William Ransom Wood
Encyclopedia
William Ransom Wood was an influential figure in the history of the University of Alaska and of Fairbanks, Alaska
.
Wood was born near Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois. He was an Episcopalian. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
. He became vice president of the University of Nevada
.
went up on the ridge.
Wood served on national and international education boards and committees and was very active in the Alaska community. His wife, Dorothy Jane, is widely acknowledged as an important element in his success. During his tenure as president and afterward, he wrote books of poetry which were published by the University of Alaska Foundation.
to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor at Cape Thompson
. Two University of Alaska scientists who publicly opposed this project, William Pruitt and Leslie Viereck, were forced out of their jobs by Wood's administration.
The building was designed by a former UA student as a solution to cabin fever
. The center features a ballroom and adjoining conference rooms, an eight-lane bowling alley, six pool tables, a darkroom
, a multilevel lounge, a pub, coffee and espresso café, a pizza place, a large grill and food court, and an inspirational “staircase to nowhere." Wood Center is also home to Student Activities and Outdoor Adventures, Associated Students of UAF, the student senate, and UAF’s student newspaper, the Sun Star
.
The “stairs to nowhere” in the center of the building (also called the Bird’s Nest) are there because the Wood Center was originally designed to have three floors, and when construction plans changed due to unforeseen permafrost
problems, the stairs had already been built.
of Fairbanks from 1978-1980. He helped lead the creation of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and continued in his strong commitment to the beautification of Fairbanks through the Festival Fairbanks Foundation. His efforts included the Golden Heart Plaza and the Cushman Street Bridge of Flags, among many others. Wood remained active on the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees. He was also president emeritus. Wood and his wife were both given honorary doctorates by the University of Alaska Board of Regents in 1990.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
.
Wood was born near Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois. He was an Episcopalian. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He became vice president of the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
.
University of Alaska
Dr. Wood assumed the presidency of the University of Alaska in 1960, serving in this capacity at the university for the next 13 years. During his presidency, the Fairbanks campus gained a new residence hall complex, gymnasium, classroom buildings, a heating and power plant, a library-fine arts complex, and a campus activity center. In 1964 an area was selected on the campus' West Ridge for further expansion, primarily of research facilities. The first of these was the Alaska Water Laboratory, built and operated by the U.S. Public Health Service. A building for biological research and a new facility for the burgeoning Geophysical InstituteGeophysical Institute
The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducts research into space physics and aeronomy; atmospheric sciences; snow, ice, and permafrost; seismology; volcanology; and tectonics and sedimentation. It was founded in 1946 by the United States Congress...
went up on the ridge.
Wood served on national and international education boards and committees and was very active in the Alaska community. His wife, Dorothy Jane, is widely acknowledged as an important element in his success. During his tenure as president and afterward, he wrote books of poetry which were published by the University of Alaska Foundation.
Project Chariot
Dr. Wood strongly supported Project Chariot, which was a proposal by Edward TellerEdward Teller
Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he did not care for the title. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy , and surface physics...
to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor at Cape Thompson
Cape Thompson, Alaska
Cape Thompson is a headland on the Chukchi Sea coast of Alaska. It is located 26 miles to the southeast of Point Hope, Arctic Slope. It is part of the Chukchi Sea unit of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge....
. Two University of Alaska scientists who publicly opposed this project, William Pruitt and Leslie Viereck, were forced out of their jobs by Wood's administration.
Wood Center
The William Ransom Wood Center was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1972. Originally, it was decided that the new center would be totally paid for by university students. The Associated Students of the University of Alaska successfully lobbied the state legislature to provide a special, $4 million low-interest construction loan, which would be paid back from student fees over 25 years. However, in 1980, state Rep. Brian Rogers succeeded in passing a legislative appropriation to take over the remainder of the debt payments for the center. The name of the building was changed before construction was complete to honor Dr. Wood, which caused some controversy among the student body of the time.The building was designed by a former UA student as a solution to cabin fever
Cabin fever
Cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period...
. The center features a ballroom and adjoining conference rooms, an eight-lane bowling alley, six pool tables, a darkroom
Darkroom
A darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 19th century...
, a multilevel lounge, a pub, coffee and espresso café, a pizza place, a large grill and food court, and an inspirational “staircase to nowhere." Wood Center is also home to Student Activities and Outdoor Adventures, Associated Students of UAF, the student senate, and UAF’s student newspaper, the Sun Star
Sun Star
The Sun Star is the student newspaper of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, formed in a merger of the Northern Sun and the Polar Star...
.
The “stairs to nowhere” in the center of the building (also called the Bird’s Nest) are there because the Wood Center was originally designed to have three floors, and when construction plans changed due to unforeseen permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
problems, the stairs had already been built.
Public life
After his retirement from UA in 1973, he served as mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Fairbanks from 1978-1980. He helped lead the creation of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and continued in his strong commitment to the beautification of Fairbanks through the Festival Fairbanks Foundation. His efforts included the Golden Heart Plaza and the Cushman Street Bridge of Flags, among many others. Wood remained active on the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees. He was also president emeritus. Wood and his wife were both given honorary doctorates by the University of Alaska Board of Regents in 1990.
- City of Fairbanks mayoral runoff election, October 24, 1978
- William R. Wood - 1,940 (55.9%)
- Chuck Rees - 1,533 (44.1%)
Sources
- Post War Expansion - President Wood, University of Alaska Stories
- The Firecracker Boys, by Dan O'NeillDan O'Neill (writer)Dan O'Neill is an Alaskan journalist and writer.-Bibliography:* A Land Gone Lonesome: An Inland Voyage Along the Yukon River.* The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge....
. 1994, New York: St. Martin's Griffin. 2007, Basic Books. - "Alaska's Trailblazers for Academic Freedom"
- City of Fairbanks Elections 1903 - 1994, compiled by Bernard A. Smith. 1994, City of Fairbanks, Office of the City Clerk.