Drake University - Quax Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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Dr. George C. Huff congratulates Dr. Paul Sharp after the President's Convocation in mid-March. The future of Drake and its spirit lie within the philosophy and ideas of Dr. Paul Frederick Sharp, the university's eighth president. A capable academic community administrator, he was named Jan. 7 as the top Drake executive. On March 75, Dr. Sharp moved into the president's chair and two days later, at an all-university President's Convocation, he challenged Drake students and faculty to prepare for the unrealized hopes for future stu- dents. The new president said the academic community was engaged in a race against obsolescence and that the values for judging the university are undergoing revolutionary change. President Sharp said Drake is on the threshold of revitalization. Appointment of Dr. Sharp as president ended a 75-month search for a top executive. President Sharp, who served an 78-month presidential tenure at the Uni- versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accepted the post left vacant Oct. 5, 7964, by the death of Dr. Henry Gadd Harmon, who occupied the presidential office for 23 years. During the months after Dr. Harmon's death, an administrative triumvirate of Dr. George C. Huff and Carl Kasten, Drake's vice presidents, and William Wallace, director of development, guided the univer- sity. In accepting the challenges of Drake, Dr. Sharp cast his abilities as administrator, speaker, fighter for academic freedom and author to the forge for Drake's future. Dr. Sharp arrives at Drake first as an accomplished administrator who guided small Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, to endowment and salary increases during a seven year term. During his tenure at Hiram, the new Drake administrator tripled the annual budget and doubled faculty salaries. At Hiram, Dr. Sharp, an intellectual in an academic environment, revised graduation requirements, strength- ened emphasis on liberal arts study, added a fine tarts course and created a senior graduation seminar. In 7965, he was named chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he entered one of the thorniest situations of his career. President Sharp became recognized as one of the leading spokes- men for the repeal of the infamous North Carolina loyalty oath, or gag rule. Throughout his career as administrator and edu- cator, Dr. Sharp has displayed interest in improving education and has attained a distinguished position among fellow educators. One testimony of the respect held for him by his colleagues was the tribute he received during University Day at Chapel Hill last fall. The day was dedicated to Dr. Sharp as he entered his second year as Chancellor. The new Drake president has distinguished himself as an author by publication of three books and several contributions to professional journals. He is the author of Agrarian Revolt in Western Canada, 7948, Old Orchard Farm: Story of an Iowa Boyhood, 7952, and Whoop-up Country: Canadian American West, 7955. 27

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Vice-President Carl A. Kasten is in charge of the business and financial matters at Drake University. Kasten, who has been at Drake since 7950, sees the pur- pose of his job as carrying out the business functions of the university to create an environment for the principal purpose of the institution, namely the work of faculty and students in the process of education. He is a gradu- ate ofthe University of Wisconsin and received his Master of Business Administration at the University of Chicago. Carl Kasten William Wallace Many Drake students have heard of William Wallace, but the face, like his position on the admin- istration, eludes them. The effect thot Wallace's office 22 George H uff George Charles Huff, Vice-President of Academic Administration, initiated his association with Drake University in 7924 as a freshman student and during the ensuing years has advanced to a generalship in the Drake administration. The Vice-President was chosen as a member of the interim triumperant that assumed presidential duties after the death of the late Henry Gadd Harmon in the fall of 7964. Dr. Huff attributes the universities smooth operation since Dr. Harmon's death to the momentum Drake has gathered through the years. He feels that there is no roadblock in the way of a tremendous development of Drake as administrators and trustees build better physical facilities, improve the academic programs and maintain an excellent faculty. We just can't miss, he likes to say. has on the student is considered indirect and equally indirect is the association students attach to the Drake Director of Development. Wallace is possibly Drake's answer to Horatio Alger as he joins the growing list of former Drake students who return to their alma mater to assume faculty and administrative posts. As Director of Development, Wallace is responsible for overseeing the operation of University Student Admissions Programs and Admissions Counselors, Public Relations Office, Alumni Relations and Drake fund raising. He also serves on the three-member policy-setting committee which has taken over since the death of the late President Harmon.