Porter-Gaud was formed in July 1964 from the merger of three schools: The Porter Military Academy (founded 1867), the Gaud School for Boys (founded 1908), and the Watt School (founded 1931). The legal name of the institution remains The Porter Academy.
Sexual misconduct scandal
In October 2000, following teacher Eddie Fischer's incarceration, a separate court determined that former Principal James Bishop Alexander and Headmaster Berkeley Grimball knew of the ongoing abuse by Fischer.[1] The jury deemed both negligent in stopping the abuse. Neither Principal Alexander nor Headmaster Grimball were ultimately convicted, as each died prior to the court concluding.[1] However, the court awarded the plaintiffs $105 million.[2]
The scandal was the subject of a 2018 documentary, What Haunts Us. The film suggests the suicides of six graduates of the 1979 class were due to the mental impact of being sexually abused by Fischer.[1] The colluding culture of the school with board members ignoring persistent pleas to be heard by one victim, who wrote to all the board members who never responded or discussed it, revealed that these young victims were trapped within a culture where the surface of respectability had to be maintained at all costs.[1] Porter-Gaud school did make a public apology but not to the victims themselves.[3]
The second gates of Porter Military Academy (now at the new campus)
Hervey Allen – author from Pennsylvania; works include: Anthony Adverse, Israfel,Action at Aquila, and The Forest and the Fort
DuBose Heyward – author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy; co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel, which became the foundation of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess
Benjamin Hutto – music director and choirmaster at the school during the 70s through the 90s, during which time the Porter-Gaud Choir recorded several albums
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