By Alex Cushman '04

After 33 years of service to Deerfield Academy, James Marksbury has decided to move on.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1940, Mr. Marksbury grew up in a small town outside the city. He attended the University of Ohio where he received both bachelors and masters degrees in literature, specifically 18th and 19th century English. He then went on to teach English at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater for two years. From there, he moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a legislative assistant for Congressman Henry Reuss for two years.

Upon his arrival in Deerfield in the fall of 1969, Mr. Marksbury served as assistant to Headmaster David Pynchon and taught English.

"When I first arrived," he said, "it was a period of major transition." Mr. Boyden had just stepped down, causing many other faculty members to retire, and there was, of course, the social activism worldwide. "I started in the old school," he said. "The faculty were virtually all male, all white, all Republican, and they all smoked." In 1975, he became the director of academic programs and served the position until 1982. In the fall of 1983 he became the secretary of the alumni, and worked there for fifteen years, until he returned to teaching in 1998.

Mr. Marksbury, an avid Deerfield sports fan, has never coached a sport here because he feels "that coaching is beyond my skill level." Instead, he works on the yearbook and various other 2001-2002 School Year, including Delta Airlines' Sky Magazine. While he was assistant to Headmaster Pynchon, he headed student activities for five years, which he says was "quite a challenge in a single-sex environment." He organized the school's first-ever prom and Casino Night as well as a major arts weekend.

For nineteen years Mr. Marksbury has also edited the alumni magazine, which Dean of the Faculty Richard Bonanno describes as "the most extraordinary alumni magazine here ever. It has great photos, very timely topics. His sense of style, language, his care to the school, have brought us respect. It is what a Deerfield magazine should be."

Many describe Mr. Marksbury as a funny, talented, and capable teacher. Mr. Marksbury is "a teacher with a great sense of humor and a fun and effective approach to learning. Personally he will always be my sartorial mentor," said Chris Kempner '03. Mr. Marksbury describes his teaching style as "an assimilation of the ones I enjoyed as a student...I want my enjoyment of what's being taught to be conveyed."

Mr. Marksbury says his most memorable moment at Deerfield was the Arts Festival in 1970. Along with colleague Dan Hodermarsky, he organized an elaborate three-day, school-wide arts fest, which featured prominent artists, painters, poets, writers, musicians, and performers. "It was a monumental event. Up to that time, art was not part of the Deerfield curriculum. It was a real effort to instill, to launch a formal program in the arts and in music."

Other memorable moments include the Bicentennial, his being the campus coordinator for the making of the movie Death Be Not Proud, his getting to know the alumni and "being here long enough to teach the students of alumni and colleagues."

When Mr. Marksbury was asked what his most powerful memory at Deerfield was, he pointed to the death of Mr. Boyden in 1972. "I had the opportunity to assist Mr. Boyden and I had the privilege of getting to know him on a personal level. It was a profound experience. It was very moving. I was lucky to witness the end of one era and the beginning of another."

Finally, Mr. Marksbury says of his years at Deerfield, "It's all been fun. I can't think of a better life... It has given me the opportunity to do many things I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and it just gets better in so many ways."