Remarks by 1959 class president, alumnus Robert O. Burford,
delivered to his classmates
on the occasion of their 50th reunion, at the Colorado College
Fifty Year Club Induction Service held in Shove Chapel October
9, 2009.
______________________________________________________________________
Thank you, President Celeste, for helping us to recall, so poignantly,
how it was back in our days as undergraduates here, and for the
inspiring summary of how far the college has come in the past
half-century!
I also want to thank our Reunion Planning Committee for giving
me this opportunity to respond on this momentous occasion on behalf
of our Class of 1959. At this time I’d like to recognize
our Co-Chairpersons, Dianne Hornbrook and Rob Roth. I’ll
ask them to stand, and now, while they remain standing, will all
the other committee members present also stand for a moment while
we express our deep appreciation for your hard work!
We also want to thank Kristie Damgaard, Krissy Caudle and all
the rest of the Staff of the Alumni Office for all the guidance
and help they have provided in our planning process and in the
task of trying to reach as many of our classmates as possible.
We couldn’t have gotten very far at all without your very
effective assistance!
Early on in the planning process, I mentioned to our committee
an idea for a reunion theme to be expressed on our class plaque
that has now been set in its place on the Alumni Plaza. Our theme
reflects on our experience of beginning our life-long connection
to Colorado College at about the same time that a very remarkable
man, Dr. “Louie” T. Benezet, had just begun his tenure
as the 8th President of our College. Rob and Dianne and the rest
of the committee built on that idea with some very effective “wordsmithing”
that produced our unique contribution to the array of class plaques
now displayed on the Plaza:
1959
A Benezet Legacy...
Inspired, and still going…
Notice the key words: Benezet, legacy, inspired, still going
….We are convinced that, to date, we have one of the very
best Class Stones out there! And certainly we will strive to live
up to its proclamation! In September 1955, the CC campus, then
as now, had an outstanding administration, staff, & faculty,
plus its many charms of stately buildings and rich history, along
with the significant advantages of its beautiful Rocky Mountain
setting, but we also have to acknowledge that when we first arrived
on campus, both the morale of our beloved college and its buildings
and grounds needed considerable sprucing up. But even as we first
set foot on the campus, the potential for positive change and
significant improvements had already been recently envisioned,
articulated, and initiated due to the prior arrival of the then
new college President, Louis T. Benezet (I understand that Dr.
Benezet accepted his appointment in late spring of 1955). Louis
T. Benezet was born January 29, 1915 in La Crosse, Wisconsin and
he died on January 23, 2002 in Mill Valley, California…
just a few days short of an 87-year life span! That long dash-line
between theses calendar dates represents a remarkable life of
dedication, accomplishments, and outstanding contributions to
higher education here at Colorado College as well as at three
other outstanding institutions of higher learning, all of which
have benefitted lastingly from his visionary leadership. We remember
him as a tall and graceful man, always splendidly attired; a man
with outstanding leadership abilities who consistently displayed
a kind and caring heart by means of his warm, friendly smile and
encouraging words. He certainly was all of that and much, much
more. He started out at CC with much attention to detail, striving
to get many small things corrected and brightened, but he also
had a grand vision and comprehensive plan for the college’s
future. To get a better measure of the impact that President Benezet
had on our college’s staff and faculty during his tenure,
go online and retrieve Dr. Hochman’s stirring tribute published
in memoriam in 2002.
I think a very strong case can be made that President Benezet’s
inspired leadership and hard work provided a critical turning
point in the life of Colorado College. The changes that he helped
to institute set a new course that has lead progressively, without
faltering, to the remarkable position that the college holds today,
as President Celeste has just emphasized: “One of the very
finest four-year Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences in our
Nation.”
We are so very fortunate to have arrived here when we did, which
gave us the unique opportunity to both participate in an early
phase of CC’s rejuvenation and also to witness the renewal
of our College’s goals and the regeneration of its commitment
to excellence.
This is our CC Class of 1959 Legacy: Dr. Benezet’s commitment
to life-long, continual striving for excellence as a means of
growth, as opposed to resting, in any sense of self satisfaction,
based on a gaining of some of life’s temporary, lesser rewards.
Our continuing inspiration comes from both the accomplishments
and ideals of President Benezet: Consider, for instance, one of
his admonitions to all of us: “To do all that we can, in
our families and among our friends and acquaintances, to strengthen
and to enhance the ideals of true democracy and self reliance
in our beloved nation.” To this very day, his ideals continue
to inspire us.
The Colorado College Presidents that have followed Dr. Benezet;
Lloyd Worner, Gresham Riley, Katherine Mohrman, and now, our 12th
in succession, Richard Celeste, have all dedicated themselves
to augment the remarkable, continuing trend toward excellence
and favorable national recognition that now characterizes our
dear Alma Mater. Constrains of time prevent the enumeration of
their many outstanding individual accomplishments. Let the present
status of our college testify to their dedication and to their
many laudable successes.
When we say that we have a legacy, a source of inspiration, and
that we are still going, we are expressing our strong desire to
continue, within our means, to be a part of the ongoing effort
aimed at placing Colorado College at the pinnacle of success as
an Elite College, consistently providing the very finest education
in the liberal arts and sciences in our Nation. We are very privileged
to have our own recognized role in this very worthwhile cause!
Thank you, all of the Colorado College Community, and also the
50 Year Club, for giving us these special 50-year Anniversary
honors, and for so graciously welcoming us back to our beautiful
Alma Mater here in the heart of America at the foot of the majestic
Rocky Mountains!
