Brown University - Liber Brunensis Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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DIRECTION and co-ordination of the University's public image, defined in the broadest sense, is the role of John van Gaasbeek Elmendorf, Vice President at Brown University since 1961. He was attracted to Brown through his long-standing friendship with President Barnaby Keeney, a fellow classmate at the University of North Carolina. In fact, during World War Il Mr. Elmendorf served under Mr. Keeney, who was then the officer in charge of a combat intelligence team. After the War, Mr. Elmendorf returned to North Carolina for his M.A. and his Ph.D. in Comparative Linguistics. Before coming to Brown, he held various administrative positions at Mexico City College and also taught linguistics. As an official ''representative'' of the University and a mem- ber of the Bicentennial Executive Committee, Mr. Elmendorf was concerned with meeting the Ford Foundation's Challenge Grant. Now that this challenge has been met, Mr. Elmendorf hopes to strengthen and polish the public image of Brown. 'The University must begin to plan for the future. We must decide what we will and will not be. He foresees Brown remaining a compact university with one faculty. Growth will be focused on the graduate rather than the undergraduate level. Mr. Elmen- dorf hopes that the idea of Brown as an undergraduate resi- dent college will be maintained. The reasons for off-campus living get less good as the facilities get better. The recently held Latin America Conference was inspired and encouraged by Mr. Elmendorf who hoped that it would point out the importance of Latin America within the Western hemisphere and the world, and the many problems facing these countries. 20 BOW-TIED and red-vested, Philip R. Theibert has proved a colorful addition to the administra- tion in his position as Athletic Director. An Amherst graduate, he coached at Hiram and Chapman col- leges before coming to Brown in the summer of 1963. His undergraduate career including participa- tion in football, baseball, basketball, and wrestling, complemented his leadership ability with first-hand experience. A wide range of problems and responsibilities concern Mr. Thiebert and his staff: budgets and contracts; the financial and legal tangles of a non- profit' university; scheduling, facilities, and recog- nition or decommission of clubs and sports. Many of these come directly under the authority of the athletic director, while others are weighed by the Athletic Advisory Committee, on which Mr. Thiebert also holds a seat. He laments the fact that he is of- ten placed in such delicate positions as explaining to an interested alumnus that there are no more season tickets available for hockey. On the other hand, he expresses optimism over the possibility for new facilities such as a field house, pool, and gym, which he forsees, not in the near future, but immediately. While other athletic directors may never meet more than a few undergraduates, Mr. Thiebert's in- terpretation of the job includes a close relationship with the students. He goes to many practices, gets to know as many students as possible, and is al- ways available for consultation. In this way he can discern what Brown men are thinking, and in this way he has become one of the most popular figures in Brown's athletic world.

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19 BUSINESS MANAGER A TELEPHONE CALL from Brown's former President Henry M. Wriston persuaded F. Morris Cochran, now Vice-President and Business Manager, to ven- ture to Providence from his position as Business Manager of Albion College in 1945. A native of West Virginia, Mr. Cochran graduated from Denison Univer- sity and soon became registrar and later Business Manager of Brandeis. Often spoken of as the man who controls Brown's pursestrings, Mr. Coch- ran is responsible for Brown's overall business operations, and in this capac- ity, he works closely with Messrs. Davis, Price, and Zilly. As Mr. Cochran men- tioned, What one does develops under the President and his leadership. The University's financial policy is designed 'to render a service as effectively as possible. To this end, there is a constant business self-survey at Brown. As for Brown's greatest challenges in the future, Mr. Cochran feels that both research and education rank highly. The future success of Brown may be de- termined by her ability to absorb research, to determine an educational phil- osophy, and to decide which people and resources should be devoted to teach- ing and to research. In line with such challenges, Brown is studying ways in which it may achieve a greater use of its physical plant.

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COVERING the myriad of responsibilities en- compassed by 'public affairs and public informa- tion, Secretary of the University Howard C. Curtis plays an important though almost anonymous role in the university administration. Under public affairs his office handles such activ- ities as the physical arrangements for Commence- ment and most of the activities of Commencement Week, the dedications and ground breakings that are constantly occurring, and the many receptions and ceremonies that take place each year at Brown. Public relations are handled by three members of Curtis's staff: Dave Griffith, who handles Brown's public relations, Hugh Lord, who does the same for Pembroke, and Bill Pierce, who takes care of radio, television, and movie activities. Articles in newspa- pers and recruitment brochures and films are all produced by these men, whose primary job is keep- ing Brown in the public eye. Secretary since 1946, Mr. Curtis has never had as many responsibilities as he has faced in the bi- centennial year. The climax of the fund-raising drive has brought large numbers of receptions, de- dications, and ground breakings, each one of which must be overseen in all its details. Curtis, as a member of the Bicentennial Steering Committee, was responsible for the actual workings of the academic convocation and the symposiums that fol- lowed. Now, having survived the bicentennial year, Mr. Curtis looks forward confidently to the coming year, the enlarged physical plant, the possibilities of an enlarged student body, and his resultant ex- panded responsibilities.