Much of Company's Success Built
on Foundation Laid by Davidsen

“I'm humbled,” Davidsen told the crowd squinting in the sun in front of the Davidsen Building that morning. “I know better than anyone else that the credit for ACT’s success belongs to so many people: the high school counselors, and the admissions counselors and student services personnel at the colleges and universities we serve. . . . They have been a great help in molding ACT's services.

“Our success has also been deeply rooted in the measurement philosophy of founder E. F. Lindquist, a philosophy ACT has carried on ever since,” he said.

“But more than anything else, the credit for success goes to all the employees for their dedication to the ACT mission of helping students with their transition from high school to college and on to the world of work. The dedication and commitment of these people is by far ACT's major asset.”

ACT Chief Executive Officer Richard Ferguson used his turn at the podium to reflect on his predecessor's contributions in the 26 years he served ACT.

“He helped to create an environment in which people were free to think, innovate, and unite to serve the common good. Ideas flowed,” Ferguson said. “His years were exciting and formative ones for the organization. He quickly made his mark at ACT because he was a doer, not an observer.”

Charles Smith, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, served as an ACT trustee toward the end of Davidsen's tenure.

“One thing was very clear. For Oluf Davidsen, the presidency of ACT was far more than a professional assignment. It was his life. It was his love. It was his devotion. The name that this building officially takes today will stand forever as a reminder of all that ACT is today and will become in the future. It is due in considerable measure to the foundation that Oluf built,” Smith said.

Allen Hicks, a retired hospital president and former ACT trustee, recounted a time when ACT lost several big contracts. He credited the company's ability to recover from the loss of business to Davidsen's efforts.

“Oluf had the leadership, the ability to organize people in teams, and he had the skills and the knowledge to make this organization go,” Hicks said. “It was a pleasure to be part of that during the years I was associated with ACT.”

The Davidsen Building is the fourth ACT building dedicated to a former company leader. The Lindquist Building was named for co-founder E. F. Lindquist; the Tyler Building was named for former ACT board chairman Ralph Tyler; and the McCarrel Building was named for Ted McCarrel, co-founder and former chairman of the board of trustees.

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