1949

Having recently returned from the semiannual winter combined meeting of the Alumni Council and Trustees which was scheduled to coincide with Charter Day December 13, a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the granting of the college charter by the King of England, I think that it might be somewhat interesting to most of you to read a bit about what is going on in Hanover at the present time. I have therefore capsulized some of the more interesting items which were brought out at the various meetings or were simply observed during the three days.

While at a reception held by President and Mrs. Dickey at their home I found out that they are preparing plans to build a new home in Hanover on the Lyme Road for their retirement. Mrs. Dickey is completing needlepoint dining room seat covers honoring each of Dartmouth's twelve presidents in their relevant individual designs. Their sun parlor is given over to a variety of lovely plants, and hundreds of African violets are grown under lights in their basement.

Excellent new high school enrollment film strip, "Focus on Dartmouth," is now available to clubs and enrollment officers. "1969 Football Highlights" film was exciting and well done even if it did candy coat the Princeton loss somewhat for our weak stomachs. "Dartmouth on the Road" is planning to tour the far West in early 1970 in an effort to show alumni a glimpse of many interesting campus clubs and activities. Don't miss this wonderful live undergraduate-run show if it hits your neighborhood.

Dartmouth presidential search committee hard at work but still weighing many top candidates. A Trustee Committee study on the possible education of women at Dartmouth is calculating what the costs would be for various men-women ratios, the single most critical problem, along with the unresolved single question after putting aside pure enthusiasm, namely, will coeducation serve to improve the educational opportunities and quality of Dartmouth for the student?

Student government was abandoned as unwieldy and purposeless by the undergraduates themselves and replaced by a campus conference composed of trustees, faculty, administrative officers, students, and the President. This group has been set up as a collaboration in the formulation and service of our institutional sense of purpose. The group has drawn up guidelines of student behavior which were broken in the Parkhurst incident and the National Academy of Sciences meeting. In both cases punishment was meted out in accordance with the gravity of the offense.

Seaver Peters, '54, Director of Athletics, reported that the Dartmouth intercollegiate victory record is on the way up in virtually all sports, both major and minor. Professor Frank Smallwood '51 detailed

the introduction of a new minor study program concentrating on environmental development and reclamation of natural resources. This, of course, is in perfect timing with the thrust of current national interests.

Charter Day reception and banquet comemorated the 200th anniversary of the Charter of Dartmouth College at Leverone Field House and at the same time honored John Sloan Dickey, our out-going president upon 25 years of dedicated service.

Surprise new gifts put Third Century Fund current total at over 42 million dollars but inflationary erosion since the beginning of the drive makes the original target unrealistic. I am convinced that no more meaningful tribute could be accorded Mr. Dickey in his final year as president than to see the Fund meet and surpass its modest goal by the target date of June 1970, for this would be both our endorsement and substantive effort to maintain and build upon all that is good and vitally significant.

I ran into Ray Truncellito recently at one of the football games, and he informed me that he is still living in Manchester, N.H., and is associated with the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. He headed the insurance division of the 1969 United Fund in Manchester and had previously served as president of both this charity and the local community chest as well as the local boys club, Manchester Exchange Club, and the Dartmouth Club of Manchester. Ray looks in great shape and still follows Big Green football religiously. His fellow teammate and quarterback Con Pensavalle has joined the staff of The Brook House, the Brook-line, Mass., apartment complex, as recreational director. While on the subject of football, I have a bone to pick with classmate Paul Bjorklund. I caught him at the Princeton game and asked him if the Princeton fullback John Bjorklund who sieved through our line for impressive gains all afternoon might be a relative. Paul dejectedly admitted that the boy was his nephew and that even his Dartmouth father, a football player of the class of 1941, couldn't turn him north.

I saw several classmates at the Charter Day dinner, most of them active in some alumni function or another. Bob Zeiser and I roomed together at the Hanover Inn Motel. His oldest daughter is shopping colleges for next year, and I rather guess that many of you are beginning to do that with your high schoolers. By the way, late word out of Hanover is that the Bob Pridham and Bill Ballard juniors both made early acceptance. Looks like good study habits do really pay off. Bob Swift was present at the dinner as chairman of the Third Century Fund in the Framingham, Mass., area. His son is enjoying his sophomore year at Dartmouth. Bob recently began a teaching career as academic teacher at Framingham Vocational High School. His lovely wife Phyllis, selected Mrs. Massachusetts in 1968, is currently on the board of directors of the Dartmouth Women's Club of Boston. BobRooke, a member of the important major gifts committee from New Jersey, was also present. Bob has recently purchased a controlling interest in and has reorganized an insurance company specializing in malpractice protection for the medical profession. This is apparently a real need as malpractice suits pose a constant threat to the very career of any medical practitioner, and Bob is attempting to bring this extremely expensive coverage down out of the stratosphere and at least within the horizon. A final word on the reception and dinner and for that matter the entire three days of meetings certainly must be said on behalf of one Mike McGean, genial host and master planner, whose services were gratefully appraised at the conclusion of our meetings at a minimum of $100,000 per year to big business by Judge William Timbers '37, president of the Alumni Council.

Assistant Director of Admissions JayEvans '49 (c) answers questions about theCollege at the enrollment meeting held bythe Dartmouth Club of the Great Divide.

Secretary, 15 Twin Oak Rd. Short Hills, N.J. 07078

Treasurer, 530 East 86th St., New York, N.Y. 10028