Montana State University Northern - Northerner Yearbook (Havre, MT)

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DIRECTORS OF ORTI .NUR DR. DUANE R. TAFT Head of Teacher Education Division The Teacher Education Division at Northern was just a Junior College providing a two-year elementary diploma program until 1954. Dr. Taft joined Northern 's faculty that year, and was assisted by Miss Esther Oehring. One year later, the secondary education program was introduced. Teacher Education programs came to be noted as it was accredited by the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education and recognized as a four-year college by the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools in 1958. This division, so efficientlyheaded by Dr. Taft, graduated 25 per cent more people in 1958 than it did in 1955. These graduates go to many different places in the United States, Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming to mention some of the most prominent locations. During the summer, Dr. Taft also plans and administers the summer sessions of Teacher Education. Like every- thing else at Northern, these sessions have grown from 249 students in 1955 to 345 students in 1959. Dr. Taft plays a very important part as vice-president of our college also. During the regular academic year, he is director of correspondence and extension. Personally, Dr. Taft feels that the student working on a four-year education program at Northern can find a closer contact with his teachers. A small school, featuring one central idea in a primary field, can give more con- trol and intimate contact with its students, he believes. . In addition to liking a smaller school, Dr. Taft and his family like the smaller city and friendly community of Havre. They intend to stay here and raise their two boys in this friendly atmosphere. 6

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PRESIDE T'S MESSAGE BUILDING AND GROWING This year's annual features many of the new buildings on the campus including those that are under construction. Buildings in which students can work and have their recreation are vitally important. In a sense, students and building should grow together, for as Edward Markham, an American poet observes: Why build these cities glorious If man unbuilded goes? ' In vain we build the world Q Unless the builder also grow. In our recognition of the importance of buildings for schools and colleges, we must never forget that human beings occupy these buildings and that buildings and grounds are primarily for the purpose of im- proving the conditions that surround learning. ' College buildings should in a way reflect the values emphasized in the culture of which they are a part. Thus our deep appreciation of freedom in America means, in terms of building, space for living and studying. Therefore, some classrooms should be large, some small. Rooms need to be made avail- able for creative work in art, music, and other fields. In planning school buildings of the future, architects, builders, and planners ought to include some relatively small laboratories for individual experimentation, studying, thinking, or meditating, if we are to give recognition to another principle--that individuals in America are unique and different. Beauty, in terms of buildings, creates the feeling of visual delight on our campus. This is illustrated especially by the new Student Union, the Armory-Gymnasium, the new dormitory for men, the Kuhr Memorial, and the general overall plan of the campus as it is evolving. Taking the Kuhr Memorial as an example, this touch of beauty on our campus symbolizes the need for water in the plains region, the animals that used to frequent this area, and the appreciation which the Indians who lived here had for rain, typified by the Indian standing on the horse with his hands uplifted welcoming the rain. The seats adjacent to the pool make it possible for people to sit, think, or meditate and appreciate this spot of beauty on our campus. We here at Northern are striving to illustrate that in America our people do appreciate things of beauty and that one can find beauty in many things if one will but observe and think about the matter. Fine buildings, well-designed, reflect, too, another value important to all of us, namely, that we are interested in giving primacy to the human and spiritual rather than the material values of life and to build for the best human relations possible. Admittedly, there is much conflict in our day-to-day living in our society, but good physical surroundings tend to keep the tensions down to manageable proportions. Our value system in America includes the search for truth. Here again we must find answers to such questions as, What is the best type of structure for this Northern Great Plains region in which we live? How do we build defenses against extremes of temperature or wind? I am sure answers can be found even though it takes a little time. For example, during the drought of the thirties, we found the answer to soil conservation in this area through strip farming, dams, and ponds. We will find it too in more adequate and well -designed buildings for this region. Beautiful buildings,grass, and trees do lend an atmosphere which helps to produce high-quality learn- ing. Whena campus creates a total picture of visual delight, students and faculty alike find the search for truth a little more stimulating. These values, these buildings, important as they are, mean very little if human beings who study and work in them do not get the vision that this nation, under God, can steadily move forward to a great and noble life. fit 5

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N 'S THREE DIVISION S MR. LOUIS W. HAGENER Director of Basic Curricula Division A fairly new division, Basic Curricula, is headed by Mr. Louis Hagener. This division is made up of many departments which consist of: science, mathe- matics, music, art, social studies, English, physical education, and business administration. Besides con- trollingtthese departments Basic Curricula is a ser- vice division for the Vocational-Technical and Teacher Education Division. All pre-professional careers are headed by this division. Mr. Hagener began working on Northern's staff as Head ofthe Science Department in 1951. ln 1955, he accepted the position he now occupies. In addition to steady work for building better education for our students, Mr. Hagener finds time to hunt and fish in this area. He prefers a smaller com- munity to a larger one all the way from teaching to raising three boys and one girl, because of the greater opportunities a smaller community offers. DR. O. E. KJOS Director of Vocational Technology Division Northern is proud of this special division and more proud of the man who heads it, Dr. O. E. Kjos. This division of training is offered to Montana stu- dents only at Northern. lt gives a student the vo- cational training he needs as well as a general training in English, mathematics, and science. Since 1949, Dr. Kjos has been in the Industrial Arts Division. During the years of 1952-53, he ex- tended his education and came back in 1954 as Director of the Division of Vocational Technology. l-Ie works hand in hand with the other two heads to develop new programs here at Northern. They work on supervision and improvement of instruction. Besides all this, they work out budgets, take in- ventories, and plan for new equipment and facilities. Seeing Northern advance to promote better educated people is their goal. Mr. and Mrs. Kjos and their family, two girls and one boy, enjoy living in Havre. They feel that our community is an ideal place to live and Northern an ideal place to work. jf WX f