f aul Mt ' M fmuk NOT the least important part of an educational institution is the proper administration of its finances. Its success or failure is, among other things, dependent upon the efficiency with which its financial and business affairs are handled. At Washington and Lee University the Treasurer is at once collector, paymaster, purchasing agent, and a dozen other functionaries all combined into one. And with the increase in the size of the school, his duties show no signs of becoming less multitudinous. Apparently there are few subjects on which he is not called on to pass judgment or to give advice. The demands thus made upon this official are many and varied and require such qualifications as are possessed by few. Indeed, in these times, when filthy lucre has been the means of corrupting many, the need is doubly felt for men whose motto is something else than, The smell of money is good, from whatsoever source it comes . Or, as Juvenal puts it, Lucri bonus est odor ex re Qualibet . In the spring of 1913, Mr. John Lyle Campbell, who had been the efficient Treasurer of the Univer- sity for thirty-six years, passed to his reward. The Board of Trustees were thus confronted with the task of selecting his successor. Realizing the difficulty of filling the position thus left vacant and not wishing to experiment with unknown quantities, the Board elected one of its own number, Mr. Paul McXeel Penick, who was then associated with Mr. Frank T. Glasgow, another member of the Board, in the practice of law in Lexington. At the earnest solicitation of the I ' niversity officials, Mr. Penick consented to accept the responsibilities of the Treasurer ' s office. In the firm conviction that he was increasing liis sphere of service, he gave up the major portion of his law practice, and since that time he has devoted his energies to the furthering of the interests of the University, its officials, its faculty, and its students. Although not a Virginian by birth, Mr. Penick has spent most of his life in Lexington and its vicinity. He was born at Flint Hill, his father ' s home, near Concord, N. C, in October, 1867. Six years later, the family removed to Rockbridge County, Virginia, when his father. Dr. D. A. Penick became pastor of New Monmouth Presbyterian Church. Dr. Penick remained at New Monmouth for some forty-one years, at the end of which time he was made pastor emeritus. The future Treasurer until he was twelve years of age attended Highland Belle School, located near his home. Following this he spent one year at the then well-known school taught by the Rev. Mr. Harris in Floyd County, Virginia. Yet with these limited opportunities, Mr. Penick was enabled to accomplish a feat which has been equalled by but fen- in the history of Washington and Lee University. Before he had reached his fourteenth birthday he was a regularly matriculated student in this institution. After his graduation Mr. Penick was for some years principal of a large co-educational school at Round Rock, Texas. Subsequently he engaged in clerical work at El Paso, but in 1890 the call of Vir- ginia became too strong for him and he located in Richmond, where he was identified with prominent business interests. It was during his residence in Richmond that he was married to Miss Frances Edmondson Monroe on January 3, 1895. Soon after his marriage, the Bank of Rockbridge, then the only bank in Lexington, was almost reduced to bankruptcy when its cashier absconded with a large sum of money. At the urgent call of Judge Edmondson. to whom had fallen the difficult task of putting the bank ' s affairs again on a firm basis, Mr. Penick returned to Lexington as his assistant. In addition to this work, he enrolled as a student in the Washington and Lee Law School. Continuing his brilliant record of previous years, he, in spite of his outside activities, graduated in one year ' s time, the honor student of his class and the winner of the one hundred dollar law prize for that year. He immediately began the practice of law in Lexington, where he has since resided, becoming Treasurer of the University some eight years ago. For many years Mr. Penick has been a loyal and enterprising citizen of the community, always taking an acti ' e part in its affairs. He was largely instrumental in the enlarging of the nearby hydro- electric plant, and after putting it on a firm financial basis, sold it to its present owners, the Virginia- Western Power Company. He has been for some years past the President of the Rockbridge National Bank, a member of the Y. M. C. A. Ad nsory Board of the University, and since his retirement in 1913 from active membership on the Board of Trustees he has been its efficient secretary. From his earliest boyhood Mr. Penick has been a faithful and loyal member of New Monmouth Presbyterian Church. He has long been one of its elders and its Sunday School owes much of its present prosperity to his careful and painstaking interest in it as its superintendent. In his personal life can be found an example of geniality, piety, humor, conscientious devotion to duty, uncompromising attitude toward all that is questionable, and loyalty to life ' s ideals, which is indeed enviable. It is in recognition of his sterling worth as a man that the Calyx for 19 1 is dedicated to him.
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