Memorial Minute

John E. and Mary E. Smith Memorial Distinguished Professor in Mathematics and Chair of the Department of Mathematics, Emeritus (1941-2024)

To know David was to know that passion and unwavering commitment to task were the hallmarks of his brilliant career. He was a great teacher, coach, dormitory adviser, administrator, mentor and friend. And he carried himself with a modesty that underscored the integrity we treasure in those who educate our children.

In contemplating his devotion to teaching, David once wrote: “From early on I seem to have had teaching corpuscles in my blood. I knew I would end up being a teacher. And …I dearly love doing exactly what I do.”

David may well have had teaching corpuscles in his blood. Born on February 21, 1941, the son of two secondary school teachers, David spent grades nine through 12 in a Connecticut boarding school. No doubt, the Loomis community influenced his lifelong values, identity and aspirations. After graduating from Loomis in 1959, David earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Middlebury College, spent three years teaching at The Hun School, and completed a master’s degree at Rutgers University in 1967. That same year, David accepted an appointment as an instructor of mathematics at Exeter. A two-year leave of absence from 1976 to 1978 enabled David to undertake Ph.D. studies in the history of mathematics at the University of Toronto. It was in Toronto that David met Andra Crawford, the love of his life.

In the fall of 1978, Ph.D. nearly in hand, newly married, and already having served as a faculty member for 11 years, David spent the next 2 ½ decades living the life of an Exeter teacher and administrator. The list of his responsibilities underscores his sense of duty and a remarkable commitment to the Academy community. He taught math, chaired the department and spent three years as director of studies. He coached varsity football, JV football, baseball, soccer and tennis. He served as a dorm head or adviser in Soule Hall, Kirtland House and Dow House. He worked on numerous committees, including the Curriculum Review Committee which initiated significant changes in our academic offerings and school calendar. He spent a year abroad overseeing SYA in Rennes. From 1996 to 2001, he served as clerk to the Trustees. And for many summers he taught in the Exeter Mathematics Institute (EMI), a wonderful outreach program in which Exeter instructors facilitate math workshops for colleagues in schools across the country.

His work did not go unnoticed. In 1986, he received a Brown Teaching Award and later became a recipient of the Rupert Radford ’56 Faculty Fellowship. In awarding David the Radford Fellowship, Principal Kendra O’Donnell noted David’s leadership, citing his steady hand in “guiding a talented and opinionated crew through the beginnings of major curriculum reform.”

On David’s retirement in June 2006, Principal Ty Tingley extolled David’s gift for making the study of mathematics both invigorating and fun. Ty quoted a note David had received from Ursula Brewster ’90: “The love of mathematics you instilled into me as a lower lasted all the way through my Exeter career and continues through my years at Yale. Thank you so much.”

David found myriad ways to make the classroom stimulating. One day, when his class was struggling to remember the quadratic formula, David threw open the window and yelled, “Does anyone know the quadratic formula? We need it up here to solve a problem.” Walking across the academic quad, science teacher Jim DeCarlo laughed so hard. He could not reply, though, of course, he “knew the question was not for him.”

David’s kindness and gentle sense of humor earned him great affection. Joyce Kemp recalls a moment when students made their feelings clear: “Picture a banner hanging from J. Smith … not advertising a weekend dance, but imploring in large letters, ‘Mr. Arnold, PLEASE teach 520.’”

Heath Marcus ’91, who appreciated David’s gentle prodding, says David would sometimes draw a golden shovel “next to a student’s work when it was clear that they were just trying to BS their way through a solution.” Sue Safford ’83, notes the golden shovel was often accompanied by VE (valiant effort). Mr. Arnold, she says, “eased the sting of error with humor. He understood the delicate art of correcting without shaming to guide students to their own correct understanding of a concept.”

In every aspect of his work, David embraced a philosophy of in loco parentis. At Exeter, he said, we have “boys and girls who need and deserve our presence and our guidance in and outside the classroom.” Lisa Weil ’78, cherished living in Dow House, where “homemade carrot cake and apple cider, served at a dorm meeting,” she says, encouraged “conversations between old and new students.”

Richard Maurer ’69 remembers, “He was kind, understanding and easygoing, without being permissive.” The day before he was to take the SAT, Richard broke his ankle and found himself in the infirmary. He says he assumed “there would be no test for me. But the next morning, Dave … had a car transport me to Phillips Hall, where I sat down as the test was getting underway. It was one of

those Exeter ‘sink or swim’ moments that have prepared me so well for life.”

If David was born to teaching, he was also born to mentoring. Stephanie Girard, recalls a moment early in her career, when David found her working in the Department Room. Noticing that she was tired, she says, David “inquired, and when I told him that the girls in Dunbar were in my apartment almost every night asking for help, he said, ‘Stephanie, repeat after me: No. … You must guard your own time carefully, so that this place does not wear you down.’” Stephanie believes it “was great advice … given that I thought I was not allowed to turn the kids away regardless of my own workload or plans.”

Close friend and colleague Eric Bergofsky says, “Add me to the list of those David mentored long before any formal mentoring program at Exeter was instituted.” David’s use of humor in the classroom continues to influence him “almost 50 years later. His legacy lives on.”

A lifelong learner, David’s intellectual curiosity found joy in bird-watching. For more than 30 years, March vacations provided time for David and Andra to bird-watch in Sanibel Island’s Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and other nearby sanctuaries. Rich Aaronian remembers a particularly pleasant trip with Peter Greer and David when they drove north to Canada’s Point Pelee National Park to see spring warblers returning from South America.

Later in his career, David became fascinated with a pursuit that combined his mathematical skills with his artistic abilities: building fractals. Andy Hertig, who served as dean of faculty when David was the director of studies, says he frequently found “David’s computer screen filled with gradually developing colored patterns representing his newest fractal.”

Like many of his Exeter colleagues, David believed in the notion that to whom much is given, much will be required. For David, teaching in EMI was one way of giving back. Tony Greene and Bill Campbell recall being with David on the same EMI team dozens of times. “He and his teacher-students had fun,” Tony says, “while at the same time he was boosting their confidence and imparting knowledge that would make them better teachers.”

When David retired in 2006, the editors of the PEAN expressed their appreciation for David’s many contributions to the Exeter community: “Mr. Arnold has always pushed his students toward excellence. And his high standards are well-balanced by his playful humor and approachable nature. For his vivacious spirit, for his love of colorful shirts and bow ties, and for his talents as a teacher, mathematician and advisor to all,” Mr. Arnold will be deeply missed.

On April 7, 2024, David Arnold passed into that good night. He is survived by his wife, Andra Crawford, and his son, David Geoffrey Arnold.

The Memorial Minute excerpted here was written by Richard S. Aaronian (Harlan Page Amen Professor of Science, chair of the Department of Science and instructor in science, emeritus), Eric S. Bergofsky (instructor in mathematics), William E. Campbell (instructor in mathematics, emeritus), Stephanie K. Girard (instructor in mathematics), Anthony W. Greene (instructor in math, emeritus), Richard A. Hardej (Steyer Distinguished Professor, chair of the Department of Mathematics and instructor in mathematics, emeritus), John D. Herney (Robert Shaw White Professor in History and chair of the Department of History, emeritus), Andrew W. Hertig (Independence Foundation Professor, chair of the Department of History and instructor in history, emeritus), Lewis H. Hitzrot (Independence Foundation Professor and chair of the Department of Science, emeritus), Joyce C. Kemp (chair of the Department of Mathematics, John E. and Mary E. Smith Memorial Distinguished Professor in Mathematics and instructor in mathematics, emerita), Joseph R. Wolfson (George Albert Wentworth Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, chair of the Department of Mathematics and instructor in mathematics, emeritus) and Douglas G. Rogers (Cowles Professor in the Humanities and chair of the Department of English, emeritus). The full remarks were presented at a faculty meeting on December 9, 2024, and are available at exeter.edu/memorialminute.