Lessons in Leadership and Learning: Fred Zilian’s Kearney Lecture

Dr. Zilian returns to Portsmouth Abbey to deliver the Kearney Lecture.

Portsmouth Abbey School recently welcomed Frederick “Fred” Zilian, Ph.D. back to campus for the latest Kearney Lecture, where he challenged students to reflect on the choices that shape their lives. A former infantry officer with a 21-year Army career, Zilian later spent over two decades teaching history, ethics, and German at the Abbey before continuing as an adjunct professor at Salve Regina University. His lecture, “Challenges and Choices,” offered a thought-provoking roadmap for students navigating their academic and personal journeys.

Zilian outlined six key challenges unique to Portsmouth Abbey students, each paired with a fundamental choice:

• The Opportunity Challenge – Are you giving your best effort or just getting by? Zilian recalled how his deep focus and study habits led him to witness history firsthand—conducting dissertation research in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell. His message was clear: concentration and effort open doors to extraordinary opportunities.
• The Kindness Challenge – Is kindness still part of Abbey culture? He shared the memory of a former international student who fondly recalled the simple act of holding doors open—a small but powerful symbol of the school’s spirit.
• The Reading Challenge – Why read beyond assignments? Zilian credited Carl Sagan’s 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winning work, The Dragons of Eden, with teaching him to wonder, question, and embrace the unknown. Reading, he argued, fosters empathy, curiosity, and intellectual precision—qualities essential for deep thinking.
• The Technology Challenge – Do you control technology, or does it control you? In an era of constant connectivity, Zilian warned against being “somewhere other than where your feet are.” He challenged students to consider whether technology truly helps them through life’s hardest moments—and whether it deserves as much time as they give it.
• The Hero Challenge – Who do you admire, and what does that say about you? For Zilian, heroes include Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass—figures who stood for truth and justice, even in the face of adversity.
• The God Challenge – Is questioning faith a sign of doubt or strength? Zilian, who once taught actor Charlie Day ’94 (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses), recalled how Day later credited him with teaching that questioning faith is part of strengthening it. Encouraging students to engage deeply with their beliefs, Zilian emphasized that inquiry and faith are not opposing forces but partners in personal growth.

During a lively Q&A session, students pressed Zilian on his greatest influences. He pointed to the birth of his children as the most transformative experience of his life and emphasized that teaching had taught him humility, as student insights often led him to new understandings.

In closing, Zilian left students with a final challenge—to question, to reflect, and to choose wisely. His lecture was a reminder that the Abbey experience is about more than just academics; it’s about shaping character, cultivating curiosity, and preparing for the complexities of life beyond school.