Kramer Foundation Fund Drive

A year ago last August 20 the College community was stunned by the death of Milton Sims Kramer, valedictorian of the Class of 1954 and winner of a Rhodes Scholarship.

A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, Milt in the fall of 1950 began an outstanding undergraduate career in which he was a topflight student, an officer of Green Key, editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth, and chairman of Palasopitus, among other honors. Through his personal direction and energy, a new freshman orientation program was successfully launched in the fall of 1953.

In December of his senior year Milt was awarded a coveted Rhodes Scholarship, and in the spring he was chosen to deliver the 1954 valedictory at Commencement. Graduating magna cum laude, he delivered one of the finest addresses of recent years, concluding:

"The men who leave this College must operate in the context of true individuality which is the source of any finer destiny for themselves and all other men. They must wear their hearts out after the unattainable."

In order to broaden his experience and his understanding of men engaged in something quite different from scholarly pursuits, Milt spent the summers following his junior and senior years working in the Colorado woods with a forestry crew. It was while returning from Colorado on his way East and then to Oxford University that he lost control of his car, plunged into a river, and was killed.

In the February 1955 issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE it was announced that a group of fellow students had established the Milton Sims Kramer Memorial Foundation, devoted to the "development of a deeper appreciation and enrichment of the Dartmouth fellowship." Milt himself exemplified the Dartmouth fellowship at its best, and it was with the wish that his qualities be perpetuated in the College that a living memorial was founded. The annual income from the Foundation's endowment will be used each year to establish in Milt's name a specific project furthering the Foundation's objectives. Students themselves will administer the yearly projects in order to keep the memorial vital and continuously adaptable, and because one of the things Milt stood for most strongly was student responsibility.

Possible examples of projects might include printing a concise history of the College for distribution to the undergraduate body, bringing a speaker on a liberal arts topic to Hanover, contributing to Dartmouth Night, backing a worthwhile project sponsored by a student organization, and supplying specific equipment for the Hopkins Center. In addition, part of the funds raised will be used to erect a permanent plaque to Milt's memory in the Center.

Last spring the Foundation received $2,583 from the undergraduates and faculty of the College - the Hanover community. In order to avoid conflict with the Alumni Fund, the Foundation postponed seeking contributions from alumni, parents and other friends of the College until this time. The fund drive is now being continued. Contributions will be most welcome and should be sent to the Kramer Memorial Foundation, Crosby Hall, Hanover, N. H.