Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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CAPTAIN RALPH EARLE, President-elect Page fourteen

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Aup, Atqup, Hab. “Prexy” With the coming of this June, Doctor Hollis finishes his twelfth and last year as President of the Institute. It is with much regret that we realize that this is true, for the Institute has profited greatly from his twelve years of untiring effort in its behalf. Doctor Hollis was born in a small town in Indiana, and, after finishing his preparatory education, received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. After his graduation in 1878, he entered the Navy, from which he resigned in 1894, after sixteen years of distinguished service as a com¬ missioned officer. He then became a member of the faculty of the Harvard Engineering School, and it was he who supervised the erection of the Haivard Stadium. In 1913, Doctor Hollis accepted the position of President of the Institute, and since that time he has devoted his entire time and energy toward its upbuilding. It has been our pleasure to meet Doctor Hollis in the class-room, for, when Doctor Haynes was away on a leave of absence during our Junior year, Doctor Hollis took over his classes in Political Science. Then, and not until then, did we come to realize fully the type and calibre of the man under whom it has been our privilege to spend the four years of our college life. The success of Doctor Hollis in the engineering profession is universally recognized. While President of the Institute, he was elected President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a high tribute to his ability as an engineer. As we are being graduated from the Institute, we realize that what success may be ours in the future will be due, in no small measure to the influence and teachings of our President, and his lifetime of service to his country and to his fellow-men will always be an inspiration to us. Page thirteen

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Aur, Aup “The Skipper” A record of remarkable achievement in arduous administrative positions and an outstanding personality are ample reasons why Ralph Earle was the unani¬ mous choice of the Trustees who were commissioned to select a new president for W. P. I. Ralph Earle was born in Worcester on May 3, 1874. His father, Stephen Earle, was one of Worcester’s foremost architects, and the designer of several of Tech’s buildings, among them Boynton Hall. Captain Earle entered Wor¬ cester Tech in January, 1892, but in the spring of the same year he received an appointment to Annapolis. From his earliest youth he had his heart set on a naval career, and he entered the academy in the summer of 1892. Active service came almost immediately after graduation with the outbreak of the Spanish war. From this point onward Captain Earle rose quickly in the service, promotions coming to him with unusual rapidity. In 1916 he was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, with the rank of Rear Admiral, the youngest of the officers who have held that position. The entrance of the United Staes into the World War found Captain Earle in this office, and under his administration throughout this trying period the Bureau of Ordnance carried on activities of enormous scope and importance. Beyond the more or less routine portion of the Bureau’s work, it originated and had the major part to play in two of the greatest achievements of the war, — the construc¬ tion of the Northern Barrage, a barrier of mines stretching from the Orkney Islands to Bergen, Norway; and the installation of naval railway batteries in France. Captain Earle’s part in directing these achievements has placed him among the foremost officers of the United States Navy. Captain Earle retired from the navy in May of this year, and will take up his position here next fall. He has said that his first concern as president of Tech will be the raising funds for the erection of a new mechanical engineering laboratory, with plans for a Freshman dormitory and a swimming pool in re¬ serve for the future. Captain Earle is sure to do much for Tech while he is president. We of the Class of 1925 give him our best wishes for success in his work, our only regret being that we cannot be here to share his achievements with him. As alumni of Tech, we promise him at all times our heartiest support. Page fifteen