University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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Wetauie fjc f)as bone more tftan anponc tlit to bcbelop liberal institutions on tfjc tampuEi, faetaugc ijis tranquil Ijumor obercomes all liiHitultieE! anb be= tause l)c fjas been our tcacfjer, abbisor anb frienb, toe, tl)e Class of 1931, respect- fuUp bebitate tjjtS bolume to Jf rank prentice l anh

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Jfrank }irentice l anb NE does not think of a writer as a man of action. Yet one of the busiest men on this campus is the administrator of academic activities, committee man, advisor, author, editor and teacher, Frank Prentice Rand. When his name is mentioned among the students they think of the inspirational, the sensitive criticism given to their pubHcations; they think especially of the successful pro- ducer of the college plays. Students do not know, but members of the faculty recollect the lowly state to which our public offerings, particularly dramatic per- formances, had come before Mr. Rand took full charge of them in 1920. This college now has public presentations of a high class because of Mr. Rand ' s advice and direction. For his interest and success every one connected with the college must be grateful. If one were to mention the name Frank Prentice Rand in the hearing of a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, that member would say enthusias- tically Why, that ' s the Editor of our fraternity magazine. It is a difficult trick to edit a fraternity magazine that anyone will care to read, but Mr. Rand actually does it. The Inkhorne that caused so much surprise because no one except the English faculty knew that such talent could be found among our students, owed its inception and the careful selection of its contents to Mr. Rand. Mr. Rand is best known as the author of Garlingtown, a collection of verses dealing with life in a rural New England community. Here is sympathetic inter- pretation of the problems of everyday life. A fair estimate would be that the poems portray these people and scenes just as they are in verse of true poetic form and quality. Who that has read it can fail to enjoy Criteria a farmer ' s judg- ment of his hired man. David Grayson said of Mr. Rand ' s Dr. Ben of Butter Hill We can feel in these verses the courage, the loyalties, the beauty, — the wistful beauty of New England country life. Mr. Rand ' s plays too must not be omitted; especially John Epps, an understanding treatment of the beginnings of the college under President Clark; and the beautiful play in verse dealing with the life of that mirror of chivalry, Sir Philip Sidney. Mr. Rand loves the country of Shakespeare and the English Lakes which he has so often visited. Traveling is an inspiration to his teaching. It may be understood that the English Department feels especial pride that it has, to conduct its course in Contemporary Poetry, one of the younger American poets. Is it necessary to say of such a man that his interest in the student is genuine and that his time belongs to the student? This interest is enduring. Few men on the campus retain as sincere an interest in our alumni. Mr. Rand ' s heart is given to the college. It is pleasant to know that the students recognize the value of such a force as this, so actively exerted, in the life of the institution. CHARLES W. PATTERSON IS 31