Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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s MAC The big center door in Roberts opened and a ruddy-faced Scotchman ap- peared. He bundled his overcoat more tightly around him, pulled out his gloves and lit a cigarette as the glass rattled in the door behind him. He slipped his lighter into his coal pocket and in one quick movement had neatly adjusted his hat, pulled on his gloves and started off down the flagstone path between Roberts and the Lloyd parking lot. He walked in short, compact, determined steps, his eyes rooted firmly to the ground, taking regular puffs on the fresh cigarette. A group of students bounded out of fourth entry, caught sight of him and carefully measured their steps in order to meet him at the point where their paths crossed. He uttered a snappy hello, flashed a broad smile and with a brief wave of the hand, disappeared into the noise of the ventilators behind Founders. Mac has been the mentor of the campus for 35 years. Everyone knows him. His name and the College ' s are synonymous. For all those who have passed through these doors, it was he who got them here, in many cases it was he who kept them here, and it was he who held an incalculable influence on all. He was arbiter, counselor, the last word and the foun- tainhead of common sense. His personality and the College ' s are insepar- able. For many, he is the College, a symbol, a figurehead for all it rep- resnts. 10

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The 1965 RECORD is dedicated to Professor John Davison 1 T H BH ' Kt r B B V vU H t H t % H cH I |r

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He graduated from Haverford in 1921 and returned nine years later. Since that time he has remained at the helm, guiding this ship through waters it had never seen. He has been chief advisor to the last four presidents, and twice himself actmg president of the College. Offices were created for him to make use of his infinitely varied talents and strengths. He is Haverfords first Vice President, first Director of Admis- sions, first Alumni Secretary and first Dean of Freshman. He has taught English, studied psychology and served as Director of Athletics. Of ail these, the admissions business has remained closest to his heart and he has played a significant role in his conviction that a college has a respon- sibility to the students it admits, not to ignore them if they fall by the wayside, but to encourage them, prod them, develop them and graduate them. His name has always been linked with forward thinking in the ad- missions world and his years of service on the College Entrance Examina- tion Board (of which he served a term as Chairman) have given him a national reputation. In short, we lose a great deal. In him is embodied the continuity of our practices and institutions, and all the elements which give this College both the stature and promise it holds. We lose his experience, his fore- sight, and his peculiar talent for knowing just how to handle any situa- tion. Most of all we lose his personality and his uncanny sense for dealing With students. His method of punishment was unique. In the course of talking with one very recalcitrant student he dropped the comment, I wonder what sort of father you are going to make? It was enough to set the fellow in the right track again. He could reprimand, but there was never any question he was on your side. One student attempted to support his position after a rather serious offense. Mac interjected: I don ' t want to hear any more of that again. Look at all the trouble you ' ve caused. You have a class now? . . . Well, you better hurry up and get to it. His whole bearing and approach bred your confidence. No one escapes some sort of academic difficulty and an encounter with Mac is not un- usual. Look, he would say, I know you ' ve got the stuff. Now go out and prove it to yourself. He could handle problems too and put every- thing into perspective with one neat sentence. One fellow was beside himself with a new crisis. Mac told him to drop everything and come up and see him right away. He listened patiently to the whole story and then said, Look, — , you ' re not the only one with problems. A few other people have some too. The whole situation cleared up. In the area of complaints he was particularly adept. One person was re- luctant about the admission of a certain student and made his feelings known to Mac. Well ... I think he ' ll develop, Mac replied. After all, that ' s the purpose of the institution isn ' t it? The fellow left a bit shaken: Guess I never thought of that before. On another occasion, an alumnus became very concerned with the idea that he wouldn ' t stand a chance of being admitted today in view of the increasing competition. Mac smiled at him: If I was smart enough to admit you then, I ' d be smart enough to admit you now. These were his methods. He was direct with infinite compassion; he had a deep regard for the history of the College, yet was never deaf to new ideas; he had an immediate trust and confidence in what he did and the people around him. He was a person of few words, yet wielded them skillfully when the occasion called for it. He departed on an unfailing instinct which has persistently steered the College through many stormy seas. One member of the administration noted he didn ' t always see what Mac was driving at in suggesting a course of action and sometimes it took a couple of years to discover that Mac had been right all along. It is to the great benefit and fortune of the College that Mac was a part of it. No one can replace him. Both he and his talents are unique. Yel he will remain. His life has been breathed into the very roots of Haver- ford, and the foundations he has built with his own hands are, as he would have it, the great promise of its future. Should the College live for still another 132 years, its students and faculty w ill still look to Mac for the inception and solidarity of its institutions. Aye Captain — you done a fine job of sailing this ship. And when the last hoopla is played, the last anthem sung, when the great tributes have all been shouted and all the last minute this and that ' s are over — when all this has passed and the excitable world of Haverford settles back into its groove — take with you our gratitude and deepest affection. Good Sailing. Art Wood 11