Records of the President, Carl R. Woodward (Rec. Gr. 1.8)

Carl R. Woodward was the fifth president of Rhode Island State College, serving in that capacity fro November, 1941 to June, 1958. He came to Rhode Island from Rutgers University where he had served in a variety of administrative positions, including Secretary of the University. Woodward was appointed president of Rhode Island State College on August 8, 1941 and assumed his duties on November 1 after a long and acrimonious dispute between the Board of Trustees and his predecessor, Raymond G. Bressler.

The years of Woodward's administration encompassed a period of general transition and growth for land grant colleges. The transformation of Rhode Island State College, a small agricultural college in 1941, to the University of Rhode Island, a comprehensive state university by 1958, reflected the development of land grant colleges nationwide. The Woodward years also witnessed the unprecedented problems and opportunities presented by World War II and the post-war education boom. College administrators had to cope with wild swings in enrollment such as that experience by Rhode Island which reached a low of 363 students in 1944 and a 1940s high of 3200 student in the spring of 1946.

In his "From College to University," Woodward divided his tenure into three distinct periods: the war years, 1941-1945; the post-war period, 1946-1951; and the period of University development, 1951-1958. In the first of these periods, the College’s entire resources were focused on coping with the unprecedented emergency brought home by the war. The administration in 1942 inaugurated a year-round accelerated program which allowed students to complete their studies in less than three years rather than the traditional four. In 1943, the Army Specialized Training Program came to campus, bringing with it a total of 800 inductees over the next ten months. They were trained to fill specialized needs in the military service. The trainees lived in dormitories converted to barracks, while civilian students moved into fraternities for the duration of the war. Despite these efforts, however, enrollment dropped from a pre-war high of 1216 in 1940 to a war-time low of 363 in the spring of 1944.

Rhode Island State College survived the war, but found itself immediately confronted with a host of new problems. In the post-war era, favorable economic conditions, the growing demands of business and industry, and the G.I> Bill combined to bring an overwhelming influx of students to Kingston. By the spring of 1946 enrollment had ballooned to 3200 students who needed more programs, more faculty, and more space. With a special appropriation made available by the General Assembly, the College was able to obtain war surplus buildings, included Quonset Huts, for use of dormitories, dining rooms, and classrooms. A "Quonset Village" appeared on the campus in early 1946 to house returned veterans and their families.

This post-war growth had slowed by 1950, but it continued at a more modest pace throughout the 1950s. With the accelerated growth came an expanded curriculum and increased academic stature. The increased stature brought with it the crowning achievement of Woodward's administration, as Rhode Island State College became the University of Rhode Island by legislative enactment on March 23, 1951.

The period from 1951 to 1958 was characterized by continued steady development and administrative reorganization. With university status, the various schools became colleges and program offerings were expanded. Following the 1949 Mast Plan for campus development, the building program quickened with the construction of the Pastroe Chemical Laboratory, Keaney Gymnasium, the Memorial Union and faculty and student housing.

Woodward retired from the presidency in 1958 and spent the remaining sixteen years of his life in Kingston, where he worked on various research projects and remained active in university and community affairs. He died on October 2, 1974 at the age of eighty-four.

The records in this group consist of the administrative files maintained by Woodward while he was president. The records provide a detailed and comprehensive administrative history of the College's growth and development during the nearly seventeen years of Woodward's presidency.