Groton Recognizes Distinguished Alumni

Groton School applauded two outstanding alumni during its recent Reunion Weekend, naming Moorhead "Mike" Kennedy, Jr. ’48 a Distinguished Grotonian and granting Nathaniel T.G. Fogg ’93 the School’s Cui Servire Award.

Kennedy's work with the U.S. Foreign Service took him to Yemen, Greece, Lebanon, and Chile, but it was his stint in Iran that dominated headlines. Acting head of the U.S. Embassy’s economic section in Iran, he was among the hostages seized during an embassy takeover and held for 444 days, from 1979 to 1981. Kennedy accepted the Distinguished Grotonian award in the Hall, standing beside the flag that flew at the White House in honor of his release. President Reagan gave the flag to Kennedy, who soon after presented it to Groton School.

A director emeritus of the National Institute of Social Sciences, Kennedy is president of Acadia Senior College and the Friends of the Maine State Library and serves on several boards. He has received the State Department’s Award for Valor, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Gold Medal of the National Institute of Social Sciences, and honorary doctorates from the University of Pittsburgh and Middlebury College.

Since 1977, Groton School has presented the Distinguished Grotonian Award to graduates whose lives of distinguished service reflect the essential values of the School.

The Cui Servire Est Regnare Award, established in 1999, recognizes a graduate who, through exceptional contributions to the school or the world, has lived up to the School’s motto, cui servire est regnare, which is alternately translated as “to serve is to rule” or “for whom service is perfect freedom.” Fogg, now director and chief financial officer of the Chertoff Group, trained the crew that responded to the 2000 terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole, earning the Navy’s Commendation Medal. He also has done outstanding work for FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), where he put his Harvard MBA to work for the public good, helping to restructure the agency after Hurricane Katrina and overseeing evacuation plans during subsequent hurricanes.

Groton School thanks Moorhead Kennedy and Nathaniel Fogg for their service and for bringing pride upon the entire School community.