Monday, June 3, 1963
COMMENCEMENT
Page 5
And Is Known By Thousands
Battlesville, Oklahoma
May 12, 1963
The I am pleased that you have given me, as President of the K. U. Alumni Association, an opportunity to write a brief comment on Fred Ellsworth and his work as Alumni Secretary for 39 years.
Alumni Fred has given almost his entire working life to the K. U. Alumni Association. He has seen it grow from a very meager membership to nearly 20,000 members. He has seen the influence of the Alumni Association literally explode in many ways, including:
1- Recognition of its alumni and their contributions in the communities in which they live.
The 3 - Alumni support to worthwhile campus activities, whether it be athletics, needed scholarships, loan funds, or other financial support for the good of the University.
University
The reason Fred has seen these things occurs because he has been instrumental in making them come to pass. His loyalty and advice, coupled with his humility and his wide acquaintance, have been the real cornerstones of these successful years. We shall all miss Fred and his guidance. He, as you would expect, has trained his successor, Dick Wintermote, well, and during his retirement will see the Alumni Association continue to grow both in members and in influence.
Kansas
We are particularly happy that Fred has agreed to serve the Alumni Association and the Endowment Association as part time consultant for the next several years - for we shall all benefit greatly from his wise counsel.
127 STRONG HALL Mr. Phil McKnight LAWRENCE, KANSAS EDITOR The Last Newspaper Telephone: V1 3-2700, Ext. 225 The Senior Class of 1963 The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
LAWRENCE
May 23,1963
OFFICE OF
THE CHANGELLOR
It is most appropriate that next fall the University's largest and newest student residence hall will bear the name of Fred Ellsworth. His dedication should be recognized; it is too rare to pass unnoticed. Perhaps those students who live in Ellsworth Hall will catch the disease that he tried to pass on to all students: love of K. U.
The opportunity to meet and visit with Fred Ellsworth has come to many men and women, and because of this they are better alumni, more interested in their university and more dedicated to its purposes. The opportunity to work with Fred Ellsworth has come to few. I have been singularly fortunate. I may be pre judiced: Fred Ellsworth is largely responsible for the fact that I have had my own opportunities to work for K. U.
Spencer Chemical Company
DWIGHT BUILDING KANSAS CITY S. MISSOURI
EUGENE W. MORGAN
FOR PRESIDENT AND TRUMPETER
To his dedication Fred Ellsworth has added the light of intellect, the skills of communication, and the warmth of spirit which has enabled all of these to work together smoothly toward a noble end. He has used the facilities available to do the job and stretched them farther than anyone thought they would go. and he has worked with whoever was willing to work with him - and some who thought they were not,
Fred Ellsworth is the most dedicated, enthusiastic, loyal, pleasant, resourceful, and sincere man that I have ever known. He would have been successful and outstanding in a great many fields of endeavor, and K. U. has been so fortunate that he gave us his business life. His record speaks for itself. It says, "The finest job of any Alumni Secretary for any school in our land."
One of the recognized qualities of a good executive is to have at retirement time a well trained successor ready to take over and thereby effect a smooth transition. Fred did an outstanding job in this area, and we are so pleased to have his assistant eleven years, Dick Wintermote, as our new Executive Secretary.
to be the important things in life to him, and he has not wavered from his decision to work as hard as he could in their behalf. More than this, he has been a "carrier" of the live bacteria of dedication, a sort of "Typhoid Mary" of commitment, and almost everyone with whom he has come into contact has contracted the disease.
I am sure that all of you, the Class of 1963, will consider Fred Ellsworth also a graduate and member of your class. This has been true of each class for the past thirty-eight years. During this period chancellors have come and gone, academic deans and faculty have come and gone, athletic directors and coaches have come and gone, buildings and facilities have come and gone; but there was never any question about who was still there and who was Mr. K. U.
disease. Fred Ellsworth's dedication to the University of Kansas and to higher education in general has been the major factor in his life, and through his efforts K.U. and higher education are better equipped to do their jobs than when he began his life's work. Nor has his dedication been blind; rather it has been informed and intelligent, able to see problems and flaws, and consecrated to the task of correcting and removing them.
To Fred Ellsworth and his wonderful wife, Lucille, who has been with him and for him all the way, our most sincere thanks and appreciation and our best wishes for many years of happy and healthful retirement.
I wish to express my appreciation to you and your associates of "The Last Gast" for your very considerate honor and recognition of Fred Ellsworth upon his retirement as Executive Secretary of the Kansas University Alumni Association.
Mr. Phil McKnight, Editor
The Last Gast
Lawrence, Kansas
May 16, 1963
MANSAS UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION President, 1963-64
FRED ELLSWORTH is an uncommon man with both heart and drive.
No one of us will What a loyal Jayhawker! What a great builder ever know of all his lifetime contributions!
purpose, Fred's rare abilities have brought together alumni talents from around the world, welded them year after changing year into a strong united team that has shown the ultimate of esprit de corps, and achievements.
excess of honest, sincere enthusiasm, throughout the years Fred's liveliness has sparked the contagious flames of every new class of graduates who in turn have put their hearts into worthwhile alumni projects.
stands today in high regard because of all the fine UNcommon men and women who dared to think and act and lead -- alumni who believed in bigger and better futures for a greater university. All of them have been encouraged and urged on by Fred -- a wonderful guy with both heart and drive, and dedication without equal.
PMcK:br
Emil McKnight, Sr. -- Class of '33
250 North Terrace Drive
Wichita, Kansas