Butler University - Carillon / Drift Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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tcMiXcn t Butler has a new president, Dr. M. O. Ross, but Dr. Ross is no stranger to Butler students. Dr. Ross came to Butler in 1938 as the first dean and organizer of the College of Business Administration. He assumed the role as acting president of the institution last spring and accepted the office permanently during the fall of ' 42. Before coming to Butler Dr. Ross served for thirteen years as dean at Earlham college and was a professor at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Ross was married to the former Miss Rachel Borders of Mississippi in 1929. The pride and joy of the Ross household is young Jerry, aged three and a half, who lives with his parents in the president s house of the university. Dr. Ross ' s acceptance of the office of president was comparatively unheralded and unsung . In a time of war university officials felt that an impres- sive inaugural ceremony would be out of place, so Dr. Ross moved from his second story office to the first floor and went on with the duties he had been discharging as acting president. The policy of the university during wartime is two-fold, according to Dr. Ross. The first duty of the institution is to aid the government and the armed forces in educational programs. The second is to maintain the regular college program for civilian students. During his term as acting president the Naval Signal Corps school was established in the field- house. r Since February the former Campus Club, which served as the school canteen, has been transformed into the girls gym and a new cafeteria has been constructed in the basement of Jordan Hall. Dr. Ross also reorganized the Student-Faculty War Council with a five point program calling for the regular purchase by students and faculty mem- bers of war stamps, the collection of scrap metal, donations of blood to the Red Cross blood bank, air-raid and fire protection and a series of lectures on nutrition open to students and the public. Cooperating with the military branches of the United States, approximately 50 per cent of the enrolled men students are enlisted in the reserve corps of the army, navy and marines. Many of these hove already been called to active service. Dr. Ross has been instrumental in realigning the university curriculum in the sciences and mathe- matics in order to better serve the nation s war program. With the advent of the Army Air crew school he has aided in the reorganization of uni- versity programs to free Butler professors to teach classes to the servicemen. The university has also altered its program to include several training courses for war industries in both day and evening school divisions. Butler is proud of its new president — proud of his ability to make our university meet the standards it has always held, even during a time when the remainder of the world is torn by confusion.

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The 52nd College Training Detachment of Butler University was establis hed on March 1, 1943. The purpose of this work was to offer additional college training to air crew students who ore potential pilots. These potential pilots study physics, physics laboratory, mathematics, geography, his- tory, and English under a corps of faculty professors. Besides this academic work these students are required to take two hours of military work doily- one hour of physical education and ten hours of flying. The flying is conducted at Hoosier Airport under the direction of Mr. Shank who has thirty-two trainer planes. The daily schedule of these students starts at 5:30 in the morning and ends with taps at 9:30 each night. During the day they have one hour of supervised study and again at night they hove one hour and a half for concentration work. It is really a marvelous opportunity for any young man to attend college at the expense of his govern- ment and at the same time, learn to serve his country by becoming an aviator. The air crew students are stationed in the field house and in the various fraternity houses. Head- quarters ore in the former faculty lounge in Jordan Hall.