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The school started as a christian college, 

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then became a normal school,

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a diversified teacher's college, and finally a state university. 

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Hi, I'm Henry Hughes, professor of English at Western Oregon University, 

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and this is Living History II, The Middle Years, 1911 to 1982.  

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There's a big red book that captures the history of Monmouth

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and this university by Ellis A. Stebbins and Gary Huxford. 

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Titled, Since 1856...Historical Views of the College at Monmouth. 

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My name is Gary Huxford.

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I'm emeritus professor of history, Western Oregon University. 

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I came to this university in 1961, fresh out of graduate school. 

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My favorite course was a 420 course called Philosophy of History. 

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What is was, was basically history of the writing of history. 

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How historians have changed mindsets down through the ages. 

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In October of 1993, college President Richard Meyers 

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commissioned Professor Huxford to pickup where Stebbins left off

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and cover the development of the institution for the next 30 years. 

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I was anticipating retirement and my history colleagues

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thought I could occupy my spare time by writing a history of the college and then

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then President Richard Meyers had asked the history department to put together,

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a continuation of the OCE story. 

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So they sort of volunteered me for the project. 

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I think history is important because it's our collective memory.

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And a country of people without a memory,

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it's like an individual without memory. We've lost our way. 

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We've got to have that just simply got to have that. It makes sense.  

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Living History II begins in 1911 with the reopening of the Oregon Normal School,

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which closed in 1909 due to a lack of state funding. 

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John Henry Ackerman, the state superintendent of schools, 

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was chosen to be president. 

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Immediately after being appointed, President Ackerman began searching for faculty. 

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Among his recruits was Jessica Todd from Indiana Normal School. 

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Professor Todd was first employed to teach prespective educators.   

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Later, she became dean of woman and director of dormitories. 

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Enrollment in 1911 totalled 138.  

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By 1920, that number increased to 322. In between,  

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the Training School was planned by faculty member Thomas Gentle and built in 1915. 

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The entrance to today's Information Technology Center

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still bears it's original motto, 

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who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

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By 1962, enrollment was about 1,200. 

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The town was very small, very quiet, and very primitive.  

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A lot of the streets were not paved yet, 

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very few sidewalks, curbs, and gutters. 

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So it was still just an overgrown country town. 

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The campus was attractive in the sense that

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it had two distinguishing landmarks. 

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One was the bell tower on Campbell Hall and one was the grove. 

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Curriculum focused on teacher preparation, primarily elementary education. 

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A new library was built, intercollegiate athletics was growing,

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and the campus was expanding. 

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Maaske Hall, the first residence hall for men was constructed. 

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And moving on there's one event to remember,

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The infamous Columbus Day storm. 

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The 1962 Columbus Day storm was devastating for campus,

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particularly Campbell Hall here behind me. 

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I was teaching a class in the south wing of old main,

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facing the grove during the peak of the storm,

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and branches were flying off and crashing through the windows. 

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The south third of the building held the chapel and the steeple. 

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And the steeple could not withstand the 120mph winds. 

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Wes Luchau, who made that very famous photograph,

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was a student in one of my classes. 

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So I was actually out of the street behind Wes 

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when he took that very famous picture. 

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The steeple blew down. That created the need for space. 

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And in 1964 we built HSS, now Bellamy Hall. 

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By 1970, enrollment was pushing 4,000 students. 

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Liberal Arts expanded to include fine arts, 

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humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. 

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And President Leonard William Rice rode his bike around campus. 

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Now Leonard Rice, president of the college, rode a bicycle to and from his home. 

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He saw me, he stopped and we chatted. 

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I said,  you look tired, you need a rest. 

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He said, no, I need peace.  

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He had been going from campus group to campus group,

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trying to keep a lid on the things that were happening. 

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Far to the east in the state of Ohio on Monday, May 4, 1970 

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during a rally opposing the expanding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, 

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four, unarmed college students were killed at Kent State University.  

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By Wednesday, organized protests began on campus in Monmouth. 

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I was teaching this class in American history,

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and I had a middle-aged man in the class, stocky guy, obviously an ex-logger. 

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And some of the student in the class were avid. 

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We'll march on Washington. We'll get their attention and so forth and so on. 

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And this guy sat there and very quietly said...

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if you march don't go through Toledo (Ohio).

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In good times, the college glided along its successful path,

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building the local economy, and educating students.

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In 1974, the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education 

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selected the elementary education program at the college as the best in the nation. 

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Campus Elementary School was an interesting opportunity for teachers to 

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experiment, try new teaching and learning methods, work with children in unique ways.

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And Campus Elementary remained a teacher training school until 1986. 

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I grew up here. I went to school there. I met lifelong friends there.  

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I met my wife there. We were 5-years-old but

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Campus Elementary School was a wonderful place. 

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Starting in 1973, the college went through several decades of substantial budget cuts 

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that included severe faculty reductions. 

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I divide Leonard Rice's administration, 14 years, 

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like of Joseph of Egypt in the Old Testament,

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seven good years, seven years of famine. 

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He was ideally suited for the first seven years. 

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Quiet, although tumult was building in the 60s,

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but all heck broke lose in the 70s. 

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The 70s really drew on what had been brewing in the 1960s.

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So, a lot of activism for social change and social justice. 

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Many people acting in a variety of ways,

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including protesting the Vietnam War. 

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When Richard Nixon expanded the war outside of Vietnam into Cambodia and Laos, 

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many people considered those to be war crimes.

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And campuses were really important places for protest.

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But there was protest across the world. 

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Efforts to form a union began as early as 1972 and succeeded five years later. 

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It's also the case that there was just a blossoming of activism. 

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And so the Gay Liberation Front, the Chicano Movement,

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the American Indian Movement, the Women's Movement, Civil Rights Movement.

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And in the mid 70s, particularly, there was a strong office for minority affairs. 

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Connie Garcia was the Chicano representative and

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she also helped sponsor a Chicano cultural week. 

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So we can see that there was a lot of activism and a lot of people

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working for social change and social justice on our campus and across the globe. 

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In the fall of 1977, Gerald Leinwand took over as president.  

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Even before arriving on campus, 

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Leinwand was convinced the days of a single interest college of education were numbered. 

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So he launched a campaign for a new mission and a new name. 

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So Western's had quite a few name changes. 

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In fact, you can see them all on this list. 

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When I first started at Western, we were Western Oregon State College,

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Eight years later, we became Western Oregon University. 

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So yeah, the institution has had a lot of name changes 

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but regardless of when you were here, you'll always be a wolf. 

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On April 22, 1981, Governor Vic Atiyeh signed Senate Bill 318 

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changing the name from Oregon College of Education

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to Western Oregon State College. 

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OCE was now commonly known as WOSC. 

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The Leinwand Administration spanned 15 years, from 1977 to 1982. 

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Stopped for funds, President Leinwand enhanced the cultural life of campus

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and the surrounding community.

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Theatre and arts flourished and so did athletics.  

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But in 1978, the wood constructed football stadium burned in a spectacular fire. 

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For the next two seasons, the football team played before a home crowd

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seated on temporary bleachers. 

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In March of 1982, Leinwand hand-delivered a letter of resignation. 

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The college had a future, he said, but it would require someone willing to dedicate

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more years than he was willing to give under the financial circumstances. 

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I think those days are behind us. I think the campus is assured now. 

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For one thing, it's one of the loveliest campuses in the state system. 

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Thanks to support from the state of Oregon

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and generous benefactors like the late Dr. Richard Woodcock, 

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Western Oregon University continues to grow as a teachers college,  

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a liberal arts university, and a great place for students and talented, young professors

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like Gary Huxford to get their start.

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Look out there. Is there any place in the world more lovely than that? 

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This house that we're in. 

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All of this is the result of that little college down there. 

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Western Oregon University is such an important part of the city of Monmouth. 

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Not only because of our history together, 

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our current traditions and activities together, 

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but bringing in the diversity. The ability to have art and culture

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that we wouldn't have as a small community otherwise. 

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And certainly the economic benefit of the university is integral to the city of Monmouth. 

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Our success is Western's success. 

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And Western's success is Monmouth's success. 

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Western Oregon University is a special place not only because of its storied history. 

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But also because of our unwavering commitment to student success. 

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This community comes together to provide a supportive environment

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where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging and empowerment.

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We have a lot more stories to tell and we're going to keep  

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doing just that here at Western Oregon University. 

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