Rarig, Frank Miller, 1880-1963.

Frank M. Rarig was born in Kansas, started college at Kansas Wesleyan but finished his B.A. and M.A. at Northwestern University. His teaching career began at the University of Minnesota in 1908, in the fields of oral interpretation of literature, debate, and public speaking. He remained at Minnesota until he retired in 1948, but later taught as a visiting professor at the universities of Missouri, Utah, and California.

Frank M. Rarig was born in Minneapolis, Kansas in 1880. His parents were farm people with rigid religious and moral principles and are often referred to in Rarig's reminiscences about his youth and early training. He received his early education in rural Kansas schools, started college at Kansas Wesleyan, but finished his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Northwestern University in 1903 and 1905 respectively. He never completed his doctoral degree although he took a sabbatical from the University of Minnesota to work on his dissertation at Harvard in 1917/1918.

Rarig's teaching career began at the University of Minnesota in 1908 as an assistant professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Public Speaking. In 1917 the English Department absorbed rhetoric and public speaking and for the next ten years, Rarig sought to establish an independent speech department. In 1927, Rarig became the first chairman of the newly created Speech Department, which included rhetoric, drama and speech pathology.

During Rarig's tenure as department chairman, the study of both theatre and public speaking gained in stature. His goal was to produce plays that would command respect from the community and Twin Cities theater critics. Under his leadership, enrollment in speech classes grew from one class to as many as 18 sections of beginning speech.

Rarig was most interested in oral interpretation of literature although he coached debate and public speaking. Several of his students went on to outstanding public careers; they include Hubert H. Humphrey, Arthur (Red) Motley, Roy Wilkins, and E.W. Ziebarth. He was a colleague of Wayne Morse who left teaching to take a law degree and become Oregon's U.S. Senator and a noted liberal and Democrat.

Rarig was married in 1906 to Eta Galbreath. He credits her as having a great and positive influence on his thinking and career. They had five children, Frank Jr., Margaret Osterman, Robert, Frederick, and Barbara Grinder.

He retired in 1948 and was succeeded by E. W. Ziebarth as chairman of the speech department. In 1948 and 1949 Rarig taught speech during summer sessions at the University of Missouri. He was in demand as a visiting professor and taught courses at the Universities of Utah and California. Frank Rarig died in 1963 at the age of 83. The Rarig Center, named in honor of Frank M. Rarig, was dedicated on 1 June 1973 and today houses the Department of Theatre Arts, University Theatre and Radio K (formerly KUOM).