RG 04/A15/01

Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Lewis Webster Jones) Group I: Administrative Records, 1951-1958

By Erika Gorder

March 2006

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

Finding aid encoded in EAD Version 2002 by Caryn Radick, March 2006

Adminstrative History and Biography of Lewis Webster Jones

Lewis Webster Jones was chosen as the fifteenth President of Rutgers University on September 7, 1951. Born in Nebraska in 1899, Jones graduated from Reed College and received his doctorate at the Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government in 1927. He went abroad to work on post-doctoral studies at several European Institutions. Upon completion of these studies, Lewis Webster Jones stayed on in Europe and held many positions as an economist before joining the original faculty of Bennington College in 1932. Jones' career at Bennington was quite successful and in 1941 he became President. In 1947 Lewis Webster Jones left Bennington to take the position of President of the University of Arkansas. During his time at Arkansas, Dr. Jones enjoyed many successes, even being asked to serve as a member of the President's Commission on Higher Education.

When Dr. Jones arrived at Rutgers in early September of 1951, the University was at a crossroads. For some time there had been discussion about making Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, but no action had taken place. The end of World War II and the GI Bill created a boom in college enrollment that the University was not equipped to handle. Across the state, heated debates over the question of funding, expansion, and the general future of Rutgers were taking place. When Jones arrived on the scene, he inherited all of these issues from his predecessor Robert Clothier, and one by one he began to find solutions. The seven years that he spent at the University can be considered the most important transitional period in the history of the University.

The first major issue that President Jones dealt with was the reorganizing of the Board of Trustees in 1956. The reorganization was meant to give the state a larger role in the running of the University. The new Board of Governors was to have 11 voting members; six appointed by the Governor and five from among the Trustees. The Board of Trustees would continue to exist in an advisory capacity, to manage certain funds of the University and to oversee educational standards. Lewis Webster Jones worked to establish Rutgers as the State University in order to reap the benefits of State funding.

Along with becoming the State University, Rutgers underwent many physical changes during Lewis Webster Jones' time as President. Rutgers was already experiencing a deficiency in resources due to the past years of depression and war. In order to meet the demands of a growing student enrollment, the University would have to expand. Lewis Webster Jones began a huge building program which resulted in the construction of the Alexander Library, Demarest Hall, and the three River Dormitories (Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh, and Campbell) on the College Avenue Campus. On the New Jersey School of Agriculture campus Lipman Hall was built, while the construction of new buildings for the study of horticulture and poultry began. The New Jersey College for Women, which had been renamed Douglass College, also began to plan for the building of two new dormitories and a health center, while Busch Campus became the home to the Waksman Institute of Microbiology.

During his time at Rutgers University, Dr. Jones also contributed to the specialization of the University. In 1952 the Nursing program was introduced in Newark and within four years it had grown into the College of Nursing. In 1954, two new divisions, the Graduate School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Library Science were created. The bequest to Rutgers by Mrs. Florence Eagleton funded the Institute of Politics. As a scholarly man, Jones understood Rutgers need for quality graduate programs. He worked to make them a reality for the University.

Lewis Webster Jones submitted his resignation on August 15, 1958. Dr. Jones was president during one of the most exciting and expansive times in the history of Rutgers University. Yet, he left Rutgers University after a successful term as its president in order to become the President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. By 1965, he had retired to Sarasota, Florida. He remained there until his death in September of 1975.

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Scope and Content Note

The presidential records of Lewis Webster Jones, consist of 29 manuscript boxes which span the years from 1951-1958. These files of the President are divided into two main groups, the University Files and the Subject Files. The University Files consist mainly of letters from the different departments within the University, procedural information concerning the many schools within the University, and executive plans for the University. The Subject Files deal with the more personal nature of the president's job with faculty correspondence, from other Universities, Federal Agencies, and from colleagues are found within the Subject files. The files consist mainly of letters, brochures, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. These documents are all in reasonably good condition.

The papers included in the University Files (1951-1958) detail the changes and expansions that the University underwent during this period. There are letters and brochures showing the expansion of the school and the tendency toward academic/subject specialization that began during Dr. Jones' term as President. It was during this era that Rutgers was officially recognized as the State University of New Jersey. This was a major factor in the growth spurt that the University experienced. These files document the origins of specific schools within the University, how they were planned, who helped to fund them, and how the curriculum was decided upon. The Academic life of Rutgers University during the 1950's is captured in the University Files of Lewis Webster Jones.

The personal matters of Lewis Webster Jones are also documented in the subject files of these records. The subject files also span the years from 1951-1958, but rather than deal solely with the bureaucracy of the University they deal with many of Dr. Jones' interests outside of the Rutgers Community. These files are arranged alphabetically, and include many personal letters from faculty, alumni, and people outside of Rutgers. Information on the different social organizations of the colleges can be found in these files, as well as special services offered by Rutgers University. Within Dr. Jones' files is correspondence from different organizations outside of the University. Some of these groups sought Dr. Jones' membership on their committees, while others presented business propositions to the University. Communications between the fifteenth President of Rutgers and the State and Federal Governments are also contained in this group.

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Arrangement Note

The Records of the Office of the President (Lewis Webster Jones) are arranged in two series.

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Related Material

The Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Lewis Webster Jones) Series II: Academic Freedom Cases, 1942-1958, contains further records of Jones's presidency. For more information, see The Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Lewis Webster Jones) Series II: Academic Freedom Cases, 1942-1958.

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Name and Subject Terms

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Subject Headings

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Lewis Webster Jones), 1951-1958 (RG 04/A15/01). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

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Bibliography

Frusciano, Thomas J. "A Leadership on the Banks: Rutgers Presidents, 1766-1991" in The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, Volume LIII, Number 1, June 1991. June 1991. Available online as part of "Leadership on the Banks: Rutgers Presidents, 1776-2004".

McCormick, Richard P., Rutgers: A Bicentennial History, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University, 1966. Available from Rutgers University Libraries, call number LD4753.M25.

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Detailed Decription of the Collection/Container List

This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each series. Each series description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the "containers" (for example, folders, volumes, or cassettes) and their locations in the numbered boxes that comprise the collection. The availability of any digital items from a container is indicated with a hyperlink.