Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1981)
Boyd returns to Eugene for inauguration William Boyd By SALLY HODGKINSON Ofttw Emarato The title "University president" no longer preceeds William Boyd's name Also gone are the dark circles below his eyes, the deep lines etched in his forehead and the tension that hung abount him like faint perfume Fifteen months after a worn-out man gladly left the University presidency for less tension and more money, Bill Boyd, citizen, arrives as a relaxed, easy-going visitor to the University “I miss the place but not the job "When I left, I was very tired I'm certainly more rested now — I'm entirely rested now. I have a job that is not characterized by the same kinds of pressure at all. “I have a job in which my concerns are always months ahead, so I don't have that kind of intense relationship to day to day activities that a university president has It’s much less demanding in terms of nervous energy And it's nervous energy that is so tiring '" Memories — good and bad — are part of Boyd's visit But the pressure of the athletic scandal is someone else's headache The agonizing budget cuts aren't felt in Racine, Wise All the attention is on recently inaugurated Pres Paul Olum Boyd prefers it that way Olum is the reason he's in town "I don't think I'm at all sentimental, but I take a lot of pleasure in seeing old colleagues, and I take enourmous pleasure in the fact that Paul is being inaugurated After all. I brought him to the University, and i have a special sense of pride about that “I have every confidence that he will be a superb president " Boyd says he and Olum operated the University as a "virtual partnership" from 1976 to 1980 "Paul and I were very close partners when I was here and I don't have a sense that he's going to go about things very differently After all. how I did things was very much influenced by Paul " But there are differences between the two Olum is more sociable, open; Boyd is more private, tense Those differences influence Olum's reactions to the pressures of the pre sidency. Boyd says "Paul is his own man He's a sociable per son I think he talks more easily than I do and finds It easier to share Those are personal characteristics that will influence the admin istration in a favorable way " Despite immense budget pressure, Olum seems to enjoy the office, Boyd says "I think he's holding up beautifully under pressure He's got that lean and hungry look that is the mark of the office "Look at him," Boyd says, gesturing Olum, while laughing with a faculty member, pauses to check his watch The inaugruation is less than an hour away "He's very much at ease, says Boyd Boyd says he hasn't kept in touch with friends at the University "I have honorable intentions, but I'm not a good correspondent " Racine is a long way from Eugene And the presidency of the Johnson Foundation is a lot different than the University presidency As president, Boyd oversees an foundation that develops programs, seminars and symposiums on arms control, the physical, social and cultural environment, education and race relations Higher education is an issue the Johnson Foundation dabbles in, but Boyd says the foundation's emphasis on education is switching from higher to secondary "As a national priority, secondary edcation is a more urgent need We rely on high schools to socialize a whole body of citizens "The high schools are not succeeding, and we re moving into an area where we are suf fering from civic illiteracy, of citizens who aren't well enough informed to perform their duties as citizens." It’s a long way from Racine to Eugene — in terms of time, issues and priorities as well as distance But, for a weekend, Bill Boyd is back in town And as he steps out into the sunny fall day, he remembers some of the good "It looks as lovely as I remember it.” Olum joins a long line of University presidents By DAWN GARCIA Of the Emerald It’s been more than 200 years since John Wesley John son, the University's first pre sident opened the campus — consisting soley of Deady Hall — to 177 students and five faculty members Between that day in Oc tober, 1876, and Sunday’s in auguration of Pres Paul Olum in 1981, the University has seen numerous generations of students, the fading of rigid 19th century discipline, the new zaniness of the Roaring Twen ties, the sobering Great De pression, two world wars, a commercial age, the Vietnam war, the present computer era - and 13 University presidents And yet, the main goal for the University remains intact: to educate students Just how to do this has been highly disputed Each University president used his experiences, his personality and the mood of the times to mold the University a bit differ ently than his predecessors did The ferocious morality of the late 1800s and his patriarchal personality caused Johnson, the pioneer president, to rule over a school that demanded its students to study dilligently, conduct themselves in a discreet and proper manner and never drink, smoke or stay Page 10 out past 11 p m Failure to abide by these and other "Rules for the Government of the Students” meant expulsion from the University Social dancing and roller skating were even con sidered inappropriate The school concentrated on textbook-learning of Greek and Latin, although law, medicine, music and art were added under Johnson s reign Essentially, Johnson steered the University through its shaky first 17 years not through in novation, but by his un derstanding of Oregonians' su spicion of higher education He established the school as a moral, educational institution Under Charles Hiram Chapman, the second Universi ty president, the school grew out of its identity as a college serving only Eugene and Lane County The University truly became a state institution as it gained statewide support and recognition through Chapman's influence in intellectual and legislative circles However, it was this change and others instituted by Chapman that caused the Eugene Guard newspaper to attack him as a dictator and a radical He attempted and suc cessfully established the lecture system, the elective system and generally liberalized education at the University Petitions to the Board of Regents criticized his unorthodox views on higher education; eventually some demanded that he be removed from office ''The person bearing the worst reputation for truth and veracity is Dr Chapman, its (the University) president, who is a polished flatterer and adroit in triguer,' accused one member of the community in a letter to the Guard After much discussion, the board voted unan imously to ignore the petitions, but opposition to Chapman continued to grow in the University community as he questioned popular ideas Succeeding presidents began to shape the University to their ideas, though not as radical as Chapman's Frank Strong, president from 1899 to 1902, was credited with estab lishing departments with deans Strong also increased the size as well as importance of the campus library According to University historians, one of the most popular and successful pre sidents was Prince Lucien Campbell, nicknamed "Good Prince Campbell" by University students During his 23-year term, he effectively handled the ever-present budget problems by persuading the legislature to increase the University's fund ing year by year The University, John Wesley Johnson then just a small educational institution, gained national recognition under his guidance The tight money situation, a reality not one University pre sident escaped, shadowed Arnold Bennett Hall's inaugura tion in 1926, the year of Oregon's golden anniversary. The presidents who followed Hall — Clarence Boyer, Donald E(*b, Harry Newburn, O Me redith Wilson, Arthur Flemming, Robert Clark and William Boyd — have all fought inflation and frugal state legislatures Monday, October 12,1981
