Guide to the Records of the President, Raymond G. Bressler

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 16 Guide to the Records of the President, Raymond G. Bressler University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and 15 Lippitt Road, Kingston, RI Tel: archives@etal.uri.edu Website: Published in 2011 University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and Archives

2 Page 2 of 16 Collection overview Title: Guide to the Records of the President, Raymond G. Bressler Date range: Creator: Extent: Abstract: Language of materials: Repository: Collection number: University of Rhode Island. Office of the President 7 box(es) (4.5 linear feet) Contains records relating to the activities of the Office of the President of Rhode Island State College from to 1940, although most of the material is concentrated in the last few years of the administration. English University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and US-RUn-rcg1.6 Scope & content The papers of President Bressler span the years -1940, although most are concentrated in the last few years of his administration. Unfortunately, little remains from the earlier years of his presidency. Arrangement Arrangement The collection is arranged in series as follows: RG#1.6 Series Series I. Subject Files Series II. Speeches

3 Page 3 of 16 Series III. Inaugural Biographical/Historical Note Raymond G. Bressler was born in 1887 on a farm in Halifax, Pa. At the age of thirteen, he left school to work for the railroad. He saved enough money to attend Shippensburg Normal School, where he graduated in He taught school for two years in rural Pennsylvania. Subsequently, he returned to school, earning a B.A. from Valparaiso University, a M.A. from Wofford College, a B.S. from Texas A. and M., and a M.S. from the University of Wisconsin. In, when he was hired for the presidency of Rhode Island State College, he had completed the residency and examination requirements for a Ph.D. at Teachers College, Columbia. He was never able to find the time to finish his dissertation. When approached about the presidency at Rhode Island State College (RISC) in 1930, Bressler was Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for the state of Pennsylvania, a position he had held since Previously, he had been an English professor at Texas A. and M., chairman of the Department of Rural Education Extension at the University of Texas, and Vice Dean of Agriculture at Pennsylvania State College. Bressler accepted the appointment to the presidency of RISC in December of He was president of the college from April to August 1940, when he was forced to resign by a newly-formed Board of Trustees. In 1941, Bressler was appointed R. I. Director of Agriculture and Conservation. Raymond Bressler was president of Rhode Island State College during the Depression Years. He was a very energetic and likeable man who viewed the College in the more concrete terms of buildings and enrollments. Although he had no real philosophical agenda to promote the College, he believed that as a Land Grant College, Rhode Island State College had an obligation to make higher education accessible to everyone. He reorganized the College to provide better structure and a clearer chain of command. The College under Bressler responded to the Depression by economizing and enrolling students to the maximum capacity. Bressler felt that it would be better for young people who could not find jobs to be in college rather than be idle. Although Bressler kept costs as low as possible, summer jobs became nonexistent and the College had to raise its fees to compensate for reduced funding by the State Assembly. Many students were unable to stay in school due to inadequate financial resources. The Public Works Administration provided funding for construction of several new buildings on campus during the 1930s. These included Eleanor Roosevelt Hall, a women's dormitory, Quinn Hall, home of the School of Home Economics, a new dairy barn, and Green Hall,

4 Page 4 of 16 which housed the Library and the administration offices. In addition, Lippitt Hall and Edwards Hall were remodeled. This federally-funded building project provided much needed classroom space and employment opportunity for local people. The Board of Regents, appointed in 1935, and the Board of Trustees, appointed after the dissolution of the Board of Trustees in 1939, were constant sources of trouble for Bressler. The Board of Regents, which governed both RISC and Rhode Island College of Education, chose to meet only four times per year and declined to include the Presidents of either institution in their meetings. This created a lack of communication between the President's Office and the Board and a backlog of unresolved business. To help eliminate this backlog, a subcommittee was formed to help govern RISC. Through inaction on the part of the Board, this committee came to run the College, with little input from Bressler. In 1939, the Board of Regents was abolished in answer to criticism that it was controlled by state politics. An executive committee was formed to study the question of governance of RISC and R. I. College of Education. It was chaired by Henry M. Wriston, President of Brown University, and came to be called the Wriston Committee. Bressler had begun to lobby in favor of changing the College to a university, largely to increase the institution's prestige. He saw the reorganization of the Board as a chance to initiate this change in the College's status. He was disappointed to learn that the Committee refused to recommend university status, citing the College's lack of non-vocational programs as the reason. Bressler felt the Wriston committee wanted Brown University to remain the only university in Rhode Island, and therefore thwarted his efforts to obtain university status for RISC. The rest of the Wriston Committee report recommended: 1. a seven member board of non-political appointees to govern both RISC and R. I. College of Education, 2. both Presidents should attend all meetings, and 3. a set income for both institutions separate from Assembly control. Before it was passed by the Assembly, some changes were made. The Director of Education, a political appointee, was named as an ex-officio member, replacing one of the other seven members. The Assembly did not approve the provision for a fixed income, which would have eliminated reliance on the Assembly for funds. The new Board and Bressler got off to a rough start. The lack of communication that had plagued Bressler's administration from the beginning became acute under the new Board. They did not trust Bressler's financial abilities, so a comptroller was appointed to care for finances. He would report not to Bressler but to the Board itself. Bressler, feeling that he had been stripped of his power to run the College, asked for a leave of absence from April 1 to August 31, 1940 to search for another position. His contract was due to terminate on

5 Page 5 of 16 August 31 and the Board let him know it would not be renewed. The Board granted the leave of absence and appointed John Barlow as Acting President. A public outcry followed the announcement of Bressler's "leave of absence." He was popular with students and the general public, who demanded clarification of his status. At this time, the Board asked Bressler for his formal resignation, implying financial mismanagement as the reason. This raised an even larger protest so the Governor was forced to appoint a special committee of educators from outside Rhode Island to investigate. They concluded that neither the Board nor Bressler was at fault and that both sides should attempt reconciliation. The Trustees ignored the Governor's committee report. They had already begun to look for Bressler's replacement. Bressler sued in court to have the Trustees prohibited from searching for a new president, claiming his rights had been violated. His case was dismissed on procedural grounds so he appealed to the State Supreme Court. Meanwhile, 1940 was an election year. The Democratic candidate, J. Howard McGrath, vowed that, if elected, he would restore Bressler to the presidency. But upon his election in 1940, McGrath discovered that legally he could not force the Board to rehire Bressler. The Trustees remained firm, in their resolve to find a replacement for Bressler. In fact, they already had a man in mind for the job. To compensate Bressler for his unfulfilled campaign promise, McGrath appointed Bressler Director of Agriculture and Conservation in Rhode Island. In July of 1941, the Supreme Court rejected Bressler's suit, destroying any remaining hopes of returning to the Presidency of RISC. In July of the same year, Carl R. Woodward was appointed as Bressler's replacement. Source: Herman F. Eschenbacher, The University of Rhode Island, New York, Appleton- Century-Crofts, CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, Raymond G. Bressler appointed President. President's house built Reorganization of College: Schools of Engineering, of Science and Business, and of Agriculture and Home Economics established Asa Sweet and Edward Sweet lands purchased.

6 Page 6 of Chapter of Alpha Zeta, national agricultural society, established. Narragansett Marine Laboratory founded. Eleanor Roosevelt Hall built. Animal Husbandry Building built. Quinn Hall built. Central heating plant installed Green Hall built Meade field built Board of Trustees of State Colleges created Bressler resigns. Access & use Access to the collection: Use of materials: Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit. Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication. Preferred citation: Guide to the Records of the President, Raymond G. Bressler, US-RUn-rcg1.6, University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and Contact information: University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and 15 Lippitt Road, Kingston, RI Tel: archives@etal.uri.edu Website:

7 Page 7 of 16 Administrative information About the collection Aquisition: Custodial history: Acquisitions InformationThe University Archives received the records prior to Custodial History The custodial history of the collection is unknown. Processing information: Processing Information The materials were processed in Finding aid prepared by David B. Puffer. Finding aid encoded by Le Yang on 2011 May 26 About the finding aid Author: Finding aid prepared by David B. Puffer. Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Le Yang 2011 May 26 Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) Search terms Subjects: Bressler, Raymond G., Univesity of Rhode Island. Office of the President. Rhode Island State College

8 Page 8 of 16 Inventory Series I, Subject Files, box(es)(2.25 linear feet) Scope and Content Note The Subject Files series includes several folders on the attempt to establish a pilot training program at RISC, material on ROTC at RISC, recommendations for students, and information on Bressler's appointment to the RISC presidency. The majority of the Subject Files are correspondence. Folders in the series are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically by date. Container Description Date Box 1, Folder 1 Air Youth of America 1941 Box 1, Folder 2 American College of Life Underwriters: George E. Awde 1939 Box 1, Folder 3 American Council on Education Box 1, Folder 4 American Forum of Democracy Box 1, Folder 4A Annual Report Box 1, Folder 5 Assembly Speakers Box 1, Folder 6 Association of American Universities Box 1, Folder 7 Athletic Council Box 1, Folder 8 Barnard Club Box 1, Folder 9 Baxter, Frank Box 1, Folder 10 Board of Trustees: Fire Escapes

9 Page 9 of 16 Box 1, Folder 10A Board of Regents Box 1, Folder 11 Box 1, Folder 12 Box 1, Folder 13 Box 1, Folder 14 Box 1, Folder Certification of Rhode Island State College Faculty Civil Aeronautics Authority: Civilian Pilot Training Civil Aeronautics Authority: Civilian Pilot Training Civil Aeronautics Authority: Civilian Pilot Training Civil Aeronautics Authority: Civilian Pilot Training Colleges and Universities: Connecticut, University of Colleges and Universities: Harvard University Colleges and Universities: Maine, University of Colleges and Universities: Massachusetts, University of Colleges and Universities: New Hampshire, University of Colleges and Universities: Pennsylvania State College Colleges and Universities: Providence College

10 Page 10 of Colleges and Universities: Rhode Island of Education Colleges and Universities: Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Davis, Henry E Faculty Positions, Appointment to Fellowship Petition Fraternities and Sororities: Fire Escapes undated Gifts to Rhode Island State College Grist Leland, Leland F.: Presidency of the University of Minnesota, interest in Librarian, Search for Market Research: Corporation of America May, Lewis N.: Possible Sale of Farm Music Department (Band)

11 Page 11 of New England College Conference on Intercollegiate Athletics Organ Fund, Edwards Hall Physician and Nurse, Appointment of Recommendations Recommendations Recommendations Recommendations Reserve Officers Training Corps: Adjutant General's office Reserve Officers Training Corps: Association of the United States Reserve Officers Training Corps: Curriculum Change from Military to Coast Artillery Reserve Officers Training Corps: Committee on Militarism in Education Reserve Officers Training Corps: Committee on Military Organization and Policy

12 Page 12 of Reserve Officers Training Corps: Conscientious Objection Resignation, Bressler's letter of Rhode Island Forestry Association and 4-H Clubs Rhode Island Guide Rhode Island State College Presidency Appointment Rhode Island State College Presidency Appointment: Congratulatory Letters Rhode Island State College Presidency Appointment: Congratulatory Letters Rhode Island State College Presidency Appointment: Congratulatory Letters Rhode Island State College Presidency appointment: Congratulatory Letters Rhode Island, State of: Director of Education Sikorsky, Igor Ivan Stuart, H.O.: Agricultural Extension Students, Academic Standing of

13 Page 13 of Time Magazine: Myron Weiss University Club, Establishment of United States Government: Department of Agriculture United States Government: Agriculture, Extension Service Whipple, L.A.: Director Public Education Service Works Progress Administration Murals in Rhode Island State College Buildings Box 4A, Folder 67 Box 4A, Folder 68 Box 4A, Folder 68A Box 4A, Folder 68A Box 4A, Folder 69 Box 4A, Folder 69A Writings: R.G. Bressler (includes diary) Miscellaneous Correspondence: A-D Miscellaneous Correspondence: H Miscellaneous Correspondence: M,P Miscellaneous Correspondence: R Miscellaneous Correspondence: S, U-Z Miscellaneous Reports

14 Page 14 of 16 Box 4A, Folder X-Ref For more miscellaneous correspondence see Woodward subject files Misc. A-Z undated Series II, Speeches, box(es)(.5 linear feet) Scope and Content Note The Speeches Series contains carbon copies of addresses made by Bressler. Some were aired on radio talk shows and many were presented before the Grange and other agricultural groups. Folders in the series are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically by date. Container Description Date Speeches Speeches 1932 Speeches 1933 Speeches 1934 Speeches 1935 Speeches 1936 Speeches 1937 Speeches 1938

15 Page 15 of Speeches 1939 Speeches 1940 Series III, Inaugural, 1 box(es)(.5 linear feet) Scope and Content Note The Inaugural Series contains material from Bressler's inauguration held on Oct. 24,. The folders include speeches, press releases and congratulatory letters. Folders in the series are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically by date. Container Description Date Box 6, Folder 80 Box 6, Folder 81 Box 6, Folder 82 Box 6, Folder 83 Box 6, Folder 84 Box 6, Folder 85 Agricultural Conference: Program and Speeches Ceremonies, Preparation for (press releases, guest lists, etc.) Ceremonies: Programs, Bills, Speeches Correspondence: Congratulations and Regrets Correspondence: Congratulations and Regrets Correspondence: Congratulations and Regrets Box 6, Folder 86 Speeches

16 Page 16 of 16 Box 6, Folder 87 Women's Conferences: Speeches