While I was rifling through a folder of 1970s era materials this image instantly seized my attention:
I think it’s the leadership of a group called the Rice Fund Council. Left to right are Malcolm Lovett, Sr.(’21), Harry Chavanne (’33), Norman Hackerman, someone I don’t know and Ben Love, then president of Texas Commerce Bank. Gauging by Norman’s hair I put it no later than mid-70s and the presence of Ben Love make me wonder if this had something to do with the fundraising for the Jesse H. Jones School of Administration, which Love helped spearhead.
What really appeals to me, though, are the overhanging branches of an oak tree that once grew out in the quad.
One traditional photography trick is to use something in the foreground to “frame” the image. These oak leaves are a classic example of that.
You can see those oak trees flanking the sallyport inside the quad in the aerial photograph in this post http://ricehistorycorner.com/2013/04/30/aerials-from-the-campus-photographer-collection-c-1970/
Maybe they were removed in the great quadrangle remodel of 1981.
I’ve never really sorted this out. I’ll see what I can find.
IIRC, the great Quad remodel happened the spring following George Rupp’s official arrival on July 1, 1985. It was part of the return of Commencement to the Quad from the East Lawn.
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