Transformative Gifts to The Ethel Walker School

The Ethel Walker School welcomes two significant gifts that will advance its performing arts program and beautify the campus physical plant.

Philanthropists Alexandra Badger Airth ’83 and her mother Jacqueline B. Mars P’83, avid proponents of girls’ education and the arts, have committed $4.5 million to renovate Ferguson Theatre, Walker’s 350-person performing arts center built in 1969, and allow for additional programming. An additional $1 million will be directed to The Ethel Walker School’s endowment.

The theater project will include the modernization of the sound system and additions of new lighting and rigging, HVAC, seating, carpeting, stage, lobby, and restrooms, all in support of Walker’s vibrant tradition of musical performance, theater, and dance. 

“We are thrilled to be able to provide this current generation of Walker’s students — and those of future generations — with access to a state-of-the-art facility that will encourage their growth and development in theater, music, and the arts,” says Badger Airth. 

“We at The Ethel Walker School are remarkably fortunate to have such dedicated women in Alexandra Badger Airth and Jacqueline B. Mars,” says Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan. “Walker’s has a storied history of theater, dance, and the arts, and we are so grateful that their philanthropy will ensure that the School will continue to grow its programs and shape strong young women.”

Walker’s also received an unrestricted $1 million gift to be directed to the maintenance and beautification of the School’s Simsbury campus, in response to the anonymous donors’ wishes that the gift have immediate impact on the students, faculty, and staff.

Dr. Viswanathan noted that “the campus will benefit enormously and immediately from the generosity of our anonymous donors whose commitment to girls’ education is admirable. They have a clear understanding of the critical role that philanthropy plays in helping girls grow into strong, thoughtful, and healthy young women. We are deeply grateful for their generosity.”