Education: Who's Whence

Farsighted young men about to enter college and with an eye to getting along in the world might have scanned with interest last week some statistics in the current School & Society on the distribution of university alumni in Who's Who, 1928-29. To begin with they would have found that more than 50% of the 28,805 biographies included in Who's Who state that the individuals received bachelor degrees from some U. S. college. Harvard would have looked attractive to young men on the make, for it leads the list numerically with 1,374 graduates; Yale and Princeton follow in order with 937 and 480. These colleges graduated 17% of all college men listed in the book.

If the young men are unable or do not choose to attend one of these colleges, theoretically they should at least attend a New England institution, for the seats of learning in this area have produced 32% of all Who's.* But the hypothetical best bet is Hampden-Sydney which, although it ranks only seventy-first (52 graduates) in the number of alumni present in Who's Who, rates No. 1 in proportion of alumni-listed—7.45%. Amherst has 296 of its sons, or 7.40% in Who's Who; Harvard, with 6.60%, comes third.

Of co-educational schools, Michigan has the greatest number (470), Brown the largest percentage (3.74%). Of exclusively muliebral institutions, Vassar ranks first in numbers (66) and in percentage (.87%).

New President

During its 164 years Rutgers University, on the south bank of the Raritan River at New Brunswick, N. J., has had ten presidents, one acting president. Last week Philip Milledoler Brett, class of 1892, Manhattan attorney, was made Rutgers' second executive pro tempore, succeeding John Martin Thomas, president since 1925, who resigned to become vice president of National Life Insurance Co. of Montpelier, Vt.

The choice of Acting President Brett was a traditional one. His great-great-grandfather was the third president of Rutgers (1825-40), his grandfather was in the class of 1834, his father was graduated from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1865, his son will come under his official supervision as a member of the class of 1932.

One result of Acting President Brett's election was to settle the origin of "I'd die for dear old Rutgers." He was captain of the football team which played Princeton in 1892, the game in which the speech—long attributed to Captain Brett and various other members of the team —originated. Last week the Rutgers Alumni Association announced that credit for the brave words should be given to the late Frank Kingsley Grant, Class of 1895, who broke his leg while leading a flying wedge on the first kickoff. Prostrate upon the field, Footballer Grant philosophically remarked that his training days were over, reached for a cigaret, told his teammates: "I'd die to win this game." Four years ago Acting President Brett wrote to the Alumni Monthly: "I did not break my leg, but finished the game at quarterback; did not smoke at that time and never spoke the immortal words."