The Raven's Claw is an all-male senior honorary society at

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = ...

. It was founded in 1896, making it the first society unique to

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = ...

and one of the oldest in the country. Membership is limited to seven senior men who are selected by the seven previous members. The new members are chosen based on a variety of factors, which are speculated to include: campus leadership, a solid academic record, and athletic participation. While those are often the factors associated with membership in the Raven's Claw Society, no one knows for certain how or why members are selected. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

." The ceremony is traditionally conducted during commencement weekend. They are called "claws" or "white hats", denoting the white caps they wear around campus to signify unity and loyalty on certain days throughout the year.

History

The Raven's Claw Society is very loyal and has been a part of Dickinson's history for over 100 years. While the members of the group are known, the majority of their actions and traditions are concealed. The group prides itself in serving the

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = ...

and Carlisle, Pennsylvania communities through discreet service activities. The group's alumni organization is also responsible for founding one of the college's largest scholarship funds and the McAndrews Fund for athletics. Additionally, there are many buildings on campus named after Raven's Claw members in recognition of their generous service and dedication to the College and/or large financial contributions to the school.

Alumni

Business

*Merkel Landis, President of Carlisle Trust Company, responsible for establishing the first

Christmas club A Christmas club is a special-purpose savings account, first offered by various banks and credit unions in the United States beginning in early 20th century, including the Great Depression, under which bank customers deposit a set amount of money ...

savings fund. *Robert M. Waidner, President of Standard Fusee Corporation. *George V. Hager, Chairman and CEO of

Genesis HealthCare Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

Corporation. *John R. Stafford, CEO of

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International Inc. *Gary A. Poliner, CFO and Executive Vice President of

Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investm ...

. *Doug Pauls,

BankUnited BankUnited, Inc., with total consolidated assets of $37 billion at December 31, 2022, is a bank holding company with one wholly owned subsidiary, BankUnited, collectively, the Company. BankUnited, a national banking association headquartered in M ...

Chief Financial Officer. *Abram Bosler, President of Carlisle Deposit Bank and Carlisle Shoe Company; President of the Carlisle City Council; Co-founder of Carlisle Country Club *David S. Freysinger, Executive Vice President of

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, Inc. *Kyle Miller, President and CEO of Hudson Castle Group, Inc.

*Richard W. Schey, Partner, Management Committee, Regional Coordinator, New England Offices of Jackson Lewis LLP; Author of 'The New Jersey Wage and Hour Handbook.' *Daniel J. Sheridan, President and Chief Operating Officer, Extensis Group LLC.

Arts and entertainment

*Philip Capice, television producer (Raven's Claw Productions). * Leon Rose, President of the

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and former prominent sports agent to

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and others. *John Griesemer, Motion Picture and Television Actor, Author of

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, among others. *Henry Boye, Publisher of the

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Ma ...

. *Byron Quann, president and chief executive officer of

Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The center is the first complex of its kind in the United States to use science as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits science, the performing arts, and ...

. *Hugh Beistle Woodward, prominent 20th Century Conservationist.

Politics and public service

Edward J. Bonin Edward John Bonin (December 23, 1904 – December 20, 1990) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Life and career Bonin was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, of Polish descent.''Edward John Bonin'' ...

, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania *Samuel W. Witwer, politician credited as the "Father of the Illinois Constitution." *

S. Walter Stauffer Simon Walter Stauffer (August 13, 1888 – September 26, 1975) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania. Early life S. Walter Stauffer was born in Walkersville, Maryland, on August 13, 1888. He graduated from Dickinson College in ...

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from Pennsylvania and President of the National Lime Association. *

Robert E. Woodside, Jr. Robert Elmer Woodside, Jr. (June 4, 1904March 18, 1998) was an American politician and judge. He served four terms as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, one term as Attorney General, and one term on the Superior Court. Early ...

, Pennsylvania State Congressman,

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and Superior Court Judge. *John D. Hopper, Pennsylvania State Senator. *

Henri S. Rauschenbach Henri S. Rauschenbach has served as a Massachusetts legislator and a high-ranking official in state government. He is on the Board of the Northeast Midwest Institute and the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute. While an undergraduate at Di ...

, Massachusetts State Congressman and Senator. *Dallas Winslow, Delaware Public Service Commissioner and Delaware State Senator. *

Jim Gerlach James W. Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term. Early life, education and career ...

, U.S. Representative and 2010 Gubernatorial Candidate from Pennsylvania. *

Harry Nice Harry Whinna Nice (December 5, 1877 – February 25, 1941), was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party who served as the 50th Governor of Maryland from 1935 to 1939. Biography Harry Nice was born in Washington D.C. and rai ...

, member of the Baltimore City Council and the 50th

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. *Luke Bernstein, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. *

Richard Barclay Surrick Richard Barclay Surrick (born 1937) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born in Media, Pennsylvania Surrick received a Bachelor of Arts degre ...

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on the

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*Dennis J. Crawford, New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Trial Attorney. * James A. Kenney, III, Judge of the

Maryland Court of Special Appeals Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

*Jeffrey Truskey, Senior Legal Counsel for the

Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in Sa ...

. *

John E. Jones III John Edward Jones III (born June 13, 1955) is the 30th President at Dickinson College and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Early life and education Jones was bo ...

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who decided the Dover Intelligent Design Case. In 2014 he ruled that Pennsylvania's 1996 ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Athletics

W. J. Gobrecht Wilbur Jacob "Goby" Gobrecht (November 4, 1930June 5, 2023) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He died on June 5, 2023, at the age of 92. Playing career Gobrecht was an all-conference halfback for Dickinson College from 1 ...

, Author, Historian and Coach. *Dave Webster, Dickinson College Head Men's Lacrosse Coach. *

John Carroll (basketball) John Carroll (born November 8, 1955) is an American basketball coach, currently an assistant coach for the Rhode Island Rams men's basketball, University of Rhode Island men's basketball team. He served as the head coach for the Boston Celtics of t ...

, former Boston Celtics head coach. *Bernie Driscoll, Kutztown University Head Men's Basketball Coach. *

Jim Engles Jim Engles (born August 18, 1968) is an American college basketball coach and current coach of the Columbia Lions men's basketball team. He is the former head men's basketball coach at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He replaced Jim ...

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

Head Men's Basketball Coach. *Peter J. Sivess,

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pitcher and

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Cold Warrior. *

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, former NFL player and current NFL coach *Eric Amsler, Miami Heat, Scouting and Player Personnel

Education

*Boyd Lee Spahr, President of Dickinson College Board of Trustees. *Don W. Llewellyn, Dean of Graduate Legal Studies,

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associati ...

*John "Milt" Davidson, member emeritus of the college’s board of trustees; most senior living Raven's Claw member *Edward A. Polloway, Dean of Graduate Studies and Distinguished Professor of Education,

Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. T ...

. *Gilbert "Red" Malcolm, 23rd President of Dickinson College. *Stephen A. Saltzburg, Distinguished University Professor,

The George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

. * Benjamin James, educator, dean, coach, honorary president, and beloved Dickinsonian.Benjamin James - Honorary President
/ref> * Former/current members of the Dickinson College Board of Trustees, among others.

References

External links

Dickinson-Raven's Claw WebsiteRaven's Claw WebsiteArticle from ''The Dickinsonian''
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Dickinson Clubs and Organizations
Collegiate secret societies Student societies in the United States Dickinson College Student organizations established in 1896 1896 establishments in Pennsylvania