, Davis Field and the Singh Aquatic Center; Krishnamurthi had the honor of making the inaugural swing of the Foucault pendulum at the Nichols Hall opening gala in 2008.
The Krishnamurthi Physics Center in Nichols Hall was a visionary gift to the campaign, and was named in memory of Krishnamurthi’s father, a former diplomat for the World Health Organization who emphasized the importance of global citizenship among his children.
Krishnamurthi grew up in New Delhi and received his master’s degree in computer engineering from Syracuse University. He has held engineering and management positions with Sun, Philips, Xerox, PARC and AT&T Bell Labs, and was one of Juniper Network’s original engineers, subsequently advancing to the role of executive vice president of engineering there in 2003.
In 2004, Krishnamurthi left Juniper to join his brothers S.K. Vinod and R.K. Anand to found Xsigo Systems. Xsigo provides input/output virtualization solutions for data center server connectivity and management and has operated as a subsidiary of Oracle since 2012.
Iyengar also holds a master’s degree in computer engineering and has worked for Thomson Multimedia, TVCom International and Grundig Designs. She is a very active parent volunteer at Harker, having assisted with the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic, Grandparents’ Day, classroom parties, arts, athletics and admissions. She also has been a member of the Parent Development Council since 1998.
Gautam and Sidhart have been active in both arts and athletics at Harker through the years. While attending Harker, Gautam played varsity football and basketball, participated in performing arts shows and was a member of the link crew and student council; he is now a wide receiver for the Stanford football team. Sidhart is participating in varsity football, link crew and DECA this year.
The Chen/Huang Family
Though their young daughters have yet to begin their studies on the upper school campus, Dr. Winston Chen and Phyllis Huang already have pledged to make a visionary level gift to support programs and capital improvements on multiple campuses at Harker. Via the Paramitas Foundation, which Chen founded in 1994, the Chen/Huang family gives generously each year to causes and organizations in the areas of education, wildlife conservation and community services.
Chen has served as chairman of the Paramitas Foundation and Paramitas Investment Corporation since 1994, after working for Solectron for 16 years. Solectron, one of the largest electronics manufacturing service companies in the world, benefited under the guidance of Chen first as an executive vice president and later as the CEO and chairman of the board. Prior to his positions at Solectron, Chen worked at IBM and later served on the board of Intel. Within the field of higher education, Chen has been a trustee of both Santa Clara University and Stanford University and is currently an advisory board member of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in applied mechanics and applied mathematics.
With a reputation as a highly intelligent, hard-working innovator, Chen lends his tenacity and good will to Harker with his participation on the Harker Board of Fellows, as well as the newly minted Harker business and entrepreneurship committee.
The couple met in the Yun Lin Temple in Berkeley, and together they have supported events such as the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic and the fashion show. Daughters Karina, grade 5, and Nicole, grade 7, have both been active in performing arts, and Nicole currently participates in forensics at the middle school.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.