Princeton University - Bric A Brac Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

Page 15 text:

June means Reunions — and not a few of the more than 12,000 who are graduates of the Dodds era return to Old IS assau. Pearl Harbor, which heretofore had been the largest on record. Promptly at two-thirty the President walked briskly to the rostrum, wearing an amiable if somewhat enigmatic smile. His first remark was a quip to the effect that clearly the way to get the Faculty to attend meetings was to call them on short notice and for odd times in the week. He then proceeded to the business at hand: Gentlemen, I have the honor to announce that the Trustees at a special meeting this morning elected as the sixteenth President of the University, Robert F. Goheen, who will assume office on July 1, 1957. Perhaps only a handful of persons in the room were aware of the Trustees ' action and there was a perceptible gasping for breath as the Faculty absorbed the full sig- nificance of the news. At this moment, Mr. Dodds slowly removed his glasses, and went on, But. gentlemen, let me remind you, this with a vigorous pointing to himself, that until eleven fifty-nine on the evening of June 30, I am the . . . His last w T ords were lost under a burst of laughter. The tension was gone and for the next thirty minutes the President described briefly the career of his successor, expressed his own deep satisfaction on the selection, then recounted briefly the solid and workmanlike procedure followed by the Trustees as they labored through the dozens of names which had been presented to them, and in particular underscored how closely the elected Faculty Committee had worked with the Trustees in the fullest spirit of cooperation. Mr. Dodds concluded his address with a few quiet words about the impossible demands the office placed on any man, — but at the same time he emphasized the rewards and sheer fun of the job — with the biggest reward of all being the kindliness and the understanding with which he had always been treated. This kindliness, he knew, would be awaiting his succes- sor. When the speech ended, the Faculty was brought to its feet spontaneously in a standing ovation — a tribute, to be sure, to the new President, but most of all an instinc- tive expression of regard for Harold Dodds, not only as President, but as man. The celebration of the University ' s Bicentennial in 1947 brought to Princeton world leaders of church, education, and state. Eisenhower, Truman, and Hoover were among them. The Doddses with Admiral and Mrs. Halsey before the Yale- Princeton baseball game — o traditional part of Reunions. The Big Three: Yale ' s Griswold. President Dodds. Harvard ' s Pusey. The past two decades have seen l ale and Harvard each under the leadership of three different presidents.

Page 14 text:

HAROLD DODDS H HITNEY J. Oates ' 25 o fn the morning of December 7. ( )M . the I oiversitj lai uli was astonished l tin- announcemenl thai a Spe- cial Meeting on urgent business was being called for lun-thiiiy that afternoon. Rarely are special meetings convened and never, within the tnemorj of the oldest professors, for a Friday aflern i. I ' ai ull enriosity, always alert. was close to alarm, and wild rumors flour- ished. On! of the uellei o| speculation, came the general belief that the oid urjient hnsiness ' worthy of such a special and rather dramatic treatment was the impending announcement of Mr. Dodds successor. Shortly after two o clock the historic room in Nassau Hall began to lill up. Bj twenty-five minutes after the hour even sipiare foot of available space was filled with extra folding chairs. The SRO sign was out and the standee professors were numerous. In fact, the attend- ance exceeded appreciahh that of the well-rememhered emergenc) session called after the Japanese attack on Lefts I thaded tiger afford a welcome retting place before entering the ' - (« « a typically hot June day. Middle i hisi •utting the leant ' potential with George Sella, Princeton ' 1950 AU-American captain. Right : Looming on as Harvey J. Firestone % 20 takes part in the cornerstone laying ceremonies of six-million dollar Firestone Library. -. l». ■ ■ Ml mWBt Uiij:Pui Jhj m J- i •M T „ try t£ £ 1 fck«-J» » ' ' ' r w ' «

Page 16 text:

The holder of 29 such recognitions, the president has con- ferred over three-hundred honorary degrees in ttco decades. The foregoing episode has been recorded in detail be- cause bo many of the powers of this extraordinary person, Harold Dodds, are revealed in it. Dignity, poise, sim- plicity, modesty, generosity of spirit, humor, commanding presence: — the catalogue of virtues is long. As an exam- ple of the Doddsian humor, take the remark with which he adjourned the meeting: Gentlemen, let me remind you of Finley ' s law: Nothing succeeds like successors. ' But the important point is that universally Harold Dodds is admired foi his complete and unquestioned integrity. In fact, though many faculty folk throughout his twenty-four year administration disagreed with him, quarreled with him. found fault with him for real or imagined short- comings, no one of his critics (and Heaven knows a In ulty is a superlative breeding ground for critics) was ever heard to impugn his basic integrity or honesty or fairness as a human being. There is one well-known abu- sive term usually invoked to designate a person whose fundamental character is suspect. Never throughout his quarter century as President of Princeton was such a term applied to Harold Dodds. And those who have friends on the faculties of sister institutions know how ca-il llii- ran be done with an administrator whether for good or far from good reasons. It is b no means an accident that as the years advanced Harold Dodds has come to be regarded as the wisest man In mericau education. Temperamentally cautious and deliberate in making his decisions, one thing he decided carh : that was to devote himself to the enhancement of The accumulation of functions u tin It consume the time and energy of the president leaves little time for neetleil leisure. TIME Weekly Newsmagazine June 19, 1933: the induction of the Jitircrsifv ' s netc President and the beginning of the illustrious Dodds era. Princeton, and not to exploit his President with a iew to becoming a public figure. Though hampered by nag- ging ill-health for se eral ears and though compelled to serve his country in many necessary assignments, he gradually assumed a ejuiet and unobtrusive leadership in the world of college and university unrivalled by any of his contemporaries. An eye witness report of a meeting of the Association of American I niversities, held a few years ago in New Haven, testifies to Harold Dodds commanding position. The Association, whose membership is made up of the Presidents of the leading universities in this country and Canada, that year had elected Mr. Dodds as its presiding officer. Naturally he had arrived a few minutes before the opening session, and, of course, he greeted individ- uall this potent tr oupe of educational executives. But what was most impressive was the expression on the face of each man as he shook hands with Harold Dodds. ll was uniformly a look of eas friendliness, admiration, and deep respect. Obviously, they were looking to him as their Socrates, their philosophic guide as they faced the perennial problems which beset education. And like Socrates, Dodds ' personal warmth. hi unfailing though sometimes biting wit, hi modest] and common sense I hreakfasl conference on hoard a train series to keep in- terested alumni informed of current I Hirersity happenings.