University of Wisconsin Madison - Badger Yearbook (Madison, WI)

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The Alumni Association nnHE Wisconsin Alumni Association is a voluntary, cooperative organization ot graduates and termer students of the University whose purpose is to promote the welfare of the University and to en ' courage the interest of the alumni in the University and in each other. It is a means to an end. The student who takes a genuine interest in the University and in campus affairs wishes to continue that interest after graduation. The Alumni Association is not only the medium through which this may best be done; it is also the instrumentality through which the desire to effectively serve the institu- tion, its students and alumni will find large opportunities. hi the words of President Frank, it is the medium through which a critical loyalty will be able to expose the weakness and promote the strength of the University. The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine, which is the official publication of the Association, was first published in 1899, by a committee of alumni, ot which the late President Van Hise, then serving in the department of geology, was a member. The magazine is now issued monthly and goes to all members of the Association. Its major purpose is to present to former students a living record of the living reaUties of Wisconsin and to interpret the new and vital things that are happening on the campus. In addition, ot course, it brings to alumni news of classmates and friends of college days — where they are and what they are doing, also the ac- tivities of alumni groups throughout the world. Supplementing the magazine, the Association sends to its members from time to time, various university bulletins and pamphlets which are not only inter- esting in themselves but also convey a clearer idea of the services the university is rendering. The production of a second series ot motion pictures has also been undertaken which will be available to alumni and through them to other inter- ested groups. The governing body ot the Association consists of twenty directors elected at large for a term of two years. Ten are elected each year by mail ballot of the membership from a list of fifteen nominees. The officers consist ot the president, vice- president, and treasurer, none ot whom. Myron H.arsh.-wv President Walter Alexander Vice ' President Basil Peterson Treasurer Herman Egstad Secretary Page 23

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On Man and Nature From Seclusion I The Distant Past This Man Brings Fig- ures Which Lite Again w™ Prof. Otto was voic new student asks an old what course he should take, the re- ply invariably includes Philosophy 25. A cute young thing who was having her hair frizzed in the beauty parlor asked the oper- ator this ques- tion. She re- plied with the customary Man and Na- ture, and the young thing complacently answered, ' ' Yes, I think ril take that. Those are the two things I ' m most interested in. Perhaps the young lady ing the opinion of many other students. At any rate, enrollment is limited to ;oo. Although he has offered the course for years, Professor Max Otto has a way of making the students feel that the subject is as fresh to him as it is to them. With a poignancy peculiarly all his own. Professor Otto takes figures out of the dusty archives of the past and recreates Fries them into living creatures, in fact so real that one can almost see their mobile forms instead of the abbreviated stature of the lecturer on the platform. His keen compre- hension of human nature enhances his capac- ity to fascinate even the most indifferent audiences with his colorful and vivid character portrayals of such personalities as Socrates, Jesus, Saint Augustine, and others touched upon by the course. Indeed, even the reading list is an in- ducement to take Man and Nature. Books by Breasted, Papini, Plato, Hayden, and Prof. Otto are only a tew that offer personal enrichment to the student finding time to consider them. But no mere enumeration of lectures and titles can give the essence of this course so highly prized by the students. The arresting personality of Mr. Otto himself permeates every angle of the course. His life is the vital expression of the philosophy he teaches. A humanist, groping for a realization of the good life, Professor Otto believes that man- kind yet may take its own destiny con- sciously and intelligently in hand. Instructional Staff Otto Vivas BOEGHOLT Ely Page 22

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with the exception ot the treasurer, may succeed himself in office more than once. They serve for a term ot one year. The Alumni Research Foundation (■ ' II ' HE Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation was organized Novem ' ber 14, 1925, under the laws ot the state of Wisconsin as a corporation not for profit. The purposes as set torth in the charter are : ' To promote, encourage and aid scientific investigations and research at the University and to assist in providing the means and machinery by which the scientific discoveries and inventions ot the staff may be developed and patented and the public and commercial uses thereot determined; and by which such utili- zation may be made of such dis- coveries and inventions and patent rights as may tend to stimulate and promote and provide tunds tor fur- ther scientific investigation and re- search within said University. ' The funds which launched this non- profit-making link between the educa- tional and business world were volun- tarily subscribed by interested alumni. The Foundation divorced itself forever from politics and political influence by placing Its management in the hands of a self-perpetuating board of six trustees, all alumni ot the University: George I. Haight, Chicago, president; William S. Kies, New York; Judge Evan A. Evans, Chicago; L. M. Hanks, Madison; T. E. Bnttingham, Jr. ,Madison;Timothy Brown, Madison. The first official action of the Foun- dation was to accept the discoveries of Dr. Steenbock in the field of vitamins, and to lay down the principle that the dis- coverer or inventor assigning the fruits of his scientific research to the Founda- tion should be rewarded by a I ' y c interest m the net receipts arising from the patent- ing and commercialization of this dis- covery. Most educational foundations start with an endowment, which often runs into millions ot dollars, and with a fairly well defined program for which funds have been furnished. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation had no such start. All It had was the willingness ot an individual to turn over to a body of interested alumni an idea that was subject to patent in order to protect it from misuse. Lewis Alsted Board of Directors Ralph Balliette Board of Visitors Marc L.-wv Board 0 Directors Mrs. C. ' rl Johnson Board of Visitors Page 24