West Chester University - Serpentine Yearbook (West Chester, PA)

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PATHFINDER 1910 tional Commission appointed Ijv Governor Stuart to draft a new code of laws for the schools of the State; he is a nieniher of the board of trustees of Bucknell Uni -ersit ' , of ihe College and L ' niversity Council of PennsyK ' ania and of the Baptist lulu- cational Society. He was president of the State Teachers ' Association of Pennsylvania in 1891, an.d in 1894 was vice-presi- dent of the National Educational Association of the United States, and again in 1908, and since 1808 he has been a member of its Council. In local enterprises, Dr. Philips bears his full share of resjinnsiljilit}-. He is president of the Chester County Historical Society, second vice-president of the Dime Savings Bank of Chester County, a director of the National Bank of Chester County, and a member of the board of managers of the Chester County Hosjiital. . t the time of the West Chester Centennial celebration, he was chairman of the Invitation Committee, and was able to secure Dr. Charlton T.Lewis to deliver the oration. On the occasion of the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Republican party in Chester County, Dr. Philips was chairman iif the Reception Committee, and aided in arranging and carrying out a program in which former Vice-President Fairbanks and other dis- tinguished persons took part. Dr. Philips is a member of the First Baptist Church of West Chester, in which he has filled va- rious official positions, and his advice and counsel have always been sought and cheerfully given in all matters connected with the spiritual and temporal welfare of the church and congregation. It would seem that the busier he is. the more leisure he has, and during the last thirty years he has filled numerous other positions in borough, county or state, l)ut the activities already mentioned show the versatility of his genius, the scope i.if his knowledge, the confiilence reposed in him by his fellnw- men and the willingness he always displays to serve their best interests. That Dr. Philips is thoroughly devoted to the upljuilding of the State Normal School, is anipl}- attested by the fact that he has consented to remain as its head for such a long ])eriod. It is not generally known that his election to the principalship of this school in 1881 was almost simultaneous with a similar electimi in the Indiana (Pa. ) State Normal School. It is gratify- ing to record that his choice then has been his deliberate preference ever since. In 1888, he declined the presidency of Buck- nell University, in 1890 the position of state superintendent of public instruction, and in 1910 the tender of the presidency of Girard College. He has refused other overtures to enter college work anil has resisted flattering calls, not publicly km.iwn, from institutions of high standing and primiinence. That Dr. Philips is the right man in the right i)lace, is shown n.it only by the phenomenal growth of the school in point of

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iqio PATHFINDER the scliodl. Biickntll was natiirall}- luatli n ])art with one of her youngest and most distinguished professors, but he deemed it the call of duty to embark in the larger undertaking, accepted the principalship and, August the first, entered upon its duties and upon what was, indeed, destined to be a distinguished career of service. Dr. Philips will thus soon complete thirty-five years of service in the school, and round out a memorable term of thirty years as principal, and the school that has felt liis guiding hand for this long period is now in the forefront of kindred institu- tions. The number of students has increased from two hundred and forty to more than nine hundred enrolled this vear ( iqio), and the cost of the numerous l)uildings and equipments of the Xornial School |)lant has reached $750,000. The graduates of the school have, ir. the main, followed teaching as a profession, and are to be found in all grades, from tlic i)rimary school to the university, while hundreds today are also filling honorable iiositions in a score of other professions antl useful vocations and, years after graduation, whatever their occupation may be. they ha e freely conceded that they cannot properly estimate the value of the inspiration ihev received from personal contact with l.)r. Pbili])s. who, either as teacher or adviser, spurred them to put forth their best efforts and seize every opportunity for self-improvement. While the chief concern of Dr. Philips is the great school of which he is the head, he has in every way possible lent his aid to advance general educational interests. He is in constant demand in Pennsylvania and other States as an institute instructor am! lecturer. His subjects, drawn from his varied experiences of the past forty years, co er a wide range. In 1888, he vis- ited the Pacific Coast, and has visited Europe three times, seeing most of the western and southern jjarts of it. He observed schools of all grades, met many distinguished men and is now delivering valuable and entertaining lectures based upon what he saw and heard, but he has the happy faculty of making an address on arithmetic, comets, business methods or how we elect a President of the United States as interesting as a lecture on London, Italy or the Vello vstone Park, He is, perhaps, more widely known as an author of te.xt-lKioks. In collaboration with President Sharpless of Haverford College, he has written te.xt-books on .Vstronomy and Natural Philosophy. These, together with his own works on the Civil Government of Penn- sylvania and the Geography of Pennsylvania, and his most recent publication, Nation and State, have had a wide use. The last-named work is especiallv in demand, because of the comprehensiveness, directness and luciditv of statement that character- ize its pages, as well as all of Dr. IMiilips ' s addresses, lectures, magazine articles or class-room explanations. . s fiu ' ther evi- dence of his worth to the cause of education, it is notewortliv that Dr. Pliilips is a member and secretar ' of the .State Educa-

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igio PATHFINDER numbers and material equipment, but also by the esteem, admirati(jn and luyal support of his teachers. In 1901, when he had completed twentv-five vears of service in the school, including- uventy years as principal, the faculty tendered him a compli- mentary banquet and presented him with a ln ino- cup. The alumni of the school also showed their affectionate regard for him, wiicn he had completed t venty-fi e years as principal, by presenting him with his portrait, painted by the famous artist, William T. Smedley, a native of Chester County. Temple University, of Philadelphia, conferred upon him the honorary de- gree of LL.D. His alma inatcr had already, in 1874, made him ;. Master of Arts, and ten years later, a Doctor of Thilos- ophy. To those who knew Dr. Philips best, the causes of his notalile success are an open secret. Endowed with a rare measure of common sense, personal dignity and powers of endurance, his practical wisdom, his ability to discern and his courage and fearlessness to advocate what is genuine, substantial and vital, his detestation of shams, and his unswerving integrity, coupled with his dominant conviction that hard, persistent toil is the best talisman, and his halnt of doing everything when it ought to be done and of ininimizing ditticulties and jiersiinal discomforts, stamp him not merely as a man of thought, but preeminently as a man of action, wlio proves that work is possiljle liy strenuously setting about it, making even the timidity and irresolu- tion of others pay contribution to his strong and skilful initiative, and who thus, as a leader, secures the best results from his as- sociates by the virility of vigonuis e.xample rather than by the persuasiveness of uncertain precept ; added to these personal traits, his large experience in dealing with men and measures makes him a man in whom trust can safely be reposed by those who wish to have tlieir interests receive prompt and proper consideration, whether they lie in the direction of the education of children, the investment of the capital of a bank, the writing of a new code of school laws or the care of the sick in a hos- pital. With Dr. Philips industry is, indeed, a Christian obligation. While the fairest fruit of this is a great institution, not the least is a valuable library of volumes ( the second largest in the United States ). collected at odd intervals, bearing the sig- natures and sentiments of authors from all cpiarters of the globe. Dr. Philips, too, is a close reader of current literature, to which he is also an occasional contributor. He is affable and cordial in manner, a fine conversationalist, fond of humor, having himself an appropriate anecdote for almost any occasion and, w ' ith all his achievements, he is modest and unassuming. Thus, by the force and graciousness of his engaging personality, he attaches to himself a host of loyal friends, whose good qualities he commends, but whose faults and foibles he prefers to pass over lightly.