Harvey Alter

Not Goodbye But So Long
Harvey Alter '82

Honoring a 22-year veteran trustee of Landmark School

by Brittany Kenney

Landmark Trustee, Harvey Alter ‘82, is a people person. Not only is he a gifted storyteller and an ideal person to sit next to at a dinner party, but he’s also someone who deeply cares about the well-being of others. This compassion has guided his 22-year tenure on Landmark’s Board of Trustees and has motivated his focus on student-centric initiatives over the years. 

Finding Landmark

One of five children growing up in Chicago in the late 1960s and 1970s, Harvey struggled in school and was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade. He went to a series of schools, never quite finding the right place to meet his learning needs. When Harvey was a junior in high school, his older brother was attending Harvard and heard about Landmark, a school designed to help students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. Soon after Harvey graduated from high school, he found himself at Landmark enrolled in a short-lived program designed to support students between high school and college.

Building a Career

Harvey’s first year at Landmark was a social one, but he returned the following year ready to buckle down and prepare for college. After leaving Landmark in 1982, Harvey earned a degree from Southern Illinois University and went on to help run his family’s real estate business back in Chicago. As a businessperson, Harvey says “I would never ask an employee to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”

He learned all aspects of the family business and made lasting and impactful bonds with his employees. 

Finding Landmark...Again

Harvey met a Landmark classmate several years later in New Hampshire and the two made a visit to campus where they ran into Bob Broudo. They fostered a friendship, and Harvey joined Landmark’s Board of Trustees in 2000. 

Harvey’s focus as a trustee was on improving living and learning spaces for students and offering programs to help alumni connect. He was instrumental as a member of the Facilities Committee to build Alumni Field and the Ansara Athletic Center—spaces now well-loved and used by the Landmark community.

“Landmark wasn’t the place I wanted to be, but it was the place I needed to be. I had a complicated relationship with the school when I was younger, and I think a lot of alums from my generation feel the same. I wanted alumni to feel a sense of pride and belonging.” Harvey spearheaded a series of popular events such as Casino Night, the Alumni Las Vegas reunion trip, and alumni sports games—which helped reconnect former students to Landmark and to each other. 

Harvey says his most joyous moments as a board member have been when he gets to connect with the heart of the school—the students. He’s been a guest lecturer on topics from philanthropy to business and is a regular at campus get-togethers and alumni events. Whether time, money, expertise, or advice, Harvey is always contributing something to the Landmark community. “Whatever I’m doing at Landmark I’m always trying to drive home my personal motto. ‘Always be helping. Always be looking out for the person behind you.’” 

In June, Harvey stepped down from his role as trustee to join a select group with the honorable distinction of Trustee Emeritus. Though he’s unsure what the next Landmark chapter holds for him, he knows he’ll always be looking out for students and alumni. 

 

Article originally published in The Lantern Spring/Summer 2022.

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