Delivered 23rd September, 1918I. Founder's anniversary -- II. Record of several gifts previously announced -- III. First awards of endowed scholarships -- IV. Charge to the freshman clas

Lovett, Edgar Odell, 1871-1957

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I1 RECORD OF SEVERAL GIFTS PREVlOUSLY ANNOUNCED LONGSIDE of the frames bearing several of the ad- A dresses of congratulation and good will received on the occasion of the formal opening and dedication of the Rice Institute, we are placing this autumn on the walls of the Faculty Chamber permanent records of three recent gifts to the new university. These records are replicas of parchments conveying, under the seal and rubric of Rice, and in terms of resolutions adopted by the Trustees of the Institute, the thanks of the new foundation for the Graham Baker Studentship, the Hohenthal Scholarship Fund, and the Sharp Lectureship in Civics and Philanthropy. For  the information and inspiration of the undergraduates the text of these parchment letters is reproduced in this matriculation address, though the reader will remark the use of phrases which have already appeared in print in paragraphs bearing the original announcements of these several gifts. “Accepting the generous gift which Captain an& Mrs.  James Addison Baker offer for the establishment and en- dowment of the Graham Baker Studentship in memory of their eldest son, the late Frank Graham Baker, the Trustees of the Rice Institute request the donors to receive as a slight token in appreciation of their benefaction this transcription from a minute which the Trustees have adopted: ‘In grateful acknowledgment of the donation of the first en- dowed scholarship in the history of the new university, the Trustees recognize with satisfaction that through the Gra- ham Baker Studentship the campus life of the new institu- tion is still further linked up with the very beginnings of the 162 Record of Gifts Previously Announced 163 Rice foundation. Before there was any Rice campus, the young man whose name this scholarship bears died while a student in school preparing for  one of the older universities. H i s  grandfather, James A. Baker, had been the founder’s legal adviser. His  father, James A. Baker, Jr., has been chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rice Institute from the date of its incorporation. T h e  young man was pre- paring for a career in the profession of his fathers. Reared under the traditions of his Kentucky and Texas forebears, in a Christian home whose humanitarian influences have radiated through all the channels of the social, intellectual, and spiritual life of the city and commonwealth, this young son of the South was consistently proving worthy of his rich heritage. In the full flush of health and youthful ambition he was suddenly stricken and cut down. T h e  great hope that went out with his passing is not to  remain unfulfilled. T h e  torch that dropped from his hand is to be caught up, relighted, carried in full flame, and passed on from genera- tion to generation in the hands of the Graham Baker Stu- dents of Rice. And the imagination takes fire of inspira- tion from that flaming line of lights, far, far  as eye can see, that shall keep living the memory of the lad long, long after the hands shall have become dust that now rear these struc- tures of stone and spirit. Throughout the same long stretch of years, the students who strive for the torch and their comrades who applaud them in the striving will not only hold the donors in grateful remembrance, but also per- petuate in college tradition the affectionate regard in which Captain and Mrs.  Baker have always been held by all mem- bers of the college.’ ” “On gratefully accepting the gracious and generous gift of the Hohenthal Scholarship Fund in memory of the mother, father, and brother of the late Lionel Hohenthal, of Hous- 164 Matriculation Address, Autumn of 1918 ton, which has been offered by Mr. William M. Rice, Jr., in execution of a clause in the last will and testament of Mr. Hohenthal directing his administrator to  devote the residue of his estate to the founding of an appropriate philanthropic memorial to  the testator’s mother, father, and brother, the Trustees of the Rice Institute adopted a minute in recogni- tion of this beneficent action and requested that the following transcription from their resolution be sent to  Mr. Rice as a slight token in appreciation of this further service to the new university : ‘In signalizing this unique gift the Trustees are touched alike by the circumstances of its bestowal and the character of the man whose name it bears. They recall that a few years before his death Mr. Hohenthal had re- tired from a long and successful business career in Houston. Of gentle manners and quiet pursuits, he was greatly beloved of his intimates, and highly esteemed by all who knew him. I t  was characteristic of the modesty and temper of his life that to  a life-long friend he should have accorded the privi- lege of devising a fitting memorial to  his nearest of kin. And it would seem to be singularly in keeping with the inter- ests of his well ordered life that to an institution of learning should be entrusted the means whereby he sought to pre- serve in living memory, not himself, but his mother, father, and brother. Nor will his example of filial devotion fail of emulation by the Rice undergraduates, some of whom di- rectly, and all indirectly, are to  share in the benefits of Mr. Hohenthal’s benefaction to their alma mater. And in their local traditions of song and story the students and scholars will also pay tribute to the donor’s fine tribute to  friendship, and celebrate another instance of his friend’s friendly in- terest in the college.’ ” 1 S e e  the Preliminary Announcements of the Rice Institute for the aca- demic year beginning September nineteenth, nineteen hundred and seven- teen, where appears the  first announcement of Mr. Rice’s personal gift of Record of Gifts Previously Announced 165 “Accepting the generous offer of Mrs.  Estelle Boughton Sharp to  provide for the establishment and endowment of  the Sharp Lectureship in Civics and Philanthropy and to  secure under this lectureship four annual scholarships, the Trustees of the Rice Institute request the donor to  receive as a slight token in appreciation of her benefaction this transcription from a minute which the Trustees have adopted : ‘In grateful acknowledgment of the donation of the first endowed lectureship in the history of the new university, and of the associated scholarships under this lectureship, the Trustees recognize with satisfaction the foundation of a new department,for the training of southern social workers for  social welfare work in the South, and thereupon the expansion of the university’s educational pro- the Rice Trophy Cabinet, which has been acknowledged by the Trustees in a resolution engrossed on parchment as follows: “On gratefully accepting the handsome gift which Mr. William Marsh Rice, Jr., has made the university in providing the Rice Trophy Cabinet for the preservation of cups, medals, prizes, and other emblems of student contests, intramural and intercollegiate, the Trustees of the Rice Institute request the donor to receive as a alight token in appreciation of his beneficent action this transcription from a minute which the Trustees have adopted: ‘In expressing their warm thanks to their colleague for the beautiful and useful trophy cabinet which he has presented to the college, the Trustees desire also to congratulate him on the very successful form in which his idea has been executed by the combined efforts of architect and artisan. Designed in harmony with the Esthetic lines of the Institute’s development, of ample dimensions, in the most sea- soned of durable materials, without bolt or binding joint, its carvings still further protected by overlays of gold leaf and enamel, this worthy example of American artistic and mechanic skill may reasonably be expected to sur- vive the wear of time for many a thousand years. Until it shall have found its appropriate and permanent place in the exhibition room of the future gymnasium and stadium of the university, the Trustees have directed that it be temporarily housed in the first of the Institute’s buildings and within easy access to all visitors to the campus. Of its many details even the most casual observer will note with interest the illuminated shields of Rice, Texas, and the United States, the carved effigies of the founder of the Institute in the dress of his mature years, that of the donor of the cabinet in the garb of his own favorite outdoor sport, the ancient and honorable game of golf, and the representations in costume of participants in the major sports of football, rowing, baseball, tennis, basketball, and track. And all observers will re- mark in the gift itself, not only the donor’s fine tribute to the doctrine of a sound body for the sound mind, but also the passing on, to the undergradu- ates of Rice, of American traditions in college sport which were at their beginnings in the period of his own undergraduate days as .a distinguished member of a famous class, the Princeton class of seventy-nine,’” 166 Matriculation Address, Autumn of 1918 gramme along lines of usefulness for which immediate pro- vision could not otherwise have been made. There is thus to be continued and developed at  the Rice Institute, work undertaken by the Texas School of Civics and Philanthropy, which was organized and incorporated a few years ago un- der Mrs.  Sharp’s leadership. T h e  good will of the earlier organization goes with her splendid gift to the Institute, and with the inauguration of the new work a t  Rice the Texas School of Civics and Philanthropy dissolves. Throughout its career the latter institution enjoyed cordial cooperation on the part  of members of the faculty of the Rice Institute: Mr .  Caldwell was chairman of the board of trustees, Mr. Ward ,  a trustee, and Mr. Axson, a member of the advisory committee, while Messrs. Edwards, Miller, Tsanoff, and Watkin also gave courses of lectures: accord- ingly, the merging of the Texas School appears as a very natural stage in the development of its work, while a t  the same time Mrs.  Sharp’s further initiative in civics and phi- lanthropy serves to  enrich, and on the side of the social sciences, the scientific programme of this university of liberal and technical learning. To all friends of the university it comes as a most heartening and auspicious omen that this noble gentlewoman, universally known for her philanthropic work on which she is daily bent in quietness, confidence, and strength, should have singled out this new institution as a permanent ally in that humanitarian endeavor. And to all lovers of humanity it is a most cheering prospect to see, that, much earlier than could have been anticipated, the Rice Institute, through Mrs.  Sharp’s beneficent action, is about to realize its early hope of participating in the advancement of humanitarian movements in city, o r  state, o r  nation, or world.’ ” T h e  Trustees of the Institute take great pleasure in an- Record of Gifts Previously Announced 167 nouncing that the following four gentlemen of Houston, namely, Messrs. Joseph S. Cullinan, Will C. Hogg, Abe M. Levy, and John T. Scott, have accepted Mrs.  Sharp’s invi- tation to provide for the current academic year the four scholarships in civics and philanthropy which she has under- taken to  secure annually under the Sharp Lectureship in Civics and Philanthropy. 

Matriculation address

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