Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

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DAVID E. RDSS The present Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Purdue University is David E. Ross of Lafayette. For the past twelve years Mr. Ross has served as a member of the Board, and as its Chairman for the past five years. Since his appointment Mr. Ross has been a leader, encouraging the modernization of the University which has taken place in the last decade. It was through his efforts that the University has arranged for and DAVID E. ROSS adopted a systematic building program for the next fifty years. Mr. Ross was graduated from the Univer- sity from the School of Electrical Engineer- ing in the Class of 1893 and became con- nected with the Ross Gear and Tool Com- pany. With the expansion of the automotive trade Mr. Ross became one of the prominent C163 leaders of the industry, but the calls on his time by the industry with which he was affili- ated did not prevent him from devoting much of his energy toward maintaining the continued progress which Purdue was mak- ing. As Chairman of the Building Commit- tee of the Purdue Memorial Union Building he was closely identified with that project until its successful completion. With charac- teristic foresight he donated a tract of one hundred and fifty-seven acres West of the Agricultural Campus to be used as the future University airport. The Ross-Ade Stadium is another material witness of the real interest which Mr. Ross, Mr. George Ade, and Pro- fessor Spitzer have in the University, for it was through their gifts of land and money that the home of many Boilermaker athletic contests was made possible. Mr. David E. Ross was also instrumental in creating the Purdue Research Foundation, an organization which has done much to aid industries by utilizing the facilities for re- search in the fields of science and engineering which the University affords. Mr. Ross has assigned several of his patent rights over to the Purdue Research Foundation to aid the Foundation in carrying on its program. Among these has been the patent rights for the new road-safety development, called the Highway Reflectorn, which Mr. Ross in- vented to make highway travel more safe at night. Mr. Ross has also been intimately con- nected with the development of Rostonen, which may revolutionize the building indus- try by placing an inexpensive, durable, and beautiful building material on the market. Even with the multitude of interests which Mr. Ross has, he has not lost interest in the students themselves. He is deeply interested in student self-government and all other media by which students may learn to assume a responsible part in society.

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PRESIDENT EDWARD C. ELLIDTT Dr. Edward C. Elliott, President of Purdue University, is, although not an engineer in the true sense of the word, a master mechanic in the development of the mind. His every effort is directed toward the fulfillment of what was perhaps John Purdue's dream. His accomplishments and plans for the future in- dicate that he is greatly interested in the progress of Purdue, and his executive ability continually points in that direction. Presi- dent Elliott is known to all his colleagues and friends as a man of progressive conserva- tismn, a man of force and honesty, while to the students he is known as a smiling, genial, friendly, yet purposeful Prexy . He is an excellent speaker and is a man of ideas in the office, on the platform, and in the conference room. As though their lives and careers were to parallel, two children were born in 1874: Edward Charles Elliott and Purdue Univer- sity. The scene of Dr. Elliott's boyhood was in North Platte, Nebraska, and, until he left to earn recognition in chemistry at the Uni- versity of Nebraska, lived with his parents. His father was the local blacksmith, and even today the influence of inheritance can be seen as President Elliott hits the nail on the head with a force reminiscent of his father's ac- curate strokes on the anvil. Dr. Elliott was graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1895 and continued there with a fellow- ship until he was granted his Master's degree two years later. President Elliott started his educational career as a teacher of science in the high school at Leadville, Colorado. At Leadville he built his own laboratory and conducted his own experiments, and before long was C157 made Superintendent of Schools, in which ca- pacity he served for five years. On leaving there he obtained a teaching fellowship at Columbia University, and, while on the fel- lowship, spent one summer at the University of Jena studying the German system of edu- cation. In 1905 Columbia University granted President Elliott his Doctor's degree. Dr. Elliott's first position after receiving his doctorate was at the University of Wis- consin as assistant professor of education. After being there two years he rose to a full professorship, and in 1909 was appointed Di- rector of the Course for Training Teachers. He made outstanding surveys of public school systems in various states and cities, bringing to light the unreliability of grading school work in mathematics, history, and other subjects. In 1916 Dr. Elliott was called to serve as Chancellor of the University of Montana. There he was the managing head of the four state institutions until his coming to Purdue in 1922. He has received honorary degrees from DePauw, Butler, Columbia University, and Oregon State Agricultural College. He has served as Chairman of the Commission on Institutions of higher education, and is re- garded as one of the outstanding university presidents in the United States. Under Dr. Elliott's direction the Univer- sity has expanded into the largest engineer- ing school in the United States, and other de- partments of the University have grown in proportion. With the sane judgment and per- sistent work of Dr. Elliott, Purdue Univer- sity will continue to progress as it has in the past.

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J. A. HILLENBRAND P. EDGERTON VIRGINIIK C. MEIKEDITH J. L. KIMBROUGI-I BO RD OE TRUSTEES A modern organization must have an ex- ecutive board to pass on matters of policy and procedure in order that the organization for which it is acting may function with the greatest efficiency and for the best interests of the majority which it serves. The Board of Trustees acts in such a capacity for Purdue University and the general public. The mem- bers of the Board are chosen from the out- standing leaders of science, industry, and ag- riculture in the State of Indiana and are there- fore competent to make the program of the University correspond with the needs of the state for education along specialized lines. As legally constituted, the membership of the Board of Trustees must represent indus- try, agriculture, and the citizens at large, and one of these citizens chosen at large must be a Woman. One member of the group repre- senting agriculture must be a graduate of the University. The varied occupations and the mature judgment of those who constitute the Board of Trustees make it fully competent to pass on all matters which come Within its jur- isdiction. David E. Ross is the President of the Board, and Cecil G. Fowler serves as its Treasurer. The other members of the present Board are J. A. Hillenbrand, Palmer Edgerton, Mrs. Virginia C. Meredith, J. L. Kimbrough, R. A. Simpson, E. Hall, W. Noel, and K. Lilly. Miss Mary M. Williams acts as Secre- tary for the Board of Trustees. The present personnel of the Board upholds a long tradition of having in its membership citizens of the state interested not only in higher education, but in the application of ab- stract learning in a practical Way. R. A. SIMPSON J. E. HALL J. W. NOEL J. K. LILLY C173