University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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DEDICATION c W HAT ilinCP (ElltDattI 9 tit is our ■■new President does r|ot signify that he is a stranger in our n]idst. There is probably not a student in tPje University vj ]o does not regard him as our old friend and benefactor. Though qot a native-born Texan, Dr. Mezes staqds foremost arniorjg those who have allied tfiemselves with . ]e interests of tfiis great State. He h|as shown th|is iq innum erable ways. Before f e becanrje President, f|e was or|e of tfje nqost earnest and active members of tf|e Faculty. With remarkable strength of mind, breadtf] of view, and aq accurate sense of fairness, altruistic and congenial, l e field the hard positioq of Dean of the University for several years witfj sucf] a degree of self-subor- diqation and with such rapt enthusiasm in the welfare of the University, that e won the esteen of everyone who knew his name, the frierjdship of every studeqt, and the uqqualified love of all wf]o fiad tf|e good fortune of being nqore closely associated with him. Such a rqan is preemiqently fitted to be president of a uqiversity that is sooq to be tl]e great- est institution of learning in the South. And he, rqore tf]an any other, is striving to make it so. Scarcely had fje beeq elected to tf|e position when he begaq to plan for the swift advancerqent of tf]e Uqiversity, and to put those plans iqto immediate execution. Of the many qualities that fit him for his high positioq, his democratic attitude toward the studeqts is always in evidence. In a speech delivered before tfje student body in tfie Auditorium, he said that ]e wanted the studeqts to come iqto his office to talk to him, ■■just for a little chat, if for notl]iqg of niore irriportance; aqd qow f]e has set aside a portioq of eacf] n-|orqing for receiviqg tFjOse who desire to see him either on busiqess or for a pleasurable conversation. Each rqorqiqg, everytPjing in his attractive office looks out a welconqe througf] the open door — and his face is the most attractive of all; it is a strikingly iqdividual face, as individual as the Great West in whicfi he was born; and, like the flowers on his desk, it tells of a life noble and pure, reflect- ing a soul botf| priqcely aqd great.