University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Transition—the movement from one place to another; a change of state; the movement to a new outlook: a change of style. Transition creates an an atmosphere of uncertainty, ambiguity, unrest, fluctuation, and constant turmoil. It is a time for the unexpected and the norm is abnormality. 1966 was a year of transition for Pitt. Once fiscal tremors first rocked the Cathedral’s immovable foundation in 1965, change became inevitable. Chancellor Edward H. Litchfield left the University and a dream left Pittsburgh. The goal of a private University with an academic orientation became an Alice-in-Wonderland tale as the realities of capital expenditure said: “deficit.” A reactionary movement replaced that dream, pointing to the “old fashioned bargain days” when Pitt’s prime goal was serving the community with low tuition and classrooms for the Pittsburgh masses. Community service first, academic concern second. Money became the by-word. Dr. Stanton Crawford acted as Chancellor guiding the University to its new perspective, preserving the status quo, and ultimately suffering a fatal heart attack. David Kurtzman, ex-Governor David Lawrence's financial right-hand man, was brought here on contract to set the books straight. Strict fiscal measures were employed, maintenance and security staffs cut, and faculty received little financial encouragement. Crawford spoke as Kurtzman and Dr. Edgar Cale, Vice Chancellor of Development, lobbied ’round the clock for increased aid. University affairs became increasingly tied to state politics as Democrats and Republicans used the University as a political football. The state aid came in late summer, tuition was lowered, and admissions of commuter and in state students received prime emphasis. Administrative elites began conscious modeling of Pitt after those more noted academic institutions, Penn State and Temple. The financial balance sheet received a large credit, the academic balance sheet an immeasurable loss. Externally there was little evidence of the school’s changing demeanor. Construction took its usual place in the drab Oakland landscape. I he Hillman library rose steadily, the Frick Fine Arts Building opened, construction of terraced athletic fields began, an addition to Salk I fall emerged, and a proposed annex to Langley Hall was announced. All appeared to be booming as in the farsighted Litchfield plan. Inside the hallowed halls of concrete and steel, all was busting. Personnel changes proliferated as new turns were constructed in the corridors of power. Some seemed good, too many seemed bad. If you wanted a man from Pitt, 1966 was the year to get him. In the merry-go-round atmosphere of academia professors are continually lured by competing schools with variable financial and status offers. Pitt was in crisis— it was low on finances and its endeavor to climb the rocky