Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 9 text:

1 to DONALD GRAHAM DOWNING Professor of Mechanical Engineering For his expressive mannerisms in the lecture hall, which manage to keep even the drowsy student aware of the proceedings, Professor Downing has earned the well- known title of “The Boomer”. Actually he first got this nickname not from his classroom techniques but when he portrayed Horatio K. Boomer at a Tech Carnival many years ago. ... . sportsman .... friend One of the Boomer’s most important principles, and one which has made him so close to the hearts of all Tech men, is his strong belief in a very close relationship be¬ tween student and faculty. Only by having such a rela¬ tionship can the principles of engineering be properly and realistically presented to the embryo engineer. His inter¬ est in students is not confined to th classroom,; room 219 in Higgins is always open for students who have prob¬ lems—scholastic or otherwise. As faculty advisor for the Tech Council and Skull he is able to keep in touch with affairs outside of the classroom. His loyal attendance at sports functions and his inexhaustible good nature, which penetrates the widest boundaries, round out this portrait of the Boomer. In classroom the emphasis is on thinking; those key equations, secret formulas, hidden clues, and magic num¬ bers are taboo in any of The Boomer’s classes. Outside of the classroom he stresses participation in extracurricu¬ lar activities as a method of rounding out one’s training. Professor Downing’s only son is twenty years old. No, he doesn’t go to Tech! No, he doesn’t want to be an en¬ gineer! An early aversion to math has prompted his son to study advertising design at the R.I. School of Design. Reading and contract bridge take up what little spare time the Boomer has at home, but lately he’s found that school business has kept him rather busy. What does he do, well let’s see. He now serves on three committees; the hour plan, of which he has been chairman for six years, the students, and the scholarship. Besides this, he has since Dean Howe retired, assisted in the admissions office, and in the sum¬ mer time he is director of the Summer school. When “Boomer” graduated in 1926, the editors of the yearbook had this to say about him: “When ‘Fats’ graduates there will be left a void on the Hill that it will take at least two good men to fill.” Now, twenty-seven years later we need alter this para¬ graph only slightly to make it true: today it would take at least four good men to fill that void.

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. . . . administrator To CHOOSE A FACULTY MEMBER, who, in the eyes of the undergraduate exemj)lifies the epitome of pedagogic tal¬ ents is, to be sure, a task of mammoth proportions. Be¬ cause of the diversified nature of the undergraduates at Tech it would seem that such a choice would be even more difficult. And yet, because of his inexhaustible good nature, his genuine interest in every student, his readiness to give help or advice at any time, his keen interest in everything that stands for Tech, and his unselfi sh devotion to the student’s cause, the unanimous vote of the student body would be for Professor Donald Graham Downing. Dedication “There was only one building on the other side of West Street,” recalls Professor Downing, “when I first came to Tech back in 1923 as a freshman enrolled in the civil engineering department.” Convinced that college life should not be confined to the classroom, “Fats” (as he was called by his classmates) tried his hand at writing, acting, and managing. He proved to be very successful in all these fields serving as News editor of the Tech News, Assistant editor of the Peddler, vice president of the Masque, manager of the basketball team and marshal of the junior class. In his spare time he was able to play class football and basketball and in his senior year was honored by being tapped for Skull. His deep seated interest in college life and earnest de¬ sire to teach prompted him to elect the teaching profes¬ sion. After one year at Lehigh he returned to Worcester as an Instructor in the M.E. Department, became an assistant professor in 1937 and a full prof in 1947. “The biggest changes which have come to the school over the years,” explains Professor Downing, “are in the nature and type of students which come to Tech and in the physical surroundings of the Institute.” The last twenty- seven years have seen Worcester Poly emerge from a little known local vocational school to an established school of applied engineering.

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Angelas ‘‘Of all the pranks that students devised for their own amusement and faculty’s discomfiture, the establishirig of the horse in the chapel is without parallel,” writes Herbert Taylor in his book of the history of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It happened in the fall of 1884, about the time the first electric street car appeared in the Worcester streets. “Buckskin,” not an exceptionally in¬ telligent steed, was owned and operated by Superintend¬ ent of the Washburn Shops, Milton Higgins, and housed in a barn which occupied the land that is now the site of the Higgins Laboratories. “Buckskin” must have been a very good natured steed and one with an excellent sense of balance, for, led by the animal lovers in the class of ’85 and ’86, he was guided up the two flights of spiral stairs in Boyton Hall, to be picketed in the room where faculty and students had gathered for morning Chapel services. Everyone except Mr. Higgins took the joke good- naturedly. The problem of getting the beast back on his accustomed plane was too involved for mechanical en¬ gineers, so a veterinary was called. He blanketed, padded and blindfolded old Buckskin, tied his legs together and lowered him on skids with the aid of block and tackle. Students cheering the proceedings were dispersed by a squad of police. A general inquisition was the immedi¬ ate result of this prank. Eleven students confessed, but because Professor Sinclair rose to their defense the “ap¬ propriate penalty was remitted.” Some forty years later the culprits of ’85 and ’86 cheerfully donated enough money to completely remodel the room to undo the dam¬ age which Buckskin had done in his one day’s stay. As a tribute to the friend who had saved the boys from pun¬ ishment the new room was called Sinclair Hall. Six