I happened upon an unusual document this afternoon while I was unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to locate something else. It arrived on campus in 1988, in the provost’s office oddly enough. (That would have been Neal Lane.) It’s signed “Bill,” which I left off the scan in my hurry. I also apologize for the crooked pages. It was a rough afternoon. The typos are all Bill’s fault, though.

 It doesn’t take any special skill to identify the love struck author–it was William Grosvenor Pollard ’34, ’35, who went on to found the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, an organization that would be important in the history of our own Physics Department, and to be ordained an Episcopal priest. There’s a fascinating short biography of him at the Oak Ridge website. And here’s a picture of him receiving his medal from President Pitzer at the Rice semi-centennial:

(That’s Bill Akers holding the medal and the guy peeking out from behind Pitzer’s robe is unmistakably Ron Sass.)

Bonus: Here’s a very surprised John “Grungy” Gladu, MOB veteran of roughly 45 years, learning that 200 of his closest friends had raised enough money to name the new band hall in his honor. Without question this was the most joyous event I’ve ever been involved in during all my years at Rice. It was that rarest and most precious thing–a win for the good guys.

Extra Bonus: Meanwhile, they decided to tear down what’s left of Gate 3. A colleague sends this picture as I didn’t have the heart to go over there myself.