Kiewit Computer Center Dedicated
DARTMOUTH'S new Kiewit Computation Center, nestled at the corner of North Main and Elm Streets, in close proximity to the Bradley Mathematics Center, was dedicated on December 2 with brief formalities and also with a two-day conference on "The Future Impact „of Computers."
Peter D. Kiewit '22 and Mrs. Kiewit, whose generosity made possible this home for the College's new $2.5 million General Electric 625 computer, were present for the dedicatory program. Mr. Kiewit spoke briefly at Friday morning's opening formalities, at which President Dickey presided.
In three panel sessions, guest experts discussed the future impact of the computer on knowledge, education and the university, and society. At a general meeting in Spaulding Auditorium on Friday evening, an address was given by Francis Keppel, former U. S. Commissioner of Education who is now Chairman of the Board of General Learning Corporation; and Hershner Cross, Vice President and Group Executive of the General Electric Company, read the address prepared by Louis T. Rader, Vice President of G.E., whose illness prevented his being present. (Excerpts from the addresses and from some of the panel talks appear on Pages 18-20.)
Participants in a discussion of the computer's future impact on knowledge were Prof. George R. Stibitz of the Dartmouth Medical School (chairman); Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at The Hebrew University, Israel; Marvin Minsky, Professor of Electrical Engineering at M.I.T.; and Dean Myron Tribus of Dartmouth's Thayer School.
Panelists dealing with the impact on education and the university were Grace Bates, Professor of Mathematics at Mt. Holyoke College (chairman); John Carr III, Professor of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania; Prof. Donald L. Kreider of the Dartmouth Mathematics Department; and John W. Tukey, Professor of Statistics, Princeton University.
Panelists in the session on the impact on society were Richard W. Hamming of the Bell Telephone Laboratories (chairman); Robert M. Fano, Director of Project MAC at Prof. John G. Kemeny of the Dartmouth Mathematics Department; and Martin Shubik, Professor of Industrial Economics, Yale University.
Nearly 200 persons from the educational, scientific, business, and publishing worlds attended the conference and joined with the Dartmouth community in marking the opening of one of higher education's most significant new computer systems.
Mr. Kiewit's Remarks
WHEN I first came to Dartmouth and enrolled in the freshman class in the fall of 1817, we had in Omaha an active alumni association which we still have. My decision to come to Dartmouth was influenced primarily by the respect I had for those former Dartmouth students and for the time and effort they spent with the senior class in the high school I attended, advising us of the advantages and benefits of going to Dartmouth. Now the alumni are one of the College's great assets, and I am sure will continue to be a great asset as long as they are informed and kept informed by men such as President Dickey, Vice President Hicks (who I understand doesn't know what the word "Emeritus" means), their associates, and their successors.
I left the College, as many of you know, at the end of my freshman year to go to work in the contracting business which my father had started in 1884. We hear a great deal nowadays about school dropouts, at the grade school, high school and college levels, but I can tell you that dropouts aren't anything new. They've been going on for almost fifty years that I know about.
During the last half century we have experienced probably the greatest scientific advance that will ever happen in the history of mankind. And this Computer Center that we are dedicating here today is symbolic of this great progress. The computers now installed, and the vastly improved models that will inevitably follow, will have capabilities far beyond the most optimistic dreams of anyone who was in college when I was. And because of these marvels of human ingenuity and the other innovations of the 20th Century, we have facilities that will help, and I want to emphasize the word help, stamp out crippling disease, minimize hunger, provide adequate housing, and in countless other ways improve the living standards of people everywhere.
At the time my classmates and I were growing up, our country was somewhat closer to its pioneer heritage. There was no radio and no television, with the result that parents had time to teach in the home the fundamentals upon which our nation was built. These fundamentals Were deeply ingrained in the minds and in the hearts of most young people. Integrity, perseverance, self-reliance, and self-discipline, coupled with the willingness to make whatever personal sacrifices might be required to accomplish their aims, were accepted as essential to personal achievement.
Today I have the feeling that many people consider these fundamentals outmoded and old-fashioned. There seems to be a widespread belief that responsibility is no longer a personal thing. There seems to be a belief that the company, the union, or the government will somehow look after the individual's future. There seems to be a belief that living standards will improve and that security will be provided whether or not the individual makes a personal contribution. There seems to be a belief among many that hard work, whether physical or mental, is no longer fashionable, and that computers will not only replace physical effort but do our thinking for us as well.
I think that one of the great challenges educators and businessmen face today is making people realize how fundamentally wrong and shortsighted this type of thinking is. It will not only jeopardize our future, but it is also a major cause of the widespread current frustration and discontent which too often results in disregard for common decency and lack of respect for our laws. I am happy to say that Dartmouth's record in this area is an enviable one, particularly so when we realize what has happened and is happening at the University of California at Berkeley. I hope we can help people help themselves by making them realize that success comes to them because they like their work and because they look forward to the joy of accomplishment they experience when they apply themselves to the perfection of their talents and to the development of their interests. I hope we can make them realize that regard and concern for the rights of others are just as basic to human happiness, social and scientific progress today as they were in the days of our forefathers.
I want you to know that Evelyn and I appreciate the privilege of being with you today, and that we shall always be grateful for the opportunity you have given us to participate in the creation of this Computer Center which we hope will make it possible for all of us to accomplish more in our lifetimes than would have been possible without it.
