The Thayer Society of Engineers

Much of the credit for the enviable position of the Thayer School among the engineering schools of the country is due to her alumni; both because of the high standard of professional accomplishment attained by them individually and because of their collective loyalty to the School, financially and spiritually, expressed through the medium of the Thayer Society of Engineers of Dart- mouth College. I believe it is literally true that, lacking the extraordinary support organized among its members by the Thayer Society, the Thayer School might now be a subject of historic interest only.

In recognition of the high service which the Society has performed for the School I wish to record here an account of its activities and of the alumni officers who through 1944—and some of them by repeated re-election through many years—have administered its affairs.

The Thayer Society of Engineers was founded in 1903 "to further the interests of the Thayer School of Civil Engineering; to promote social intercourse among its members, and to keep them informed as to the work of the School."

Since 1903, the Society has held annual meetings in New York City bringing together a considerable number of alumni with the common bonds of Thayer School and of the engineering profession, and perpetuating the Thayer School spirit which always serves as an inspiration to the students and faculty of the School.

Since 1903, it has made annual contributions to the income of the School. The annual contributions of individual alumni, first formally organized in 1903, and later reorganized and named the Robert Fletcher Fund, has supplied vitally needed funds for the continuation of the work of the School. The Fletcher Fund was merged with the Tucker Fund in 1938, but the Society has continued its solicitation of Thayer School alumni for the combined Fund.

The Society maintains a revolving loan fund by means of which it has been made possible for deserving students to undertake and complete their engineering education.

The Society has set up an endowment fund wherein special individual gifts are accumulated for the purpose of building up the permanent endowment of the School.

In 1938 the Thayer Society Prize of fifty dollars was established to be awarded annually to the Thayer School student "who, in the opinion of the Executive Committee of the Society, is the author of the best report on an engineering subject."

The members of the Executive Committee for 1944 were: F. A. Davidson '14, President; F. H. Munkelt '08, Secretary; P. L. Thompson '08, Treasurer; S. C.' Bartlett '07; and R. N. Miller '19.

The membership of the Advisory Board for 1944 was: Dean of the School, ex-officio; P. H. Winchester '99, G. H. Stiles '12, E. H. Elkins '14, G. A. Sampson '03, A. H. Schilling '03, and C. P. Richardson '08.

The faculty of the Thayer School joins me in this expression of gratitude to these men, to their predecessors in office, and to their fellow-members in the Thayer Society.