Four Who Give Back

These Donors Share a Fundamental Belief: Extension School Degrees Change Lives

by Christopher S. Queen

Every year, a number of Extension School alumni make annual contributions to their alma mater to help ensure the school remains a valuable institution for future generations. Donations fund scholarship programs and teaching awards, and increase the resources available to current students, to name a few. Here we spotlight four perpetual donors: James Conway, ALB ’85; James Gorman, ALB ’03; Emily Kahn, ALB ’89; and William Kellett, ABE ’65. They share their Extension School experiences—experiences that have inspired them to give back year after year.

Conway: Finding a Flexible Program

James Conway

James Conway likes to tell the story of how his favorite Harvard professor, Greg Nagy, changed his life. As a pioneer in information technology for large corporations in the 1980s, Conway was studying for his bachelor’s degree at Harvard Extension School while commuting to several countries on business. Nearing graduation, he recalls, “I had the privilege of being in Greg Nagy’s Concept of the Hero course the first year it was offered.”

The course was so exciting that Conway and another student inquired about going on for a master’s degree under Professor Nagy. Nagy helped design a new concentration in classical studies for the Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) degree and launched a course in Homeric Greek the next fall. Conway enrolled in the course after graduating, but he soon discovered that his travels made regular class attendance impossible. “Once again, Professor Nagy came to the rescue, reserving his Saturday mornings at home to receive my calls from Germany, Canada, and elsewhere,” says Conway.

A former director of information technology at the Harvard Development Office, Conway created HOLDEN, the database system for Harvard’s $2.6 billion capital campaign. He has also held senior positions in development information systems at Northwestern University and the University of Rochester.

In 1991, he and his wife, Patricia, established the Conway Prize for excellence in the teaching of writing at Harvard Extension School. In 2006, the Conways contributed generously again, dedicating the reception lobby at 51 Brattle Street in memory of Patricia’s father and uncle. The Harvard Extension Alumni Association recently named Conway co-chair of the Centennial Campaign Committee in recognition of his longstanding devotion to the school. In this role, he will help lay the foundation for the Extension School’s second century of service.

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Gorman: Discovering the “Big Secret”

James Gorman photographer unknown

James Gorman also credits Greg Nagy for changing his life. In the 1970s, Gorman interrupted his college studies to pursue a career in the insurance business, but by 1998 he had resolved to become a student once again. “To return to school after 25 years is a very scary thing,” he says. Then a friend suggested Harvard, and Gorman replied, “You must be drinking!” But Gorman’s friend let him in on what some people call the “Big Secret:” Harvard Extension School.

Gorman decided to sample courses in every part of the catalogue—not just those that a businessman might take. In his first few terms he enrolled in Early Irish Historical Tales, Mesoamerican Civilizations, Crime and Justice, Acting—and a course called Introduction to Greek Literature: Concepts of the Hero, taught by a certain Professor Nagy. Most of these forays went well, but within two weeks Gorman was floundering in Nagy’s course.

At the beginning of the third class, Professor Nagy announced, “There are five of you in this class who are very important to me.” Gorman looked around the room, wondering who these stars might be. Behind him were two Harvard professors—obvious candidates for the top-five list. Then Professor Nagy said, “Those five students have never taken classical studies before, and they are bringing a fresh new perspective into this class. I say to you: your ideas count, and if I’m not making sense to you, stop me.” Gorman not only remained in the class, he earned an A–.

Since graduating, Gorman founded James Gorman Insurance, with offices in Boston and Los Angeles. He writes surety bonds for international container-ship companies. “Harvard taught me that I can juggle many things at once,” Gorman says. “Taking diverse courses at Extension helped to expand my mind. I can handle hundreds of e-mails a day; multiple time zones; and foreign currencies, cultures, and laws. Being a Harvard graduate has given me the confidence to do all this.”

Gorman extends such an opportunity to his employees through 100 percent tuition reimbursement for Extension School courses. Employees are not restricted to business-related courses. “If it makes them better-rounded, they will perform better at work, and we will all benefit,” he says. “Such satisfaction cannot be measured in dollars—education is an end in itself. This is what I learned at Harvard.”

Gorman has also given generously to the HEAA Annual Appeal, supporting the Shinagel Scholarship Fund so that students with limited incomes may return to college. “I see myself growing in the insurance industry and I see myself growing with Harvard Extension,” he says. “If students need help paying for their studies, we should be there for them.”

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Kahn: Overcoming the Odds

Emily Kahn photographer Emily Kahn

For Emily Kahn the Harvard faculty member who changed her life was Extension School Dean Michael Shinagel. Kahn dropped out of college to support her first husband, a medical student. Years later, her new start at the Extension School followed a second marriage and the responsibilities of raising five children.

“I had a lot of inner agendas when I was going through Extension,” she says. “I wanted to find out who I was, where I was from, and where I was going. And I wanted every paper to be better than the last.”

Kahn’s Harvard pilgrimage began in the 1970s. Her second husband, a graduate of Harvard College, and her children, always eager for mother’s attention, wondered if the commitment could be sustained at the pace of one or two courses a term. But when she graduated nearly 15 years later, family members who attended Commencement applauded with tears in their eyes. Kahn felt she had set a good example.

As it turned out, Kahn was not finished. She had taken every fine arts and photography course offered at the Extension School. Sensing Kahn’s enthusiasm for art, Dean Shinagel suggested she continue her studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Kahn earned a graduate certificate at the Museum School, exhibited her photographs in the museum’s highly selective fifth-year program, and has since shown her work at art galleries in the United States and Russia.

Kahn is a major donor to the Shinagel Scholarship Fund. “My Extension education was amazing,” she says. “I will always support the school. It is hugely important for people like me, who got off the track for whatever reason, to have the opportunity to return to college. I learned so much, fulfilled my internal agendas, and came out for the first time with a confidence that will stay with me forever.”

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Kellett: Liberating One’s Academic Side

William Kellett photographer unknown

For William Kellett, who returned to Harvard for his 40th reunion last year, the confidence that he gained from his Extension School education was not the result of a particular faculty member’s or dean’s help, but of the breadth and flexibility of its programs. Growing up in Cambridge, Kellett attended Dexter School, the Brooks School, and Phillips Academy at Andover. However, he had difficulty reading, writing, and studying due to a then-unrecognized learning disability: dyslexia. “As a result I finished at Brooks without a formal diploma—just a blank piece of paper,” Kellett says.

He eventually attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years, then joined the army. Upon discharge, he returned to Cambridge, took a job with an insurance company, and began attending classes at the Extension School in 1962.

“Those were the days when the program was very small, very intimate,” he says. Kellett took history, German, and—his favorite—the history of art, taught in the Busch Reisinger Museum by the curator herself. With encouragement from the faculty and staff, he developed better study skills and, for the first time, enjoyed success in his coursework. He also won the intercollegiate skulls while attending Harvard Extension School. Kellet went on to earn a master of public health from Yale University, where he also taught a course in healthcare finance.

He credits Harvard Extension School with “giving people an opportunity to pursue a challenge with a little more flexibility and to unlock the creativity and ambition that may have been there all along.” In his case, ambition and creativity led to a career that changed the way in which major American hospitals view the management of their investments. After seven years in budget and finance at Yale University, Kellett became the chief executive officer of the Hospital Fund, founded in 1983 to manage the endowments of leading hospitals and medical centers across the country. When the Hospital Fund merged with the Common Fund, Kellett was tapped as a managing director of the combined corporation.

Enjoying retirement today, Kellett serves on the board of the Putney School in Vermont. He also provides disadvantaged New Hampshire boys with the opportunity to attend Camp Pasquaney, a summer boys camp near Plymouth, New Hampshire. As a generous Extension School alumnus, he is excited by recent developments at the school. “By choosing only the best that Harvard has to offer and making this available to students across the world, Extension is again making a mark,” Kellett says. “Now that I have more time on my hands, I am looking forward to taking courses through the Internet—and becoming involved in planning the Centennial Campaign.”

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