Malcolm Gauld
Although the concept of macro vs. micro confused me in college, it has grown on me, especially since I realized that the idea isn’t limited to the study of economics. Hey, it even applies to love… Hyde Love!
While most explanations of micro vs. macro start with the former and proceed to the latter, when it comes to Hyde Love, I thought I’d start with the macro side of the equation.
Ever since I graduated from Hyde in 1972, the 5 Words have served as the “True North” of my morality. However, I have also come to realize that without humans to personify them, words are just, well… words. Concern, for example, is not concern until someone actively cares for the best interests of someone else. What’s more, that caring is far more likely to occur in a community whose members share a collective macro commitment to both espousing and modeling it. That’s the Hyde community.
In fact, one of the greatest things about Hyde is simply the sheer number of people who care about it. Let’s look at the numbers.
836 – Total number of in-person attendees or on-line viewers at Hyde founder Joseph Gauld’s (1927-2023) memorial service on campus on June 10, 2023.
556 – Number of alumni, parents, and friends who gave a financial gift of any amount — Range: $5 to $1,000,000 — to Hyde in 2022-23.
500+– Number of alums, parents, and former faculty who attended the 2023 alum weekend.
283 – Number of Hyde families who have enrolled 2 or more children. (Note: The record is 5. Q: Who might that be? A: Hint: I’m married to one of those 5.)
120 – Number of alums and parents who have given $100,000 or more to Hyde over the course of their lifetimes. (That number grows to over 220 at $50,000.)
100 – Percentage of Hyde’s faculty and staff who have annually supported the annual fund for as many consecutive years as any of us can remember.
60 – Number of second-generation Hyde students — past and present– with at least one parent who attended Hyde. We have three this year.
13 – Number of alumni on the 2023-24 Hyde Faculty. An all-time high.
On Day #1 of the 2023-24 school year, 4 fresh-out-of-college Hyde alums took their places as rookie faculty members.
10 – Number of brand new Hyde golf bags on campus — The ultimate in Hyde swag!
Thanks to the generosity of a Hyde alum family, a golf club has been both endowed and launched this year that will evolve into a varsity sport. Although this first year will be largely instructional in nature, you gotta love the way we’re kicking things off with this Split-H shirt and bag!
4 – Alumni who have given or pledged $1 Million or more to Hyde
There’s a story behind this number, but one might need to be from the Old School to fully appreciate it. My father was speaking during post-lunch announcements when we ate all meals in the Mansion. (Note: In those days, Hyde had sit-down dinners and lunches Every. Single. Day.) Having steered into a rant that had long-since cut into the post-lunch academic period — a not uncommon occurrence! — he had become frustrated with what he perceived to be a disinterested “checked-out” attitude. At one point, he stopped and launched into the student body with, “Mark my words, someday one of you is going to come up to me and say, “Mr. Gauld, here is a check for 1 million dollars in gratitude for what this school did for me and will do for others in the future.” No one said anything at the time — Hey, we didn’t want to say or do anything that would prolong the meeting! — but after it was over, the moment became the subject of many jokes (e.g., “Will it be you?”… “Wow, you better start saving for your gift!”… etc.) for years, make that decades, thereafter. We basically, thought, Ain’t no way a single former Hyde student is going to give $1M to this school. Strictly speaking, we were right, I guess, but nowhere near as right as my father was. After all, so far, four have done it.
1– 3rd Generation Faculty Member
Bailey Kent ’18, one of the aforementioned four rookies pictured above, makes Hyde history as the first third-generation teacher. Her grandfather was Gary Kent. Her parents are Jeff and Jen Kent. The beat goes on.
That’s macro love. The numbers don’t lie. And macro love begets micro love which I will cover in the next post.
Onward, Malcolm Gauld
