THE PROMISE OF ASSOCIATION A H istory o f the M ission and W ork o f the YM CA at the University of Illinois, 1873-1997 Scott J. Peters © 1997 Scott J. Peters ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Printed by Crouse Printing, Champaign, Illinois. Cover design by Warren McKenna. Published by the University YMCA, 1001 South Wright Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820. For additional copies or more information, call (217) 337-1500. With special recognition of and appreciation for the life work ofEdward L. Nest ingen, who embodies the best spirit of the promise of association. This organization is indigenous to the campus community. Its purpose is in line with that of the University, which, in the large, is to makefor a better citizenship. What can the Association do in order that spiritual values may be significant in the development of citizenship? Or what can the Association do to makefor the recognition ofthe need of spiritual values in citizenship f If the training for citizenship is going to be significant it must make for attitudes which will render impossible bloodshed between races or social groups or international groups. It must reduce in America the human costs of prejudice and strife. This is a spiritual purpose and that spiritual purpose gives the Association a place of unusual importance in this community. —Henry E. Wilson, 1933 CONTENTS Acknowledgments...........................................................................vii Preface by Paul M. Limbert............................................................x Forward by John E. Jordan............................................................xii Chapter One: Introduction and Overview..................................1 1.1 Higher Education, the YMCA, and the Ideals and Work of a People....................................... 1 1.2 The Promise of Association......................................................8 1.3 Overview of Chapters.............................................................13 Chapter Two: The Early Years: 1873-1916................................18 2.1 Introduction..............................................................................18 2.2 Mission and Work....................................................................20 1873-1899...............................................................................20 1899-1908...............................................................................26 1908-1916...............................................................................29 2.3 Discussion.................................................................................34 Chapter Three: The Middle Years: 1916-1958.........................53 3.1 Introduction..............................................................................53 3.2 Mission and Work....................................................................55 1916-1938...............................................................................55 1938-1946...............................................................................72 1946-1958...............................................................................77 3.3 Discussion.................................................................................88 Chapter Four: The Recent Era: 1958-1997............................ 103 4.1 Introduction........................................................................... 103 4.2 Mission and Work..................................................................107 1958-1973.............................................................................107 1973-1984........................................................................... 127 1984-1997........................................................................... 138 4.3 Discussion...............................................................................154 Chapter Five: Conclusion.......................... 167 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The account of the history of the YMCA at the University of Illinois that follows provides only a glimpse into the life of a vol­ untary association that has, over the years, covered remarkably di­ verse terrain. Researched and written over an all-too-brief three month period of time (June-August, 1997), it is a focused study of the evolution of the Association’s mission and work from its birth in 1873 to the edge of its 125th anniversary. It is based mainly on a review of the record left in various official documents, including annual reports, minutes from Board of Directors (renamed as “Gov­ ernors” in 1978) and Board of Trustees meetings, the annual Stu­ dents’ Handbook (published from 1884-1955), the Association’s newsletters, newspaper articles, and program brochures and mate­ rials. The history of the University YMCA is rich in both themes and personalities. To date, historical accounts of the Association— both written and oral—have focused more on personalities than on themes and ideas, and for good reason. For nearly 125 years the University YMCA has engaged a great stream of talented, thoughtful, and passionate men and women in its work of address­ ing some of life’s most important and enduring challenges. As such people have been and always will be the lifeblood of this As­ sociation, it must be acknowledged that the heart of the history of the University YMCA is the history of their hopes, struggles, ac­ tions and accomplishments. A good deal of this history was skill­ fully and sympathetically captured by Harold Hannah in his cen­ tennial book, One HundredYears of Action: The University of Illinois YMCA, 1873-1973. My task, as I have understood it, has been to focus more on ideas than personalities. I have thus attempted neither to update nor replace Hannah’s book, but rather to complement it. My aim has been to provide a sketch of the University YMCA’s history which might be helpful in the contemporary work of shaping and strengthening the Association’s civic mission: that is, its public role and promise as a voluntary association committed in part to the development of a practical democratic citizenship through work Vll that engages a diverse range of people in creating things of broad public value. In a time marked by a growing hunger for meaning­ ful public engagement, the strengthening of such a mission in in­ stitutions and associations across the sweep of our society—in­ cluding schools, universities, government agencies, nonprofit or­ ganizations, and neighborhood and community groups—is fast becoming one of our most urgent and inviting tasks. While the past can offer us no blueprints for this task, it can, I believe, offer powerful lessons, insights and inspiration. I have tried to capture a little of each of these in this brief book. I wish to note two points here about this study. First, one of my aims has been to provide a concise and yet as complete as pos­ sible record of the University YMCA’s mission statements and accompanying goals and objectives across its entire history. There­ fore, much space is devoted to quoting at length all the documents that I could find which contained different articulations of mis­ sion, goals and objectives. Second, because this study contains a great number of historical quotes, it is riddled with gender-exclu­ sive and otherwise inappropriate or offensive language. Instead of adding a cumbersome “sic” after each offensive remark, I have cho­ sen to note this problem here. Many people provided help and support to me during the course of this project. I owe my first thanks to the University YMCA’s Board of Governors, which provided the resources that made this study possible. For both moral and intellectual support, I am es­ pecially indebted to John Jordan, who not only was the one person most responsible for guiding this project from faint hope to reality, but who also consistently helped me at critical junctures to think through my aims, conclusions, questions and puzzles. John also shared my overflowing enthusiasm for the YMCA’s story and the many themes it contains. Our almost daily conversations during the time when I was working on this study were both invigorating and enormously valuable. For help with historical materials, I am indebted to the staff members of both the University of Illinois Archives in Urbana and the YMCA of the USA Archives in Min­ neapolis. I owe an unpayable intellectual debt to Harry C. Boyte, who over the past four years taught me more about America’s rich vm traditions of practical democratic citizenship than I ever hoped I could learn. Special thanks are also due to Lynne Gildensoph, who believed in my ability to complete this study at the many points when I felt either incompetent or overwhelmed by its diffi­ culty. My understanding of the University YMCAs mission and work was substantially enriched by a number of personal interviews and discussions, and by what I learned from a special retreat held in June of 1997 which brought together persons who have been in­ volved in the Association since the 1930s. I also learned a great deal from those who took the time to read and respond to the first few drafts of this book. For all their advice, insights, criticisms, and help, I owe thanks and appreciation to Mary Beastall, Bill Black, Joyce Blessman, Bob Bohl, Maynard Brichford, William Browder, Judy Checker, Rebecca Crummey, Steve Douglas, Betty Earle, Bobbi Fein, Priscilla Fortier, Steve Frankel, Gloria Gleave, Hank Hannah, Scott Herrick, Andrea Hinding, Lowell Hoffman, Jim Holiman, Mark Johnson, Pat Jordan, Bruce Larson, Bob Lenz, Paul Limbert, Fred Mastny, Chirag Mehta,