Monday Surprise
MONDAY morning, November 2, was the first working day of President Dickey's fifteenth year as head of the College. Shortly before noon, as is usual on Monday, he was engaged in his weekly staff conference, when Miss Mary Shaw, the President's secretary, broke in to remind him of a 12 o'clock appointment. Mr. Dickey looked puzzled, not remembering any such engagement, but before he could say a word about it, into his office trooped the entire administrative staff of the College to extend loyal and friendly greetings to him at the start of his fifteenth year. The surprise was complete.
A message was read from Harvey P. Hood '18, on behalf of the Dartmouth Trustees, and also one from Dean Emeritus Joseph L. McDonald in London. Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College, then presented President Dickey with a poster-size greeting card signed by all those present. This was accompanied by the reading of an inter-office memo to the President from his administrative associates. It said:
On November 1, 1945, here in Parkhurst Hall in the old Faculty Room, you were installed as President of Dartmouth College. This noon as you are working on the first day of your fifteenth year of leadership of our college, we interrupt your labors for a few moments to say just a few things that we would like to say to you.
According to a recent survey, the average length of tenure among all college presidents in this country is four years. This startling figure indicates a turnover among chiefs of higher education identical to the length of campus residence of most undergraduates. Perhaps presidents have had all they can stand in the time it takes for a group of incoming freshmen to become seniors!
You are the senior president among hundreds of colleges, including all those in the Ivy Group. You have almost achieved the average tenure of Dartmouth presidents which is 15.8 years. Only twelve men have led this college in its nearly 200 years.
There are not enough occasions for us as associates to say to the man so capably filling your job that we admire and respect, and are grateful for, the qualities of leadership and the devotion to the great cause of the liberal arts that distinguish your administration.
Nor are there enough opportunities — so welcome as this one is - for a group of your friends to greet you warmly in person, to say as one man to another, that we know something of what you go through to do your job; to express our deep appreciation for your friendly interest in each of us; to declare hopefully that the first fourteen years are the hardest; and to say that we would like to be here ten years from today when the College celebrates its 200th year, and you your 25th.
President Dickey and his classmate Bill Andres '29 in a duck blind on Lake Champlain, wherea Hanover hunting party worked in a short November outing. The results were good.
Construction is ahead of schedule on the Medical Science Building. For the story of exciting medical plans, turn the page.
