Nearly 70 years have passed since Benjamin Prince died, but his legacy still lives on in the leadership, commitment and generosity of the more than 400 alumni and friends who continue to follow in his name. In the last 15 years alone, members of the Benjamin Prince Society (BPS) have contributed more than $60 million in support of Wittenberg. They have also devoted their time, knowledge, energy and resources to preserving the traditions that define the institution they hold dear.
Now as the society celebrates its silver anniversary, Wittenberg Magazine takes a look back at Benjamin Prince and the society that has made a significant difference in the university’s life.
From the beginning, great things were probably expected of Benjamin Franklin Prince, a farmer’s son whose grandparents were named Adam and Eve — and he didn’t disappoint.
Only five years old when a Lutheran college was founded in Springfield, just a few miles from his family’s farm, “Little Bennie,” as he was affectionately called as a child, would eventually serve Wittenberg with a vitality and longevity unmatched by anyone at the time in a U.S. educational institution.
For 68 years, Prince, who graduated with honors from Wittenberg’s Preparatory Department in 1865, devoted his life to Wittenberg, both as a student and in a variety of offices ranging from professor to collector of tuition to vice president. He knew every graduate of the university during his time on campus, and he founded the college’s first alumni association. He also played in instrumental role in the creation of the college’s annual alumni fund, and he knew and worked with every president of the college except the first one, Ezra Keller.
Heralded by the Class of 1914 as a “diligent and untiring scholar, a thorough and painstaking teacher; a man beloved by all who knew him,” Prince made the university’s concerns his own concerns, and in so doing, he helped to ensure that Wittenberg entered the future with confidence and strength. The boy nicknamed Bennie was indeed Wittenberg’s “Grand Old Man” when he died in 1933 at the age of 93, but his legacy continues to inspire hundreds each year who now follow in his name as members of the Benjamin Prince Society (BPS).
Founded in 1977 in recognition of individuals who were willing to invest significantly in the university, the society aims to carry on the work to which Prince dedicated his life. Throughout its 25-year history, the now 440-member-strong society has devoted its time to preserving Wittenberg’s traditions, stimulating involvement in university affairs, establishing an impressive standard of financial support, and positioning the university for continued success.
“ The Benjamin Prince Society was founded on the notion that alumni ought not to take their college or university for granted because people sacrificed for them — people they never knew,” explained Jake Baas, former executive director of advancement.
Baas played a prominent role in the creation of BPS when he worked at Wittenberg from 1976 to 1984. As executive director, Baas thought that any leadership-level giving society should reflect Wittenberg’s heritage.
“ Bennie Prince had practically every job available at Wittenberg,” Baas said. “He resonated loyalty and service. He ived on campus in the house now named after him, and many alumni remembered giving him their tuition. His dedication and commitment reflected the Wittenberg tradition, and we thought this society should have his name,” he explained.
More than 150 charter individuals and couples heeded the call and quickly filled the BPS ranks, increasing their gifts from $100 to $1,000 to join — an impressive increase back in 1977. Their gifts helped to secure needed resources for a growing college in the years that followed. Hundreds of students also benefited from their generosity just as many of the BPS donors themselves benefited from those they never knew did during their own college days.
Bitner Browne ’35 definitely did. A BPS charter member, Browne, director emeritus of the board of directors, has actually given to Wittenberg for more than 60 years because he recognized the important role Wittenberg’s high academic standards and commitment to Christian life played in his success as a Springfield attorney. He also recognized the importance of the university in the context of the larger Springfield community.
“ Wittenberg is one of the most important things in the community both economically and culturally,” he said. “It’s absolutely vital to Springfield.”
Fellow BPS charter member Mary Lu Noonan ’35, whose late father, Harry S. Kissell 1895 knew Prince, agreed.
“ Giving to the university has always been a lifelong thing for me,” said Noonan, director emertius of the board of directors, Class of 1914 Award and Medal of Honor recipient. “It’s the college I want to support. Whatever we can do to be helpful we do because Wittenberg is so very important to the community.”
A retired Springfield horsebreeder, Noonan, like Browne, has consistently supported the university for more than 40 years. In fact, her BPS-level gifts brought the campus Kissell Auditorium in memory of her father.
“ I feel so close to the university, and I think so much of what the people there are doing, which is why I have a long history of involvement,” she said.
It’s that kind of involvement that Charles Weller ’70, another BPS charter member and member of the board of directors, said makes all the difference in Wittenberg’s success.
“ I’ve found that the more involved people are with Wittenberg, the more excited they get,” he said.
Weller, himself, has regularly supported Wittenberg at the BPS-level. He believes in the university’s mission, and he sees the society as a necessary component of that mission.
“ Giving at the BPS level is absolutely critical,” he said, noting that BPS-level gifts provide much needed financial aid for students, faculty salaries, academic facilities such as Hollenbeck Hall and the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center, all of which help to further teaching excellence and student success.
“ The Wittenberg experience has enabled thousands of alumni to enjoy success in their personal lives and careers,” added Bob ’58 and Barbara Hein VanKleunen ’62, current co-chairs of BPS. “Leadership giving at the BPS level is a way of expressing our gratitude to Wittenberg. It also provides our leaders of tomorrow with an opportunity to prepare for their future roles in society,” they said.
Together, the VanKleunens hope to make the society an even larger reflection of the values for which Benjamin Prince stood. A lifelong learner, Prince taught seven subjects during his professor days at Wittenberg, including history, Greek, botany, physiology and English literature. As a result, teaching has become a focal point of BPS Day, an annual event for BPS members and other volunteer leaders that the VanKleunens founded three years ago.
The all-day event, scheduled for April 5, provides a classroom experience where BPS members can learn from some of Wittenberg’s esteemed faculty. It also offers a time for members to discuss university affairs with key administrators, meet with students and see the changes taking place on campus just as Prince regularly did more than seven decades ago.
“ This day helps to engage our alumni and allows them to pass their light onto others,” Bob VanKleunen said. The VanKleunens are also in the process of forming a leadership committee to assist the university in future planning.
“ Gifts from the society can effect a real change on Wittenberg’s financial landscape and in the lives of students,” he said, “and effecting change is our greatest reward.”
That commitment to provide the support that keeps the university among the nation’s top 100 liberal arts colleges reflects Benjamin Prince and confirms what Jake Baas discovered way back in 1977:
“ Wittenberg alumni and friends want to make a difference in the life of the university that made such a difference in their lives,” he said “and when asked to do so, they will.”