The 1951 Alumni Fund

CHAIRMAN OF THE ALUMNI FUND COMMITTEE

LAST YEAR in reporting the results of the 1950 Alumni Fund, I pointed out J that my participation in this great Dartmouth activity had been a most sat- isfying and gratifying experience. The worthiness of the Dartmouth cause, the willingness of so many alumni to spend their spare time working for the Fund, and the wholehearted response of alumni generally to the needs of the College were cited as contributing to the intangible reward of a Fund Chairman.

If all these things were true of the 1950 campaign, they have been true many times over in this past year. Never have I been privileged to be a part in such a completely satisfying accomplishment. The tremendous challenge inherent in facing an objective increased by $100,000 over the previous year, coupled with the achievement of exceeding this large goal by more than $75,000, has made this campaign a rich experience for me personally. For Dartmouth, I am honestly convinced, the record 1951 Alumni Fund of $577,263 given by 15,417 contributors goes in the books as the finest ever achieved by any college or university.

Let me review some of the facts that lead me to this conclusion. It is not enough to say $577,000 from 15,400 donors. While both figures represent new records—the first time the Fund has set new records in both contributors and dollars since 1944, there are other ways to measure the 1951 Fund's stature. This was the first time in its. 37-year history that the objective was increased by $lOO,OOO. The result exceeded this objective by $77,000, the largest excess ever, for a 15% overage, the third largest percentage over objective. The increase over the 1950 total of $414,917 was $162,346, more than twice the largest previous increase of $79,311, recorded in 1946. The percentage dollar increase was 39%, the largest change in this respect since 1941. The average gift jumped from $27.76 to $37.44, another record high. This campaign marked the 13th consecutive Fund that exceeded its dollar objective, and the fifth consecutive new record in number of contributors. The additional $194,000 contributed to Class Memorial Funds during the past year brings total alumni giving for the year to $771,000. The average gift on the total giving basis is just about $50.00.

As a result of the Fund's success, Dartmouth completed one of its most difficult years in sound financial condition. It was a year in which the necessity of drawing upon precious capital reserves often seemed imminent. Instead of this, from the Fund's large surplus, an important Alumni Fund Scholarship Reserve of $75,000 was created and announced to all alumni by President Dickey last summer. The President left no doubt as to the necessity of bolstering the College's financial aid program, nor did he leave any doubt as to the value of the Alumni Fund Reserve in doing just that. Every person who contributed can take satisfaction in knowing that his gift has been of the greatest value not only to the daily work of Dartmouth but to the future of its financial aid program.

SCATTERED liberally throughout this issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE are the full details on the 1951 Fund. I hope alumni and friends will take time to study the many long lists of contributors and the various tables and statistics which tell the story of the campaign more fully than I can. In large measure this information reflects the same ingredients which have kept the Alumni Fund strong throughout the years. First, of course, there is Dartmouth itself. We cannot underestimate or forget the pull of the College, the emotional relationship of alumni to Dartmouth, and the leadership of President Dickey and his administration. In a very real sense this campaign was a resounding vote of confidence for the College and its President at a time of stress. Dartmouth is going forward steadily and strongly with its business the development of free and responsible minds—at a time when many would discourage this same free search for truth. Our College is a great bulwark in the fight for freedom, and it seems tremendously reassuring to me that 15,000 people have expressed their approval of that purpose.

Second, there are the 15,000 contributors, this year including alumni, parents, and friends. These are not the spectators sitting in the stands; these are the players on the field who, responding to the needs of the College and the leadership of Fund workers, made the glorious triumph possible. This year, perhaps more than ever before, they were asked to do the impossible, to give more, much more, than before. And they did, giving on the average $10 more than the year before. All up and down the line, men increased their gifts, $5 to $10 or $25, $50 to $100, and $500 to $1,000. To each and every giver goes the credit for success. I want to express my own personal thanks to each one.

Third, there was the vital organization of class agents, their associates, and the newsletter editors, this year numbering more than 1,000 men, the largest ever. This marvelous group, led by the agent of each class whose picture appears in this issue, devoted literally thousands of hours to assure the Fund's success. I want to pay real attention here to the work of the agents and their classes, singling out some of the more outstanding accomplishments, in recognition of how much the work of these few men has meant. I think it is important that you know why many other colleges are envious of the Dartmouth class agent team.

Let us consider at the start the over-all accomplishments of these men. Twentyeight classes exceeded their assigned objectives. Twenty-one classes raised more than S10,000 from their membership. Forty-two classes achieved 80% participation, the Fund average, with twelve classes obtaining more than 400 gifts. Perhaps even more important in the context of the large objective increase is the fact that thirty-seven classes raised larger dollar totals than ever before, and eight of them also obtained more givers than in any past year. All in all it was a great triumph for the class agent system and the men who make it work.

THERE were several outstanding achievements among the classes past their 50th Reunion. William F. Geiger '92 obtained a phenomenal 879% of objective to lead all classes in this important respect. The Class of 1894, led by Agent G. Woodbury Parker, with the valuable aid of his classmates Paul R. Jenks and Charles C. Merrill, topped all classes in percentage improvement by raising its participation from 97% to 179% and by increasing its dollar percentage from 133% to 184%. Clarence G. McDavitt 'OO, class agent of his class since the beginning of the Fund, produced another fine accomplishment as did veteran agents James W. Newton '86, Harry D. Lakeman '96 and John R. Spring '98. Until the 50th Reunion, all class agents find enjoyment and competition in the Green Derbies, six separate contests based on combined participation and dollar percentages. Among the classes 1901 to 1909, the performance of Richard Ward '01 in his class' 50th Reunion year was outstanding. Scoring 203% of objective, he led Morton B. French '03, Charles I. Lampee '04 and Max Hartmann '06. Ralph B. Clement '09, a new agent, led his class to record dollar and contributor totals.

Marvin L. Frederick '15 scoring the fifth consecutive Green Derby victory of his class, led 1914's new agent, George Young Jr., and Malcolm G. Rollins '11 among the classes 1910 to 1918. With an average gift of $75.69, Marvin Frederick's 1915 led all larger classes in this important respect. William H. McKenzie '16 finished fourth and scored new records in both contributors and dollars.

Three amazing perfomances highlighted the work of the agents from 1919 to 1927. Most outstanding was the job done by Roger C. Wilde, 1921, as he scored the fourth consecutive Green Derby triumph for his class. With 287 contributors for 101% participation and $20,148, an increase of $8,383 over the year before, he proved an inspiration to all classes. The Class of 1923, under Leon H. Young Jr., produced the largest amount of money ever given by a single class, $20,385. Milton K. Emerson '25 obtained $18,893, 123% more than this class contributed the year before. Nor can we overlook in this group of classes the marvelous achievement of Albert E. M. Louer '26 in exceeding objective while the class was raising $126,000 for its Memorial Fund; the great work of Roscoe A. Hayes '19, who established alltime contributor and dollar records to finish second in the Derby; and the third class in the competition, 1927, led by Spencer S. Cook.

Turning now to the classes 1928 to 1936, we salute Richard W. Bowlen '30, Edward P. Offutt Jr. '35 and George B. Redding '29 for leading the way in this Derby. Honors go also to both George W. Copp Jr. '34 and Munroe S. Fitzherbert '36, both new agents, who established new highs in dollars and givers for their classes.

No class from 1937 to 1945 equalled its objective but Frederick L. Porter '40 and Addison L. Winship II '42 came close with 99% and 98% respectively to win and place in this group's contest. Scoring a tremendous improvement for 1938, B. Wright Mallory finished in third place.

The most recent class to graduate, 1950, led by Glenn Fitkin Jr., behaved like veterans as they nosed out John F. Stockwell '49 by .2% for an excellent start in alumni affairs. Third-place honors went to Robert Y. Kimball and his large class, 1946, as he again obtained more than 500 gifts.

This, then, is a somewhat lengthy statement of class agent work in the past campaign. To all the agents, newsletter editors, and workers, my profound thanks for a job well done.

ANOTHER group of alumni workers was active on the 1951 team. Regional Chairmen were appointed by the Fund Committee in twelve cities west of the Mississippi to supplement on the local, more personal level, the traditional work of the class agents. These men worked hard on this experimental plan. Fine results were produced in many individual cases. The application of what we have learned together should be most helpful in the future. The names of the Regional Chairmen are listed elsewhere in this report, and I want to thank each one for the time and effort he devoted to the Fund.

Another promising innovation of the 1951 campaign was the work accomplished by a small Parents Committee headed by Glenn Fitkin of Toledo, Ohio, the father of two recent graduates. This group sponsored a solicitation of parents of undergraduates and recent graduates, the first time an organized effort has been made within this segment of the Dartmouth Family, with exceedingly gratifying results. Some 350 parents responded to the Parents Committee appeal, giving a total of $28,184, a most generous figure. The Fund is proud to have these parents associated in this work for Dartmouth, and grateful for their interest and support.

I wish at this point to pay special tribute to the ladies for their important part in the Fund. We are often too apt to regard any work of such a masculine institution as Dartmouth as an all-male proposition. Such is not the case with the Fund. First, there are the wives who sacrifice, whether it be a new hat or a trip to Florida, that the Fund may be a success. There are the widows who year after year keep their husbands' names alive through their important memorial gifts. There are those wives of class agents who for months on end find other evening occupation while their husbands work, and the many others who work right alongside their agent husbands. There are the countless secretaries who, whether in the offices of Fund workers, in my office in Hartford, or in the Fund Office in Hanover, have kept the wheels of communication turning. Yes, without the ladies, who get no real credit for what they do, the Fund would not be a success. I know all alumni join me in expressing thanks to them.

This Alumni Fund experience has been a most enjoyable one for me, largely due to close association with many wonderful people. One of the great pleasures was the work with the Fund Committee, a group whose wisdom and friendship more than compensated for the problems with which we wrestled together. The 1951 Committee was composed of John R. Mason '15, John C. Woodhouse 'si, Stephen A. Osborn '27 and F. William Andres '29.

I cannot pass this opportunity of again paying tribute to the Fund's Executive Secretary, George H. Colton '35, and his associate, Nichol M. Sandoe Jr. '45, as well as the entire staff of the Alumni Fund Office in Hanover. George and Nick have given me much valued guidance. At all times they were receptive to new ideas which were worthy and yet equally courageous in pointing out the weaknesses and dangers involved in the adoption of other suggestions. Their experience and sense of propriety as regards Dartmouth and its alumni body and their fine judgment have been invaluable. They themselves are responsible for many of the sound procedures which have been adopted. At all times did they and their associates in the Fund Office vigorously plunge into new Fund activities even though their work load was already at the breaking point. Dartmouth is most fortunate in having such a staff in Hanover.

IN ANY WORK where there is close and friendly association, it is hard to watch some of the group step out of their active roles. The Committee notes with sorrow the passing during the year of Alfred E. Watson '83, class agent of his class for many years, and Henry E. Atwood '13, Chairman of the Alumni Fund Committee in 1943 and 1944, both of whom have made important contributions to the Fund. We pay tribute also to the following agents who retired following the campaign: Malcolm G. Rollins '11, William R. McKenzie '16, Allen R. Foley '20, Stanley P. Miner '22, Albert E. M. Louer '26, Richard W. Bowlen '30, Lewis K. Johnstone '41, Robert Y. Kimball '46, Edward P. Scully '47, Theodore C. Susen '48, and John F. Stock well '49. These are men whose combined service to Dartmouth as agents numbered 56 campaigns. I join them in retirement with a real sense of appreciation for what this chance to work for Dartmouth has meant to me.

The results of any one year in Fund activities cannot be credited entirely to the work done that year, regardless of how effective that work may have been. All of us must share the credit for such results with the Alumni Fund workers and the Alumni Fund chairmen of previous years. It is they who have built the Fund on a firm foundation without which the present Fund structure could not exist.

We can all be confident as to the future. The appointment as Fund Chairman of Kenneth M. Henderson '16, President of the Ditto Corporation, is announced elsewhere in these pages. All will want to give him full support, because I know Ken Henderson is going to do an excellent job. He will have the fullest cooperation from the Fund Office in Hanover now staffed by Nichol M. Sandoe Jr. '45, successor to George Colton as Executive Secretary, and Glenn L. Fitkin Jr. '50. Most important, they will have the all-important strength of Dartmouth's great corps of workers.

In addition, I believe it is true that the Fund has met the challenge of the past year without loss of precious good will of either workers or contributors. It is perhaps fair to say that the Fund has basic strength today in excess of what it had a year ago. This is important, for in the last analysis it is not the dollar success of any one campaign that determines the value of the Fund to the College. Rather it is the extent to which Dartmouth can depend on the Fund as an asset throughout the long future, and I expect all will agree that this priceless asset is greater now than ever before. My most sincere thanks to all who have made this possible.

1951 FUND CHAIRMAN: Charles J. Zimmerman '23 of Hartford, Conn., who had the satisfaction of leading Dartmouth to new Alumni Fund records.

GEORGE H. COLTON '35, executive secretary of the 1951 Alumni Fund and prime mover of the campaign at the Hanover end. He is now executive secretary of the Dartmouth Development Council.

NEW ALUMNI FUND DIRECTORS: Nichol M. Sandoe, Jr. '45 (left), who became Executive Secretary of the Fund this fall, and Glenn L. Fitkin, Jr. '50, who has succeeded Sandoe as Alumni Fund Associate.