Long before its fiftieth birthday in 1962 Reed College had become a bright star in the academic heavens, casting as strong a light as any college of its size in the land. For years its name figured in discussions of top colleges, and some placed it first in undergraduate accomplishment. The intent of the college emerged from the terms of an estate, the wishes and interpretations of local trustees, the guiding advice of a national foundation, and the rigorous specifications of the first president. At Reed the first president knew well that faculty recruitment was critical, and the later history of the institution proved it more critical than he could imagine. In the administration of the college the distinctive idea that was to persist and with profound effects was a high degree of faculty participation. Reed had for eight years declined, under Dr. Foster, to enter into intercollegiate athletics.