, 1908-03-23

To the Alumni and Friends of the University of Wyoming:
The success of a state university depends upon its having the con-
fdence of the people, and for that reason the people should know as much
as possible about the administration of its affairs. The alumni in par
tcular have a right to be informed about conditions and problems,
especially when matters of great concern are under consideration.
Last spring the Governor of Wyoming appointed a special commission
to investigate the administration of the University. The commission met
in August and, after looking into the situation, made two very important
recommendations:
1--WE recommend the appointment of a Board of Trustees which shall
be noaParisan, in the sniettest ense of the word and that but ia a bare
course will tend to establish confidence.
Eve recommend that the President Of the University be made in fact,
held responsible to the Board of Trustees for any Encouragement
These two recommendations ire in line with thoroughly established
principles of university administration. At the national conference Of
College and University Trustees held at the University of Illinois in 1906,
Hon. Andrew S. Draper, IL. D, Commissioner of Education for the State
of New York, thus phrased the principle of centralized administration:
"The unity and security of a university can be assured only through
minister a great office, or an office responsible for great results, and have
fg aDee' of hi bs w poTkeST He will h@ ~e enough neSsh't to think Gn of ofov Without 90 y" having Rny
any d %%h upon apo p that subject es H. ,7na.a s..o. : 81. r.a..,, cou-..
the PRESIDENT " tn OF f tfe asiTe rs ei IS q to the Seaasi Of t trustees as Es's''' Congress-
is terse ys expressed SeHsHf in m the SH Statements %e% that 9S boGes IesisIa se's sad ii@ individuals RSssis
.ix.n 1.-The the inc indi W ,d trustee me%sd has ,t no power BOY Ss Of hos s9eFy TRo t or direction tic n not 70
done i" session, after the modification OF individual opinions through joint
ecutive functions"
In 1900, DR. A c, True Director of Experiment Stations of the United
States Department of Agriculture, who by virtue of his office is intimately
familiar with the administrative work of all the Immigrant colleges, said
in his annual report to the Secretary of Agriculture:
The successful college president, understanding the requirements Of
affairs and manage the s peSonneI OF snch n institutions il se He p will T Iook to his his
B BslsS bit b Rs f 2ss Rs1 s . is h5rf 6 fI iafy i9 ssnsBiss i h ' 5Sn assfsHls s5 '6 6f
the ~h9lG institution i9snt T5s and s his ToT bs should nn "ddr be judf Gee with whd reference % reno d to is
connected with the institution that he is responsible to the president for his
"one especially annoying and unjusti6able feature of the present system
nn sf s $e%@ry" Of % S T Bosrd p' w 'e s sosss ss a Of rep pr 1 en- s0 on tRe Sos ns'E IN
5 bfmg intervals ~ te Of bNSeet Their 4 meetings tRe insin nfd exercises iedaSesd mPGFta an aa oTsnd. re-
There is thus divided responsibility in the daily administration and in case
center for discomfort and dsloyaIy is ready at hand, All the legitimate
registrar n other officer attached to the PRESIDENT Office, and thus an
tenn of these institutions "S' ' >"
The history of the various state universities has emphasized the i'm
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disastrous results of conditions. deplored by DR.. True. Most state univer-
stiles in the beginning were too'1oose in their administration to be effective
and too close to politics to command the confidence OF the people as educa-
tional institutions. Political considerations entered into the appointment of
boards of trustees and the politicians o these boards had too much to do
with the details of administration. No state university ever has succeeded
and no state university ever will succeed until its administration has been
centralized and freed entirely from the machinery of politics.
The University of Wyoming has been repeating the early history of the
other state universities, and unfortunately it has not yet ougrown these
deporabe conditions. The testimony of the presidents of our University
is clear upon this point 1t is well known that President Smiley declared
the University was injured by its close political affiliations and that the
administration was handicapped bv he identical conditions explained and
lamented by DR.. True. The late President Lewis had served the institu-
ton only a year when he died, but he had already recognized the condi-
tons, and is known to have said that he would be compelled to resign
unless a radical change could be made. The present President has been
unable to cenraize the executive authority in his Office m account of the
determined opposition of the President and Secretary of the Board, and he
has found it impossible to establish the University in the confidence of the
people a a purely educational institution, because the President of the
Board is a active political leader and is known to influence the smallest
details of University administration through the Secretarys office, which is
not considered strictly subordinate to the Office of the President of the
University.
The recommendations of the Investigating Commission have not i'm
proved the situation. AT the December meeting of the Board of Trustees
a determined effort was made to block the plans of the President of the
University and, if possible to force his resignation, though nothing was
accomplished.
A special meeting was called for February 9Th, and previous to this
meeting the issue was squarey joined Is to whether the administration of
the University should be put upon a clear educational basis. Members of
the Faculty spoke very frankly to the members of the Board who con-
suited them, and a large majority of professors who have been a the
University for some time and are familiar with the conditions signed the
following resolution of confidence:
RESOLUTION OF CONFIDENCE
WHEREAS, 1t has come to our knowledge that DR.. F. M. Tisders posi-
ton as President of the University has been called into question; and,
WHEREAS, 1t is III settled belief that frequent change in the admin
istration, except for grave reasons, is unwise; and,
WHEREAS, So far as W. are able to Judge, President Tsdel has given
and has sincerely y tried to give every y member Hs of Of this Faculty the SQUARE
DEAL and every department equal chance; and,
WHEREAS, Although the University has not propered to the extent
that W e all most earnestly desire to see, yet W e believe that his policy has
been a wise one; that the University has grown greatly in efficiency during
his administration, and that he is not to be held responsible for the fact
that the growth in numbers Of students has been slow; and,
WHEREAS, Plans are under way for an aggressive campaign for stu
dents during lSS-a campaign approved and joined by members of the
Facuty-and as it is our judgment that a large measure of success will in
due time be noted if his policy and plans be permitted to mature; there
fore, be it
"ResOlved, By the undersigned members of the Faculty, That we ex-