William Jasper Kerr
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WILLIAM JASPER KERR A Biography By EDWIN THOMAS REED B.S., A.B., Litt.D. EDITOR'S NOTE The late E. T. Reed, editor of publications at Oregon State College from 1912 to 1943, finishedthis biography after he became Editor Emeritus, 1943-48 This typescript has beenprepared for binding by the Office of Publications and is presented to the William Jasper Kerr Libraryas source material on the history of Oregon State College. WILLIAM JASPER KERR Inherent dignity and height Gave him imposing grace, And smiles that sparkled warm and bright Made luminous his face. He set high standards, and with ease Won students in support; No liquor, no tabacco, please; Clean living; honest sport. 'Twas thus the campus came to be A place reserved and high From cotmnonplace offenses free And virgin as the sky. All obscene and indecent hints Aroused his righteous wrath; With sinews tense and hard as flints He drove them from his path. Expert in budgets and finance, A master builder, too, Skilled architects mapped in advance The plans he carried through. When chaos seemed about to crash In some destructive hour, And lightning shafts began to flash He taught that "poise is power." Forgiving to the poignant end, He owns no enemy, But counts his keiest critic friend, In magnanimity. Who knows the motive of his acts Cannot remain his foe; Give him, directly, all the facts, That he may see and know. For half a century he ruled In education's realm, His hosts of students nobly schooled While he was at the helm. Restrained, and tolerant, and wise, Fulfilling every trust, He knows where truh or duty lies Unalterably just. ---Edwin T. Reed. WIILIA1I JASPER 1EI?R, A BICGRAPHY Table of Contents Chapter Page Boyhood and Early Youth 1 The Kerr Fani.ly 1)4 A Student at the University 23 Superintendent ofaitbfield Schools and Instructor in Brigham Young College 30 Special Studies at Cornell 36 Professor at the University of Utah, 1892-9)4 President of Brigham Young College 1lei±er of the Utah Constitutional Convention of le9S. 71 Ti::: President of Utah Ste Agricultural College 8)4 Initial Steps as President of Oregon State College.. 10)4 : . A Pioneer in Vocational Education 123 : I.President Uerr Intcirets Industrial Education ]J43 The Board of Higher Curricula Period, 1909-1929... 1S6 Publications 17)4 IV.The Kansas Agricultural College Episode 187 The Iliflage Tax Campaign of 1920 207 World War I and the ilethoriaj. Union 228 Successes of the Early 1920's Were Darkened by the Cloud of Dr. Kerr's ll]iess 2)40 Events Leading up to the One-Board Law of 1929 23 The Unification Law of 1929 271i The Report of the survey of Higher Education in Oregon 290 Briefs on the Survey Report 299 Report of the Curricula Committee, Harch 7, 1932... 310 Honoring President Kerr's Twenty-Five Years of Service 322 The Consolidation Bill, Initiated 1932 3)40 President Kerr and the Chancellorship 32 The Chancellor's First Year Accomplished Much 366 flIJITI Incendiary- Conditions of 1933 37)4 .rr The Explosion 366 With Reorganization Established, Dr. Kerr Resigns as Chancellor )4o6 Selecting a New Chancellor to Succeed Dr. Kerr The Published Report of the A.A.U.P., 193 Director of Research in Production andarketing ... )436 Notable Addresses ol' Dr. Kerr COCV. Characterizations of Dr. Kerr )469 CHAPTER I BOYHOOD M!D EtRLY YOUTH Introduàtion. Birth at Richmond. The new farm horre. Early schooling. Experiences on praotical engineering projects with his father.Decision to enter the University. Dr. William Jasper Kerr reached his eightieth birthday on Novemb8r 17, 1943. In anticipation of the occasion, the Masonic organizations of Portland, at a meeting the preceding week end, celebrated the event by pay- ing him, in the judgment of experienced Masons, the most magnificent tribute ever accorded a citizen0±Oregon. On the date of his birthday the Masons of Corvallis, at an evening gathering,honored him and Mrs. Kerr in a ceremony of loving appreciation and remembrance. That same afternoon in a reception at the Memorial Union, the Faculty Ment s Club and the Faculty Woman's Club of Oregon State College jointly added their tribute of loyalty and affection, presenting Dr. Kerr with a handsome set of Sandburg's Lincoln, accompanied by a suitable inscription and a sonnet expressing appreciation by Dr. M. Eliwood Smith. It was the consensus of opinion at this gathering that Dr. Kerr appeared to be physically and mentally as alert, resourceful, end challenging as a man would normally be at sixty. In addressing the faculty at the reception his impromptu remarks had all the sparkle and - significance, a well as the intimate kindness, that characterized his messages to his staff in the days when he was president of Oregon State College. Thus, as usual, he was revered for his strength and magnanimity, as well as loved for his gentleness and charm. Born at Richmond, Utah, Novonber 17, 1863, Dr. Kerr's fourscore years spanned almost equally the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The thirty- -1- seven years during which he witnessed the close of the nineteenth century covered the period of his childhood and youth. and found him firmly established as an educational executive, since he had already served as president of two leading institutions of higher learning in his native state.The forty-three years belonging to the twentieth century have led him from the presidency of the Agricultural College of one great western state to that of another great state. and to the chancellorship of the Oregon State System of Higher Education, comprising six units.From active leadership in this latter position he retired in 1935, and from that date to 1939 served as Director of Research in Production and Marketing.Since 1935 he has made his residence in Portland. Vihen he was born, this country, especially the western part of it, was in the pioneering stage of its development.The population was chiefly rural.Manufacturing for the most part was confined to New England and the eastern seaboard.Industry and transportation, as distinct types of occupation, were yet to have their day of dominance.The Civil War was still in progress, two and a half years of bitter fighting remaining before the Union could win a decision.Labor-saving devices, even for farming, were few and rudimentary.As a means of communication in the far west ,the pony express had just given way to the stage coach.Public education did not extend much beyond the elementary school.The scientific age, which was soon to revolutionize all phases of thought and action, had not yet dawaed in America.The next generation was to see momentous changes, and this son of Robert Marion and Nancy Rawlins Kerr, born ina frontier village in a western territory,was destined to have a highly constructive part in the transforriation. -2- A member of a comparatively large family, includinga brother older than himself, the child, William Jasper, had the advantageof wholesome competi- tion as well as fellowship. Discipline in the family was clear-cut and consistent, but neither intimidating nor burdensome. Parents and children had mutual confidence in one another. The Richmond neighborhood exemplified the homely virtues of family integrity and conimirnity cooperation. Church and school exercised a controlling interest. When william reached school age,he accompanied his brother to and from the school house.As soon as he was able to take his share of the family chores,he entered into themas a matter of course. When he was about elevenyears of age, his father established a new home about a mile and a half from the centerof the town, which then had a population of about L,OO. The site had been chosen because a magnificent spriilg of clear, cold waterflowed from the hillside a shorb distance from the location. William and his brother had great pride in. thisnew house, because they actually helped in. itsconstruction. The stone for the foundation and the brick for the walls theyhauled by team and wagon from the quarry and the brick kiln. Thile the house was under construotion, they helped the brick layers and thecarpenters with an eagerness that never flagged. This house made a rather pretentious homefor that pioneering colnniuiiity. It was T-shaped, the main part being twostories in height, the rear section being but one story. It had ample room for the family, and the brick walls provided protectionagainst both heat and cold. The spring near at hand affordeda convenient source of fresh water, which was brought into the house byunderground pipes. At that time there was probably not another home in the communitythat had plumbing facilities, with running water in -3- "If Time and location of this photograph uncertain but probably the Kerr residence or an other home in Utah, perhaps at Richmond or Smithfield. the house Itself. The daily tasks involvedin the pioneering conditions prevailing on the farm all hadtheir Influence on the habits and attitudes of members of the family, promotingindustry aud self-reliance. Young William Kerr, as a boy, thus acquiredthe attributes of independence and close application that distinguished himthrough life. The Kerr children, like all theothers in the village, walked to school. VThatever the weather,no one thought of having a family vehicle carry Though snow In winter might bea foot or more in depth, which was often the case, the children thought nothingabout it, except as a novelty. They rose early on those darkminter mornings, did their chores at home--outting and carrying inwood for fuel, looking after poultry and livestock, milkingcows, eto.--and then walked to sohool.lhen school was disrnissed,they walked home, torepeat in the evening, as a rule, the tasks that had oocup led them during thedusky hours of the morning.