University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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East Experiment Station 1910 Butterfield ' s growing ambitions for the College and the State House ' s attempts to systematize the business of the State were approaching head on. Two important amendments to the State Constitution were passed; One providing that no State funds would go to any institution that wasn ' t part of the public control and the other providing that the General Court organize State activities into twenty departments. After the passing of the first amendment, the College succeeded in dissolving itself as a corporation and in having its maintenance provided for by the State. Therefore, after the second amendment, the College was placed in the Department of Education. Financial trouble brewed almost immediately between the State House and the Departments, the former attempting to keep expenses low, the latter trying to increase their resources. The relations between the College and the State government thickened with red tape. Unhappy because of the situation, Butterfield resigned in 1924. Dr. Lewis guided the College until 1927, continually arguing that the College could not be efficiently administered by the Commission of Administration and Finance. Somewhat of a victory was won in 1926 when acting-President Lewis and company petitioned the General Court and Governor Fuller signed the bill which provided that nothing would stand in the way to harm the powers of the Trustees of the College. By the initiation of the new President in 1933, the In terfraternity Sing, Maroon Key, Homecoming Day and departmental honors work had been established. Alpha Gamma Rho, Sigma Beta Chi, Lambda Delta Nu, Alpha Lambda Mu,and Phi Zeta had been organized. In February of 1933, President Hugh Potter Baker, who relieved President Thatcher, outlined his policies for M.S.C., the change of name having come in 1931, after much agitation. His aim for the College was to produce men and women equipped not only with specific education but also with culture and understanding. Baker believed that a College should aid the students by inciting enthusiasm; he expressed the importance of keeping down expenses.

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Mass. 6 Mass. 6 Mass. 6 Mass. 18 Mass . 10 Mass. 5 The Legislature, in the same year, combined the Mass. State Agricultural Experiment Stat ion and the Hatch Experiment Station. The College magazine carried the name AGGIE LIFE. Undergraduates received the innovations of senior electives and exemptions from final exams for high ranking students. In the 1896 graduation, President Goodell awarded advanced degrees for the first time in the College ' s history. This graduating class was also under a new system whereby students in Boston University and M.A.C. could simultaneously receive bachelor ' s degrees from both institutions— a practice which lasted until 1911. Another important advancement in Goodell ' s term was the offering of graduate work. He remained as President until 1905 and presided over a period which witnessed the first Inter-Fraternity Conference, the establishment of the Student Senate, the replacement of terms by semesters, the introduction of varsity basketball, the establishment of junior electives , the beginning of Phi Kappa Phi, and on the darker side, the death of the great Levi Stockbridge— that influential Connecticut Valley farmer who had done so much for this institution with which he had been associated for 42 years. An interesting sidelight to note is the rise in importance and popularity of football on the college scene. Especially interesting was the M.A.C. football record in 1901: The Aggies lost one game to Williams, The other eight games resulted in the following scores: Pittsfield W esleyan Tufts W.P.I. 12 Springfield Q Amherst Mass. 11 Boston College The year 1906 ushered in President Kenyon L. Butterfield, a man great in agriculture, to relieve Dr. William Penn Brooks who was acting President. President Butterfield was to preside until 1924, except for certain periods in which Dr. James B. Paige and Edward Morgan Lewis took the duties of President. President Butterfield went all out for organization and set up many projects which he fulfilled before the end of his term. Butterfield reorganized th e Student Senate, giving it authority over undergraduate relations; he submitted an organized program for hazing; he engaged George F. Mills to serve as Dean and as head of the division of Humanities; he brought such men as Lewis, Hicks, and Machmer to the M.A.C. roster; he saw his $250,000.00 maintenance bill passed over the veto of Governor Foss; he worked on an Extension Service Program to extend agricultural education to farmers; he presided over the construction Alumni Field. By 1916, there were 668 students, 72 instructors, a total staff of 175 and 275 courses of study. M.A.C. was the only college in the country concerned with agriculture exclusively. As its scholastic outlets grew, so too did its social outlets. Theta Nu Epsilon, Kappa Gamma Phi, Theta Chi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Lambda Chi Alpha, Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Phi Gamma were added to the fraternity roster. Butterfield ' s reign was marked by the introduction of High School Day, the formation of the debating team, the founding of the Roister Doisters, the change in name of the newspaper to the COLLEGIAN, the establishment of Adelphia and a sadder note — the passing away of the famous Goessman. The same black cloud that hung over the rest of the world spread its billows over the United States in 1916 as we entered the first World War; 1304 Aggie boys donned uniforms. A Student Army Training Corps was established on campus. Some of the buildings were converted to barracks. In 1921, passersby stopped in front of the newly-constructed Memorial Hall and read, WE WILL KEEP FAITH WITH YOU WHO LIE ASLEEP And if they were to go inside they could see a plaque with the names of 51 Aggie men who never returned from that war. As the face of the campus was continually changing, so was the speci es of its inhabitants. A law in 1894 had given the President authority to establish courses for women students. This law proved to be very useful, for after the war years there was a terrific rise in women ' s enrollment. In 1919 Miss Edna Skinner became head of the Home Economics Department and Adviser to Women, and the first women ' s dormitory, Abigail Adams House, was erected. Another important innovation during Butterfield ' s administration was the establishment of a two-year course in practical agriculture, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

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After the depression hit, Baker expressed his concern in that the College should aid in the problem of conserving and developing natural resources and that the College equipment could be used in the fight against the economic slump. Despite the depression, the institution grew both physically and spiritually. In 1933 Governor Ely submitted a bill to the N.R.A. program for a new library and boy ' s dormitory for the College. In 1934 Goodell Library, named in honor of the late President, and Thatcher Hall, in honor of former President Roscoe Thatcher who had died the preceding December, were completed. The curriculum reflected depression effects: special Physical Education courses offered for recreational and playground instruction; introduction of vocational courses in summer school curriculum to aid unemployed; increased enrollment by many who couldn ' t afford privately-endowed institutions. This last factor presented a problem due to limited facilities. It was this early depression period which saw sororities move into houses of their own; the opening of the Campus Store at North College; the establishment of Thursday morning convocations; and the publication of Dr. Frank Prentice Rand ' s YESTERDAYS AT MASSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGE to which we owe a great deal in the writing of this history. In his 1935 report. President Baker could list the following accomplishments: 1. Improvements in training and research. 2. Improved opportunities for study and extracurricular interests; more cultural opportunities. 3. Better student leadership and representation. 4. Campus used more for educational meetings of various organizations. 5. Recognized need for planning for increased student body. 6. Increased extension service. Yet President Baker was worried; the College couldn ' t possibly take all those who wished to enroll, at least not without physical additions and salary raises for the staff. Its being grouped with penal and charitable State institutions, financial control was a handicap. This fear of security was given a touch of sadness by the death of former President Kenyon Butterfield on Nov. 26, 1935- In this same year, an agitation movement was started to bring about a Bachelor of Arts degree. As this would require a great change in program and possibly alienate groups with agricultural interests in the College, President Baker didn ' t push for the degree at this time. A look at the College in the years 1936 to 1939 can serve as an example of the modern advances made by this institution. In 1936 the Women ' s Athletic Field was dedicated--a representative symbol of how the status of co-eds had risen. All freshman men were living on campus for the first time and all students enjoyed the extensive improvement of classrooms and labs. The total of credits was reduced from 72 to 60, and the required courses of the first two years were liberalized. The B.A. award was finally introduced; President Baker pxsinted out that the widening scope of the College had been a good sign and that the liberalizing movement was legal enough in that the Morrill Act of 1862 hadn ' t stipulated that it was necessary for a state-supported school to be concerned with agriculture only. A Campus Planning Council was organized to work on a building plan for the coEege— to provide a map for the new building locations, including dormitories for the rising enrollment. (The undergraduate body reached a high of 1208 in Sept. of 1939.) An allotment of $63,000 was received for renovating South College; the State appropriated $55,000 to the school for damage incurred due to the 1938 hurricane. Two more dormitories— Lewis House and Butterfield House, which were completed respectively in 1940 and 1941— were started by the Alumni Building Corporation. The founding of Isogon organization in 1940 ran parallel to the establishment of another org anization of a totally different nature. This organization was a committee created to make a study of facilities and services which the College could offer in case the United States became involved in war. Following this, a College Defense Council was set up. Later, the College announced that it could accept a program of training civilian pilots and of giving refresher courses to industrial workers. These precautions were not futile; on the contrary, they were just the beginning steps in a long program, for when the U.S. entered the Second World War, M.S.C. launched an all-out program of training and defense Like all other institutions of American life, M.S.C. had to adapt itself to a new pattern of living due to the wartime crisis.