~Wtt&1 - - Hoover Library

Members of the Fund Committee meet in Clarence Bennett's office. They are, left to right, Julian Dyke, Mr. Bennett,Philip Uhrig and Wilmer Bell.PLANS FOR THE 1966 ALUMNI FUNDby Philip E. UhrigSince its inception in 1947, the AnnualAlumni Fund (then known as "Living Endowment")has provided a steadily increasingand vital source of income for WesteruMaryland for underwriting current operatingexpenses.In the beginning, a one-man committeeplanned and organized the entire program.With increased activity in this phase ofalumni responsibility the team has grown.Just as recently as the last Board of Governorsmeeting in October four members wereadded to the committee. Too, the size andforce of the volunteer alumni team of classagents has grown immeasurably. Picturedhere are some of the members of that teamincluding the new Alumni Fund Chairman,Julian L. Dyke, Jr., '50. Other members ofthe committee are: Wilmer V. Bell, '30,committee chairman; Clarence H. Bennett,'28, alumni president; Ernest A. Burch, [r.,'50; Lucie Leigh Barnes Hall, '42; AlleckA. Resnick, '47; C. Frasier Scott, '43; R.Peter Urquhart, '58; William A. Weech, '26;and Paul F. Wooden, '37. In addition to thestanding committee, James H. Straughn, '99,is the Old Guard Chairman, and Wilbur D.Preston, '46, Special Gifts Chairman.ln 19 years the Fund grew from about$3,500 to the all-time high in 1963 of $41,-000. During the last two years income fromannual giving decreased substantially, anexpected consequence of the emphasis oncapital giving in the Centennial ExpansionProgram. Nevertheless, alumni response inthis period far exceeded the expectationsof the committee.With more than two-thirds of the Centennialpledges having becn amortized atthis date, the Alumni Fund Committee hasdeveloped an exciting new program forannual giving. The goal this year has beenset at $42,000, a sum in advance of anyattempted before, yet one which is reasonable.In his enthusiasm for the task at hand,fund chairman Dyke has already stated,"we expect to exceed the goa\."It is the hope of the committee to builda mum of 600 class agents. Many alumnihave already accepted key roles on theteam and many more are being recruiteddaily.The original idea of a Living Endowmentis as realistic today as when the expressionwas Ilrst.coined. Accor~ling to one's capacityand destra gifts vary m size. Though somealumni contribute sizable amounts annually,not all can. Yet in viewing any single contributionas the interest which would accruefrom an investment on a larger sum, onecan catch the significance of this term. Forexample, a $10 contribution represents theinterest drawn in one year from $250 at a4 percent rate of return. An endowment of$2,500 would result in a $100 gift andso forth.By the same token, the $42,000 goal for1966 represents the income Western Mary,land would receive if it had an additional$1,050,000 in the Endowment Fund. Onecan see the wide range of Opportunity sucha plan suggests.Your Alumni Fund Committee would liketo provide such an income for WesternMar~b.nd's current operating expense budgetand It is confident this can be accomplishedthis year. As the plant grows the cost ofrepair and maintenance increases. Facultypagethirteen