A History from 1980 to 2010
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: A History from 1980 to 2010 by Roger L. Caldwell, Professor Emeritus College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Tucson, Arizona 85721 The University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: A History from 1980 to 2010 by Roger L. Caldwell Professor Emeritus June 2011 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 Published by College of Agriculture and Life Sciences University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721 Copyright © 2011 Arizona Board of Regents Table of Contents Table of Contents, i List of Figures, iv List of Tables, iv Foreword, v Preface, vi Highlights viii Part 1. Introduction and Historic Context, 1 Chapter 1. Introduction, 2 Chapter 2. Historical Periods of the University and College, 12 Chapter 3. The Transition Years Explored, 15 Part 1. Summary, 17 Part 2. Caretaking, Stabilizing, Refocusing and Sustaining, 18 Chapter 4. Caretaking: Looking for a Dean 1978-1980, 19 Chapter 5. Stabilizing: Adapting to a New Era 1980-1987, 20 Chapter 6. Refocusing: Growing Under New Conditions 1987-1997, 22 Chapter 7. Sustaining: Preparing for an Uncertain Future 1997-2010, 24 Part 2. Summary, 25 Part 3. Organization, Planning and Focus, 26 Chapter 8. College Structure and Management, 27 Chapter 9. Providing Recognition, 30 Chapter 10. Views on New Directions Facing Universities, 32 Chapter 11. Planning and Focus, 38 Chapter 12. Politics, Innovations, and Disruptions, 45 Part 3. Summary, 49 Part 4. History Since 1980 from Various Perspectives, 50 Chapter 13. Perspective of Academic Departments and Schools, 51 Chapter 14. Perspective of Dean’s Office, 91 Chapter 15. Perspective of Academic Programs, 95 Chapter 16. Perspective of Cooperative Extension, 99 i Chapter 17. Perspective of Agricultural Experiment Station, 105 Chapter 18. Perspective of Administrative Services Office, 108 Chapter 19. Perspective of Development and Alumni Office, 112 Chapter 20. Perspective of International Programs, 114 Chapter 21. Perspective of Communications Activities, 118 Part 4. Summary, 124 Part 5. Personal Recollections and Case Histories, 125 Chapter 22. Ten Case Histories of Change, 126 Chapter 23. Developing the Maricopa Agricultural Center, 141 Chapter 24. Recollections of Faculty and Staff, 148 Chapter 25. Excerpts of Oral Histories, 162 Chapter 26. Excerpts From Alumni Newsletter Agri-News, 170 Part 5. Summary, 174 Part 6 Recurring Themes and Change, 175 Chapter 27. Identifying Recurring Themes, 176 Chapter 28. Reacting to Continually Changing Environments, 179 Part 6. Summary, 180 Part 7. Looking Backward and Forward, 181 Chapter 29. Looking Backward 60 Years, 182 Chapter 30. Looking Forward 30 Years, 184 Part 7. Summary, 186 Appendices 187 Appendix A. Key Events at a Glance 1950 – 2000, 188 Appendix B. Arizona Agricultural Trends, 189 Appendix C. University Research Funding Availability, 191 Appendix D. Trends of Societal Change Indicators, 192 Appendix E. Administrative Support Structure and Organization, 196 Appendix F. Units Representing College-wide Programs, 199 Appendix G. Facilities: Campus, Agricultural Centers, Counties, 201 Appendix H. Descriptions of Specialized Units, 204 Appendix I. Listing of Administrative Unit Directors or Heads, 209 Appendix J. Faculty and Staff Honors and Awards Recipients 1980-2010, 217 Appendix K. Endowed Chairs and Their Holders, 227 Appendix L. College Awards to Citizens, 228 ii Appendix M. Key Driving Forces - Clusters of Related Trends, 236 Appendix N. College Programmatic Focus 2010, 237 Appendix O. Overview of Academic Departmental Name Changes 1905-2010, 238 Appendix P. Faculty Memberships in Professional Associations, 239 Appendix Q. Faculty Involved in Preparing Leaders for Tomorrow, 245 Appendix R. Bart Cardon’s Epilogue to First CALS History Report, 248 Acknowledgements, 249 References, 250 Further Reading, 252 First CALS History Book – 1885-1985, 252 Second CALS History, Magazine Format – 1980-2010, 252 References and Footnotes in this Book, 252 Index, 253 iii List of Figures Figure 1 Arizona Population Growth by Decade, 5 Figure 2. Arizona's Growth Rate is Cyclical and Slowing, 5 Figure 3. University of Arizona Bachelor Degree Trends, 6 Figure 4. University of Arizona Graduate Degree Trends, 6 Figure 5. University of Arizona Research Expenditures, 7 Figure 6. Public Laws on Agriculture, 10 Figure 7. Public Laws on Environment, 10 Figure 8. Frequency of "Pollution" in Books 1900-2000, 11 Figure 9. Frequency of "Molecular Biology‖ in Books 1900-2000, 11 Figure 10. CALS Research Expenditures, 107 Figure 11. Arizona Agricultural Trends: Wheat, 189 Figure 12. Arizona Agricultural Trends: Cotton, 189 Figure 13. Arizona Agricultural Trends: Hay, 190 Figure 14. Arizona Agricultural Trends: Milk Cows, 190 Figure 15. Arizona Agricultural Trends: Cattle and Calves, 190 Figure 16. Percent Annual Growth for NSF R&D All Universities, 191 Figure 17. Total R&D Expenditures All Universities, 191 Figure 18. U.S. Public Law Trends for Agriculture, 192 Figure 19. U.S. Public Law Trends for Environment, 192 Figure 20. U.S. Public Law Trends on Public Health, 193 Figure 21. U.S. Public Law Trends for Public Lands and Water Management, 193 Figure 22. Frequency of Pollution in Books 1900-2000, 194 Figure 23. Frequency of Molecular Biology in Books 1900-2000, 194 Figure 24. Frequency of Learning in Books 1900-2000, 195 Figure 25. Frequency of Agriculture in Books 1900-2000, 195 List of Tables Table 1. Representative Arizona Agricultural Yield Improvements, 8 Table 2. Comparison of College Awards to Citizens from 1950 to 2010, 30 Table 3. Award Categories for CALS Faculty and Staff, 31 Table 4. Comparison of Departments and Schools Over a 60 Year Period, 51 iv Foreword I have had the privilege of being involved in education and the evolution of the modern Arizona for many years. While cattle ranching was my initial occupation, I became a part of various groups relating to the future of Arizo- na. I acquired new perspectives, and new friends, from each of these groups, and ended up being the chairman or president of most of them. Examples include the University of Arizona Foundation, the Arizona Board of Re- gents, the Tucson Airport Authority, Tucson Medical Center, the Science Foundation of Arizona, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, the former Tucson 30, and Arizona Town Hall. Along the way I met Roger and I had also heard about some of his activities through other contacts. I learned that he had broad interests and was a unique faculty member. He has served in a variety of university positions and had a special understanding of how universities function, from the multiple perspectives of the various interest groups on campus. In addition, he was a member of a small group of people that assisted the Arizona Board of Regents in the late 1980s in a study to make all three Arizona universities more competitive, efficient, and with increased quality. He has also served on commissions and committees within Arizona going back to the late 1960s. After retirement he was approached to consider writing a history of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I can relate to his variety of interests and knowledge as my own career has covered such a range of expe- riences. Reading this book brought back a lot of memories – most of them pleasurable! There, indeed, has been a lot of change and there will be more change in the future. Learning how we navigated the past changes, and understand- ing why those changes occurred, is an important key to preparing ourselves for the future. This book takes this approach – giving the reader a sense of the past as history but also as a prelude for the future. For those readers who would like to know both the general history of the college, and to some extent the university, as well as the specific history of departments and other aspects of the colleges, this is the book for you. This book is organized in ways that allow the reader to find specific sections of special interest, but it is not just a single history but also a series of histories, each from the perspective of different groups of people and of differ- ent aspects of university life. It reviews how the University of Arizona changed from a primarily teaching institu- tion in the 1950s to a major research university by the 1980s, and how the College of Agricultural and Life Sci- ences had to refocus efforts as societal issues and science-based changes caused the college to modify its focus and approach to teaching, research, and extension activities. It also describes and clarifies the roles of various deans, presents ―recollections‖ of various faculty and staff, and has some case histories of how specific depart- ments or programs changed. The book ends by summarizing recurring themes, reviews the last 60 years, and comments on the relevance of these themes for navigating the next 30 years. This book not only presents the history of the college but lists a good deal of reference material ranging from trend information that impacts the college to lists of awards and administrative leaders for campus departments and schools, agricultural centers, and cooperative extension county offices. For readers that have been involved in the college, I hope this book brings back memories for you as it did for me. For other readers, or future college members in leadership positions, you will find the book a worthy addition to your collection. Fred T. Boice Boice Financial Company Tucson, Arizona May 2011 v Preface The 30-year time period for this book covers a period of rapid change in the College and its audiences. The peri- od included a series of new technologies, financial reductions, new programs and facilities, and reorganizations. It covers the period of two Deans but also provides context based on activities from the previous 30-year period; and it identifies some possibilities for the next 30-year period.