Butler University - Carillon / Drift Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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President of the Board of Directors Mr. James Irving Holcomb, who has been presi- dent of the Board of Directors of Butler University since 1955, serves also as chairman of the Univer- sity ' s Executive Committee. He has rendered great service to Butler as an invaluable leader and as a generous benefactor. Among his contributions to the beauty and prog- ress of Butler University are the botanical gardens, known throughout the Midwest, which, with their accompanying lake and garden house, bear his name, and in the designing of which Mr. Holcomb was instrumental. In addition, Mr. Holcomb de- signed the J. I. Holcomb Observatory and Planetar- ium, containing the ninth largest telescope in the United States, as his gift to Butler University at the time of its centennial celebration. These manifesta- tions of their donor ' s very active interest in the University have been and will continue to be appre- ciated by those associated with and living near But- ler for their scientific and aesthetic value. A man of v ersatile interests and abilities, Mr. Holcomb has held a number of distinguished posi- tions in the fields of business, art, and civic endeavor as well as education. He is a veteran Indiana manu- facturer, was a founder and is now Chairman of the Board both of the J. I. Holcomb Manufacturing Company and of the Holcomb Hoke Manufacturing Company, and is a director of the American Fletcher National Bank and Trust Company. Mr. Holcomb was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Butler University in 1945. 19

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President Emeritus of the Board of Directors Hilton U. Brown received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Butler University in 1880, and a Master of Arts degree a few years later. While an under- graduate student at Butler, he participated in base- ball and in a variety of journalistic, literary, and forensic activities. Appointed to the University ' s Board of Directors in 1885, Mr. Brown served con- tinuously as a member or as president of that board until 1955, since which time he has held the position of President Emeritus of the Board of Directors. Mr. Brown, whose support of the University in all its phases has been unceasingly enthusiastic, has probably attended more Butler functions than has any other alumnus. His distinguished presence has been welcomed through the years at academic cere- monies, the layings of cornerstones, athletic events, banquets, and every other type of university activi- ty; and his invaluable and unstinting contributions to the growth, advancement, and welfare of Butler University have earned for him the deserved ac- claim, respect, and affection of countless Butler alumni, faculty members, students, and others dur- ing the years of his association with the University. An author and former newspaper editor, Mr. Brown is now vice-president of Indianapolis News- papers, Incorporated, and president of the Arthur Jordan Foundation, the Christian Foundation, and the Indianapolis Literary Club. He received an hon- orary Doctor of Laws degree from Butler University in 1935, and he was similarly honored by Indiana University in 1945.

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