Chairman's Report

A few days after the final 1962 Alumni Fund Campaign totals were announced an alumnus called to congratulate me on the results, then added in closing, "It's really too bad you didn't reach the goal."

We did not achieve our goal of $1,250,000. We missed by some $34,000—as we raised $1,215,740 from 21,392 contributors—both new Fund records. In my opinion, the results of our 1962 Campaign call for a feeling of great satisfaction and optimism for the future—not regrets! The facts supporting this statement will be the substance of this, my final report as Alumni Fund Chairman.

During the Alumni Fund trip last March which took President Dickey and me to some nine major alumni centers, I spoke of our $1,250,000 goal, pointing out that we all set high goals in our personal and business affairs. Further, we do not always achieve our goals, but placing them at a high level tends to better our individual and collective performances. The Fund Committee deliberately set the 1962 goal at a point which they believed was both challenging and realistic. It represented a 25% increase over the previous year when, with a goal of one million dollars, we raised $1,015,545. The Committee recognized that this year's goal called for the whole-hearted support of all members of the Dartmouth family, yet the challenges and opportunities presented by our College were clearly evident and constantly increasing as Dartmouth moves closer to the Bi-Centennial year in 1969. The Committee felt confident: that Dartmouth men would want to keep our Fund abreast of such progress and to match our goals with those of Dartmouth.

Our 1962 results testify to the wisdom of the Committee's decision. The dollar total went up by some $200,000 (20%), the greatest increase recorded by any Dartmouth Campaign and our contributor gain was equally impressive. With one or two major gifts, which were not repeated in 1962, and without the late spring decline in the stock market, who knows but what we well might have exceeded our dollar objective. No alibis are needed. Let's examine the record:

Looking at the contributor totals we find that this year we received 17,826 alumni gifts as against 14,717 in 1961, an increase of 3,109. To this we added 1,414 contributor credits for those alumni still making payments on their pledges to the Capital Campaign. In 1961 we added 4,141, and our final alumni participation percentage for 1962 was a fine 69%, against 68.8% last year—a small but nonetheless significant gain!

Major gifts of $1,000 and up again played a vital role in the growth of our Alumni Fund. Last year we received 118 gifts in this range for $226,000, while our 1962 Campaign recorded 170 such contributions totaling $296,000, a gain of $70,000! Most of these gifts were solicited by special committees which operated during the late fall and early winter in New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland. Great appreciation is due Francis H. Horan '22 and Lawrence Marx, Jr. '36, who chaired our special committees in New York, to Donald F. Sawyer '21, former Fund Chairman, who led the Boston group and to another '21 member and former Fund Chairman—Roger C. Wilde—who for the second year led the special Chicago committee for the Fund. A dozen other individual alumni also assisted by serving as Area Chairmen in their respective locales, while some forty alumni served as Committee members.

Dartmouth parents again joined with alumni in support of the Fund as a 97-member committee under the effective leadership of Parents Chairman Robert Fulton Maine of Philadelphia raised $41,422 from 1,128 donors, a good improvement over the previous year.

As always the Fund stalwarts continue to be the Head Agents, Class Officers, Class Newsletter Editors and Class Agents who labour so tirelessly and effectively for the campaign. This year there were some 3,200 alumni, the largest group in history, working during the April—June period for Dartmouth and the Fund, a class organization unmatched by any college or university.

Their dedication created new Fund records and new class achievements. A total of 45 classes set new dollar records, while 15 classes recorded new percent of dollar objective marks. New participation records were compiled by 24 classes, with eight classes achieving new contributor totals. Most heartening of all, 36 classes reached or exceeded their assigned dollar goals, and 25 classes had 100% or better on the participation side.

Four classes contributed more than $40,000 each— the first time that this level has been attained by any class. The Class of 1926, led by Reginald W. Hanson, received the largest amount ever recorded with $46,135 contributed by 311 donors to win the coveted John H. Davis Trophy Award. In second place was the Class of 1927, with Lawrence W. Scammon as Head Agent, which received $44,476, while the Class of 1925, traditional winner of the Davis Trophy, and led by Laurence G. Leavitt, finished a strong third with $43,574 in gifts and close behind was the Class of 1929, Head Agent M. Carter Strickland, with a record of $40,072.

While on the subject of significant dollar achievements it is well to salute the Class of 1937 which at their 25 th reunion last June announced that they had topped all Dartmouth classes by raising a total of $563,000 during the first twenty-five years of their alumni life. Over $100,000 of this was accounted for during the final year of their campaign and included $25,058 contributed by 1937 members to the 1962 Alumni Fund. Serving as Co-Chairmen of 1937's 25th Year Class Gifts Campaign were Francis T. Fenn, Jr. and Robinson Bosworth, Jr., former Head Agent of 1937.

As expected, Dartmouth's younger classes dominated the contributor totals with five classes recording better than 500 donors each. The Class of 1953 directed by Edward J. Spiegel led with 564 donors, 1950, with John F. Swenson as Head Agent, was second with 544 donors, while 1957 (Thomas H. Schwarz) had 543 donors, and a surprising fourth was the Class of 1935, with George H. Goodman serving his first year as Head Agent, recording an amazing total of 533 contributors for a 100% participation class record.

In other pages of this report readers will find the results achieved by each of Dartmouth's alumni classes and an Honor Roll, section citing those classes which have attained distinction in one or more areas. But all of these statistics serve only to reflect two important facts: some 3,200 Dartmouth men served their College by presenting its case to all her sons effectively, and over 21,000 members of the farflung Dartmouth family responded understandingly and generously to this appeal.

During the two years of my chairmanship I have stressed in every way possible my conviction, one shared by the Fund Committee, that our annual Alumni Fund is and must remain Dartmouth's most important and flexible source of income. This year our Fund proved this by not only meeting the College's 1961-62 deficit, but in moving beyond this traditional Fund task to provide additional funds to help underwrite book acquisitions for Baker Library, and programs for the new Hopkins Center and the William Jewett Tucker Foundation in the 1962-63 year. Thus we live up to the Fund motto, "Helping to make Dartmouth strong today—stronger tomorrow."

Competition among Dartmouth classes is always keen but this year's Green Derby races were close all the way to the wire. In Group I the Class of 1915, Harold H. Lounsberry, Head Agent, just nosed out the Class of 1912 under Edward B. Luitwieler by two percentage points. The Class of 1921, guided by William M. Alley, dominated the Group II competition from the start but there was sharp competition for second place between the Class of 1919 (Frederick M. Daley) and the third place finisher 1925 (Laurence G. Leavitt). The Class of 1927, celebrating its 35th reunion, finished first in the Group III competition as Head Agent Lawrence W. Scammon concluded his career with a great class showing. The Classes of 1928 and 1929, led by George W. Emery and M. Carter Strickland respectively, battled down the stretch for second place with 1928 emerging victorious by a scant two percentage points. George E. Goodman had the Class of 1935 out in front of the Group iv race throughout the campaign, but 1940's Head Agent, John B. Moore, had an ace up his sleeve in the form of several major gifts and this swept 1940 into first place on the final day of the campaign. In the Group v race the Class of 1942, with Warren Kreter at the helm, sailed to an early lead and were never headed. A tight second place battle found 1944 (Philip E. Penberthy) just heading off 1943 (George B. Munroe) by three points. The Class of 1953, directed by Edward J. Spiegel, let the other classes gain an early lead and then put the spurs to their class and went sailing home first again with 1950 (John F. Swenson) finishing second and 1951 (Richard H. Rogers) coming home third. In the youngest group of classes (Group vn), 1957, led by Thomas H. Schwarz, emerged triumphant. The Classes of 1955 (E. Swift Lawrence) and 1956 (Tom H. Rosenwald) ended in almost a dead heat for second place with 1955 winning by 194.2% to 194.1.% Sincerest congratulations to the winners and runner-ups for a tremendous race and one which was mightily important to Dartmouth.

For two years now it has been my privilege to have served as your Alumni Fund Chairman. To the members of the Alumni Fund Committee who worked closely with me during this period I express my great thanks. Each of these men contributed time, effort and invaluable assistance to either the 1961 or 1962 Campaigns or to both: William E. Buchanan '24, Forrest C. Billings '28, John W. Moxon '29, M. Carter Strickland '29, Victor G. Borella '30, Henry R. Bankart '35, David S. Smith '39, Robert J. Strasenburgh, II '42, John L. Greisberger '46, and George F. Jewett, Jr. '50.

It is reassuring to turn over the Fund Chairmanship to Charles F. Moore, Jr. '25 who succeeds me in the Fund stewardship for the next two campaigns. Charlie has served as a Class Agent for many years and has been most helpful to the Committee in the Detroit area. He brings a commanding knowledge of the entire communications field with him to the job, and I am confident that the Dartmouth Alumni Fund will make significant advances under his direction.

In the final analysis, however, the Alumni Fund is the property of each Dartmouth man. It is whatever we make it and will become whatever we want it to become. For nearly half a century the Alumni Fund has been one of Dartmouth's most precious resources and a responsibility proudly shared by all the men of Dartmouth. May this tradition continue to grow so that Dartmouth will remain a great and free institution.

JOHN D. DODD '22 Chairman

The names of contributors to the 1962 Alumni Fund, company to revious custom, are not listed with their respective classs in the class-notes section of this issue of the Alumni Magazine. Separate contributor lists for each class have been prepared and are bei sent out by each class to all members.