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Francis Himes |
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of Dickinson College |
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Francis Himes |
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of Dickinson College |
Charles Francis Himes was, for nearly thirty years,
an integral part of Dickinson College. First as a student and then
as a professor, the majority of his adult life was spent in service to
this institution. That Himes resigned before his usefulness to the
College was over begs the question as to why he decided to leave.
On June 8, 1896 Himes submitted his resignation to the Board of Trustees
at their annual meeting, then held in the Tome Scientific Building in whose
erection he played so important a role, and the next day the Board of Trustees
officially accepted his resignation.
Contextual Basis for Himes' Resignation
By no means was Himes' resignation a spur of the moment decision. There is evidence, in personal letters as well as drafts of letters of resignation, that suggest his move had been brewing for some time. The end of the nineteenth century was not only an interesting time for the country, but for the college as well. Himes began his tenure at Dickinson College in 1865 under the Presidency of Herman M. Johnson, but beginning with the Presidency of Robert L. Dashiell in 1868 and continuing through to the end of the Presidency of James D. McCauley, Himes became the preeminent figure on campus. In 1868, with Samuel Hillman serving for a year as Acting President following the resignation of President Herman M. Johnson, Himes took over the position of Treasurer of the Board of Trustees.1 Soon after, he succeeded John Stayman as Secretary of the Faculty and the Board of Trustees. These three positions, all of great influence on campus, aided Himes in his attempts to promote a more "modern" series of reforms in the curriculum, which were evidenced by Dashiell's adding of electives. By 1870, "Himes held the academic reputation of the College in his hands."2
Herman M. Johnson |
Robert L. Dashiell |
Also during this time, Himes began a professional,
and personal, friendship with Henry Martyn Harman, Professor of Greek and
Hebrew. As professors, both Himes and Harman evoked strong responses
in their students. However, those responses were as different as
the were strong. Where Himes is said to have engendered the respect
of his students through his enthusiasm for the sciences and his plans for
the college, Harman won the love of those he taught, with his intelligence,
gentleness, and, of all things, gullibility.3
The McCauley Presidency did not prove to be the
calmest of times for the College. For this, naturally, Himes must
play a certain role and share, therefore, in some of the blame. Even
the letterhead of the college, which read, "J.A. McCauley, D.D., President,
" and "C.F. Himes, Ph.D., Sec'y. And Treas'r.," attests to the base of
power at the school. With a teaching staff of six (including McCauley),
an attempt was made to "reconstruct" the faculty. This entailed dismissing
three of the Professors–Samuel D. Hillman, John K. Stayman, and William
Trickett. The secrecy with which the plans to replace these three
members of the faculty were carried out, and then the actual scandal that
followed their dismissal cast a shadow on the professionalism of President
McCauley, the Board of Trustees, and the newly appointed faculty.
A brief summary of what transpired is in order. During the Trustee
meeting of early June,1874, the Board formed a committee on "lack of harmony
in the faculty" that declared all faculty seats vacant. Those six
seats were to be "reconstructed" by McCauley and two other members of his
committee. Himes and Harman were returned to their teaching positions
and the other vacancies were filled, excluding the three professors who,
as was planned, now found themselves without jobs. Though, preliminarily,
all seemed well, by July the College was under fire from the Shippensburg
News and the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury. Trickett soon filed
a lawsuit, which he won, and the other excused faculty members followed
with suits of their own. Though the controversy was eventually
settled, the actions of McCauley and his supporters tarnished the name
of the College for a good many years, as is evidenced, in part, by a decline
in enrollment in following years as well as the problem that "it would
not...be easy to attract teachers of professional eminence who would in
turn attract students and generous benefactors."4
As McCauley's tenure as President grew so grew
opposition to his tenure. Himes, once one of his staunch supporters,
began to act as a rival.5 And,
following McCauley's resignation in 1888, Himes, as Senior Professor, became
Acting President of the College for the term of one year. However,
the close of that year would mark the beginnings of Himes' own resignation,
as George E. Reed assumed the Presidency of the College.
James D. McCauley |
Henry M. Harman |
George E. Reed |
President Reed would enjoy one of the longest
tenures as President of Dickinson College. This was, in no small
part, due to his excellent managerial skills. Reed was a consummate
administrator, and, for the most part, left the business of educating to
the educators. His time here corresponds with the emergence of the
university system in colleges previously similar in size and stature Dickinson.
For example, the modern versions of universities such as Princeton and
Johns Hopkins and the soon to be established Stanford emerged during the
end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries.
Reed had a similar fate envisioned for Dickinson. His plan ran something
like this: establish Dickinson College as the liberal arts adjunct to a
larger University that would include Dickinson Law School and eventually
a separate business school. That this plan never came to pass determined
the current status of Dickinson College as a small, liberal arts school;
had his idea of "Tome University" come to pass, Dickinson would be another
type of institution altogether. In addition to these far-reaching
ideas, Reed's administration inherited a substantial amount of debt, which
did little to further his ambitious plans for the College, nor to attract
wealthy contributors to the school's endowment.6
One thing we do recognize during Reed's administration
is a steady rise in the number of faculty as well as the number of students.
At the time of Reed's inauguration, the faculty numbered ten; by the time
he retired from the College, the faculty had more than doubled to a healthy
21. On matters of enrollment, previous to Reed, the College was lucky
to have eighty or ninety students at any one time. By the time Reed
left Dickinson, enrollment was up to near 350 students, with incoming classes
averaging near 130 students.7
Changes to the curriculum were another target
of Reed during his administration. Prior to, and continuing into
Reed's term of office, the quality of production on the part of the student
body was said to be in decline. As Charles C. Sellers writes, "as
class size increased, orations were cut down in time to five minutes or
less, and then the alternative of a senior essay was allowed the same brevity....Seniors
had a free month for this final effort, but their productions have all
the thinness of a ten-minute oration."8
Having added considerably to the size of the faculty, students could now
be offered more electives without sacrificing the distribution requirements
and, in 1897, letter grades replaced professorial comment (Dickinsonian,
Jan. 30, 1897).9 Suffice it
to say, not all of these changes went over well with the original faculty,
and many of the changes occurring on campus would add to the reasons why
Himes decided to resign.
The final major change that is worth mentioning
is the reorganization of the faculty that Reed instituted in 1893.
Previously, the Senior Professor acted as President pro tempore whenever
the actual President was away from the College. Reed, as he planned
to be away from Carlisle quite often during his tenure, sought to reorganize
the faculty in a manner so that those in charge of the College in his absence
would be more loyal to himself. The reorganized faculty was set up
under four class deans with Reed himself as chairman. This, necessarily,
took a significant role away from Himes, who was the Sr. Professor.
Other, more minor, antagonisms existed between Himes and the Reed administration,
but it appears that this separation from his former place of highest importance
on campus and the growing distance between students and faculty (Himes
resignation draft, 1894) were the main reasons for his leaving. Himes
official resignation to the Board of Trustees was presented only some three
years following the reorganization of the faculty.10
Having joined the College under President Johnson
shortly following the Civil War, Himes career began at a college that had
managed to rebuild its enrollment to "about three-quarters of its former
figure" with only four professors on the faculty. This, when contrasted
with the conditions of the College around the time he resigned paints a
stark picture. Under President Reed and following through to the
Presidency of Henry Morgan, the enrollment continued to grow steadily,
as did the College debt. Course offerings, liberalized during McCauley's
tenure as President continued to expand, with the addition of a Department
in Biology, separate departments of Chemistry and Physics, and a Department
of History and Political Science to the curricular structure.11
These changes represented a shift away from the classical curriculum and
toward a more "useful" education. To this effect, specific programs
of study were incorporated during Himes' tenure and various Presidents
of the College attempted to add business and law schools to the institution's
repertoire of pre-professional programs. The sheer size of the campus
also increased over the thirty years of Himes' professional relationship
with the College. Buildings such as Denny Hall, South College, Tome
(for which Himes had a particularly important role in its erection), Bosler
Hall, and the Metzger Institute were all either incorporated from existing
buildings, renovated, or created during his time here.12
Student organizations saw a surge in number, as well. With only a
handful of major societies on campus--the Belles Lettres Literary Society,
the Union Philosophical Society, the Neo-Cosmean Society and little else--and
an even smaller number of fraternities, by the time of his resignation
the societies on campus numbered over nine and fraternities numbered near
fifteen.13 During this time
both the student newspaper and yearbook came into being, the Dickinsonian
and Microcosm respectively. Faculty size, over the entire span of
his career, also increased; Himes had already seen it more than double
under the Presidencies of Dashiell and McCauley and it would manage do
so again under the Presidency of Reed. Finally, though different
Presidents had different conceptions of what Dickinson's purpose should
be, there is a general trend in the expansion of courses and curricular
options, whether their purpose was to the more practical or more scholarly
end or not.
Himes' Resignation from the Faculty
The progression of Himes' drafts of resignation,
from the earliest in 1892 to the final version of 1896, shows also the
development of his growing discontent with the changing face of Dickinson
College. For the most part serving as a review of his many accomplishments
here at Dickinson, the three versions of his resignation cite his many
years of service to the College as well as the high regard in which he
is held by, and that he holds for, the Board, faculty, and students.
The only mentioning of problems with the College in the first draft of
his resignation is confined to a note on the changing curriculum: "The
courses of study added in the last five years in which work in this Department
was made obligatory has imposed up on it much additional work - whilst
the facilities of instruction have lagged far behind the demand."14
Other reasons for leaving, according to this draft, include the realization
that the requirements of the job would be better filled by a less experienced
person to whom the expenditure of time and the money received would be
commensurate to the time and energy expected in execution of his responsibilities.
The draft of resignation from 1894 is nearly
twice as large as the resignation drafted in 1892. This expanded
version includes more references to his discontent here at Dickinson in
many regards, while still managing to include all the sentimental reasons
why he has remained at the College for so long. As Himes writes,
"these circumstances, with many others have conspired to render me content
with a position that had many disadvantages, and even involved sacrifices,
and indifference to other positions offering greater inducements to professional
growth."15
Also of importance in this second draft of his
letter of resignation is the allusion Himes makes to the changes in organization
of the faculty that has previously been mentioned:
The rules and regulations of the college adopted when it came under the new regime seemed formed to encourage individuality in the Professor and individual responsibility by granting him widest latitude in the management of his department and consequently largest opportunity for personal contact and influence for good upon the student. The changes in the past few years in the rules and regulations which have seemed good to a majority of the faculty...may be necessary and expedient and advisable...yet as they substitute machinery for personality, and abridge my influence for good with the student, and hamper me in the legitimate work of instructor...they in so far lessen my interest in the position and lend their influence to circumstances that would draw me from the college in spite of its many points of attachment.16In light of the changes made by Reed, reasons for leaving were, rather quickly, amended to include the changing role of the professors on campus, and, with not too much inference, we can see his disappointment in those changes. His first draft, though it had its share of reasons for leaving, concentrated more on the happy memories Himes would take with him and the continued relationship he hoped to maintain with the faculty, students, and College in general. In this, the second draft, Himes tone is less positive. He devotes more space to his reasons for leaving and cites specific changes, not general conditions, that are contributing to his resignation. In the preceding quote, Himes uses words like "abridge" and "hamper," words that, in the case of the first, indicate a conscious shift from a previous state of affairs under which his influence was not "abridged" and, in the case of the second, indicate the sense of annoyance that he now associates with the execution of his day-to-day responsibilities.
I wish to distinctly state here that I find no fault with the majority of the faculty for the adoption of these rules and regulations. The board committed to them that authority, generally exercised in detail by itself, and they have only acted in accordance with their best judgement.17In none too subtle terms, Himes has stated that though he does not find fault with the majority of the faculty, he does, in fact, find fault with a minority of them. This implied detail must have been quite obvious to those who were on the receiving end of Himes' animosity. Also, his statement about the faculty having "acted in accordance with their best judgement" has a somewhat sarcastic tone to it; Himes seems to be saying that though they acted in their best judgment, he doesn't much value what they consider to be their best. Perhaps this small excerpt best illustrates Himes ability as a rhetorician. Possible to read it on a number of levels, Himes has crafted a statement that to one person may be seen as praise for their loyalty and hard work, and to another may be seen as a sardonic comment on the execution of their duties.
To the Brd of Trustees of Dickinson College,It is not to say that Prof. Himes had a sudden change of heart, merely that he thought better than to include, in official form, documents that would paint his experience here at Dickinson in a bad light. If nothing else, Himes decision to provide the Board of Trustees with this version of his letter of resignation is very diplomatic, if not lacking in the ample substantiation that he had developed over the last four years. Also, Himes had recently suffered the loss of his father, William D. Himes, who died in January; there is the possibility that this loss somewhat tempered his harshness, though, admittedly, there is little information to substantiate the claim. Sellers maintains that Himes expected a backlash from the alumni and students alike that would encourage him to stay on or to in some way censure the administration for their misuse of such a fine Professor. And, though some reaction did come in due course, nothing substantial was done to change Himes' mind nor to unseat Reed.19 One piece of evidence as to the reaction of the alumni comes from correspondence from the Wilmington Alumni Association to the Board of Trustees. Their letter encourages the Board to keep Himes as Professor Emeritus, while in tone is accepting of his resignation; it makes no comments as to the mishandling of affairs on the part of President Reed nor his administration.
Gentlemen: -I hereby present my resignation of the Professorship of Physics in Dickinson College, to take effect at the close of the present Academic Year.
With assurances of an abiding interest in the institution with which I have been so pleasantly connected for thirty one years, and with the sincerest wished for its highest success.
I remain yrs very respectfully,
[signed] Charles F. Himes
The announced purpose of Dr. Chas. F. Himes, so long in charge of the major part of the scientific work of the college, and in later years the head of the Department of Physics, to present at this meeting of the Board his resignation of the Chair, he for more than a quarter of a century has filled with signal success, and the fact that Dr. Henry M. Harman has already placed in the hands of your President his resignation...will make vacant places difficult to fill, and for which most thoughtful provision should be made on the part of the Board.Other response to the resignation of Himes were somewhat difficult to find. One letter23, received by Himes from William Righter Fisher on July 7, 1896, attested to the singular experience that was Prof. Himes in the classroom and laboratory:
As we shall recommend the appointment of a special committee to devise some suitable recognition of the eminent services rendered by these gentlemen during their years of long and splendid service, I desire here simply to express my personal feeling of appreciation for what these men have done in the building up of the fame and power of the College, and to spray for each of them, in the coming years, continuance of the love and esteem in which they have been held by the hundreds of men graduate from Dickinson to whom they are, and ever will be, dear.22
Your classroom and laboratory is the one single spot to which I look back upon my student days at Dickinson with pleasure and gratification. It was worth to me a thousand fold more than anything else connected with my college life there and without it, I should look upon the years spent as a student in the institution with unmitigated dissatisfaction.Also, in recognition of his many years of service, the class of 1896 presented a portrait of Himes to the College.24
Charles F. Himes; post-retirement |
So, why did Charles F. Himes resign from Dickinson
College? Obviously it was not because of an inability to perform
at the level required of a professor, the scholarly work that he did following
the resignation will attest to that; Himes wasn't, at the time of his retirement,
an old, tired man. His continued pursuits in the field of photography
also attest to his being on the cutting-edge of scientific inquiry and
experiment. Himes also seems to have maintained his desire to teach,
despite his having severed professional ties with the College. His
lectures and speeches, which he continued to give for over a decade following
his retirement from Dickinson, are a prime example of his continued desire
to pass on his knowledge. That he resigned so as to concentrate his
attention on matters that previously proved too time consuming to accomplish
is a definite possiblity. The product of his work, while eclectic,
is not necessarily representative of the type of work he did while maintaining
a professorship, though with his interest in the history of the College
(e.g. his publication of A Sketch of Dickinson College in 1879) and history
in general (e.g. his notes on the signers of the Declaration of Independence
of the United States of America) surely existed before his retirement.
Therefore, the reasons for Himes' resignation
are most likely tied into the changes taking place at Dickinson College,
changes that were occurring over many such campuses. Dickinson was
at a turning point in an institutional career that had lasted since colonial
times, and many of the changes that were to occur would coincide with Himes'
thirty some year tenure. With many colleges of a similar size and
stature turning to the university system, the Presidents of Dickinson and
its Board of Trustees were faced with important problems and decisions.
The expansion of the faculty and student body, shuffling of the curriculum,
and the reorganization of the faculty all left an impression upon Himes
that, in many ways, was none too favorable. In addition to this were
many other changes, including new buildings such as Tome, Bosler Hall,
Metzger Hall, Denny I, and an influx of new student organizations, fraternities
in particular. This does not mean that Himes was opposed to the expansion
of student organizations on campus, merely that the changes that went on
are indicative of the overwhelming change in appearance of Dickinson College
that can be seen from the beginning of his employment here through its
end. In fact, Himes played a significant role in the inception of
a view of these new organizations, notably the Scientific Society of Dickinson
College and the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Himes had more specific
complaints than cosmetic changes or additions to student organizations
for which he wanted redress. That his resignation met with little
opposition, perhaps, demonstrates that the moves on campus were greatly
accepted as, if not well-liked, then necessary. The new organization
scheme under class deans is the precursor to the administrative composition
of the College today. Change in the curriculum that pushed Dickinson
from the more classical areas of study to a "useful" education was accomplished
during Himes' tenure (which is not something he seemed to be opposed to).
All of these changes, some of which Himes welcomed while other he renounced,
made it so the face of Dickinson College was quite different in 1896 than
when he first came here as a student in the 1840s and as a professor in
1865.
Tome Science Building |
Bosler Hall (pre-renovation) |
First Draft of Resignation25
Substitute written June 4th 1894
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa
June 6th, 1892.
Gentlemen of the Brd. of Trustees of Dickinson College,
I desire to present in formal way to this Board a matter, the importance of wh I do not think I overstate when I say that it shd be of considerable interest to you.
For 27 years I have filled a professor's chair in this institution called to it without solicitation on my part upon the expressed and earnest wish of the whole faculty of the college as well as its Brd of Trustees.
For 13 years I was treasurer of this corporation.
For 25 years I have kept the records of this body and performed all the duties incident to the office of Secretary.
For many years I was Secretary of the Faculty as well as of this Board.
In each of these offices the term served by me has been longer than
any of my predecessors. As I look back over the years, in all these
relations I have nothing to recall but uniform courtesy and highest consideration
on the part of this board, often taken manifesting itself
in formal expression, whilst the intimate personal friendships of many
men in this connection for whom I have had the highest esteem has been
a source of highest and most lasting pleasure.
As a professor my reports to this Board of work done have been heard
with apparent interest and approval, and
recommendations and plans for increased efficiency of the Dptmt
have been carefully considered and in many cases adopted. To this
cordial appreciation of my work and cooperation with me in plans [proposed]
much of the success of my work in Dickinson College is due. As I
look around the Board today I miss many of the faces into
which I looked for encouragement, for counsel, for active cooperation.
From the students I have only to remember uniformly respectful and considerate treatment at all times, and often under most peculiar and trying circumstances, that have [rendered] my relations with them both before and after graduation of the pleasantest character.
From the patrons and friends of the College I have recd so many marks of [approbation] and encouragement that I can not but feel that they have been satisfied and that my connection with the College has been a success in all that was expected of me.
All these, with many other circumstances have conspired to [render me] content with this position with all its sacrifices and disadvantages and indifferent to others offering greater inducement - in many respects.
I have today no regret for anything that I may have lost by an almost sentimental attachment to this position.
But I have reached a point at wh my duty to myself asserts itself and at wh I feel constrained to dissolve a connection wh has so long and so pleasantly subsisted just at the period in life of highest efficiency. The courses of study added in the last few years in wh work in this Dpt was made obligatory has imposed upon it much additional work - whilst the facilities for instruction have lagged far behind the demands. With my best effort I do not feel that I cd accomplish the work satisfactorily to myself perhaps not [creditably].
In any event time devoted to purely literary pursuits and studies
wh have all through these years constituted rela recreation
from ^strictly professional studies wd have to be given up and
for want of facilities without any hope of corresponding professional gain.
I do not feel that I can accomplish any more for the College under the
circumstances than men with less experience - to whom the salary paid will
be a full return for time and labor given. My services are not at
the command of any other institution, but I [propose] to use my time in
literary and scientific work. I shall always feel a deep interest
in the success of the dear old College, my alma mater and theatre of successful
professional life of more than a quarter of a century. I hereby resign
my position of Professor of Physics in Dickinson College to take effect
with the close of the present year.
With great respect,
Charles F. Himes
Second Draft of Resignation26
Dickinson College
Dpt. of Physics,
June 4th, 1894.
To the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College,
Gentlemen: -
I desire to present in a formal way a matter which I think I may say is of considerable importance and shd receive yr immediate consideration.
For 29 years I have occupied a professors[sic] chair in this institution–called to it without solicitation on my part, with other plans in [view], and accepted in great degree only because of an earnest and expressed wish on the part of the whole faculty before and after the action of this Board.
For 27 years I have kept the records of this Board and [allcr]
discharged the duties incident to the [] of Secretary.
For 13 years I was Treasurer of the Corporation.
For many years I was Secretary of the Faculty, and for a number of years past as Senior Professor in service I have had many responsibilities, sometimes of the gravest character thrust upon me.
In each of these positions, as Profr, Sect of Brd, Treas, my
time of service has been longer than that of any other profe
individual in the history of the College, and as I run back over the years,
in all these varied relations to this Brd. and the College,
I have nothing to recall but uniform courtesey[sic] and highest consideration
on part of this Brd frequently manifested in formal expression
of approval, and of confidence, whilst the intimate personal
friendships, with many men for whom I have had the highest measure of esteem,
that have sprung from them have been a source of highest pleasure.
[My reports as professor], as called for by yr statutes, in regard
to the Dptmt of the College of wh I had charge, and wh have been as a rule
prepared with great care, have been heard with apparent interest and plans
and recommendations for increased efficiency have been respectfully considered
and frequently adopted. To that the encouragement
of this cordial appreciation of my efforts on the part of this Brd
and its cooperation in plans proposed much of the success of my work in
the College and development of this Dptmt has been due.
As I look over the Board to day I miss many faces in to wh I looked for encouragement and counsel and active cooperation in the []
From the students I have only to remember uniformly considerate and respectful at all times, and sometimes under most peculiar and trying circumstances. As a consequence my relations with them before and after graduation have been of the pleasantest character, and have constituted the attraction of the position.
From the friends and patrons of the College in every side I have recd so many marks of appreciation and encouragement that I can not but feel that they have been satisfied, and that my connection with the college has been a success in all that was expected of me.
All these circumstances, with many other have conspired to render me content with a position that had many disadvantages, and even involved sacrifices, and indifferent to other positions offering greater inducements for professional growth.
I have to day no regret for anything that may have been lost by an attachment to this position wh had much of sentiment in it.
But I have reached a point at wh after consideration, must be allowed to control me, and I must dissolve the connection that has so long and so pleasantly subsisted.
I have long felt that the demands upon my time were largely
different in of a kind and magnitu
different and greater in magnitude than in justice to
my own interests I cd concede.
The purely routine work and dead-work of the department has absorbed
so entirely my time that I have been restricted in those purely
literary pursuits and studies wh constituted my recreation from purely
professional studies and work, whilst facilities for scientific work and
investigation and even of instruction have been too limited to allow me
to feel that the position cd be retained with credit.
With my best efforts, even with the experience of years in the work, I do not feel that under all the circumstances I cd do now more for the College than a man with less experience, whose time is less valuable to him, and to whom the salary paid wd be an ample return.
I have seen the plant of this Dpmt grow from a feeble beginning to the present splendid one, wh needs only the dynamic element to make it a potent factor in the development of the College.
An additional circumstance, though not controlling, at least consciously,
my action, unconsciously has ^ doubtless lessened
operated with causes influencing my withdrawal by lessening
my interest in the work, wh alone has made the position endurable.
As a teacher my methods have been personal – the machinery of instruction
and discipline have been subordinated to personal influence. The
charm of the position has been in this intense personality of the relation
and the personal responsibility felt for the conduct of the department
to the patrons of the College and this board. It has been my boast
that as a Professor in a small college I knew intimately more students
than a Professor in a larger college cd know. The rules and regulations
of the college adopted when it came under the new regime seemed formed
to encourage individuality in the Professor and individual responsibility
by granting him widest latitude in the management of his department and
consequently largest opportunity for personal contact and influence for
good upon the student. The changes in the past few years in the rules
and regulations wh have seemed good to a majority of the faculty, under
the authorization of the board, may be necessary and expedient and advisable,
and whilst they wd not in themselves constitute a sufficient
reason for my withdrawal from the institution, yet as they substitute machinery
for personality, and abridge my influence for good with the student, and
hamper me in the legitimate work of instruction, and and
lead to unnecessary waste of time and they in so far lessen
my interest in the position and lend their influence to circumstances that
wd draw me from the college, in spite of its many points of attachment.
I wish to distinctly state here that I find no fault with the majority of the faculty for the adoption of these rules and regulations. The board committed to them that authority, generally exercised in detail by itself, and they have only acted in accordance with their best judgement.
For all the members of the Faculty I may say I entertain the kindliest feelings personally but in regard to one I can not refrain from saying at this time an additional word. That man of great heart and intellect, whose profound scholarship is the pride of his church, whose intimate friendship and confidence it has been my greatest privilege to enjoy through the long years of association in this College. Although our official relations will cease our friendship I feel will run on unbroken all the same.
As to the College I shall always feel a deep interest in ^whatever constitutes the highest success of the dear old institution wh has been my alma mater, and the place of what I can not but regard as a successful professional life of more than a quarter of a century.
As a citizen of the ancient borough of Carlisle, interested in whatever affects its prosperity – I shall have an additional local interest in the College.
Begging yr pardon for this lengthy preliminary statement, only to be justified by the long period of service,
I hereby tender my resignation as Professor of Physics in Dickinson College to take effect at the close of the present academic year.
With great respect,
Charles F. Himes
Profr. of Physics
Circular Letter Sent to Trustee
Members27
|
Courtesy of Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections |
*All Photographs are provided courtesty of the Archives and Special Collections of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania*
1. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 257, 260.
2. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 260.
3. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 261.
4. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 261.
5. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 284.
6. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 291.
7. Morgan, James H. Dickinson College; the history of one hundred and fifty years, 1783-1933. Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College, 1933. p. 363.
8. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 304.
9. The Dickinsonian, January 30, 1897. Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
10. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 300.
11.
Dickinson College Catalogues, 1865, 1896. Archives and Special Collections,
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History.
Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. Appendix B.
12. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. Appendix D.
13. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. Appendix C.
14. Himes Resignation, 1892 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
15. Himes Resignation, 1894 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
16. Himes Resignation, 1894 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
17. Himes Resignation, 1894 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
18. Charles Francis Himes, Letter to Dickinson College, Board of Trustees, June 8, 1896. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
19. Sellers, Charles Coleman. Dickinson College, A History. Middleton, CT: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1973. p. 306.
20. Central Christian Advocate, July 15, 1897. Found in Henry M. Harman Drop File, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
21. Trustee Minutes, June 1896. Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
22. Trustee Minutes, June 1896. Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
23. William Righter Fisher, Letter to Charles F. Himes, July 7, 1896. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
24. The Dickinsonian, October 1896. Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
25. Himes Resignation, 1892 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
26. Himes Resignation, 1894 Draft. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
27.
Charles Francis Himes, Letter to Dickinson College, Members of the Board
of Trustees, March 14, 1896. Found in the Charles Francis Himes Family
Special Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College,
Carlisle, Pennsylvania.