Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

Page 21 text:

the University of Pittsburgh. Thus the world outside has been delighted to honor a man who has commended himself to its favorable attention by virtue of his high ofhce and his discharge of its duties. But better still, in the sixth year of his administration-a period flatteringly short in connection with the peculiar honor about to be mentioned, but sufficiently long to insure its sincerity and to enhance its value-comes this significant tribute to their president from those in a position to know him best and to appreciate him most, from the students themselves in the person of their chosen representatives, THE KALEIDOSCOPE Staff- comes this tribute, the dedication to Dr. Graham of THE KALEIDOSCOPE for l9l4-l5. To receive such a mark of approval from those over whom one is placed in so intimate and difficult a relation must be regarded as indeed a compliment and a pledge of acceptable and satisfactory service. At a distance the world may applaud and speak kindly words, and such expressions may not be so significant, however pleasant and true, but when they whose fortunes are directly involved, when they who come in close and daily contact with an official are constrained to publish to the world their voluntary verdict of commendation and confidence, surely nothing better could be desired as a commentary on the way in which the tasks have been met and the work has been done. So much for complimentary recognition from without and for sympathetic approval from within. But what are some of the important results that have actually been accomplished for the college in the last five or six years? In answer, we shall let the record speak for itself. The following clear and comprehensive statement of the situation that faced the president when he entered upon the duties of his office six years ago and of the results that have been achieved since then is taken from the Commencement Bulletin for l9I 3, being itself a part of the Presiclent's annual Report there printed: When in the year l908 you called me to the presidency, the college was facing five serious problems which called for prompt solution: QIJ To overcome the agitation and unrest that resulted inevitably from several causes, chief among which was the removal of the Seminary to Richmond: Q21 To put the present 'college plant' in first-class condition with modern equipment and conveniencesg Q31 To get rid of a chronic debt: Q45 To bring our entrance requirements up to the I4-unit standardg Q5 and most difficult of alll To increase our enrollment while increasing the requirements for entrance. I am grateful to report that these problems have been satisfactorily met. Agitation and uncertainty have been laid to rest, and the public, far and near, now clearly realize that the college is past its crisis and is in a healthy and prosperous condition .... Our present plant has been thoroughly overhauled and equipped with steam heat, gas, baths, and all modern conveniences. Granolithic walks have been laid, and water has been introduced into most of the Faculty residences. Other buildings have been renovated and extensive improvment has been made therein. A chronic deficit has been turned into a modest surplus .... and this in spite of the fact that our annual expense budget has been materially increased .... Our entrance requirements have been raised to the national standard of I4 units and our college curriculum has been correspondingly broadened and stiffened. Moreover, while these more rigid requirements have compelld us to decline to admit a number of applicants, we still have been able to increase our enrollment about 20 per cent. 13

Page 20 text:

follows: President Graham, in a brief speech, accepted the trust, promised as far as in him lay to discharge the duties of his office so as to promote the best interest of the college, to further sound and thorough training, and to maintain the history and traditions of the institution. How far President Graham has been permitted in the six years that have since elapsed to carry out this eminently sane and practical, though not less exacting, program will be shown later on. In the meanwhile let us hear from one particularly well qualified to speak of the needs of the college and of the special fitness of the newly elected president to meet those needs- President W. W. Moore, of Union Theological Seminary. Writing for The Presbyterian of the South soon after Mr. C-raham's election, Dr. Moore says: All the friends of Christian education and especially the alumni and friends and students of the college are to be congratulated on the result of the careful and earnest efforts of the Board of Trustees to secure for the institution a president with just the qualifications needed to conserve the best traditions of the college and maintain its high standard of scholarship and character and lead it on to larger usefulness .... Mr. Graham is a beloved and honored member of a beloved and honored family, being a son of the venerated flatej Dr. James R. Graham, of Winchester, Va .... Born in IS65, he is now just in his early prime and brings to his work all the enthusiasm and vigor of youth and at the same time the sober judgment and poise of mature manhood and the experience and skill in affairs, which are needed for the responsible position to which he has been chosen. Continuing, Dr. Moore says: l-le knows the needs and possibilities of the college, and he brings to the work of relieving the one and realizing the other the most desirable combination of qualities .... That her alumni and her patrons will rejoice in the coming of another energetic and resourceful Christian leader to continue the long and distinguished line of her presidents, and that they will give him hearty and generous support in the great work he has undertaken on behalf of liberal culture and Christian manhood are propositions which do not admit of question. To the old college, congratulations: to the new president, greetings. Thus warmly was President Graham greeted upon the threshold of his office, and thus auspiciously was he inducted into the privileges and responsibilities of that office. But it is not the entrance upon a course, always, that is hard, that really countsg it is rather the continuance in the work once undertaken and the prosecution of ani enterprise to a successful issue. After all, whatever may be said of traditions and equipment, the one as necessary as the other is inspiring, it is not so much what a man may be said to bring to his task, as what he actually puts into it and gets out of it that will in the last analysis determine whether his career is to be accounted a success or a failure. The compliments paid a man upon his election to an office of honor and trust are not to be disparaged and may well be cherished, but the recognition that comes as a result of patient toil, persistent effort, and useful service is even more highly to be prized and coveted. With such a standard of worth, such a test of efficiency before him, the present head of the college may well be gratified at the assurances of approval and commendation he has received from various quarters since he undertook the duties of his new and difficult position. One year after he became president he was honored with the degree of D. D. from Washington and Lee University, and two years later he was given the same degree by 12

Page 22 text:

Such a statement is eonugh to have recorded of a period even longer than live years, and no further comment is needed. But if it were, these words from Samuel E.. Osborn f'0lJ would certainly be sufficient: Dr, Graham is doing a great work and by his splendid efforts is raising the standard all along the line. Or these words from Chas. D. McKinney, Esq., of Atlanta: We are rejoiced to note the signs of progress everywhere about the 'l'lill', and the general feeling among the Faculty, the Trustees, the students and other alumni, that the institution is now doing the best work of its career, and that the era of its greatest usefulness is just ahead. Dr. Graham is an ardent lover of the old college with its record of achievement and its legacy of traditions, and he is also an earnest and enthusiastic believer in its greater destiny which he is convinced still lies ahead. The noble history of the college and its many fine associations are very dear to his heart, and it is his cherished desire to see his venerable, but ever youthful Alma Mater prosper and grow in usefulness as the days go by. It is not necessary here to speak of all the characteristics, personal and official, by which President Graham is so well known to the students, his associates and friends generally: the mention of two or three only will suffice for the present sketch. One requisite which he brings to the work of his office, most valuable for any executive head, is the determination, when once he has conceived the necessity or desirability of a certain course, to carry it through to successful completion. Coupled with this are two other requisites, not less valuable, his uniform equanimity and his splendid optimism. l-le knows how to exercise the virtue of self-control, and he can oftentimes, under the most trying circumstances, smile cheerfully and hopefully. That he is a high-class optimist anyone will concede who has gone with him through an athletic season at Hampden-Sidney. l-le never loses faith in the excellence of the home team, and when others have given up in despair, he is still able to account satisfactorily for the latest defeat and to predict a victory for the next time and the cup itself at the end. l-lis unfeigned and unfailing interest in athletics, by the way, serves not a little to bring hirii into closer and more helpful touch with the students. He loves and eagerly follows all the athletic activities of the college, and were it consistent with presidential dignity and the rules of the league, he might, with little persuasion, almost be counted on to make a good line man in football or an out-and-out championship pitcher. As it is, he is still an excellent match for any man of the tennis court, where he both follows and sets the pace in the fastest company going . The students know of his love for good athletics, know that he is with them in defeat as in victory-and appreciate his interest in this side of their college life. There is also another fact about their president which they know and do not fail to appreciate. Whenever a man gets a broken nose in football or a spiked ankle in baseball or a back-breaking blow in basket ball, he can be sure that Dr. Graham, almost as soon as he learns of the accident, will be at his bedside to sympa- thize, to advise and to help. That Dr. Graham is an experienced speaker both in the pulpit and on the platform need hardly be mentioned, for he has on many occasions, in this capacity, spoken for himself. But it is not every public man who knows how to preside with dignity and ease 14