Tulane University - Jambalaya Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

Page 14 text:

JAMBS HARDY DILI ARD. The adjectives, distinguished or eminent, would displease Professor James Hardy Dillard, and therefore we shall not use such terms, although richly deserved, but will endeavor to write a sketch appropriate to the simplicity of a truly noble character. James Hardy Dillard was bom October 24, 1856, in Nan- semond County, Virginia. After obtaining the degrees of M.A., D.Litt., and B.L. at Washington and Lee University, he be- came Assistant Professor of Mathematics at that institution in 1876. In the next year he accepted the position of Principal of the Rodman School in Norfolk, Va., and in 1882 became Principal of the Norfolk Academy. He remained in Norfolk until 1887, when he went to St. Louis to become Principal of the Mary Institute of Washington University there. In 1891 Tulane secured his services as Professor of Latin, and in this position, as in every other that he has honored, he has shown all who have come in contact with him that life is more than learning, that a man who stands upright before all men is more than wealth or power, and that only the fame that comes unsought for work well done and kindness never failing is worth having. Professor Dillard is the President of the Public Library here, and is the author of several interesting works which have been very favorably received: Arithmetic Exercises, Se- lections from Wordsworth, and Fifty Letters of Cicero. He has become dean of the educational interests in Louisiana as well as Dean of Tulane University, and as a contributor to the newspapers on vital questions and as a lecturer he has ex- ercised a strong influence through the State and upon New Orleans for the good of the people. Professor Dillard has secured a firm hold on the hearts of all the students by his never-failing interest, his absolute justice and squareness, and by the splendid example he sets us of a man living the high ideals which he holds. A gentleman and a nobleman in character and manner, he is a thoroughly democratic man of great learning and broad culture in society, religion, and politics. Tolerant, liberal, and hospitable to all classes of men, the love of his brother man and keen interest in his welfare are a part of his character, and he does not bend to social distinctions and conventions, but is what he believes. The truth and strength underlying his genial manner only add to its cordial simplicity. It takes no unbending on his part to make the student feel at ease, and while no one stands in awe of his authority, everyone respects, admires, and loves him.