Washington and Lee University - Calyx Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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Iife-lilo(id (if the institvition, increased fi-diii fifty t(i practically one hundred thousand dollars : the admission requirements raised from five to fourteen Carnegie units, ( ' an any one say, in the face of these splendid achievements, that the president should not have the gratitude, the cociperation, and the high regard of every man who loves and reveres Washington and I.ee i It is equally certain that these results are only a foretaste of what will he accomplished hy him when his common sense, his knowledge of peoj)le, his constructive ability, his high character, have wider reach and effect, as his experience in affairs, and his acquaintanceshi]) with men, ripen and expand. Sjieaking as a man of affairs, and nut as a student or scholar, conversant with the oiiininn of men who are doing things and who understand the situation of the day, I have no hesitancy in saying that President Denny ' s ten years of administration have been consecrated in their purpose, splendid in their results, and unselfishly untiring towards the per])etuatiou of the high life of Washingtiin and L: ' c, and the widening and dee])eniug of her power for good. And, in my judgment, as the years grow ajiaee, his ability for achieving great things will become still further recngnizcd, and his name will take a high place in the catalogue of those wlm liavf wruught mightily for Virginia ami the natiun. I

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v-- : ' l n 1 o-reat tbiiikiTs of the day; the curricnlnui of the college wisely extended io meet the eonditioii of the changhii;- times ; the active life and increased ability for its great W(]i ' k, hikIim- ilic i ' lTsiilcnl ' s pi-ogressive leadership, impel me to express, on liehalf of I he ahimni and fi ' iends of the rniversity, cordial apjiroval of his policy and the gratitnde of those who have her real welfare at heart. There has been no reactionary life in his administration. There has licen no unwise straining after the new things of the day. Under his leadership the Fniversity has grasped and appro])riated the good of the new, discarded that which does not fit the times, and held wisely to the great funda- mentals which have always been a characteristic of this seat of learning. I frankly say that the friends of the rnivei ' sity hirgely asi ' ril); ' hei ' conunand- ing position at this time to the ])( ' (Miliar consfrueiixe aliiliiy of her jiresident, which is as rare as it is invaluable. - Again, from another viewpoint, this era of widening ideas was of greiit im])ortance to Washington and Lee. Education is intensely practical. Ko thoughtful man who contemijlates the work of a great educational institution understands that its success has been fou nded merely n])on the learning dis- seminated within its halls. This learning is fundamental and necessary, and without it an institution cannot attain its true ends. But the inner history of every great educational institution shows that business sagacity and financial acumen are just as imjxirtant to its ultimate success as is the beam- ing of the books. With this change of conditions to which 1 haw refi ' rre l, and with the institutions in the North daily adding to their already larse endowments, there was the natural fear that Washington and Lee might not 1)8 able to keei pace in the race. It is a matter of pride that President Denny, ajjpreciating these conditions, possessed the ability and energy and foresight which have enaliled Washington and Lee to increase, beyond all precedent, her ability to eit ' ectually carry on her work. If you doubt, look around you: Tlu ' campus resounding with the tread of six hundred students, where there were formerly about two hundred; the endowment increased by three hundred thousand dollars ; new schools ; new departments; new walkways; old buildings reno -ated : new buildings and new equipment amounting to more than ine hundreil and fifty thousand dollars; a debt of thirty thousand dollars lutiil; the annual income, the very il ' r '

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