Mr. Hennessy was our second president in mid 1970 after he left Columbia University but his influence on Polychrome appears to be negligible. It was probably because Mr. Halpern remained in charge as the chairman of the board and had his iron grip on running of the company. Perhaps Mr. Halpern was seeking an industry recognition through association with well established institution like Columbia University. This New York Times obituary gives us the background of this fine gentleman who used to stop by us and talk about his hobby, photography.
Wesley Hennessy, 77, Ex-Dean at Columbia
Wesley J. Hennessy, a former dean of the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science, died on Oct. 8 at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach, Fla. He was 77 years old.
Mr. Hennessy, a resident of Deerfield Beach, Fla., died of heart failure, his family said.
Although not an engineer, he was an administrator at the school for 31 years and its dean from 1969 to 1975. He promoted the integration of engineering with liberal arts in a five-year course of study.
In 1957, he quit Theta Thau, a national engineers' fraternity, to protest its barring of blacks.
For two decades Mr. Hennessy advised South Korea on industry and education. After leaving Columbia, he was president of the Polychrome Corporation in Yonkers for two years and later was a director and acting chairman of the Hazeltine Corporation on Long Island.
He is survived by his wife, the former Virginia Campbell; four daughters, Holly Yellen of Nyack, N.Y., Heather Hoisington of Norwich, Vt., Karen Senko of Pompano Beach and Anne, of Deerfield Beach; three sons, Kevin, of Wellington, Fla., Mark, of Burbank, Calif., and David, of Pompano Beach; a brother, Harry C., of Southhold, L.I., and a sister, Margaret, of Massapequa, L.I.
