On this date, one hundred years ago

One hundred years ago, on June 21st, 1924, the Goodrich Memorial at the Delta Psi fraternity was dedicated. You might be more familiar with the building's current use as the Alumni House (61 Summit St.).

The Memorial plaque itself commemorates UVM Professor John Ellsworth Goodrich (1831 - 1915). Born on a Hinsdale, Mass. farm, Professor Goodrich was a beloved figure and a UVM alumnus (1853).

A fierce advocate of linguistics and literature, Professor Goodrich taught Latin, Rhetoric, English Literature and Greek at the University starting in 1853. He helped found the Delta Psi Fraternity chapter in 1850.

In addition to his scholarly life at the University, Professor Goodrich is described as a "writer, clergyman, public speaker, and citizen." He contributed to the "History of Chittenden County" (1883) and several articles on Vermont and UVM history for a wealth of publications, including State General Catalogues (1870, 1890, 1900). 

Professor Goodrich's former student Darwin P. Kingsley penned a dedication in a 1908 Ariel.

In it, Kingsley notes that Goodrich enlisted in the Union Army in 1864 and was ordained a Congregational clergyman in 1864. In 1897, Goodrich received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University. He even wrote the address delivered on the One Hundredth Commencement of the University in 1904.

He was an ardent proponent of college training and what it ought to include. In one paper, "The History of the University of Vermont" (The Cynic, Vol. xix), he wrote:

"But the new studies can never expel the old. The pure mathematics will never be superseded as a gymnastic for the reasoning faculty, nor will the classic languages and literatures lose their pre-eminence as a humanizing discipline, fining the wits and refining the feelings. There may perhaps be less Greek, or no Greek at all in the course and more German or Italian, but no groping with the microscope and no grinding of facts can ever make good the absence of linguistic and literary culture."

Today, we toast Professor Goodrich and the Delta Psi brotherhood which he led for so many years. 

If you are in the Burlington area, please stop by the UVM Alumni House and see the Goodrich Memorial in-person and tour the Alumni House. The Alumni House (61 Summit St.) is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

If you would like to schedule a tour, please contact Sarah Lenes at 802-656-3414. (And, while you're there, don't miss the book published by Delta Psi brothers on the Memorial and Professor Goodrich!)