Presidential Papers, Doc#760 To Jacob Loucks Devers, 30 June 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower

Document #760; June 30, 1958
To Jacob Loucks Devers
Series: EM, AWF, Name Series

The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part V: Forcing the President's Hand; June 1958 to October 1958
Chapter 11: "Take time by the forelock"

 

Dear Jake: I am sorry that there has been a delay in getting to you the promised list of names that might be considered as candidates for the Sylvanus Thayer Award next year.1 My brother, with whom I wanted to consult, was on a leisurely motor trip to Wisconsin and it took some time to contact him.2

The suggests we both like are:

1. Dr. James Conant (I personally think he would be a splendid choice).3

2. Dr. James Killian4

3. Dr. Franklin Murphy (Chancellor of the University of Kansas)5

4. Dr. Arthur Adams (President of the American Council on Education)6

5. Dr. Arthur Flemming (although by the time the award is made, he will not be actively in education; as you know I have sent his name to the Senate as Secretary of Health, Welfare and Education).7

I hope these will be helpful.8

With warm regard, Sincerely

1 Eisenhower had met with Devers (USMA 1909), a personal friend and technical assistant to the president of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation since 1951, at the White House on June 12. Devers chaired the committee to select an American who best exemplified the principles of the West Point motto: "Duty, Honor, Country." The Thayer Award was given annually by the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy.

2 Milton Eisenhower had arrived at his hotel in Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin, on June 25. Writing on June 23, Presidential Secretary Ann Whitman had asked him to send the names of some educators who were "pre-eminent in this field." Milton had replied on June 25, listing the five men the President would nominate (both in AWF/N).

3 Conant was former president of Harvard University and a former U.S. Ambassador to Germany. He currently was doing research on methods of stimulating talented students (see no. 747).

4 Killian, president of MIT, was Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (see no. 396).

5 On Murphy see no. 307.

6 Arthur Stanton Adams (USNA 1918; Sc.D. Colorado School of Mines 1927) was former president of the Association of Land Grant Colleges and State Universities and former president of the University of New Hampshire. He had served as president of the American Council on Education since 1951.

7 Arthur Sherwood Flemming had assumed the presidency of Ohio Wesleyan University while also serving on the Hoover Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government. Eisenhower had named him Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization in March 1953. He would become Secretary of HEW later this year (see no. 930; for background see Eisenhower Papers, vols. XII - XVII).

8 As it turned out, John Foster Dulles, then dying of cancer, would receive the award (New York Times, May 21, 1959).

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Jacob Loucks Devers, 30 June 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 760. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/760.cfm

 


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