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Johnson, Dwight A. (ed.) / Wisconsin alumnus
Volume 51, Number 1 (Oct. 1949)
Curriculum, pp. 14-15
Faculty, pp. 15-17
Page 15
"'In all lines of academic inves- tigation it is of the utmost import- ance that the investigator should be absolutely free to follow the indica- tions of truth wherever they may lead. Whatever may be the limita- tions which trammel inquiry else- where . . . Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fear- less sifting and winnowing .. ."' Incidents like this and Harvard's flat refusal to submit a booklist cooled the Un-American committee down to a stop; the book hunt has been called off. Maybe it was just too much work-all the fault of the Sons of the American Revolution who originally demanded the inves- tigation. UW and Little Schools Won't Join This Year ORIGINALLY, the plan would put under one command 10 state teachers colleges, Platteville's Wis- consin Institute of Technology, and the University of Wisconsin. It was called the "integration bill" and it was evolved by the Wis- consin Commission on the Improve- ment of the Educational System, a select group of laymen and legis- lators. But the little colleges fought the bill because it meant University "domination" and because it might ultimately force higher standards upon their faculties. The University was afraid of the bill, too. Accord- ing to the Wisconsin State Journall, the University was "worried that its prerogatives might be ignored." While the little colleges criticized the bill, they were still unanimous in urging liberal arts degrees for their schools. They told the senate educa- tinn pnmmiftt~o that. Wi~qeonqin'q youth deserves a chance to get a 4- year education in schools which they can afford. The teachers colleges wanted new strength, but not at the cost of their independence. They lobbied against the bill, and, says the Appleton Post-Crescent, "so effective were their strident cries, so bellicose their insistence upon their own bureaucratic preroga- tives, their prestige and their rank, their prized independence at the cost of the taxpayers, that the assembly education committee quietly sat on the bill for four months and then killed it by indirection." This "indirection" was in the form of a changed bill proposing merger with the University of the Milwaukee and Superior colleges. Other teachers colleges could become part of the merger when desired locally, according to the plan. Milwaukee Seemed to be for it, and Assemblyman Byron Ostby (Rep., Superior), a University law student, pleaded for passage. But the little colleges fought the "foot- in-the-door bill" and the little col- leges won. The assembly voted 49 to 38 against it. OCTOBER, 1949 PhD Index Shows Wisconsin Near Best HIGH TRIBUTE to the academic strength of the University faculty was paid by statistics in the latest "Summaries of Doctoral Disserta- tions Accepted by American Univer- sities" compiled for the Association of Research Libraries. The compilation, covering the 1947-48 school year, indicates the University ranks second in all the universities and colleges of the na- tion in terms of the number of PhD degrees granted. Because candidates for the high- est academic degree usually choose a university because of the excel- lence of its instruction, PhD grants are considered a measure of the aca- demic strength of the nation's uni- versities. Harvard ranked first with 203 de- grees, Wisconsin second with 196, and the University of Chicago third with 188. Seven "Big Ten" universities be- sides Wisconsin ranked among the first 20. Illinois was fourth, Ohio State ninth, Michigan 11th, Minne- sota 12th, Iowa 14th, Northwestern 16th, and Purdue 20th. In a breakdown of PhD grants by subjects the record emphasizes the strength of many University of Wisconsin departments and schools. In biochemistry, Wisconsin ranked first and granted as many PhD de- grees as the next four universities combined. In bacteriology, Wiscon- sin ranked first with Cornell second, Illinois third. In botany, Wisconsin was first with Chicago second, Cornell third. Wisconsin ranked third in economics with Harvard first and Columbia second and also ranked third in chemistry with Illinois first, Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology second. Although the stress in the report is on the number of PhD degrees granted, Dean C. A. Elvehjem of the Wisconsin graduate school says the quality of Wisconsin graduate work also is high "in spite of our limited facilities and staff." Elvehjem explains postwar gradu- ate research has been kept on a high quantity and quality level at Wis- consin by two factors: 1. The postwar graduate students have, in the main, been more mature than pre-war grad students. 2. The enthusiasm and willingness of the faculty to take on extra du- ties has enabled the graduate school to handle more students. He predicted that, with a new li- brary on the way, Wisconsin will continue its "good job of graduate research." However, he warned, "we will need a larger upper staff if we are to continue this heavy load of graduate training and maintain Wisconsin quality." FACULTY FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER, Wis- consin professor who died in 1932, was last month announced one of the United States' two greatest historians by the American Historical Associa- tion. An -oil painting which closely resembles this picture was recently completed by Charles Thwaites, '27, for the new Hall of History in Mexico City. More Pay for Teacher HALF A MILLION dollars of the University budget goes into salary increases for the faculty and administrative staff this y ear. Regents asked the legislature for a full million but only eot $440.000: so they added $100,000 by shaving other allotments. About 80 per cent of the 1,522 educators will get raises--on a merit basis. A third of that number will get boosts of $500 or more. According to President E. B. Fred, faculty members on a 10- month, academic year basis will average an 8.3 per cent increase. Others serving 12-month terms will average 8.1 per cent. The pay increases went to instruc- tors, assistant, associate, and full professors and those administrative employes not under civil service. Talk of salaries brings up some questions. For what reasons are pay boosts given? Who decides who gets how much? How do faculty members advance in professorial rank? WHY PAY BOOSTS? Much wage hiking is done to bring salaries somewhere near the cost of living and to meet competition of other comparable universities. Right now, the lower the faculty rank, the closer are salaries to pre- war purchasing levels. Instructors, 15 that Wisconsin's Wisconsin ranked third in economics full million but onlv --ot $440 000:
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