High Standards

Deedie Keppel has been involved with the Harvard Graduate School of Education for nearly two-thirds of her life.

Her relationship to the school began when her late husband Francis Keppel, then only 32 years old, was tapped by Harvard President James Bryant Conant to be the school's fourth dean and was given the task of organizing and increasing the profile of a school that was younger than he was.

"When we arrived, the Ed School campus consisted of Lawrence Hall and Palfrey House. It was a far cry from the Appian Way campus it is today," says Deedie Keppel, now 90 years old.

While Francis worked tirelessly to increase the school's profile and standing, both at Harvard and nationally -- studying the American public education system, recruiting vibrant faculty members, and increasing the number of applicants -- Deedie did all she could to help him achieve his goals.

In the early years of his deanship, she hosted faculty teas, often inviting faculty members from other Harvard schools to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue. To facilitate relaxed discussions between faculty and students, she hosted parties that replaced the more traditional tea and pastries with beer and sandwiches. Students would sit on the floor of her living room and engage in debates around major issues in education.

"Frank and I had a partnership," she says. "He had tremendous faith in the school and what it could be, and that kept us both going."

In 1962 -- when Longfellow Hall had been purchased and planning was well under way for the expansion of what is the school's current home on Appian Way -- Francis stepped down as dean to serve as commissioner of education under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

Although the Keppels would live in D.C. and New York for many years, they returned to Cambridge in 1976 so that Francis could spend the remainder of his career teaching at the school he worked so hard to build. He passed away in 1990.

"The school was the love of his life and over the years it has become family to me," says Deedie, who chose to honor her husband's legacy with a gift annuity to the Ed School.

As a member of the Paul Hanus Society, Deedie believes wholeheartedly in the school's mission and its ability to improve the lives of young people. For more than 60 years -- through the tenures of six deans -- she has been thrilled to watch the work she and her husband began in 1948 grow and evolve.

"I am so proud to be associated with HGSE," says Deedie. "I give because the standards that the school has are the standards I have. It is the most human of all the graduate schools at Harvard. It truly is a family."

Photo: Ed Malitsky