Blair Academy was pleased to welcome back Jane Ferry P’11, MD, FACEP, MMM, to the Society of Skeptics on February 26. Dr. Ferry is an emergency medicine physician in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and is affiliated with Grand View Health-Sellersville, where she has served as its chief medical officer since 1990. Dr. Ferry discussed her medical mission work in affiliation with the “Blair in Kenya” program, an independent nonprofit founded by Blair history teacher Quinten Clarke ’87.

Dr. Ferry received her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Ferry traveled to Kenya with Mr. Clarke for the first time in 2012 as part of the “Blair in Kenya” program and she has returned numerous times to treat patients, deliver medical supplies, and further develop a healthcare mission focused on nutrition and preventative care. Most people treated by Dr. Ferry in Kenya had never before seen a doctor or received professional medical care. In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Ferry also distributes micro-nutrients, vitamins, de-wormers and other basic, necessary treatments.

“Blair in Kenya” provides vital educational, medical and economic opportunities to hundreds of Kenyans. Over the past 12 years, the program has delivered over 25,000 pounds of clothes, shoes, computers and medical supplies, and has raised more than $300,000 toward educational programs.

Dr. Ferry’s son, Edmund "Ted" Peacock, graduated from Blair Academy in 2011.

The History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program was an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon.’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please click here.