1939

This has not been a good month for 1939. We learned of the death of four classmates, and at least three of the four were felled by cancer. Phil Keller died on January 2, in Clearwater, Fla.; ErnieSmith died on February 18 in Oakland, R.I.; Hank Morton died in a hospital in Portland, Ore., on February 27; and Gordon McCoun succumbed to cancer at his home in Washington, D.C., on March 6. (Obituaries in this or later issues.)

We have a copy of correspondence between the College's alumni record office and Heritage Village, Southbury, Conn., which is the last address known for BillAtwater, who sources at the Village say died "about three years ago." We know nothing further and would welcome (as would the College) any further word on the whereabouts of Bill's family so we could update the record.

Talking about updating records, we were rereading some past columns, notably one written by Kev Fay, and spotted a mistake which had slipped through which was not Kevin's fault but that of the editors, including me. Dick Storrs had mentioned that he sees Nap Blandy in L.A., not "Nat Brandy"as published.

Bozo Noland has been in the news of late. As you probably read in " '39 Out" he has decided to step down before April 15, 1987, as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Noland Company, one of the nation's largest suppliers of plumbing and heating equipment. He also represented Dartmouth at the inauguration of Paul R. Werkuil as 25th president of William and Mary this past October. Bozo looked pretty good in the old mortarboard, and we noted he had the tassel swung to the correct side.

Armando Chardiet had an article published in the March 4 issue of The NewHaven Register entitled "A double standard at Dartmouth College." Primarily he protests the conduct of a trial of 12 conservative students in a way that reminds him of "the trials under Fidel Castro where the accused are found guilty before sentencing." The 12, he explains, were on trial for demolishing the famed campus shanties. Army was married at the time of our 45th this past June and was attending a son's wedding over our mini-reunion this past September. But you know what he's thinking if you read The Register.

Speaking of our mini of this past fall, Dave Lilly, the recipient of this year's "Man of the Year Award," in his acceptance speech threw out an interesting challenge for the class which has not received much ink. We paraphrase from a followup letter solicited by president MacMannis in which Dave summarized his thoughts: "As you know, I feel quite strongly as to what makes a truly great educational institution, and I think it's something that the alumni should be concerned with and active in causing to happen. It is truly the faculty and the students that make an institution great, not the buildings, magnificent as they are, and not the administration. The strength of the student body is not a matter of concern since they are now the subject of considerable effective alumni attention. However, the faculty is another matter.

"Each of us remembers a particular faculty member who had a significant impact on our lives, but what do we know of his replacement? What do we know about how the faculty are selected, how vacancies are determined? What criteria are used to measure promotion to tenure? What is the mix between research, teaching, and service? How is annual performance in the three categories evaluated and rewarded? What criteria are used to arrive at these judgments?

"These are questions that are serious and require a great deal of understanding before judgments can be made. However, in my view, if we as alumni want to insure that the College will continue at its perceived quality level, then we must acquaint ourselves with the various methods for getting the answers. If this is something that you feel the class should take on, I'd love to sit down with the executive committee and talk about alternative approaches."

President MacMannis asked for written opinions from the committee and apparently received thoughtful answers from 31 of 35 members, representing many shades of opinion, most requesting further information. Because the upcoming spring meeting will be dominated by numerous committee reports primarily involving fund-raising efforts that must be completed by June 30, our president has invited Dave Lilly to join our fall executive committee meeting where he will have the benefit of more time to present his plan.

As we put this copy to bed, the mail brought a letter addressed to the president and members of the executive committee from Kenny Mac Donald, outlining his thoughts on the challenges of aiming for a million dollar 50th-year gift from the class. We presume that his communication will be fully covered in " '39 Out."

777 West Street Pittsfield, MA 01201