Club Officers Meet in Hanover

FIFTY-THREE club officers, 26 members of the National Enrollment Committee, and some fifty wives attended the annual fall meeting of the Dartmouth Club Officers Association, held jointly with the NEC in Hanover during the weekend of October 6-7. Club officers came from as far away as Chicago and Sarasota, Fla., while the NEC meeting, the first of its kind on a national scale, had Samuel H. Martin '27 of Portland, Oregon, among those present.

The two groups combined forces for three meetings where the emphasis was on enrollment. This included the Friday night opening dinner at the Hanover Inn, at which President Dickey compared recent classes to show the trend in competition for admission to Dartmouth. He pointed out that there have been geographical shifts, higher percentages of men gaining admission from public schools, a startling increase in postgraduate study, and a continued decrease in attrition from the freshman through the senior year.

A highlight of the Friday evening dinner was the presentation of awards for the outstanding club officers of the year. Bradford M. Kingman '25, president of the Dartmouth Club of the New Hamp- shire Sea Coast Region, received the Club President of Year accolade, and Russell C. Dilks '5l of the Dartmouth Club of Philadelphia was honored as the Secretary of the Year. Their citations appear with their respective class columns in this issue.

All officers rose early on Saturday to attend a joint breakfast meeting and to hear Edward T. Chamberlain Jr. '36, Director of Admissions, speak on the role which club officers and enrollment workers must play in seeking qualified applicants and holding their interest in Dartmouth. Success is most often achieved, he said, when clubs back up the enrollment workers by sponsoring programs, assisting in publicity, and contributing financially. N. Page Worthington '33, chairman of the NEC, presided at the breakfast meeting.

Later in the morning the club officers met in Sanborn House Library for their annual meeting. Barry C. Sullivan '36, president of the Association, acted as moderator for a panel discussion on "Planning for the Annual Dinner." The points emphasized were an early start, good publicity, an interesting speaker, and telephone follow-ups where it seemed desirable.

Reports were also heard from the floor concerning club programs that work, such as annual dances combined with an award to an outstanding alumnus, an annual picnic where undergraduates and incoming freshmen are also invited, and luncheon meetings for accepted candi- dates and their fathers.

As it turned out, the Association elected as its officers for the coming year the two award-winners of the night before. Mr. Dilks was named President and Mr. Kingman Vice President. J. Michael McGean '49 of Hanover will continue to serve as Secretary. Elected to the Association's executive committee were William B. Squier '4O, president of the Charles River Dartmouth Club, and Richard J. Loewenthal Jr. '53, secretary of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Chicago.

While the club officers met separately, the enrollment officers gathered in the Wren Room of Sanborn House to listen to George Hansford, vice president ; nd treasurer of the College Entrance Examination Board. He spoke on the difficulty of interpreting College Board scores, their meaning, reliability, and validity.

The officers held their final joint meeting over lunch in the Tavern Room of the Hanover Inn where Prof. John W. Mas- land, Provost of the College, was the main speaker. He told the group that within the next decade or two eighty to ninety per cent of all high school graduates can be expected to continue into higher education. Myron Tribus, new Dean of the Thayer School, spoke briefly on the school's plans for the future.

While the club officers enjoyed the opportunity to relax and listen to the Dartmouth Penn football game on radio, the enrollment officers went back to work. Six or seven typical folders from the files of the Class of 1965 were examined and the admissions staff explained how evaluations were made in each case. The enrollment officers were in effect placed in the shoes of the admissions staff who must study each folder in terms of words and scores as opposed to the flesh-and blood approach used by enrollment work- ers in the field.

Robert K. Hage '35, Director of Financial Aid, spoke to the enrollment officers on Saturday evening at their final meeting. He outlined the operations of his office and the amount of aid that is givea annually to Dartmouth undergraduates.

During the weekend officers and their wives enjoyed tours of the Hopkins Center, and were given a special talk on the Center by Warner Bentley, its director.

The Club Officers Association has tentatively set September 28-29, 1962 as the date for its next annual meeting, whici will coincide with the first home football game.

Leaders of the Club Officers Association for 1961-62, elected at the annual meetinglast month, are (l to r) J. Michael McGean '49, secretary; William B. Squier '4O, ex-ecutive committee; Russell C. Dilks '51, president; Bradford M. Kingman '25, vicepresident; and Richard J. Loewenthal Jr. '53, executive committee.