A Transformational Time for Eaglebrook - The Dedication of the Edward P. Evans Academic Center

Edward P. “Ned” Evans was a member of the Eaglebrook class of 1957. He was born on January 31, 1942. After Eaglebrook, Ned attended Phillips Academy, Andover, Yale University, and Harvard Business School.

Mr. Evans was Chairman and CEO of H.K. Porter Inc. and Macmillan Inc. His Spring Hill Farm in Virginia was the leading thoroughbred breeding farm for twelve years in a row. He was one of the most successful horse breeders in North America and the dispersal of his horses broke all previous records. Mr. Evans funded the Edward P. Evans Foundation in 1984. During his lifetime the foundation supported community, sporting, and medical charities. He also made a personal transformational gift to the Yale School of Management, which named its new home The Edward P. Evans Hall.

The dedication of the building marks a new phase for Eaglebrook. According to Scott Wise P08, the President of the school’s Board of Trustees, “This new building is a dramatic symbol of the character of the school and of the character traits that the school hopes to imbue in all of its students, and that is boys who will graduate with great confidence in their state of the art skills, great enthusiasm for the pursuit of their education and their participation in this learning community, and great optimism for all things about their lives.” Watch Mr. Wise’s full speech from the ceremony here.

Mr. Shell Evans ’59, Ned’s brother and former president of the board, also spoke about Ned and his gift to Eaglebrook. Watch an excerpt from Mr. Evans’s speech here.

Headmaster Andrew Chase ’73 addressed the crowd saying,“Today we are here to honor and remember Edward P. "Ned" Evans, a Sixth Form student who - in 1956– on Country Fair Weekend – stood where we are standing now with his parents and brother Shell – looking out over the pond next to the Bryant Building where all of the school’s classes met.

Today – 60 years later at Country Fair 2016 - once again the hillside above the pond is laced with the golden touches of autumn. Once again students welcome their families to Eaglebrook. Once again they stand next to the their son’s classroom building – new and graceful - looking out over the pond.

Not often in any school’s history does one person have the ability to transform a school. Because of Ned’s love for this school and the generosity of the Edward P. Evans Foundation, we are here to dedicate the Edward P. Evans Academic Center – an environment that will allow Eaglebrook’s teachers and students to experience the best practices in teaching and learning and help all students find success. Students standing here will be the first to experience the Edward P. Evans Academic Center’s open spaces, studios, laboratories, classrooms, and performing areas.

The remarkable building that we dedicate today keeps Ned forever young and remembered by each new generation of students as the boy who changed the face of his school.”

We are grateful to the Edward P. Evans Foundation for changing the future for Eaglebrook School and its students.

Learn more about the project at www.eaglebrook.org/construction.

Watch a video of the day here.
See the Ribbon Cutting here.
Watch the benediction given by Rachel Blain here.
See all photos from the day here.
Watch a stop-motion video of the project from start until now here.