The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1963-09-27


However, Regent Gordon L. Doer-
ing, Helena dentist widely regarded
as the Boards master mind, and
Governor Tim Babcock's chief advisor
on educational matters, disagreed
with the TIME analysis and charged
the liberal element" among the ia
Guilty with responsibility for New
burns leave-taking. Doering, who
combines professional dentistry and
demagoguery with amateur literary
criticism Sample: Leslie Fiedler's
contributions to date in the field of
literature can honestly be appraised
as 'tripe'.'') was joined in the accu-
sation by the Governor, who said the
University's local union of the Amer
lean Federation of Teachers caused
''the resignation of one of our most
able educators" (Newburn).
That a large segment of the ia
Guilty at MSU became disenchanted
with the Newburn administration no
informed person will deny. Because
the issues which created this division
are of concern to all who honestly
desire high quality college education,
it seems worthwhile to put some of
them on the public record.
In their attacks on MSU's Teach
ers Union, Regent Doering and
Governor Babcock implied that
faculty actions threatened the quail
ity of Montana higher education.
To responsible faculty leaders, on
the other hand, it had long since
become evident that the Newburn
administration was fast leading the
University down mediocrity road.
More than year ago, the elected
Advisory Committee to the Dean of
the College of Arts and Sciences
unanimously announced, in it's an
nual report to the faculty, it's deep
concern for what it saw as a 'deteri-
Grating academic climate. Factors
involved in this deterioration were
evident enough, and most important |
among them was personnel policy. |
The Newburn administration used its |
control over salaries, promotion, hir- /
ing and firing to punish those of
whom it disapproved and to reward |
those who helped build its idea of a
proper public image" of the Uni
versity. One particularly pernicious
and demoralizing practice involved
the assignment of black marks for
negative community service. On
this basis, one assistant professor who
had publicly taken a position against
construction of private fallout shell
tiers received almost no raises for
three years although his teaching and
research were admittedly outstand- {
ing, facts grudgingly conceded when
he finally was promoted this year. t
In another case, Newburn fired an !
associate professor with seven years |
service in the University rather than
give him tenure. This brilliant teach J
er and exceptional scholar, had :
threatened the precious ''image" by !,
such activities as a one-man parade #
on UN. Day, after Montana's far .
right Governor refused to proclaim it. +
So many outstanding faculty h
members left in disgust in 1862 f
that it became known as "the year $
of the great exodus.
But the most startling event on b
Newburn's march toward mediocrity p
occurred this spring with his inter n
ference in the hiring of staff re- C
placement in the Zoology Department. n
DIR. w. o. Pruitt, Jr., a brilliant young a
biologist, was favored for the posi- t.
ton at MSU by unanimous vote of
the Department, a recommendation r
concurred in by the Dean. d
Pruitt, however, has been involved o
in a controversy in Alaska about s.
Project Chariot, the Atomic Energy il
proposal to excavate h
harbor in Cape Thompson by nu- p
clear explosion. Working under an g
Acc grant to the University of Alas q
ka. where he was faculty member, 81
Pruitt's research led him to the con- fl
clusion that such an explosion would til
be deleterious ito the life of the area, f;
particularly to the Esl<imos. When h
ne stated this conclusion, his super cl
ors at the University of Alaska edited d
he report to suit the Acc Pruitt tt