1955

This month's column is all about good things being done by members of our class and their families. Dave Mandlebaum '54 sends along a fascinating and romantic—story of college philanthropy from a recent issue of The New York Times. It seems that one Harvey Wexler, a bachelor and longtime aviation association executive, had a close 30-year relationship with one Joan Coward, an aviation economist and graduate of Bryn Mawr College who like her idol and fellow Bryn Mawr graduate, Katharine Hepburn—-was also not the marrying kind. After Ms. Coward's death in 1950, Mr. Wexler sought to do something significant and lasting for her alma mater, and in Dick DuBoff, professor of economics at Bryn Mawr, he found a kindred spirit. Following Mr. Wexler's death last year from a long illness—during which many friends were concerned he might not have enough money to pay his medical bills — he was found to have left in his estate a gift to Bryn Mawr of more than $ll million dollars, the largest ever received by the college; and Dick, in return for his friendship and good counsel, will hold the college's first chair in economic history, named after Mr. Wexler's parents.

Philanthropy by one of our own, DickBlodgett, is also soon to pay off for Dartmouth. It was through a generous contribution from Dick to the Athletic Sponsor Program that Christopher Carney, an all-league team offensive line-man from Irvine, Calif., was able to make a campus recruitment trip to see the Big Green firsthand. Now comes the good news that this talented prospect (also recruited by Brown and Princeton) has been admitted to the College and had chosen to join the Dartmouth family with the class of 2000!

And not far from here, in Newburgh, N.Y., professor Jerry Picard, chair of the business division and director of the M.B.A. program at Mount Saint Mary College, writes that he is putting together a conference to reassess the environment for business development in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Like many in many other parts of this country, Jerry and his colleagues are discovering that in a time of so many changes business development is far from automatic, that it can come only from an all-hands assessment of what a region requires, what a region has, and what it needs to do to close the gap. We wish him well!

Finally, following the death—reported here last month of Robert Lloyd Carter, a very thoughtful note (with a check enclosed) was sent to John French, from Bob's daughter, Barbara Farrell, one of his five children. Barbara wrote, in part: "BC [as he was known to most people in Hawaii] had wonderful memories of his time at Dartmouth, and before his death had talked about attending the next class reunion, if only his doctors would let him out of their sight long enough for him to do so! I'm sure your class must have a scholarship fund of some sort going, and I would like to donate the enclosed to it in his name."

Good things from good people.

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Jere Daniel'55 on whatstudents will need to leam, p. 32