Alumni Oration

"Comparison Made of U.S." Daily Gleaner (17 May 1963). (UA Case 67a, Box 2)

Here are some extracts from Dr. Dodds Alumni Centenary address:

"While some believe that too many high school graduates are going to college who should be taking a job for their own sake and the country’s, such voices are among those crying in the wilderness. Social economic pressures plus rising family incomes, improved opportunities for financial aid and the strengthening democratic believe that anyone who can get into a college deserves a college education are too strong to resist.

Social Status

The truth is that our young people are crowing our college corridors are not there just to satisfy a desire for learning. Going to college infers social status (not as great as it once was but still real nevertheless). Equally important are the economic benefits to be derived. It is no longer true that a high school education gets a boy a good job as a start up the ladder of life.

Many doors which were open to high school graduates a generation ago are now closed to those who do not possess a college degree. Business corporations look to the colleges for their supply of young engineers, mathematicians and scientists; but they also look there for promising young men for less specialized positions in their executive development programs. For example more than 300 corporations send representatives to the Princeton campus each year in search of promising young talent.

Academic Proficiency

In making their selections they consider academic proficiency as well as personality qualities and promise for leadership. The long and short of it is that our colleges are doing a preliminary national screening job for business and industry, as well as for the learned professions. Whether we are meeting this great bulge in student enrollments, (not to mention whether we will be able to meet the estimated 100 per cent increase by 1973) without seriously lowering standards of education is indeed a critical problem.

Where is the money coming from to pay for the maintenance and construction of new buildings?

Even more serious is where are the faculties coming from to teach the students? Prestige institutions, relatively few in number, with higher salary levels and more opportunities for research are able to attract faculties in the number and of the quality desired although it must be admitted that the succeed to a considerable measure by robbing less favored institutions of their best talent.

Cruel Truth

The cruel truth is that despite a substantial increase in the size of our graduate school we are not turning out a sufficient number of new teachers of college quality to maintain nationally what has always been considered a proper ratio of faculty to students. The teacher pinch has been felt most in science and engineering. Indeed informed observers believe that the quality of science teaching has declined in many colleges, owing to the scarcity of teachers who will work at the academic pay level, but also owing to the great costs of apparatus called for by modern science.

There are not many institutions that can afford an atom smasher, even a small one for teaching purposes. And those which can afford (from their own funds or from government grants) to maintain elaborate research programs are in a position to drain off the cream of the crop."

Later he discussed the role of the alumni in universities:

"Now I turn to the role of the alumni. At this centenary of the Associated Alumni my tale would be incomplete without reference to the part the alumni of American institutions play. Contrary to the old myth that alumni are a hair shirt for a university president, they are in fact the solid rock on which our private universities have been built and they continue as a prime source of support.

Enlisting Aid

More and more the tax supported institutions are enlisting their active and moral aid. A Harrow School song—referring to the Old Boys—speaks of 'being shorter in wind but in memory longer.'

What shall it help us that once we were strong?

Well one way it seems to operate is to help resist change and undoubtedly some alumni—often quite vocal—do belong to the change-resisting category. But if the university pays its alumni the compliment of assuming that they are interested in its high purposes and its continued growth and excellence a gratifying and most influential number will respond with enthusiasm."

Need Wisdom

In his concluding remarks Dr. Dodds stressed the need above all for wisdom in today’s universities. He said:

"Sir Thomas Browne wrote three hundred years ago in his Religio Medici: Widsom is God’s most beauteous attribute; no man can attain unto it, yet Solomon pleased God when he desired it.

That universities should strive to teach wisdom as its end product may seem overly pretentious to some but I trust that they will never be satisfied with anything less. If they fail there is no other social institution equal to the task."