Columbia University - Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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, Ein the 0112155 nf 1912 lxgxwk m GLADLY comply with your request and send you a word of greeting. ,ffej Since my 'igraduationn in June last, I have suffered leisure long enough to .5 . , Z f ' have learned by experience fand am happy in the knowledgel what we all, or very lk E many of us, have been taught by precept from our youth up, the exceeding impor- tance of an avocation in life. During the years in which one is active in the work which he has chosen for his primary, or principal, occupation, a secondary subject of interest, to engage his times of rest and refreshment, is a valuable and delightful adjunct to success in his vocationg and when he ceases to labor in his calling, his secondary occupation, or avocation, becomes a necessity if he would really live and not simply vegetate. You are to be congratulated in that you are taking a course in the liberal arts and sciencesn intended to fit you, not specifically for a particular profession or business, but for engaging with advantage in any pursuit to which you may choose to devote yourselves. You are, or will be, trained so that you may select, with intelligence, not only the occupation on which you are to rely for support and advancement, but also an inviting avocation, to gladden your leisure at all time and, at the last, when active life ceases, to sustain your spirit and be to you as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Should you neglect to make such beneficent provision while you have time and opportunity you will lose much in your years of activity and may ultimately meet the fate of too many successful men in all classes, who retire from active business in the hope and expectation of quiet enjoyment, and find too late H 'Tis easy to resign a toilsome place But not to manage leisure with a grace, Absence of occupation is not rest, A mind quite vacant is a mind distressedf, I hope, therefore, that you will take full advantage of all your present opportunities, carefully pro- vide for your periods of inaction as well as of action and be useful, prosperous and happy men. With affectionate regard and all good wishes, I am Sincerely yours, X Q ..I 7..

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s s s .. .. ., .19 is a 2 f s i r Y s 4 r 1 L1f- as ir ilnhn Enmarh Ham Amringr il, .' HE. distinctive landmark in Columbia College for fifteen years past has been Professor riff John Howard Van Amringe, the Dean. Always one who stood out prominently -- -1 I . . . . 'FST E' in the eneral landsca e, he has these latter years been the objective toward which .NX . ,fl . g P Agfa. I,-'fi the eyes of the undergraduates turned in the morning and toward which also the returning graduate Hrst directed his hastening steps when visiting his Alma Mater. , Once having met and shaken hands with the Dean, and thereby having taken his bearings for minor points of interest on the Campus, the alumnus betook himself along the less frequented paths to other doorwaysg Rarely is it given to any man to gain the loyal affec- tion of so many. The future Professor of Mathematics was born in the City of Brotherly Love, April 3, 1835. Whether he thereby became specially endowed with that warmth of affection for his kind which marked his later years, the records do not tell us, but the coincidence is striking. As his boyhood came and went his father instructed him in the learning of the day until he became a scholar in Montgomery Academy, west of Newburg in Orange Co., N. Y. Among the old people of this region memories of him lin- gered until a few years ago. In 1854, at the age of nineteen, he entered Yale and spent two years, but leaving at this stage, he passed two more years outside of college and then matriculated at Columbia in the class of 1860. Even before graduation, being older than the general run of the students, he acted as a college tutor and on receiving his degree he was regularly appointed on the staff of instruction. F or fifty years this connection was never broken. Through the various grades the Mr.,' Van Amringe of those days fhow strange it sounds, steadily advanced, becoming full professor of mathematics in 1865. As professor in this fundamental branch he maintained a dual connection with Columbia Col- lege and with the School of Mines. Now every student in each of these schools must take mathematics so that until the recent growth in numbers almost all those who graduated in either passed through the class-room, and under the rigid discipline of this most successful teacher. In his courses, recitations had to be exact, concise and accurate. Excuses, slovenly or careless presentation and delays found no sympathy. Easy-going habits were straightened out and many a young man was vastly benefited for his future work in the world. In 1894, on the retirement of Professor Drisler, Professor Van Amringe became Dean of Colum- bia College, and five years later he served as acting-president of the University during the absence of President Low. His Alma Mater has honored him twice with degrees, L. H. D. in 18805 LL. D. in 1910. From the University of New York he received Ph. D. honoris cczusa in 1897 and from Union College LL. D. in 1895. Professor Van Amringe is and has long been a familiar figure in the life of the Metropolis. As a vestryman of Trinity Church he has served this dignified and ancient body. As trustee of the General Theological Seminary and of several church schools he has exercised an influence upon education out- side of Columbia. As an early member of the City Reform Club he has worked efficiently for the betterment of civic life in New York. In social life among his kind, the clubs have naturally claimed him. His face would be greatly missed if he failed at the Saturday evening meetings of the Century, LISL