Alumni Fund Hits New Peaks In Dollars and Participation

The Alumni Fund records set in 1954 were pushed into oblivion, where so many previous Fund records have gone, when figures for the 1955 campaign were finally and officially tallied. New high levels of achievement in both dollars and participation were reached with a grand total of $774,859 - about $75,000 more than the objective - and an alumni participation record of 69.4%.

It was the seventeenth straight year in which the Fund exceeded its dollar objective, the fifth straight year in which a new dollar record was set, the ninth straight year in which a new mark for number of contributors was reached, and the third straight year in which the percentage of alumni participation climbed to a new record. As a one-year achievement and as a continuation of the Alumni Fund's forward march, the 1955 campaign was a superlative job done by some 1800 Dartmouth alumni workers.

The participation mark of 69.4%, achieved by gifts from 17,201 alumni (728 more than last year), exactly equals the "world's record" set earlier in the year by Princeton, with which Dartmouth has been waging a nip-and-tuck battle for participation honors in the last few years. In the matter of annual fund support by their own alumni, Dartmouth and Princeton continue to run ahead of the field.

The total number of contributors for the year was a record 19,163, of which 1,050 were Dartmouth parents. The Parents Committee, headed by Joel S. Mitchell of New York, established its own record in dollars as well as contributors by producing $50,596 of the Fund total.

Of the 1955 dollar total, approximately 80% has been applied against the 1954-55 operating expenses of the College, the top priority job of the Fund. The superlative results enabled the Trustees, in addition, to assign $60,000 to the Daniel Webster National Scholarship Program and $52,300 to the Alumni Fund Scholarship Reserve.

The alumni classes, key units in the annual Fund effort, created new marks right and left. On the dollar side, forty classes set records. Three of them — l925, 1924 and 1915 - topped $25,000 for the first time in Fund history, and four others - 1921, 1926, 1923 and 1927 - exceeded $20,000. Forty-two out of sixty classes met their assigned objectives, which totaled $50,000 more than last year.

On the participation side, four classes - 1955, 1941, 1946 and 1950 - exceeded 500 contributors, and 22 other classes had over 400. The Class of 1941, under new Class Agent Bruce Friedlich, had an astounding gain of 133 contributors over last year, and other sizable increases were registered by 1951. '925. 1931 and 1937. class Agent Kevin Sullivan led 1954, in its first year of alumni life, to a total of 414 contributors. The achievements of these classes, plus 36 other classes with a total gain of 569 contributors over last year, produced the remarkable participation record of 1955.

In the Green Derby contests, the closest race was run in Group IV (1932-1940) with 1940, under Hugh Schwarz, nosing out 1936 and Munroe Fitzherbert, 189.3 to 189.2. Other winners were: Group I (1905-1913) — 1905,Fletcher Hatch; Group II (1914-1922) - 1915, Marvin Frederick; Group III (1923-1931) - 1925, Ford Whelden; Group V (1941-1949) 1942, Richard Lippman; and Little Green Derby (1950-1954) - 1951. Gary Mansur. Among the veteran classes competing on participation alone, the leader was 1886, led by John Williams '89, an '86 son.

At the August 3 meeting of the executive committee of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, this vote was passed: "To accept with gratitude the sum of 1774,859 from the 1955 Alumni Fund and to express the College's deep appreciation to the many donors, including alumni of the College, parents of students, and friends of the College, for their thoughtful and generous support of the work of the College."

The Alumni Fund for the past two years has been directed for the Alumni Council by Roger C. Wilde '21, chairman of the Council's Alumni Fund Committee. At Fund headquarters in Hanover, the campaign was conducted by Nichol M. Sandoe Jr. '45, executive secretary, and Clifford L. Jordan '45, associate.