University of Virginia Library

Main Gains Fame
As Bird Winner

Following his speech to the Jefferson
Society Feb. 11, James Boren, founder of
the National Association of Professional
Bureaucrats, presented the "Order of the
Bird" to Ralph Main, director of housing.

Accepting for Mr. Main were Society
members Mike Lynn, Bob Rust, and Peter
Gillespie, who will attempt to present the
award to Mr. Main when he returns from
a current out-of-town trip.

'Bureaucratic Excess'

The Order of the Bird is an eight-inch
gilded pot belly with wings and a beak,
given to an official "who displays an
unusual degree of bureaucratic excess."

The Professional Bureaucrats,
dedicated to "the principles of dynamic
inactivism," game the award to Mr. Main
for, among other distinctions, "fighting
the bathtub fleet of the University."

Among others, the Bird has previously
been awarded to Vice-President Agnew
who declined the award in 1970. Jefferson
Society representatives commented that
they may face the same problem with Mr.
Main.

Experts in bureaucracy follow three
main rules, according to Mr. Boren:
"When in charge, ponder. When in
trouble, delegate. When in doubt,
mumble."

Photo By Richard Bryant

Ralph E. Main

Director Of Housing