W. R. Davies
Encyclopedia
William Robert Davies was a Wisconsin educator who was named the second president of Eau Claire State Teachers College in December 1940. Major accomplishments during his tenure (1941–1959) include the establishment of the faculty senate, student government and the University Foundation; creation of The Forum, one of the oldest continuous lecture series in the country; the first addition of academic buildings since the founding of the school in 1916; building of the first residence halls, student center and library; acquisition of the 230-acre Putnam Park
; purchase of 48 acres of land for an upper campus; the first accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
; and the first bachelor and liberal arts degrees.
in Columbia County, when Davies was four years old. He graduated from Cambria High School in 1911, and entered Ripon College
with a major in mathematics and philosophy. Davies received his bachelor of arts degree in 1915, and in 1921 received his master's degree in education at the University of Wisconsin
at Madison. He took additional courses in education at Columbia University
, the University of Chicago
and the University of Minnesota
.
staff at Camp Custer
in Michigan, and in November he enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps
. In April 1919 he was discharged as a sergeant first class; he was later commissioned as a reserve first lieutenant and remained in the reserve forces until 1930.
As a school administrator in Wisconsin, Davies was principal of McKinley Senior High School in Marshfield
(1919–1923), principal and superintendent of schools at Shawano
(1923–1925), and superintendent of schools at Beaver Dam
(1925–1931). In 1931 he became superintendent of schools at Superior
. In December 1940 Davies accepted the presidency of Eau Claire State Teachers College. He served there until his death on December 10, 1959.
In his first year, Davies inaugurated the faculty senate and created student government
. He established a rapport with the Eau Claire community and launched a vigorous campaign for new buildings on the 28-acre campus, which then comprised only the Old Main building, a small heating plant and an engineer's cottage. He put a more modern record-keeping system in place, initiated the faculty class advisement system, and produced the college's first freshman orientation week. In 1942 Davies established The Forum, one of the longest continuous lecture series in the United States, to express his vision of what the college might become as a cultural center. Speakers presented during the Davies years included John Mason Brown
, Margaret Bourke-White
, Bennett Cerf
, Norman Cousins
, Bernard DeVoto
, Sinclair Lewis
, Wayne Morse
, Carl Rowan
, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Dorothy Thompson
.
Davies was widowed in October 1942, after the sudden illness and death of Erva Barron Davies, to whom he was married in 1920. He was left with three teenage children. Two years later Davies was married to Delpha Smith, supervisor of music in the Eau Claire public schools.
When enrollment declined to fewer than 400 students due to World War II, Davies obtained the college's accreditation for the Navy
V-1 Program, which prepared freshmen and sophomores for graduation into the program as officers. He requested that an Army training unit be assigned to Eau Claire State Teachers College, and in March 1943 the campus welcomed a contingent of Army Air Corps
cadets that boosted enrollment by 300 during the war years. The training program lasted until June 1944, and the college received a Certificate of Service award for its placement in the top ten percent of the colleges in the Western Flying Training Command. In cooperation with the Veterans Administration
, the college established a veterans counseling center in 1945, to serve veterans from 29 counties.
Enrollment more than doubled for 1946–1947 and included more than 300 veterans studying on the G. I. Bill. The housing shortage was met by remodeling barracks buildings brought to campus for the Army Air Corps cadets, and by housing students in private Eau Claire homes. In 1946, after three Eau Claire citizens advanced the capital, a State Street mansion two blocks away from Old Main was purchased and remodeled for the first women's residence facility on campus. Davies purchased 20 acres on the bluff behind Putnam Park
in 1946, and later purchased an additional 28 acres, for future college expansion to an upper campus.
Davies established an administrative council of the faculty (1943) to improve contacts with the community, and an area committee (1945) to promote higher education and give the community a voice in policy-making. Through Davies' influence, Eau Claire businessman William McIntyre was appointed to the Wisconsin Board of Regents
(1945–1966) and faculty member Eugene McPhee was appointed the board's director (1948). Their voices countered long-standing pressure to convert Eau Claire State Teachers College to a two-year junior college
of the University of Wisconsin
, and advanced Davies' vision that Eau Claire become a four-year liberal arts college
.
Throughout the 1940s, Davies steadily steered the campus toward meeting accreditation requirements. A pre-application survey was completed in 1946, and in April 1950 Eau Claire State Teachers College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for the first time. In 1951 the Wisconsin Legislature
permitted the college to grant bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees, and the name of the college became Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire.
from the city of Eau Claire, and ground was broken for the first college center
, built south of Old Main. Davies presided at the groundbreaking for the college's first library building, west of Old Main, in May 1959.
Davies organized the Wisconsin State College Foundation in 1958 and served on its inaugural board. The foundation was created to raise funds for the new National Defense Student Loans Program
that provided low-interest loans for promising but needy students. Providing the loans required local funds to match the federal grants on a one-to-nine basis.
Illness forced Davies into semi-retirement in September 1959, when he announced that he would retire in January 1960. Davies presented Leonard Haas, dean of instruction, as his successor at an all-college convocation November 18, 1959. Haas succeeded to the presidency when Davies died December 10, 1959, after a heart attack. Davies was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Eau Claire.
approved the college's request that the recently completed college center be named the W. R. Davies College Center. It was the first building on the Eau Claire campus to be named for an individual.
On January 21, 1960, the Wisconsin Legislature
voted a Resolution of Commendation (Joint Resolution No. 118 S) recognizing Davies' outstanding contributions to education in Wisconsin.
On May 7, 1960, the Wisconsin State College Foundation launched its first major fundraising campaign, the W. R. Davies Memorial Fund. A goal of $15,000 was set, with all funds to be directed to match federal grants for National Defense Student Loans
. The campaign kicked off with a live three-hour television broadcast hosted by students, in which more than 200 people participated. More than $16,000 was raised for the student loan program in five months, when annual giving up to that time had rarely reached $1,000. Each dollar raised was matched by nine dollars in federal grants for the student loan program, which played a significant role in increasing enrollment.
After it opened its doors to 1,708 students and 97 faculty in 1959, Davies Center grew with enrollment through additions and updates in 1964, 1976, 1982 and 1991. In 2000 students voted to fund another redevelopment of Davies Center through their fees, but it was later determined that a new student center building was needed and that the existing Davies Center would be deconstructed. The new 170,000 square foot, $48.8 million student center would be funded entirely by student fees. In April 2010 university officials told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that the new building would most likely be named for a major financial donor, and that only a significant space within the new student center would be named for William R. Davies. But a year later, after a survey of UW-Eau Claire students, faculty, staff, alumni and emeriti, the administration announced at the formal groundbreaking event that the new building would be named W. R. Davies Student Center.
"No drama was found in the revelation that the new UW-Eau Claire student center will retain the W. R. Davies moniker," reported the Leader-Telegram, "just satisfaction that a key early leader of the university will continue to be honored for many decades to come."
Putnam Park
Putnam Park is a natural area owned by the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The park is located in the middle of the city of Eau Claire and follows the course of both the Chippewa River to the west and Little Niagara Creek to the east. Much of the park lies on the boundary of the Third Ward...
; purchase of 48 acres of land for an upper campus; the first accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
; and the first bachelor and liberal arts degrees.
Birth and education
William Robert Davies was born August 19, 1893, in Tenino, Washington. He was the third son of David and Sarah Davies, pioneer settlers of Welsh ancestry who had moved to Washington from Wisconsin. His family returned to Wisconsin, to a farm near CambriaCambria, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 792 people, 307 households, and 195 families residing in the village. The population density was 752.0 people per square mile . There were 339 housing units at an average density of 321.9 per square mile...
in Columbia County, when Davies was four years old. He graduated from Cambria High School in 1911, and entered Ripon College
Ripon College (Wisconsin)
Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
with a major in mathematics and philosophy. Davies received his bachelor of arts degree in 1915, and in 1921 received his master's degree in education at the University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
at Madison. He took additional courses in education at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
Early professional life
Davies and began his teaching career in 1915, as the assistant principal of the Endeavor Academy, a private Congregational school in Marquette County. In September 1917 Davies joined the YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
staff at Camp Custer
Fort Custer Training Center
Fort Custer Training Center, often known simply as Fort Custer, is a federally-owned and state-operated Michigan Army National Guard training facility, but is also used by other branches of the armed forces and armed forces from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio...
in Michigan, and in November he enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps
Medical Corps (United States Army)
The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...
. In April 1919 he was discharged as a sergeant first class; he was later commissioned as a reserve first lieutenant and remained in the reserve forces until 1930.
As a school administrator in Wisconsin, Davies was principal of McKinley Senior High School in Marshfield
Marshfield, Wisconsin
Marshfield is a city in Marathon and Wood counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the largest city in Wood County. The small portion of the city that extends into Marathon County is part of the Wausau Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,800 at the 2000 census. Marshfield is...
(1919–1923), principal and superintendent of schools at Shawano
Shawano, Wisconsin
Shawano is a city in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,305 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Shawano County...
(1923–1925), and superintendent of schools at Beaver Dam
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,243 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest city in Dodge County, and the largest city fully located within the county. It is the principal city of the...
(1925–1931). In 1931 he became superintendent of schools at Superior
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
. In December 1940 Davies accepted the presidency of Eau Claire State Teachers College. He served there until his death on December 10, 1959.
Eau Claire State Teachers College
W. R. Davies was introduced to the 46 faculty and 700 students of Eau Claire State Teachers College, a four-year teaching college in west-central Wisconsin, at an assembly on December 18, 1940. He began his duties as the college's second president on January 1, 1941.In his first year, Davies inaugurated the faculty senate and created student government
Student governments in the United States
In the United States, these groups are often known as student government, associated students, student senate, or less commonly a student's union...
. He established a rapport with the Eau Claire community and launched a vigorous campaign for new buildings on the 28-acre campus, which then comprised only the Old Main building, a small heating plant and an engineer's cottage. He put a more modern record-keeping system in place, initiated the faculty class advisement system, and produced the college's first freshman orientation week. In 1942 Davies established The Forum, one of the longest continuous lecture series in the United States, to express his vision of what the college might become as a cultural center. Speakers presented during the Davies years included John Mason Brown
John Mason Brown
John Mason Brown was an American drama critic and author.Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he graduated from Harvard College in 1923. He worked for the New York Evening Post from 1929 to 1941. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II, beginning in 1942...
, Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer and documentary photographer. She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet Industry, the first female war correspondent and the first female photographer for Henry Luce's Life magazine, where her...
, Bennett Cerf
Bennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
, Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.-Early life and education:...
, Bernard DeVoto
Bernard DeVoto
Bernard Augustine DeVoto was an American historian and author who specialized in the history of the American West.- Life and work :He was born in Ogden, Utah...
, Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
, Wayne Morse
Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
, Carl Rowan
Carl Rowan
Carl Thomas Rowan , was an American government official, journalist and author. Rowan was a nationally-syndicated op-ed columnist for the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times. He was one of the most prominent black journalists of the 20th century.-Background:Carl Rowan was born in...
, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Dorothy Thompson
Dorothy Thompson
Dorothy Thompson was an American journalist and radio broadcaster, who in 1939 was recognized by Time magazine as the second most influential women in America next to Eleanor Roosevelt...
.
Davies was widowed in October 1942, after the sudden illness and death of Erva Barron Davies, to whom he was married in 1920. He was left with three teenage children. Two years later Davies was married to Delpha Smith, supervisor of music in the Eau Claire public schools.
When enrollment declined to fewer than 400 students due to World War II, Davies obtained the college's accreditation for the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
V-1 Program, which prepared freshmen and sophomores for graduation into the program as officers. He requested that an Army training unit be assigned to Eau Claire State Teachers College, and in March 1943 the campus welcomed a contingent of Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
cadets that boosted enrollment by 300 during the war years. The training program lasted until June 1944, and the college received a Certificate of Service award for its placement in the top ten percent of the colleges in the Western Flying Training Command. In cooperation with the Veterans Administration
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
, the college established a veterans counseling center in 1945, to serve veterans from 29 counties.
Enrollment more than doubled for 1946–1947 and included more than 300 veterans studying on the G. I. Bill. The housing shortage was met by remodeling barracks buildings brought to campus for the Army Air Corps cadets, and by housing students in private Eau Claire homes. In 1946, after three Eau Claire citizens advanced the capital, a State Street mansion two blocks away from Old Main was purchased and remodeled for the first women's residence facility on campus. Davies purchased 20 acres on the bluff behind Putnam Park
Putnam Park
Putnam Park is a natural area owned by the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The park is located in the middle of the city of Eau Claire and follows the course of both the Chippewa River to the west and Little Niagara Creek to the east. Much of the park lies on the boundary of the Third Ward...
in 1946, and later purchased an additional 28 acres, for future college expansion to an upper campus.
Davies established an administrative council of the faculty (1943) to improve contacts with the community, and an area committee (1945) to promote higher education and give the community a voice in policy-making. Through Davies' influence, Eau Claire businessman William McIntyre was appointed to the Wisconsin Board of Regents
University of Wisconsin System
The University of Wisconsin System is a university system of public universities in the state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, enrolling more than 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide...
(1945–1966) and faculty member Eugene McPhee was appointed the board's director (1948). Their voices countered long-standing pressure to convert Eau Claire State Teachers College to a two-year junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
of the University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, and advanced Davies' vision that Eau Claire become a four-year liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
.
Throughout the 1940s, Davies steadily steered the campus toward meeting accreditation requirements. A pre-application survey was completed in 1946, and in April 1950 Eau Claire State Teachers College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for the first time. In 1951 the Wisconsin Legislature
Wisconsin Legislature
The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Wisconsin Senate and the lower Wisconsin Assembly...
permitted the college to grant bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees, and the name of the college became Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire.
Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire
W. R. Davies is credited for the physical expansion of Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire in the 1950s. In September 1951 he set in place the cornerstone for four interconnected buildings that were the first permanent structures built on the campus since the school's founding in 1916. The complex comprised educational facilities for the campus school, teacher training, theatre and physical education. The first residence halls built for the purpose opened in 1955 and 1958. In 1957 the college acquired the 230-acre Putnam ParkPutnam Park
Putnam Park is a natural area owned by the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The park is located in the middle of the city of Eau Claire and follows the course of both the Chippewa River to the west and Little Niagara Creek to the east. Much of the park lies on the boundary of the Third Ward...
from the city of Eau Claire, and ground was broken for the first college center
Student activity center
A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...
, built south of Old Main. Davies presided at the groundbreaking for the college's first library building, west of Old Main, in May 1959.
Davies organized the Wisconsin State College Foundation in 1958 and served on its inaugural board. The foundation was created to raise funds for the new National Defense Student Loans Program
National Defense Education Act
The National Defense Education Act , signed into law on September 2, 1958, provided funding to United States education institutions at all levels. The act authorized funding for four years, increasing funding per year: for example, funding increased on eight program titles from 183 million dollars...
that provided low-interest loans for promising but needy students. Providing the loans required local funds to match the federal grants on a one-to-nine basis.
Illness forced Davies into semi-retirement in September 1959, when he announced that he would retire in January 1960. Davies presented Leonard Haas, dean of instruction, as his successor at an all-college convocation November 18, 1959. Haas succeeded to the presidency when Davies died December 10, 1959, after a heart attack. Davies was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Eau Claire.
Legacy
Six days after William R. Davies' death, the Wisconsin Board of RegentsUniversity of Wisconsin System
The University of Wisconsin System is a university system of public universities in the state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, enrolling more than 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide...
approved the college's request that the recently completed college center be named the W. R. Davies College Center. It was the first building on the Eau Claire campus to be named for an individual.
On January 21, 1960, the Wisconsin Legislature
Wisconsin Legislature
The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Wisconsin Senate and the lower Wisconsin Assembly...
voted a Resolution of Commendation (Joint Resolution No. 118 S) recognizing Davies' outstanding contributions to education in Wisconsin.
On May 7, 1960, the Wisconsin State College Foundation launched its first major fundraising campaign, the W. R. Davies Memorial Fund. A goal of $15,000 was set, with all funds to be directed to match federal grants for National Defense Student Loans
National Defense Education Act
The National Defense Education Act , signed into law on September 2, 1958, provided funding to United States education institutions at all levels. The act authorized funding for four years, increasing funding per year: for example, funding increased on eight program titles from 183 million dollars...
. The campaign kicked off with a live three-hour television broadcast hosted by students, in which more than 200 people participated. More than $16,000 was raised for the student loan program in five months, when annual giving up to that time had rarely reached $1,000. Each dollar raised was matched by nine dollars in federal grants for the student loan program, which played a significant role in increasing enrollment.
After it opened its doors to 1,708 students and 97 faculty in 1959, Davies Center grew with enrollment through additions and updates in 1964, 1976, 1982 and 1991. In 2000 students voted to fund another redevelopment of Davies Center through their fees, but it was later determined that a new student center building was needed and that the existing Davies Center would be deconstructed. The new 170,000 square foot, $48.8 million student center would be funded entirely by student fees. In April 2010 university officials told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that the new building would most likely be named for a major financial donor, and that only a significant space within the new student center would be named for William R. Davies. But a year later, after a survey of UW-Eau Claire students, faculty, staff, alumni and emeriti, the administration announced at the formal groundbreaking event that the new building would be named W. R. Davies Student Center.
"No drama was found in the revelation that the new UW-Eau Claire student center will retain the W. R. Davies moniker," reported the Leader-Telegram, "just satisfaction that a key early leader of the university will continue to be honored for many decades to come."
External links
- W. R. Davies University Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireThe University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire is a public liberal arts university located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has an annual enrollment of more than 10,000 students...
- University Centers Building Project, W. R. Davies Student Center