Howard Dillingham Succumbs at 93 |
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"Howard Dillingham could be called the builder of Ithaca College not only because he turned his predecessor Leonard Job's vision of a South Hill campus into a reality, but also because of his role in creating the comprehensive institution, combining the liberal arts with professional programs of study, that is the hallmark of Ithaca College today," said Herman E. Muller Jr. '51, chairman of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees. "Especially during the 1960s, which were a time of tremendous turbulence both at Ithaca and throughout the nation, Howard provided critical leadership that helped stabilize the College and ensure its continued development," said Muller, who was first elected to the board while Dillingham was president. Dillingham was born on October 11, 1904, on a farm in Elba, N.Y. After earning a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he spent six years as a merchandising manager for the Gorham Company in Providence, R.I. He began his long and distinguished career in education in 1933 as director of the Auburn Collegiate Center. After receiving his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Syracuse University, he served as dean of Rider College in Trenton, N.J.; headmaster of the Manlius School in Manlius, N.Y.; and headmaster of the Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Ga. He returned to upstate New York in 1951 as assistant to Ithaca College president Leonard Job, holding responsibilities for development and alumni affairs. Named a vice president in 1953, he dealt primarily with instruction, faculty, and student affairs. Upon Job's retirement, Dillingham was selected by the board of trustees as president of Ithaca College in February 1957. A 1965 Time magazine article, titled "How to Buy a Campus," described how Dillingham and the board built 23 new buildings for the College. "With no endowment, no dependable support from foundations or industry, and only 4,000 alumni (most of them unaffluent teachers)," the article stated, "Ithaca nevertheless managed to raise $30 million in five years-all but $250,000 of it through government loans and government-floated bonds." The article also took note of Dillingham's success in raising academic standards, attracting national notice to the College with an interdisciplinary general studies program. Ithaca College's performing arts building was dedicated as the Dillingham Center for the Performing Arts in 1973, and he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the College in 1979. He also held honorary degrees from Pratt Institute and Alfred University. Among his numerous civic activities, he was chairman of the board of trustees of the College Center of the Finger Lakes and president of the board of trustees of Tompkins County Hospital; served on the Ithaca school board and on the board of trustees of the Ithaca Festival, Tompkins County Trust Company, and Ithaca Savings and Loan Association; and was president of Ithaca Enterprises. He was also a life member of the Rotary Club. In 1969 he was elected to the National Council of the United States Peoples Fund for the United Nations. After retiring from the College he continued to work and travel, serving in 1971 with the International Executive Service Corps as a volunteer executive in Honduras. Dillingham was predeceased by wives Josephine Hammond (1962)
and Dorothy Hoyt (1997). He is survived by daughters Carol Rivet
and Betsy Kress, both of Old Forge, N.Y.; stepsons Tony Hoyt
and Alan Hoyt, both of Missoula, Mont.; brother Maurice and sister
Catherine Burroughs, both of San Antonio, Tex.; four grandchildren,
seven great- A joint memorial service |
Howard Dillingham,
the fourth president of Ithaca College, died on Saturday, April
25, in Missoula, Mont. He was 93. Dillingham served from 1957
to 1970 as president of Ithaca College, taking the institution
from a collection of buildings scattered throughout downtown
Ithaca to a modern campus on South Hill. He was named president
emeritus in 1970.