Conant Held Endless Diversity of Interests

As president of Harvard, James Bryant Conant got around a good deal. He was not only the untitled monarch of American education, but also the chief social figure in a highly social community--Harvard. Some of his social obligations he enjoyed, others he took up grudgingly.

The president is not Harvard's official greater of visiting dignitaries by any means, but Conant enjoyed talking to old friends. He went to the Colgate football game this year with Sir Charles Kay Webster, former professor of History at Harvard and now at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study for a term.

Another function that Conant enjoyed was his annual appearance at each of the House dinners. He would give a short talk on something that he felt particularly qualified to talk on--and then answer questions about the College from the floor. Some questions were so small that he didn't know anything about them and couldn't answer and some were so large that he knew too much and couldn't answer. He parried the latter kind, usually with an anecdote from Harvard history, but he enjoyed the sessions because he liked to find out what the undergraduates were concerned about The president's office is on the second floor of Massachusetts Hall. Conant got to his office each morning a little before 9 a.m. to beging work on the mail and conferences that were the bajor part of his day's work. If he were in an expansive mood he would show the visitor a little plaque that had been given him. "Behold the Turtle! He Maketh Progress Only When H is Head is Sticking Out" was the motto on the plaque.