Army Specialized Training Program

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2007

Collection Overview

Title:	Army Specialized Training Program
Date range:	1941-1946
Creator:	Army Specialized Training Program
Extent:	3 box(es) 1.5 linear feet
Abstract:	Contains the records of the Army Specialized Training Program at the Rhode Island State College, which trained college students for the war effort during World War II.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Rec. Gr. 118

Scope & content

Contains the records of the Army Specialized Training Program, which trained college students for the war effort during World War II.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series as follows:

• 1. Subject Files

Historical note

The Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established to train college students for the war effort. The accelerated training program gave participants the opportunity to graduate college in three, rather than four, years. This not only decreased the necessary college time for Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) students working toward an officer’s commission, but also allowed other graduates the opportunity to join the war effort one year earlier. The fields of study included engineering, agriculture, science, business administration and home economics. This program was similar to the Students' Army Training Corps (RG #111) established during World War I.

The Specialized Training Program of the Army of the United States Service Command, Unit 1148 held its first, and only, graduation exercises on March 25, 1944 in Edwards Hall on the campus of Rhode Island State College.

In 1944, citing military necessity, the U.S. Army announced its intention to remove the 110,000 student trainees from participating programs on all US campuses. The U.S. Army then called the students to active duty. According to a 1944 letter from Adjutant General, Major General J.A. Ulio, this action was designed to compensate for current military personnel shortages (See Folder #16). The removal of students caused grave financial consequences to colleges and universities, in the United States, already facing reduced enrollment caused by mandatory military service and fewer college deferments (See Rhode Island State College, Annual Report 1940-41-1944/45, Archives LD4706 A11). In order to offset the financial result of the curtailment in enrollment in the Army Specialized Training Program, Rhode Island State College President, Carl R. Woodward (1941-1958), campaigned to establish the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program on campus. His efforts proved unsuccessful as Colonel Morton Smith, Director of the Army Specialized Training Division, First Service Command, informed President Woodward that the enlistment in the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program was not high enough to insure that Rhode Island State College have a reserve program (See Folder #22, Letter from Col. Smith to President Woodward, June 20, 1944).

For more information on the ASTP, see The University of Rhode Island a History of Land-Grant Education in Rhode Island by Herman F. Eschenbacher, New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts [1967].

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Army Specialized Training Program, Rec. Gr. 118, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The records were transferred to the University Archives from the library in Green Hall in 1969.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Kristen Anderson.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Yuan Li. 2007 Nov 02, updated by Erin C. Mullen on 2011 Dec 06, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 20.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

See also the Records of the Students' Army Training Corps, RG #111, which was a similar program established during World War I.

Inventory

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Inventory