Hagen, Charles William, 1918-1996

Indiana University alumnus, administrator, and professor of botany.

From the description of Charles W. Hagen, Jr. papers, 1946-1989 (bulk 1959-1965). (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 55086464

Charles William Hagen, Jr. was born March 21, 1918 in Spartansburg, S.C., and spent his childhood in East Orange, N.J. Upon completion of high school, Hagen enrolled at Cornell University in 1935, graduating in 1939. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in Botany from Indiana University in 1944.

While a graduate student at IU, Hagen married Mary Margaret Swan on Dec. 23, 1942. The couple had three boys: Charles William III, David Carl and Ronald Eric. He worked at Indiana University as a graduate assistant from 1939-1945 and then as an instructor in the Botany department for another year after graduation, before becoming an Assistant Professor of Botany in July 1947.

In 1951 Hagen was promoted to Associate Professor and by 1959 he had become a full professor. He continued his active career until retirement in 1983. After his retirement, Hagen became a Professor Emeritus and remained an involved member of the Indiana University community until his death on November 5, 1996, at age 78. His primary academic area of interest was the basic chemistry of plant development. In addition to studying and teaching in this field at IU, Hagen was also awarded Guggenheim and Fulbright grants to spend a year’s sabbatical researching the differentiation within plant species in Trinidad in 1957.

Throughout his professional career, Hagen took on many administrative responsibilities in addition to the task of teaching. He served on numerous committees, including the Faculty Board of Review, a series of committees planning the construction of the IUB Main Library in the early 1960’s, and a committee to plan a new Molecular Biology department and building. Hagen also acted as chairman of the IU Division of Biological Sciences in 1964-1965. Following this responsibility, he served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the 1965-1966 academic year, before settling into the role of associate dean for academic affairs and facilities planning from 1966-1972. During the 1960s, Hagen was also a leading member of the University Committee on Curricular Policies and Educational Programs.

Hagan’s interest in planning resources distribution grew during this period as he dealt with concerns in physical facilities, personnel, fiscal matters, and services. In 1972 Hagen became the dean for resource development. He further honed his aptitude for resources planning in 1975 when he accepted the position of director of the Long Range Planning Office for the Indiana University System. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1983. After retiring, Hagen still remained active as the chairman of the Arboretum Planning Committee, which combined his academic interest in botany with his skills as an administrator.

Hagen was also an active member of the research community in his field of botany. In 1943, as a graduate student during World War II, he worked in Fort Benning, Georgia, for the Office of Scientific Research and Development of Columbia University. The same year, Hagen also began working for the Manhattan Project in a Chicago metallurgical laboratory. He remained a member of this project until 1946, studying the effects of radiation on laboratory animals. Hagen continued his interest in research and development through the mid-1960s as a member of the Aerospace Research Applications Center.

In addition to working as a teacher, researcher, and administrator, Hagen also belonged to numerous professional organizations that kept him connected to the science community, including the Botanical Society of America, American Society of Plant Physiologists, American Institution of Biological Sciences, American Society of Naturalists, the American Association of University Professors, and two honorary academic societies – Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi.

As a further means of staying connected with his academic colleagues, Hagen also helped to organize the 1959 Institute for College Teachers summer program in botany. This residential program brought together professors from all over the country to give them “the benefit of personal contact with outstanding scholars; to enable them to become acquainted with some of the latest developments in important areas of plant science; and to afford them inspiration and stimulus which will help make them more effective and persuasive teachers.” (Excerpt of a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation for a ‘Summer Institute for College Teachers of Botany to be held June 22-July 31, 1959’).

Another facet to Hagen’s career was his involvement with high school science education. He was a member of the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Indiana University’s School Science Advisory Committee. As part of his leadership in this area, he hosted many high school students and teachers on the IU campus to foster their interest and ability in the field of science. He also worked with the School of Education to establish curricular requirements for specialized certification in the field of science education.

Though Hagen retired from teaching and his work at the Long Range Planning Office in 1983, he stayed on as chairman of the Arboretum Planning Committee through 1989. The development of the Arboretum next to the Main Library on the site of the old stadium was a pet project for Hagen. He had served on numerous committees relating to the planning and building of the Main Library on Tenth and Jordan prior to becoming involved with the development of the Arboretum in the early 1980s. In planning the library and the adjacent arboretum, Hagen could see the physical impact of his administrative career at Indiana University.

The planning of the Arboretum also involved a great deal of his botanical expertise, in order to identify which specimens the campus already possessed and which new specimens would thrive in Bloomington’s climate. Hagen collected articles, clippings and catalogs from and about arboretums around the world. He also corresponded extensively on the subject, including a series of letters to a botanist in China that established a seed exchange program between the Beijing Botanical Garden and Indiana University.

In 1965, the Hagen family purchased a home outside of Bloomington in the country near Yellowwood Lake. Here Dr. Hagen built his own greenhouse and cultivated a personal collection of plants, with special attention to Bromeliads. As he grew older after retirement, he moved to the Meadowood Retirement Community in Bloomington and lived there until his death in 1996.

From the guide to the Charles W. Hagen, Jr. papers, 1946-1989, bulk 1959-1965, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)