Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

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in the campaign. A typewriter room was made available in Russ hall for the students. During their free hours the students worked in this room sending out hundreds of letters to key persons in all parts of the state con- cerning the separation. Modern day repetition of this procedure Was observed in the spring of 1959 when Kansas State students again supported in word and deed the- proposal of a change in the name of the college to fit its present liberal arts status. For the next 27 years, from 1913 to 1940, William A. Brandenburg served as the chief officer and first presi- dent of the Manual Training School. Before the close of President Brandenburg's' first year, disaster struck 44 and threatened the very existence of the school. On june 29, 1944, Russ hall was struck by lightning and burned. Undoubtedly the damage to Russ proved to be only a temporary set-back. It was ac- cepted as a challenge, and plans for future developments began to take form. 9

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Russ. When the bill was finally passed, the legislature voted to fine Senator Porter, Mr. Russ and their asso- ciates a barrel of apples for the successful lobbying . On his return to Pittsburg, Mr. Russ told a few of the stu- dents that if at the proper time in the assembly the motion was made to fine the faculty a barrel of apples, he would let the students vote on it. The first Apple Day was March 8, 1905. Though this story may not exactly fit the true facts, the tradition was established and has been passed to successive generations of Pittsburg students. During the administration of Dr. George E. Myers, second principal of the State Manual Training Normal School, there was a renewed demand for separation from the Emporia school. Students took an active part

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President Brandenburg was constantly urging teachers to prepare themselves to render more effi- cient service without waiting to be prodded by rising standards of qualifications, which he predicted would surely come. And he was continually striving for improvement in the facilities and offerings of the teacher training institutions. One of the significant and lasting contributions of the Brandenburg administration is to be found in the stimulus to improve in the professional qualifications of members of the instructional staff of the College . This is a contribution that has been made by every administration of the college. It was also during the Brandenburg administration that the transformation of the Manual Training Normal School into a College for Teachers, both in act and in name, and in raising the standards of the institution to the point where it merited and received recognition as a liberal arts college also took place. It was during this period, too, that a course in graduate studies was inaugurated.