Hanford Hails College Stability in Wartime

Describing the past College year and outlining the probable shape of things to come in the immediate future, Dean Hanford last night bade farewell to the undergraduates who are about to enter the armed forces.

"To the many students who are leaving College for the service at this time," Dean Hanford said, "I wish to express our appreciation for the determination and good sense which they have shown in meeting the uncertain conditions of the past year, and for the good state of morale that has been maintained.

"Our best wishes go with them as they go forth, with the full confidence of all of us that they are well prepared to take their part in the fight for human freedom and for the preservation of the kind of world in which colleges like Harvard may continue in the future."

War Has Changed College

This week marks the end of an academic year during which the impact of war has profoundly affected both the student body and the Faculty, he stated, pointing to the fact that the enrollment in September was 3400, and it is now down to about 1900, while over 30% of the Faculty is now engaged in war or government work.

Despite this impact, which has had its psychological as well as its numerical consequences, students have compiled far better academic records than had been anticipated, with the same percentages attaining Dean's List and degrees with honors as in the recent past.

During the summer term, the essential features of the House system will be retained in the three Houses reserved for civilans, he emphasized. Arrangements have been made for the transfer of the great bulk of the resident tutors from the Houses that are being turned over to the Army and Navy.

As for courses, Dean Hanford pointed out that the Faculty has already provided "a broad course offering in the humanities as well as in the sciences, thus making possible the continuity of instruction."

Over 600 men in the Navy College Training Program will be living in Eliot and Kirkland Houses, he stated, and although they will be under Navy discipline, they will continue for the most part with the programs of study which they have already begun. Eventually it is anticipated that there will be units here under the Army Specialized Training Program, housed in Winthrop and Leverett.