University of Nevada, Reno Redefining the Collegiate Way: The Rise of State Colleges and the Expanding Conception of the College Experience, 1890-1930 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Timothy P. Smith Dr. C. Elizabeth Raymond/Dissertation Advisor May, 2017 Copyright by Timothy P. Smith 2017 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by TIMOTHY P. SMITH entitled Redefining the Collegiate Way: The Rise of State Colleges and the Expanding Conception of the College Experience, 1890-1930 be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY C. Elizabeth Raymond, Ph.D., Advisor Dennis Dworkin, Ph.D., Committee Member Greta de Jong, Ph.D., Committee Member Catherine Chaput, Ph.D., Committee Member Rita Laden, Ed.D., Graduate School Representative David W. Zeh, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School May, 2017 i Abstract For over two hundred years, the college experience in the United States was defined by the traditions of historic eastern college, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. This model of the college experience came to be seen as elite, private, and eastern. Representations of college life in popular novels reflected this idea and served to subtly reinforce the position of these colleges as the torchbearers for American higher education. However, as public higher education proliferated in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, the dominance of such a narrative began to be challenged. With the passage of the Morrill Land–Grant College Act in 1862, the college experience was now open to reinterpretation because of the markedly different missions of state colleges as well as the new types of students who attended them. The expanding conception of the college experience was reflected in the changing popular representations of college life, specifically in the films of the 1910s and 1920s, ultimately providing the American public with an alternative view of higher education. In practice, students at emerging state colleges created social worlds that had elements of the traditions of the historic eastern colleges, but were also reflective of new ways of experiencing college. For example, Greek fraternities and big-time football became hallmarks of the state college experience, while such activities never had the same level of support at older institutions. The presence of women also distinguished life at state colleges, as most public institutions were coeducational from their creation. This study argues that the rise of state colleges fundamentally altered the conception of the college experience in America, as students from a wider range of social backgrounds entered college with a variety of goals ii in mind. iii Dedication I dedicate this project to my friend, Ryan James Kieffe. Sadly, he left his friends and family too soon; but his life, intellect, and memory echo throughout this entire project. Our late night talks while roaming the empty streets of San Luis Obispo helped shape my thoughts, manners, and perspectives of the world. We talked about everything from the nature of a properly functioning democracy to how to best care for a lawn. He left an imprint on my life that manifests itself in every single moment of every single day. I wish that he was here to see the culmination of this project and to tell me that it is muddled, worthless, and crappy. I know, despite his assuredly brutal appraisal, that he would have been proud. iv Acknowledgements I have spent thousands of hours in a solitary state of reading, thinking, re- thinking, researching, staring at a computer screen and, in some moments, actually writing, that after a while all things seem to blend together into a vacuous blur. But, to say that this project is the outcome of my efforts alone would be an immense understatement. There have been hundreds of people that have in some way left their mark on this project and have helped me get to this point. First, I would like to thank the many university archivists and their staffs for graciously opening up their doors to me as I conducted research for this dissertation, and for taking an interest in my project: Martha Fonville and Ted Waller at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jennifer Baker and her wonderful staff of student assistants at North Carolina State University, also in Raleigh; William Kimok at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio; Lindy Smith and Kevlin Haire at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; Chris Petersen, Trevor Sandgathe, and Michael Dicianna at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, Oregon; and Jennifer O’Neal at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. I would also like to thank Dr. Andrew Morris and Dr. Tom Trice in the department of History at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Their guidance and support throughout the arc of my academic career has been transformative. Both showed me the possibilities, and the fun, of studying history. A special thanks also goes to Dr. Jessica Elkind, Dr. Julyan Peard, and Dr. Chris Chekuri, of the department of History at San Francisco State University, for guiding me during a formative period of my history career. An enormous amount of gratitude goes to the chair of my dissertation at the v University of Nevada, Reno, Dr. C. Elizabeth Raymond, for her sage wisdom, trenchant criticism, and strident support during this long process. She allowed me to pursue a topic that is so deeply personal without ever flinching at its worth. I am also indebted to Dr. Dennis Dworkin and Dr. Greta de Jong in the department of History at the University of Nevada, Reno, for their generosity, kind words, and support throughout this process. Thanks also goes to Dr. Rita Laden of the College of Education, and Dr. Catherine Chaput, of English, both at the University of Nevada, for their kind help and guidance during the process of completing this dissertation. Lastly, I am extremely grateful to all of my colleagues in the department of History for their ideas, thoughtful guidance, and friendship throughout my years in the program: Jonathan, Alisse, Ryan, Paul, Laura, Brian, Amy, Jamie, Jeff A., Jeff J., and Geoff, thank you. A special group of people has been crucial in sustaining me outside of the university. First an incredible thank you to my identical twin brother, Patrick Smith, for his unwavering support on just about everything. Some thought that pursuing a Ph.D. was a bad idea, but you helped me to make the decision to jump ship from a career that I did not love, to pursue something that holds so much meaning to me, and for being there every step of the way. I cannot express enough gratitude for your support and unguarded optimism, as well as your brotherly love, in everything that I have done. Second, to my beautiful wife, Angela, and our son Ryan, I could not have done this without you. You have witnessed the entire emotional spectrum that this process has called forth and have stood by as a pillar of support throughout. You have always kept me balanced, reminding me that there is a world out there that people inhabit who have no interest in what vi follows, and have been able to keep me focused on the forest despite the trees. I love you both more than words can possibly express. Finally, to my parents, Philip and Becky Smith, my older brother Andy, and my sisters Tiffany and April, thank you for always supporting me and I love you all very much. Lastly, a special thank you to my oldest sister, Tiffany, for reading this entire dissertation and offering her expertise in copyediting. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: American Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century 13 Chapter 3: Popular Images of College Life 30 Chapter 4: Customs and Tradition at State Colleges 63 Chapter 5: Redefining the Collegiate Way 90 Chapter 6: Athletics and the College Experience at State Colleges 127 Chapter 7: Policing Morality and Student Behavior 158 Chapter 8: Conclusion 188 1 Chapter 1 Introduction “The collegiate way,” a term coined by Frederick Rudolph in the early 1960s, is one of the oldest and most fundamental traditions of the American college. The collegiate way, according to Rudolph, has been an enduring philosophy that espouses that a faculty, a library, and curriculum are by themselves insufficient to make a college. The collegiate way is dependent on a certain way of life outside of the watchful eyes of college authorities. In early American colleges, tranquil rural settings, dormitories, and communal dining halls defined the collegiate way. Fundamentally, this outlook promoted “the beneficial influence which classmates exerted on one another,” as well as “the superiority of the college community as an agency of education over mere studies.”1 As such, the collegiate way encompassed not only an intangible spirit and energy of American youth, but a full range of extracurricular and social life as well. The philosophy of the collegiate way, in short, meant that the classroom was only part of the learning experience, and as Rudolph notes, it provided “the nonintellectual purposes of the American college.”2 The collegiate way began as an idea based in the histories and legacies of the historic eastern colleges. Colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, began as close, communal institutions out of necessity. The intimacy of student life, fostered by rural living and common purpose, created a setting where youthful customs and cultures were 1 Frederick Rudolph, The American College and University (Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 1990, Second Edition), 87-89. 2 Rudolph, The American College and University, 108.