University of Oregon. Office of the President

Arnold Bennett Hall (1881-1936) was a professor of political science and law, college president, and an author.

Hall was president of the University of Oregon during 1926-1932. He is noted for his promise of increased emphasis on scholarship and research. Though funding for some of his projects passed the legislature, many proposals were vetoed or drastically reduced by the governor. President Hall was also known for attempting to gain endowments that would help ensure the quality of the university. In the midst of his attention to fundraising, he also led opposition to a proposal, finally defeated, that would have combined the UO and Oregon State College into one campus in Corvallis. The Arnold Bennett Hall Society, which recognizes donors who have made gifts to the university through planned giving, remains his legacy, along with the increased private giving he encouraged.

From 1932 until his death, he was director of the Institute for Government Research, Brookings Institute, Washington, D.C. He was the author of several books on political science and international law, and was a member of numerous professional and honorary societies.

Sources: Wisconsin Historical Society, http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1367&term_type_id=1&term_type_text=people&letter=H

Presidential History, http://president.uoregon.edu/history

From the guide to the Office of the President: Arnold Bennett Hall records, 1926-1932, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Mathematician Charles Hiram Chapman served as President of the University of Oregon, 1893-1899, and taught mathematical physics at the university.

Chapman was involved in every level of decision-making at the university, from making substantial changes in the curriculum, adding biology; civil, mining, and electrical engineering; business classes; physical training; and controversial electives. Though not always popular with townspeople, he traveled the state, gaining support from citizens for higher education. He was known to be respected widely, but budget considerations often forced him to cut faculty salaries, making him less than popular on that front. Though this pressure finally brought about his resignation, his accomplishments, including a larger student body, a better-qualified faculty, an expanded library, and participation in intercollegiate athletics, moved the University of Oregon to the cusp of the twentieth century.

Source: "Presidential History" http://president.uoregon.edu/history

From the guide to the Office of the President: Charles Hiram Chapman records, 1893-1899, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Charles Ellicott Johnson (1920-1969), accountant and university administrator, was born on September 7, 1920 in Worland, Wyoming. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1942 with a degree in accounting and business administration. After serving in World War II, he returned to the University of Minnesota to earn his MBA in 1948 and his PhD in 1952. Johnson came to the University of Oregon in 1952 as an Associate Professor in Business Administration and became a full Professor in 1957. In 1959, he was appointed as Head of the Department of Accounting and Business Statistics, and then became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts in 1963. Johnson was appointed as Acting President of the University of Oregon in 1968.

Johnson’s presidency was defined by several controversies, including the grape boycott in the dormitories to protest farming and labor conditions, the athletes who were disciplined for refusing to cut their hair, and the obscenities printed in the Emerald. During his tenure, Navy recruiters were harassed by activists, a shanty town was set up on the campus lawn, and there were numerous protests over the Vietnam War, civil rights, and freedoms. Charles E. Johnson was killed in an automobile accident on June 17, 1969. Ken Metzler’s book, Confrontation: The Destruction of a College President, published in 1973, investigated the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s death, particularly Johnson’s psychological state at the time of the accident.

After the death of Charles E. Johnson, N. Ray Hawk filled the position of Acting President for the remainder of the year. Hawk was born on April 14, 1918 in Butte Falls, Oregon. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he received his master’s degree in history from the University of Oregon in 1947 and his doctorate in education in 1949. Ray Hawk was appointed Dean of Men at the University of Oregon in 1950 and served until 1964. His subsequent positions included: Assistant to the University President, Dean of Administration, Acting President in 1969, and Vice President for Administration and Finance from 1971 until his retirement in 1983. N. Ray Hawk passed away on May 27, 2006.

From the guide to the Office of the President: Charles Ellicott Johnson / N. Ray Hawk records, 1968-1969, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Victor Pierpoint Morris served as interim president of the University of Oregon from 1953-1954 after University of Oregon's 8th president, Harry K. Newburn, resigned to become President of the Education and Television Center at the University of Montana.

Owen Meredith Wilson (1909-1998) became the ninth President of the University of Oregon (1954-1960). Wilson was known for his effort to make the the school a major university. To help achieve his goals for the university he worked hard to create a graduate school of high standing and to attract faculty members, deans, and department heads who had proven ability or high potential as scholars. Throughout his presidency he combined his noted ability to communicate with faculty members in their specialties with a solid belief that a university must offer a fertile ground for free exchange of all ideas. His efforts laid the groundwork for the the University of Oregon's election in 1969 into the prestigious Association of American Universities and moved it well on its way to becoming a distinguished university.

Source: "Presidential History" http://president.uoregon.edu/history

From the guide to the Office of the President: Victor Pierpont Morris (acting) and O. Meredith Wilson records, 1959-1961, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

The University of Oregon Administrative Manual used to be the main governing document for the administration of the University. Currently, University of Oregon Policy Statements replace the University of Oregon Administrative Manual and all previous University policies and directives.

From the guide to the Administrative Manual records, 1960-1971, 1956-1971, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Paul Olum (1918-2001) was a mathematician and university administrator. He was President of the University of Oregon from 1980-1989. The State Board of Higher Education forced his retirement as President in 1989 against the wishes of university faculty and other stakeholders. Olum was known for advocating for reform with public education. Olum was Provost at the University of Oregon from 1976-1980.

Tremendous growth took place during his tenure, including the establishment of twenty new research institutes and academic programs, and construction that included a $34.6 million science complex and a $27 million remodeling of the library.

Olum attended Harvard University and Princeton University. Olum previously held faculty and administrative positions at Cornell University and the University of Texas at Austin. He worked as a scientist on the Manhattan Project.

Olum was active in political and social causes including advocating for the abolition of the House Committee on Unamerican Activities, was an early critic of the Vietnam War, nuclear disarmament, the end of apartheid, and for increased state funding for higher education.

From the guide to the Office of the President: Paul Olum records, 1978-1991, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Professor William C. Jones served as professor of political science and Dean of Administration at University of Oregon from 1951 until his retirement in 1969. Jones also served as Interim President of University of Oregon from 1960-1961 after President Wilson resigned.

Arthur S. Flemming (1905-1996) served as the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Eisenhower administration. He became 10th president of the U of O and professor of political science on February 24, 1961, While president, university enrollment, faculty size, and curriculum were expanded, with the addition of the School of Librarianship and the School of Community Service and Public Affairs. Controversy filled his tenure, as he defended the right of U.S. Communist Party secretary Gus Hall to speak on campus and also maintained the right of the literary magazine Northwest Review to publish so-called "dirty poems." In the end, the gap between the more conservative voice of Oregonians who disapproved of his laissez-faire administrative attitude and young students who saw him as the voice of forward thinking moved him to resign and accept an offer of the presidency of Macalester College.

From the guide to the Office of the President: William C. Jones (acting) and Arthur S. Flemming records, 1960-1968, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Frank Strong was a graduate of Yale University (Ph.D 1897), where he received the John Addison Porter Prize and was lecturer in United States history from 1897-1899. He then served president of the University of Oregon from 1899 to 1902, where he worked to make the UO live up to his belief that a university should be a citizen of its state. Gaining approval from the regents to create departments with deans, he brought outstanding individuals to the faculty, devised a plan for accrediting high schools in the state and admitting their students to the university, and improved the library. In spite of disagreements with the regents over a teacher education program, which led to his resignation, he left the university in a better position to serve as an effective citizen of its state.

Source: "Presidential History" http://president.uoregon.edu/history

From the guide to the Office of the President: Frank Strong records, 1899-1902, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Robert D. Clark (1910-2005) began his career at the University of Oregon as a professor of speech in 1943 and held that role until 1964. In 1946, Clark began to involve himself in university administration at UO, accepting an appointment as Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) in 1947, which he retained until being selected as Dean of CLA in 1955. In 1961, Clark was named Dean of Faculties at UO, and three years later, he accepted the Presidency of San Jose State College (1964-1969), a period characterized by student unrest, racial tensions, and a faculty strike in late 1968.

In 1969, he returned to the University of Oregon as its eleventh president, a position he held until his retirement in 1975. Clark was a popular president at both institutions, and was known for his dedication to the rights of students and curricular innovation.

From the guide to the Office of the President: Robert D. Clark records, 1969-1976, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)