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100 Years of Commitment, Gainesville, FL UF Athenaeum Society100 Years of Commitment
THIRTY-FOUR YEAR old Andrew Sledd had a dream. A product of Harvard and Yale and the first President of the University of Florida, he would hire the best faculty he could find for the newly established UF. The year was 1904 and Sledd sought exemplary citizens, who loved their professions, to inspire students with knowledge, insight, and wisdom. During his four year term as UF President, Sledd assembled a faculty of educators, linguists, historians, chemists, zoologists, botanists, mathematicians, horticulturalists, and animal scientists – men with national and international academic achievements and degrees.
The Athanaeum Society, named after the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, had its first official meeting on November 7, 1905 - Sledd’s 35th birthday. 100 years later, The Athenaeum Society is the oldest faculty organization at the University of Florida and has continued without interruption through wars, depressions, and changing social mores.
A component of Andrew Sledd’s dream was a “social and literary” club tasking his faculty to make scholarly “talks” and interact with other faculty thus gaining an appreciation of each other. In today’s vernacular, we would call this “continuing education” and “team building”. Membership was extended to “town” members making it a “town and gown” club. The Society is not a “secret” society, but a small, close knit organization held to only 20 – 30 members. This small number allows members an opportunity to present talks on topics of their choice while allowing ample time for all present to fully participate by asking questions and commenting on the speaker’s subject.
Throughout the 100 years The Athenaeum Society has existed, names of Athenaeum members have been etched on buildings and streets of the UF Campus as well as the City of Gainesville. These names include: Buchholz (High School), Reitz (Union), Murphree (Hall), Tigert (Hall), Norman (Hall), Mowry (Road), Matherly (Hall), Weil (Hall), Constans (Theater), Van Fleet (Hall), and at least a dozen more. Some became UF presidents. Some were warriors, some ministers. Some were musicians, some were surgeons. Some would become statesmen, some inventors. Many wrote books, some wrote poetry. Some were Athenaeum members for over 50 years.
At the Nov. 7th, 2005, Centennial and historical program, Athenaeum presented Honorary Membership to UF President Bernie Maachen, shown above at upper-right, tan jacket. G