Background
Ayrault was born in Long Beach, California on July 21, 1935.
Ayrault was born in Long Beach, California on July 21, 1935.
He graduated from the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952. He completed his master"s degree at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
During the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, he earned a gold medal in coxless fours. Ayrault"s teammates were Ted Nash, John Sayre, and Rusty Wailes. Morristown-Beard School inducted Ayrault into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.
In 1956, he earned his bachelor"s degree in philosophy at Stanford University.
During his time at Stanford, Ayrault served as captain of the Cardinals" rowing team Stanford"s Department of Athletics later inducted Aryault into the school"s Hall of Fame.
Following his rowing career, Ayrault taught at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. After Lakeside School name him as their headmaster in 1969, he served in that role until 1990.
In 1971, Ayrault guided the merger of Lakeside School (then an all-boys school) with the all-girls Saint Nicholas School.
During his 21-year tenure with Lakeside School, Ayrault oversaw funding campaigns to construct Pigot Memorial Library, a field house, and Saint Nicholas Hall for Humanities and Arts. Students who attended Lakeside during that period included Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the co-founders of Microsoft Corporation. Ayrault"s father served with the United States. Navy during World World War World War II He commanded the United States Ship Tucson (CL-98), an Atlanta-class light cruiser between July 10 and August 14, 1945.
In 1958, Ayrault co-founded the Lake Washington Rowing Club.
He then supported the rowing club during the next 32 years. Ayrault served as the president and chairman of the Pacific Science Center between 1980 and 1984.
The foundation established their Ayrault Fund in honor of Ayrault. The Ayrault Fund facilitates the foundation"s outreach activities to promote the sport of rowing.
Notable speakers at the lecture series have included:
Bill Gates
Jacob Lawrence, a painter
Gwendolyn Knight, a painter
Dale Chihuly, a glass sculptor
Fay Jones, an artist
August Wilson, a playwright
Sylvia Earle, an oceanographer
Russian Mittermeier, a primatologist and herpetologist
Rudy Crew, an educator and administrator
Margaret Larson, a broadcast journalist with and correspondent with Dateline National Broadcasting Company
Claude Steele, a social psychologist
Paul Loeb, an animal trainer and aut
Brian Greene, a physicist
Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera
David Brooks, an author and columnist for the New York Times
Po Bronson, a journalist and author
He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the George Pocock Rowing Foundation. In 1994, friends and family members of Ayrault endowed the Ayrault Memorial Lecture Series at Lakeside School in his honor.