The Bancrof t Library University of ~alifornia/Berkeley Regional Oral History Off ice Harry R. Wellman TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 1925-1968 With an Introduction by Chester 0. McCorkle, Jr. and Herman T. Spieth An Interview Conducted by Malca Chall Copy No. Sponsored by the Division of Agricultural Sciences and the Giannini Foundation, University of California, Berkeley @ 1976 by The Regents of the University of California Oakland Tribune ~ugust20, 1997 t&@ t&@ C' L+% lo, THE OAKLANf " Ex-UC acting chief Harry Wellman dies 1 FROM STAFF REPORTS started working for the univer- Kerr's California Master Plan sity in 1925 as an extension For Education. "fpBERKELEY - Harry R. specialist in agricultural eco- Mr. Wellman omcially retired Wellman, who took over as nomics. He became vice presi- from the university in 1966 as acthg president of the Univer- dent of agricultural sciences vice president emeritus, and ag- sity of California in 1967 after and was instrumental in the de- ricultural economist emeritus. angry UC regents fired Clark velopment of teaching and re- But in 1967. he took over as Krr, has died after a long ill- search programs. acting president when Kerr was ness. In 1958, Mr. Wellman was ousted in a bitter dispute rooted Wellman, who died Monday, named to the newly created post in the emerging campus ac- 98. of iice president of the univer- tivism that began with the Free Born in Alberta. Canada, on sity, serving as second iq com- Speech Movement. March 4, 1899, Mr. Wellman mand to Kerr. "He was very influential in keeping agriculture moving held master's and doctorate de- In the years that. followed, grees from UC Berkeley. ahead in the state of Cali- Mr. Wellman helped run the fornia," Kerr said. :.Known by colleagues as a university as the modern UC He credited Mr. Wellman Wiet facilitator, Mr. Wellman structure was created through -- with running the entire UC system in the years Kerr was' heavily engaged in putting the master plan into effect. Mr. Wellman is survived by his daughter, Nancy Jane Par- melee; son-in-law Robert Par- melee: three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, gifts may . be made to the Harry R. Wellman Fund for Support of Graduate Students in Natural Resource Economics or to the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Charming*Way. A memorial service v#l be at 2 p.m. Aug. 30 at First$,ongre- gational Church in BerkeJey. ... :: ,.. ., . /.:: ..\ 1 ...;;..?./::::;:'i,:::.:.. .;, ..... :,,,. .:.>. .. ., . ..,:::::.;.::\ .- . .: % , .. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20,1997 (.' -I. OBITUARIES . I Harry Wellman finishing his P~.D.,,as a specialist ration for Kerr. in agricultural economics. He be- Loren firtado, a former assis- Came a pr0f~0rin 1940, then rose tant vice president, said 'me uni- Harry Weban* the adminis- to the position 'of vice president of versity was greatly traumatized by trator ran the Universitl agricultural SCienCt?~in 1952. In the firing of Kern. Mr..Weman California at Berkeley fpr a that post, he played a key role in helped bring about tranquility and i after Clark Kerr was flrd died , the development of teaching and alleviate tension< I yesterday after a long illness- He research in campus agricultural 1 was 98. programs. Mr.Wellman is survived by his daughter, Nancy Jane Parmelee, After more than 40 years of ser- In 1958, with a promotion tothe son-in-law Robe* Parmelee, three vice to the univ.ersity, Mr. Well- newly created post of university grandchildren and three great man postponed his retirement in . vice president, he became second- grandchildren. 1907 to take over for Kerr. He incommand to Kerr. The family asks that gifts be r helped stabilize the university at a In that position, he helped de- made to the Harry R Wellman , tumultuous time: Kerr was dis- centralize authority in the univer- find for supportof ~~~d~~~stu- I missed by the Board of Regents in sity - giving more power to the dents in ~ ~ R~~~~~~~ ao-~ ~ a l response to student protests that campuses. nomics, or to the First Congrega- began with the 1964 free speech Kerr was a chief architect of tional Church of Berkeley, 2345 movement. Ca~if~da'sMaster Plan for High- Channing Way, Berkeley, Calif. .. * .) "Harry was not a dramatic per- er Education, a task that tooh him 94704. son doing dramatic things," Kerr away from some daily administra- A memorial service will be held said. "He was a quiet facilitator, tion of the university. He credits at 2 p.m. on August 30 at the First , who was able, by friendly persua- Mr. Wellman with running the uni- Congregational Church in Berke- sion, to impact the university in a versity during that pro(:-. ley. quiet effective way." Mr. Wellman.announced his re- , Born in Alberta, Canada, Mr. tirement- from -the university in Kenneth Allan - Wellman graduated from the Ore- 1986, but agreed to stay on to serve ,- r . gon Agricultural College 31 1921 - as interim president after Ken's A memorial service for Xen- ... before coming to UC Berkeley, dismissal in January 1967. neth Allan, a Hollywood film and .,. it>,..!:$:.:\%where he earned his master's and "It's only my affection for this labor figure who died Wednesday, Ph.D. degrees. ~iversitywhich makes me accept will be held at 3p.m. Sunday in the i . Mr. -Wellman began working..- , .this job," Mr. Wellman said at the Firehouse in Fort Mason in .Sh : for the university in 1925, while . time, making no secret of his admi- Francisco. - .. - I -. , . -. - - - Berkeleyan August 27, 1997 "Wellman was very influential I in keeping agriculture moving Harry R. Wellman, who inter- ahead in the state of California," rupted his retirement to serve as Kerr said. acting UC president from 1967 to Following a reorganization of 1968,diedAug. 18 attheageof 93. administrative offices in 1958, Memorial services will be held Wellman was named to the newly Aug. 30 at 2 p.m. at the First Con- created post of vice president of gregational Church in Berkeley. the university, serving as second Known by colleagues as aUquiet in command to President Kerr. facilitator," Wellman started work Wellman officially retired from at the university in 1925 as an the university in 1966, with titles extension specialist in agricultural . of vice president emeritus of the economics and played a key role in university, professor emeritus of the shifting of most administrative agricultural economics and agri- authority from the president's of- cultural economist emeritus in the fice to the campuses. agricultural experiment station and Thecampus's WellmanHall was Giahini Foundation. named for him in 1967. In addition to his service with the "Throughout his long and distin- university, Wellman was chief of guished career as an agricultural the general crop section of the Ag- economist and university admin- ricultural Adjustment Administra- istrator, Harry Wellman's name tion from 1934 to 1935. He was a was synonymous with the highest director of the Federal Rese~e standards of integrity, skill and Bank of San Francisco from 1943to service to the university and to 1954. He was also a member of the California agriculture. Both have California Board of Agriculture. lost adedicatedstewardand a faith- Wellman's scholarly work cen- ful friend," said C. Judson King, , tered on price analysis, marketing UC provost and senior vice presi- and agricultural policy, particu- dent for academic affairs. larly in relationship to California "Harry was not a dramatic per- hitand vegetable crops. son doing dramatic things," said He is survived by his daughter, former UC President Clark Kerr. "He was a quiet facilitator, who was able, by friendly persuasion, Nancy Jane Parmelee, son-in-law to impact the university in a quiet Robert Parmelee, three grandchil- effective way." dren and three great grandchildren. Born in Alberta, Canada, on In lieu of flowers, gifts should be March 4,1899, Wellman received made to the Hany R. Wellman Fund his bachelor of science degree from for Support of Graduate Students in the Oregon Agricultural College Natural Resource Economics, or to in 1921. He received his master's the Fist Congregational Church of degree in 1924 and his PhD degree Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. - in-1926fromBerkeley;In1%O;he , was awarded an honorary law de- gree from Oregon State Univer- sity. All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between the Regents of the University of California and Harry R. Wellman dated 12 January 1976. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Harry R. Wellman requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Harry Wellman INTRODUCTION by Chester 0. McCorkle, Jr. and Herman T. Spieth i INTERVIEW HISTORY by Malca Chall ix BRIEF BIOGRAPHY of Harry Wellman xii I FAMILY BACKGROUND, EDUCATION, AND EARLY WORK EXPERIENCES 1 Harry Wellman's First Years: Mountain View, Alberta to Umap ink, Oregon The Wellman Family: To Walla Walla Over the Oregon Trail, 1863 5 Life on the Farm: General Chores and Paid Labor 5 High School : Umapine and Walla Walla 11 Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, 1916-1921 13 - World War I Experiences, 1918 17 Four-H Club Agent, Malheur County, Oregon, 1921 21 Marriage 2 2 Graduate School: University of Wisconsin, 1922 2 3 Graduate School: University of California, 1923-1925 26 I1 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, 1925-1942 32 Agricultural Extension Service: Extension Specialist in Agricultural Economics, 1925-1934 32 Economic Analyses of California Crops and Prices 33 Outlook Reports 3 5 Marketing Control Programs 3 7 Extension Leadership: B.H.