Records of the President, Frank Newman (Rec. Gr. 1.13)

Biographical note

Frank Newman, the eighth president of the University of Rhode Island, served from August 1, 1974 to July 31, 1983. Born on February 24, 1927, Newman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Naval Science and Economics from Brown University in 1946, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Brown in 1949, a Master of Science in Business Administration from Columbia University in 1955, and a Ph.D. in American History from Stanford University in 1981.

Newman came to the presidency of the University of Rhode Island from a background distinctly different from that of any of his seven predecessors. While all previous presidents of the university had extensive careers in academia and/or government, the bulk of Newman's prior career had been spent in the private sector. His only previous academic administrative experience had been a seven year tenure as the Director of University Relations at Stanford University (1967-1974). In addition, Newman did not have a doctoral degree at the time of his appointment to the presidency. He did, however, complete the doctorate while serving as president.

While his rise through the administrative ranks of academia did not follow traditional paths, Newman was nevertheless well known and respected in the academic world from his service on two federal government education task forces. Newman was appointed to chair two task forces on higher education established by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare: The Task Force on Reform in Higher Education, 1969-1971; and the Task Force to Implement Reform in Higher Education, 1971-1973. Popularly known as the Newman Task Forces, these two groups issued two reports, The Report on Higher Education and National Policy on Higher Education, which made recommendations for sweeping changes in the administration and funding of higher education throughout the country.

It was with this background that Frank Newman assumed the presidency of the university on August 1, 1974. His nine year tenure was not dogged by the same degree of tumult and controversy that marked that of his predecessor, Werner A. Baum. Newman enjoyed a generally cordial relationship with the Board of Regents/Governors, which remained fairly stable throughout his administration. The student body of the mid-seventies to early eighties was not nearly as radical nor as vocal as its nineteen sixties counterpart. As a result, Newman was better able to concentrate on implementing his goals and objectives for the university.

One of his primary objectives was to rationalize the university budget process and to operate the university more efficiently so that it could better cope with the impending reality of reduced state financial support in the future. To this end Newman appointed a Budget Task Force in October, 1974. The Budget Task Force, chaired by Academic Affairs Vice-President William Ferrante, had a broad mandate to examine every aspect of the university's operation, academic and non-academic alike, and to make recommendations for change where necessary.

Over the following two and a half years the Budget Task Force scrutinized every operation of the university and made nearly 700 recommendations. Though many of the recommendations generated considerable controversy, the Budget Task Force was considered a success because it streamlined the budget process and encouraged critical self-examination by many of the university's academic departments and administrative offices.

While the Budget Task Force may have been Newman's most wide-ranging initiative, it was far from the only accomplishment of his administration. During his tenure, the Graduate School of Oceanography obtained a new four million dollar ocean-going research vessel, the Endeavor, to replace the aging Trident. The college of Human Sciences and Services was created by combining the old College of Home Economics with departments from the College of Arts and Sciences. A number of new programs were established including the Robotics Research Center, the Center for Ocean Management Studies, the Center for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Small Business Development Center. New construction on campus included a 70,000 square foot addition to the University Library, White Hall, the new home for the College of Nursing, and Watkins Laboratory on the Narragansett Bay Campus.

Despite its many successes, the Newman administration was not without problems and controversies, however. The chief areas of contention were labor relations and the university's employment and promotion practices vis a vis women. The university faculty which had unionized in late 1971, became increasingly dissatisfied with the negotiating posture of the Board of Regents through the 1970's. A faculty strike had narrowly been obverted in the fall of 1974 shortly after Newman assumed office. Neither Newman nor the university was so fortunate in 1979. The faculty went on strike for twelve days at the beginning of the fall semester. Newman in an effort to remain neutral pleased no one, and the strike brought the university much unfavorable press. An alleged rape of a freshman woman by several members of the university soccer team while the faculty strike was on-going furthered the impression that Newman had lost control of the university. Though the strike was eventually settled and charges against members of the soccer team dropped, Newman never again enjoyed the same level of support within the university community or from the general public that he had prior to the events of the fall of 1979.

In related labor problems, several female faculty members had filed a number of suits in the early 1970's charging the university with sexual discrimination in its hiring, pay, promotion, and tenure practices. Though the first suit was filed before Newman assumed office and the case was not finally settled until after he left, the issues raised by the suits plagued the Newman administration throughout its nine year tenure. The Federal District Court decision, issued in 1985, found for the women faculty members on many of the issues raised in the suit. It also described Newman in less than flattering terms as a "wily and experienced bureaucrat" who "...attempted to talk the problem to death."

The 1979 faculty strike and the prospect of continuing labor problems, the women's equity suit, and the university's chronic budget problems combined to convince Newman to pursue other opportunities in the academic world. In the summer of 1983, Frank Newman resigned the presidency of the University of Rhode Island to accept a position as a presidential fellow for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.