Records of the Vice President: Barlow/Browning Papers

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

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2010

Collection Overview

Title:	Records of the Vice President: Barlow/Browning Papers
Date range:	1940-1947, (bulk 1940-1947)
Creator:	Office of the Vice President
Extent:	15 box(es) (7.5 linear feet)
Abstract:	The Records of the Office of Vice President represents the records of two men, John Barlow and Harold Browning, who occupied the Office of the Vice President from 1940 through 1947 at the then Rhode Island State College. Both men served the institution for over forty years and both held a number of administrative positions, each often occupying a number of positions simultaneously. These records cover the war and post-war years at the school, as well as significant administration changes.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Rec.Gr. 3.1

Scope & content

The records described herein represent a small fragment of the records created by the Office of Vice President of Rhode Island State College from 1940 to 1947. Many of the records that remained were removed from a basement storage area of the Administration Building and transferred to the University Archives in the summer of 1985. They were in no particular order when received by the Archives.

Because John Barlow and Harold Browning each held a number of other administrative positions simultaneously with the Office of Vice-President, the records contained in this group are not always clear as to office of origin. Nor is it always clear in which capacity Barlow and Browning were acting when they authored a particular document. In many instances, the stationery on which the document is typed carries the letterhead of one administrative office while the title of another office is appended to the signature. In addition, in many cases, Barlow and Browning took action in more than one capacity simultaneously. Consequently, while the bulk of the records reflect the activities of the Office of the Vice-President, materials from the offices of Dean of Men and Dean of the School of Science and Business are also represented in this record group.

The years 1940 through 1947 were crucial to the development of what is now the University of Rhode Island. The decade began with he firing of Raymond G. Bressler, the very popular president of Rhode Island State College, after a protracted and very public dispute with the newly installed Board of Trustees. Shortly after the decade ended, the institution achieved University status. In between, it experienced the inauguration of a new president, a world war which reduced its pre-war enrollment by seventy-five percent, and an enormous upsurge in applications immediately after the war. The Office of the Vice-President was intimately involved in the attempt to cope with all of these crises.

In November, 1941 Dr. Carl R. Wolldward assumed the presidency. A month later, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States was plunged into a World War. Even the bucolic campus on Kingston Hill could not escape the effects of the war. The college radically altered its program to meet the changing circumstances of the war years. An accelerated year round program was instituted so that students could complete degree requirements in less than three years rather than the usual four. The Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) came to the campus in 1943, training over 600 men for specialized work in the military service. The Army Specialized Training Program Records (Record Group 118) located in the University Archives, contain records relating to this program.

Despite these responses, college enrollment dropped precipitously from a pre-war high of about 1200 in 1940 to less than 400 in 1944. Faculty were also lost in large numbers to the military and qualified replacements were difficult to obtain. The college survived the war-caused problems of low-enrollment and faculty shortages only to be inundated by a flood of returning veterans, ballooning enrollment to a 1940s high of over 3000 in 1946. With the aid of a special appropriation made available by the General Assembly, the College was able to obtain war surplus buildings, including Quonset huts, to serve as dormitories, dining halls, and classrooms. A "Quonset Village" appeared on the campus in early 1946 to house returning veterans and their families.

Tantalizing glimpses of all these crises and the college's response to them are available from the materials in this record group. Because of the large gaps in the collection and the myriad responsibilities held by Barlow and Browning, however the records of the Office of the Vice-President is far from complete for this period. Any researcher consulting these materials should also consult Records of the President's Office: Carl R. Woodward, 1941-1958 (Record Group 1) in the University of Rhode Island Archives. The Woodward records offer a more comprehensive and detailed account of the years in question.

Arrangement

After sorting, the records in this group were divided into two series, Subject Files and Correspondence.

• 1. Subject Series
• 2. Correspondence

Historical note

John Barlow, after a short stint as an Assistant Biologist at the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1897, returned to Kingston to stay in 1902 when he accepted the positions of Professor of Zoology and Head of the Department of Zoology at the then Rhode Island State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. He remained as Head of the Zoology Department for over thirty-five years, finally surrendering that position in deference to his increased college-wide administrative responsibilities. As Barlow's tenure lengthened, his responsibilities increased. In 1930, he was named Vice-President and Dean of Men. In 1931, he added the title of Dean of the School of Science and Business to his portfolio. Durning this period, he also found time to serve two terms as Acting President from April, 1930 through March, 1931 and again from March, 1940 through October 1941. Barlow officially retired on his seventieth birthday, November 28, 1942, completing over forty years' service to the institution. He died in November of 1944.

Dr. Harold Browning matched Barlow in longevity and in the variety of administrative positions he held. Browning, a 1914 graduate of Rhode Island State College, returned to his alma mater in 1920 and remained until his retirement forty-two years later. Like Barlow, Browning was recruited as a professor and department chairman, in the Botany Department. Also like Barlow, he gradually accumlulated a number of other administrative positions durning his forty year tenure. While Barlow served as Acting President in 1930-1931 and 1940-1941, he named Browning Acting Dean of the School of Science and Business and Acting Dean of Men. Browning also accepted the title of Director of Graduate Studies in 1931, a position he held until 1945. When Barlow retired in 1942, Browning relinquished the Botany Department chairmanship to assume Barlow's positions of Vice-President, Dean of Men, and Dean of the newly created School of Science. He surrendered the position of Dean of Men in 1947 when John Quinn was hired to fill that position on a full-time basis. He remained Dean of the School of Science which later became the College of Arts and Sciences in 1947, until 1960 when he was replaced by Roman Zorn.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research
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:	Records of the Vice President Barlow/Browning Papers, Rec.Gr. 3.1, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, 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 in 1985. They were previously housed in the basement of the Green Hall.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Dr. Kevin J. Logan.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Lauren A. Gage, revised by Margaret E. Brewer 2011 February 23, updated by Erin Mullen on 2014 March 14, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 24.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

---

Inventory