Seventy Years Of The Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Page 299

This amount was reduced by charging against it the cost of the campaign, about $20,000. There was also transferred to the John E. Sinclair Fund enough to complete the endowment of $80,000 for a chair of Mathematics. Of this amount, $22,500 was given and designated by J. Edward Lynds, '75.

It was inevitable that the payment of many pledges would be delayed beyond the date when they were promised. This delay caused the General Education Board to withhold fall payment of its gift. A partial payment of $182,500 was received in 1921, and interest on the balance was paid until the final settlement was made in 1923. One stumbling block in the way of this grant was the indebtedness on the purchase of Alumni Field, which had been reduced by 1921 to $30,000. It was necessary for the Institute to set aside this amount in a reserve fund, to be paid in case the Alumni Association failed to meet its obligation. The Endowment Fund of 1920 was to be still further reduced by cancellation and nonpayment of pledges. Many alumni, in the heat of the campaign, promised more than they could pay, and in the succeeding five-year period, over which the pledges extended, there were others who met financial reverses. Compared with payment records in contemporary college campaigns, Worcester realized on a high percentage of its pledges, and the participation of nearly ninety percent of its alumni was a substantial record.

The splendid results of the endowment campaign not only assured the continuance of the Institute beyond the date when the State grant should cease, but provided a portion of the additional income so much needed for salaries. Further to increase operating income, the Trustees increased tuition

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Last Modified: Fri Jul 30 11:15:25 EDT 1999