Tufts University - Jumbo Yearbook (Medford, MA)

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Frank A. Tredinnick Warmth. A lot of warmth. That is the way you react when you talk to Frank A. “Sandy” Tredinnick, Vice President for Development. This is felt most readily in his infectious sense of humor, which has always been a prominent part of his personality. After all, he is still the same character who, as an undergraduate, ran for mayor dressed in top hat and tails, sandwiched between two hulking great danes. He has yet to change. This year, at Emmanuel College, where he is a member of the advisory board, he appeared donned in that same attire. When one of the nuns questioned his formal dress, Mr. Tredinnick responded, “I heard I was coming to Emmanuel, so I thought I’d better put on my habit.” Sandy’s sense of humor comes across because he can wrestle words into an original turn of phrase. Mastery of the spoken language not only makes him a fine public speaker, but a mimic of the first caliber. He immitates so many people well that none of his impersonations stands out, except “Cardinal Cushing” which is performed with kindly reverence. A sense of humor, however, is only one manifestation of a substantial personality, and somehow you are never left unaware of Tredinnick’s underlying serious intensity. The Second World War was at its peak when he was Editor-in-Chief of the Weekly (1943). Those newspapers reflect an edgy campus depression and instability; yet his signed editorials contain a sobering sense of patriot¬ ism, and an attempt at buoying morale. The undergraduate editorials are con¬ sistent with Sandy’s open concern for people. In a group he is quick to react against any¬ thing which might hurt someone else. In fact, if pressed to pick the most unforgive- able daily human act, he would probably single out “harming another”—making an¬ other person less happy. His concern for Tufts is no less intense. Mr. Tredinnick has much to be happy about this year. Most important are the plans to make Tufts’ New England Medical Center one of the most advanced in the nation, through a $72.5 million dollar ex¬ pansion. Five years’ planning went into the blueprint. Construction will begin in 1968 on a Dental Health Science Building, a twenty story basic science building, several research buildings, a new library, and a pediatrics hospital. The Midas touch for fund-raising and communications does not come by accident. From the time he received his masters (in English, from Columbia, in 1947) until his apoointment to his present position at Tufts, he worked in a variety of related jobs— 16

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Dean Schmidt is an active member of the campus. Here he attends Kids Day at Tufts. (above) Schmidt, Bouchard, and Belotti plot the fate of L.B.J.; (below) Schmidt studies Jumbo football follies.

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newspaper and advertising in Boston and New York; secretary of Brand Names Foundation, Inc.; civic and charitable com¬ mittees of his Wakefield home; member of the board of directors of Middlesex County National Bank. (He calls the Curtis Hall Bank “my personal branch.”) With the centralization, in Packard Hall, of the Office of Development and its divisions (Publications, Public Relations, Annual Fund, and Development) one can see the cumulative effect that Tredinnick has had since his arrival. Since 1957, a neglected area of the University has undergone a change in “attitude.” The result is a visible expansion of the division (more personnel, more room) and their activities (new functions, more depth to the old ones, and all done on time!). It is too bad that the dental campaign has involved so much time this year because it prevented Mr. Tredinnick from teaching a freshman course. We tend to forget that he is an English teacher (he also taught at Hunter College while in New York) though he al¬ ways insists that “I’m a Vice-President only by avocation.” The teacher in him comes out best in his now famous “Why Robert Can’t Write” speech of 1959: “I do not expect the wet¬ eared freshman to exemplify in every detail Pater’s dictaion style, but i do expect that his writing should reflect both thoughtful¬ ness and individuality to some degree ... at least, let us say, to the degree that would indicate that as a freshman he may not be educated, but at least he is educable.” Many of the students whom he has helped still visit him frequently. This helps keep him “young in spirit,” even if he can no longer be considered “pepsi generation.” In his beautiful new Packard office you can freely enter a general bull session until you have forgotten why you came in the first place. And when you leave, you feel warmth. A lot of warmth. 17