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A Photographic History of Oregon State University

Builders of a Great University

Since its designation as the state’s land-grant institution in 1868, hundreds of people have served Oregon State University in leadership capacities. These leaders provided the framework and vision for OSU’s evolution from a church-affiliated institution that was not much more than a preparatory school to the top-tier Carnegie Foundation–designated research institution that it is today.

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Professor John Letcher and calculus students, ca. 1892. Letcher (1853-1938, front row center) came to OAC in 1888 and taught mathematics, engineering and military science and tactics. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1873 with a degree in civil engineering, and was the son of Virginia’s Confederate governor. Letcher served as acting president in 1892 after Benjamin Arnold’s sudden death and before John Bloss arrived later that year. Letcher was one of the candidates for the position of president, but Bloss had an edge because of his experience as an education administrator. Letcher left OAC in 1894 to teach mathematics at the University of Oregon. (P25:1554)
William Arthur Jensen, ca. 1930. Jensen (1881 -1945) served as executive secretary for presidents Kerr and Peavy and was a member of the college’s administrative council. He came to OAC in 1907. After President Kerr was in an auto accident and needed nearly a year to recover, Jensen served as the de facto president of OAC during Kerr’s hiatus. The campus gates were dedicated to Jensen for his strong support of WPA art projects on campus during the 1930s. (HC 258)
Dean of Forestry Paul M. Dunn observing a pinecone, November 1950. Dunn (1898-1988) was OSC’s dean of forestry from 1942 to 1955. He was instrumental in OSC obtaining the 6,200 acre Adair Tract from the federal government after World War II. A large portion of this tract became the Paul M. Dunn Research Forest. Prior to coming to OSC, he had been dean of forestry at Utah State College from 1931 to 1938. After leaving Oregon State, Dunn worked for the St. Regis Paper Company until 1968. He was a 1975 recipient of the Society of American Foresters’ Gifford Pinchot Award. (HC 200)
Fred Burgess at the Corvallis wastewater treatment plant, ca. 1960. Burgess came to OSU in 1953 as an instructor, and served as department chair of civil engineering from 1966 to 1971 and dean of engineering from 1970 to 1989. He specialized in environmental engineering, waste treatment and water pollution control. Burgess was instrumental in securing funding for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building (Owens Hall), the last building constructed at OSU entirely with state funds. He became a member of the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame in 1998. (P82:510)
OSU administration, 1973. OSU’s top administrators gathered by this Rolls Royce outside of Education Hall (now Furman Hall). From left: Milosh Popovich, Dean of Administration; Robert W. Chick, Dean of Students; Robert W. MacVicar, President; Stuart E. Knapp, Dean of Undergraduate Studies; David B. Nicodemus, Dean of Faculty; and Roy A. Young, Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies. The car may have belonged to G. Burton Wood, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and a collector of classic cars. (HC 1496)