Two historic leaders were at OAC during this period: College President William Jasper Kerr, who was far seeing in his objectives and believed in the distribution of responsibility; and Captain Ulysses G. McAlexander, whose record as a commandant and soldier was outstanding. McAlexander was commandant and professor of Military Science and Tactics from 1907–1912, and again from 1915–1916. While at OAC, he increased the battalions to four, and replaced the old Springfield rifles with the then modern Krag–Jørgensen rifles, securing 720 of them for the 700 Cadets. The military band was increased to 60 pieces and played at commencements. Captain H. L. Beard, long their conductor, took the band to the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, where they played for a month, bringing much acclaim to Oregon State.