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