SECTION B OGDEN, UTAH, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 17, 1952 IS Weber Will Try Again for Limited Four-Year College The president made it official*the Legislature in eight years.fprnpriate $94,500 in the next bi* A. — The things Utah needed today. Weber College will lay its j Twice before, bills to give Og- case for a four-year charter dens junior institution another limited four-year charter before the State Legislature again in 1953. couple of years In specified fields That's for sure. I have been defeated when victory Some pretty unmistakable signs seemed almost within grasp. have indicated right along that "We hope this time will be the clearly the campaign for a four- charm," the president said. year Weber hadn't been given up "Abraham only had to wait for lost in spite of two setbacks, seven years for. Rachael and she The big question in most observ- couldn't possibly have looked as er's minds has never been "Will good to him as a four-year college use them. Building Work This Far Along at New Campus they try again?" but "When?" President Henry Aldous Dixon answered with his announcement today that strong forces behind the move will go down the line in '53 for a four-year Weber. Third Attempt It will be their third trip to Would 4-Year Weber College Hurl Others? There's a logical reason why Provo, Salt Lake City and Logan citizens might cock an anxious eyebrow at the prospect of a four- year Weber College. Even a limited four-year Weber College. Wouldn't it noticeably thin out the student population in ivy-cov- ever halls at the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Utah State Agricultural College? "It's a fair question," Weber College President Henry Aldous Dixon agrees, "but the answer is emphatically 'No'." "We want to add these other two years to bring in the 400 Ogden area students who have had to skip college entirely each year because they simply haven't had the money to go away from home," he said. Drop in the Bucket What few might give up the other three institutions in favor of Weber wouldn't be a drop in the bucket compared to their total enrollment. The registrar's records show, he said, that between June 1, 1951, and May 31, 1952, only 172 asked for a transcript of their Weber College credits so they could transfer to the Utah U. Fewer than 100 went to each of the other two colleges, he said. Most would have made the same transfer if Weber already had a limited charter. The classes they went away to get wouldn't be taught here. But, supposing, for the sake of argument, they had gone away. What are 200 students to a university that can count more than 7,000 heads on its campus? What would really happen in the long haul, he said, is that more, rather than fewer, education- hungry youths from this section would polish off their studies in Salt Lake, Logan or Provo. "Weber would become a 'feeder' 10 the other three just as it became a 'feeder' when first established." "Living at home, the 400 who are excluded from college training now could work their way through school—particularly since it would cost less than half as much—and save up enough money besides to go away for the graduate training the professions demand." Only teachers and students in the vocational division would leave a limited four-year Weber College sufficiently trained to begin careers. • It Adds Up So, it adds up. The more who hustled through a four-year Weber, the more higher learning centers would have to draw from. Something else. Weber is not seeking a four-year curriculum in pre-legal and pre-medical courses, forestry training, agriculture and many other highly specialized fields, he said. The two-year courses taught now would continue on. Comes now the surprise— Utah's colleges and universities are plainly too big as it is, Dr. Dixon said. The best study yet, made by the Survey Committee of California in 1948, the president disclosed, found that 5,000 enrollment is the absolute maximum any college can handle efficiently and economically. After that ceiling is passed, it's better all the way around — and just as cheap—to build new colleges. Building expensive new wings and multiplying the staff doesn't save a dime. "Even if Ogden didn't have a college, it would be just as inexpensive to build one here from I the ground up as to go on ex-| panding the present senior insti- j tutions," he emphasized. Why? Brigham Young University announced this week that 6,857 have signed up for the current fall term. A whopping 7,507, the University of Utah reports, are going to college in Salt Lake City. No figures have been released from Logan, but the USAC regularly takes in about 4,000. Work a Hardship "Big" colleges and universities work a hardship on the students, he added. There is no chance for individual attention. Worse still the competition for jobs is keen and a student working his way through hasn't much of a chance. Living costs are usually higher, too. The University of California caught on quick and right now is urging the establishment of strategically located four-year "feeder" colleges almost identical with I he four-year college Weber hopes to become. would look to the youth it would serve." The first four-year bill was introduced in the 1947 session at the State Capitol. Legislators turned it down by a hairline majority. ' Two years later plenty of strength was rolled up to push another measure through both House and Senate with votes to spare. Gov. J. Bracken Lee scrapped the proposal a second time with a "can't afford it" veto. "We have held off since then," Dr. Dixon said, "as the governor suggested in that part of his veto message which said 'it well may be that in the future, under more favorable financial conditions, the action contemplated under this (four-year) bill should be taken." "That time," the president asserted, "is now." 'It's About Time* "It's about time that Weber County got a little better share of the state tax dollar. We're paying in one-fourth of all that Utah collects in taxes and getting back 10 cents on the dollar for higher education." "Cache County, by comparison, gets back $1.40 to use the same way for every dollar it pays in." Most important of all, the apparent need for a four-year college here has not been met. Nor has the problem been solved by passing the buck from Legislature to Legislature or refusing to face the facts." Exactly what Weber College has in mind was outlined in sharp detail during a question and answer interview with the president that w'ent somewhat as follows: O. — How much money would Weber College require, say in 1953, to add the upper division courses? A.—As nearly as we can tell, about 150 would enroll the first year. The cost would be $31,500, same as if the same students went to the University of Utah or the Utah State Agricultural College. Q—And after that? A.—It's a ease of simple multiplication. In the second year another 150 would register in the junior and senior classes, bringing the total up to 300. So we would need twice as much money: $63,000. Q—How long would the college population keep doubling like that? A.—Just in the first two years. The best survey we can make shows that 400 students would like to take upper division training but can't afford it until Weber is a four-year college. Eventually we would have at least that many and more. Every year college enrollment everywhere is going up. 'Just Use Buildings' Q.—Then Weber College would ask the State Legislature to take care of the ex-1 done worst in the way of construe- pans,on' , I tion have been taken care of. And although 11 million dollars has been spent to clean up what you might call a backlog of constructs—Well, just for the sake of | tion projects, right at this moment argument, supposing enrollment j the state building fund has a $1, went up considerably more than 334 qoo surplus the college is anticipating. What Lee says in his pamphlet, then? Higher taxes? The Lee Record," that more dol- A. — We hear that argument 1 lars have been put into construe- everywhere we turn and it's per- tion and improvement projects in haps the weakest of all against! the three years than in the 201 the proposal. Utah never had a 5 years be£ore that fatter pocketbook in history. Tax I Describes Training revenues are up one-third since 1950. The state is getting about $4 now for every $3 it collected two years ago in taxes. The total this year was 47 million dollars. Q.—Aren't state costs just that much higher too? A.—That question was answered two months ago when the state abolished entirely its property tax. Last year the state levy was 7.7 mills. This year there is no tax. The state had to be in healthy financial condition to do such a thing. Graduates Earn More Q.—How about this: are there some oilier things Utah should take care of first? Some things that are more important than a four-year Weber College? A.—The education of American youth has made this country great. Everyone knows it. A society that is morally strong, advancing and growing culturally is a society that has educated its young people. Nothing is more important. Q.—Aside from his value to the community, or to society, is it really worth it to a youngster fresh out of high school to enter college? There are plenty of jobs around. Why not just take one? A.—There's no doubt that for some young people several years in college isn't worth the time. But everyone should have enough schooling to develop character and cultural appreciation. We call it an enlightened citizenry. It is also true that college graduates are eairning more, about twice as miuch a year, than those who didn't continue on. 'Q—What can a college graduate exspect to earn in the way of a sal- airy each year? A.—About the latest thing on thaat was a study made by the Sci- ennce Research Associates. They fotmnd that in 1947 non-college peo plile were averaing about $2200 a yeear. Young men and women with desgrees were getting on the average $4689. Strafe Spending Less 'Q—There are those who say Utah is alaeady spending too much on education. How about that? A.—You can go to the Utah Sclhool Survey for the answer there Q.—Just what kind of training could a student get at a Weber State College, President Dixon? A.—Enough schooling to become teacher (and we're critically short on teachers), or to go into business, or industry, or nursing or homemaking. But not enough to be a doctor or a lawyer. Q.—What kind of a degree would a student get on graduation tfrtjr A.—Bachelor Degrees in the things just mentioned and in Arts and Sciences. You see Weber College wouldn't offer any of the costly research and graduate courses the professional schools such as the.11 AC and the University of Utali orj Brigham Young University offer. It would only get the professional student ready to finish his education in those institutions. Q.—Isn't that a sort of duplication? Aren't the same courses already set up at other Utah colleges and universities? A.—Yes, the same courses are taught at four-year colleges all over the nation. But where Weber would have only three divisions of study, the huge four-year institutions have 12. And it's definitely no duplication. You aren't duplicating when you bring young men and women into college who can't afford an education any other way simply because they haven't the money to live away from home and pay for college training. Many Students Nearby I 0_.—In that same connection, Is there any other way Weber could save the student money? A.—-Well, the cost here with everything figured in, including meals, would figure about $460 yearly. You've got to have at least $1,000 a year anywhere else, not counting what it costs to live away from home or to drive. O.—Do many Ogden students really drive long distances now? A.—About one in five. Most don't if they can help it because it's too dangerous, just as expensive as living away, and extremely lime consuming. Q.—What about the students who would have to drive to a Weber State College? Lake City, Logan or Provo. On a ratio basts, this area has about 12 jtbs to every student. Salt Lake City has less than 10. Logan and Provo have barely more than one each. Q.—Is there anything about the proposed Weber College that would save the state" money? A.—Besides being an investment that would pay the state back many times in finer, better-trained people, a four-year Weher would eliminate the need to build dormitories for Ogden youngsters going away to school. And keep in mind. It costs the state just as much to educate an Ogden boy or girl in Salt Lake Cit yor Logan as it would right here at home. Q.—One thing more. It's being said that "Weber College just wants to get its foot in the door." That sooner or later "A fullblown university is what the people of Ogden will want," AVhat about that? A.—That has never been the indention. Weber College is ami will remain a community college with only limited upper division work. + A few short months ago this was just a hillside. The buildings, pic- - tured here in various stages of construction, were begun on the new Weber College campus early last spring. Students will occupy their new classrooms next fall. Construction at New Campus Is Hearing Halfway Point Construct ton is almost at the+ing. They will have to foot the half-way point on the new Weber 1 bill _ „ ; ' . „,„;„„ There are still a few wrinkles College campus east of Harrison !,o jron out_ Mr Baddley con. Boulevard w'here five buildings; fessed. Surface drainage, sidewalks, have sprung up almost overnight j curbs and gutters and a little level- what was once a brush-choked ing have to be taken care of. A compact and efficient unit 1 We've laid our cards on the table 11 there, are no jokers in the XirAS less into education compared in 1930. The state was giving almost 4 per cent of 2ts: wealth to the schools then. We get by on 2.5 per cent now. (Q.—-What about construction pr,ojects. State construction, that is. Ar'e there any that should be taken caIre of before Weber gets the moiney it needs to go into four- President Dixon said of our campus. Any d travel that far every fever Shut Lights Off hillside, Wallace Baddley, college building superintendent, estimates that the project is about 40 per cent along. "We'll be ready to take in classes next fall," he said today entrance marker and Ki "although some of the set up a beautification work inside may have to be taken Rotary Donates Gateway Much of the area has been sodded and built-in sprinklers are taking care of the watering program. The Ogden Rotary Club came through with a handsome dav, have a job on the side and still 1 keep up with the class. About per cent of the state population;" lights in the Weber College vocals right here in Weber County. were never turned off. The College operated Jobs More Plentiful , around the clock for three years. Q._What about jobs? Can col-1 Three thousand mechanic learners lege students find them in Ogden? ;were trained to meet the critical A.—Much easier than in Salt I demand for defense workers. Odds Were All Against Dr. Dixon Becoming an Educator The earnest, soft-spoken man^ who has twice been president of Weber College, who took his first job at Weber Academy and who has championed the cause of a four-year College like no one else, shouldn't, by all odds, have become an educator at all. The cards were stacked against it. By the rules of the game, he was cut out to be either a banker or businessman. How, then, did it come off otherwise? Well, he'll tell you himself. "It's just because I was stubborn and wanted to do something on my own." So he ignored a ready-made job beside his father, a cashier and large stockholder in the Provo Farmers and Merchants Bank, and shrugged off tempting offers from several uncles-in the furnishings business. llnstead, he came -to Ogden in+We'll have just as much fun and<here permanently after that ex ipJ14 in his high button shoes and sja.arched collar, with a teaching COIontract under one arm, a four- ve;ear Liberal Arts degree from gr'righam Young University under th^ie other, and a broad, beaming smoiile to hide the doubts. 2 Henry Aldous Dixon, 24, educator, had arrived. As things worked out, he finally T did give eight years to banking afjfter his father died. But it wasn't particularly by choice and it's getting ahead of the story. Out of his first year's pay, the young teacher tucked away a not inconsiderable sum of $300 — al- mtost a third of his $1,000 salary. was honeymoon money. He tn,ought. But the pretty, level-headed girl wjho gave him her hand in June of we'll be getting an education at the cept for his father who persuaded same time'," the president remem-|him to reconsider Provo's offer to bers with a smile. make him superintendent of Earns Master's Degree ischools in 1920. That's how Ogden's most famous "I turned them down," the presi- educator came to spend the next dent remembers, "because I loved vear at the University of Chicago Ogden so much. But the very next and several summers after that see me and earning a Masters Degree. rd been away too long » Winters, he taught Weber Acad- Provo kept Dr Dixon {or 17 emy students German. Then World years The £irst £our and the last War I came along and German was five he was superintendent. Dur- not spoken in the best circles. In the eight years between he the end the class folded up en-served as managing vice president tirely. _ ... at the Farmers and Merchants Executives at BYU, who had Bank Djrectors asked him to take never lost track of their _ bright (he job soon after his father died graduates, lured him away in 1918 onlv to see him appointed the Came Back to °«den following fall at the tender age It was in 1937, the same year of 29 as president of Ogden's two-the University of Southern Califor 15 had ideas of her own. "She told me, 'Aldous, let's take | vear institution. "Ia gave him his Doctor's Degree, at monev and go back to college. Likelv, he would have staved on,'hat he returned to Ogden as Weber College president, an office he lhas held since. Vigorous, ruddy-cheeked and in fcifine health, the president carries is 62 years lightly. He keeps the restitution on an even keel from modestly-appointed office in the Gymnasium Building, nerve center of the present campus. Despite a busy schedule that, frequently requires split-second timing, he keeps up a close per- sonal contact with the students and rare is the freshman who does not know the head man after a week in college. The church and community have always called heavily on his services. He was bishop of the Provo Third Ward, Latter-day Saints Church, for seven years and has served on the LDS General Sunday School Board since 1942. Twice the Provo Chamber of Commerce made him its president. He held the equivalent office in Ogden in 1940 and is an active Rotarian. The list of Dr. Dixon's profes- ional achievements and recognitions is long. Foremost of these was his appointment to President Truman's Commission on Higher Education and more recently to the advisory board of the U. S. Office of Education. He has been president of t h e Utah Conference on High Educa- ion and of The Northwest Association of Junior Colleges. Two technical books on education written by the president have been published. gi minds any day of the week and more likely than not you'll see Take a stroll on Ihe Weber College f\*ni Henry Aldous Dixon, right, is one educator who believes in something just about like this. President are Paul Furlong, Dick Keller and Joan Standing, left to right. frequent contact with students. With 1 care of after classwork begins A heating plant, designed to allow for future expansion on the eye-pleasing 182-acre tract between 36th and 40th Streets, is ready for use right now, Mr. Baddley said. The four classroom buildings which have taken rapid form since spring groundbreaking ceremonies, will handle 1,500 youths comfortably at one sitting. Roofs Before Snow Roofs will be put on two before the snow flies so that workmen can continue the project through cold winter months. The architect laid out modernistic structures when a new Weber College was still on the drafting board. All are single story except the uppermost, a physical science building, which is two. Pleasing to the vision, each structure is adapted to make best use of natural lighting. A total of 42 rooms are included. Of that total 25 will be lecture rooms, the balance administrative offices and laboratories. Planners made the most of the natural land contour, spacing the brick buildings just far enough apart so that they appear as a single, majestic structure from the entranceway. An all-new campus isn't the only pleasant prospect in store for students at Ogden's lower division college in the fall of '53. Stadium Will be Ready More than likely the new stadium will be ready to see service by then. That means the football squad will be working out and playing on its own field for the first time in Weber College history. The question marks right now are overhead lights and access roads, Mr. Baddley said. Situated in a magnificent natural bowl, the stadium will seat 3,700 next season, 15,000 ultimately, he explained. Half will be cement poured, half metal. Space-wise Weber will be a contented college for some years to come, Mr. Baddley said, with one exception. "We have to have a fieldhouse." The planners have an ace up their sleeves there. For two years they've been trying to take possession of an immense surplus hangar Wendover donated to the college just before the trouble in Korea. It's the perfect answer. With a total outlay of $150,000, a fraction of its worth, the gigantic steel structure could be dismantled, moved and reassembled on the East Bench grounds. Cash Left Over And enough cash would be left over to build brick quarters against both sides, solving the problem of shop, gymnasium and laboratory space. "We have reason again to be hopeful about this development," he said. "Signs from Wendover indicate that the idle hangar may be released to the college before long." The entire project, lock, stock and barrel, has cost Utah only about $1,400,000 to date. The beautiful site was purchased several years ago with $65,000 generous Ogden citizens gave and $50,000 Utah tossed in to make up the balance. A time will come, Mr. Baddley believes, when students will want to put up a Student Union Build- More has to be done on landscaping, however. Access roads haven't been put. in yet either. The state will have to ' help out on that one, Mr. Baddley said. Weber 'County Commissioners spelled out the answer to one problem when they agreed to open a road to the stadium grounds from about 42nd Street. Work lilfely will'begm in November. A whole new housing area is going to open up as a result. Only day school students will be routed up to the new campus for a time at least. And most of these will return to the downtown grounds for afternoon gymnasium and laboratory classes, he said. Night students will continue on where they are. That is, unless the enrollment keeps piling up. "We may have to split them too, if it does," he concluded. Slight Alteration In Utah's Laws Would Do Trick One new paragraph in Utah statutes would put Weber College on a four-year footing. A simple amendment would turn the trick. The present law reads: "There shall be at Ogden City a state school to be known as Weber College, a junior college. The course of study therein shall be limited to the first two years of college work . . ." " And so on. Bun through favorable legislative hoppers, the amended statute would give the Ogden center of learning a new name — Weber State College — and would specify that: "The course of study therein shall be the first two years of college work and in addition thereto said college is hereby empowered to offer four years of college training in the fields of arts and sciences, education and vocational training to include business, industry, nursing and homemaking, to confer bachelor degrees in these fields and to offer all necessary courses of sttfdy upon which such degrees are based." It would then add that "said School shall be maintained by the state." After that an appropriation would have to be approved, earmarking $94,500 to initiate and pursue upper division work through the next two years. Weber's a 2-Year-Old but Wears 4-Year-Old's Pants It's only a 2-year-old in the eyes of the law — but Weber College wears training pants cut lo lit a 4-year-old all the same. The University of Utah and Utah State Agricultural College sent the garments along, clearly recognizing that Ogden had outgrown its educational bib. So clearly, in fact, that each, institution tailored special classes to fit an "adopted" child sheltered under another roof. That's how the extension division came to be set up at Weber College. It regularly draws 300 to 600 Ogden area students hungry for higher education, enrollment records show. A 24-man advisory board to Weber College analyzed the extension program and found it helpful — but wanting. The courses in upper division or graduate work, the board re ported, are operated by remote control and limited to specialty lectures courses which in the main do not go toward a degree. Teachers, sent by the parent institutions, travel to Weber college as many times a week as the class meets. They spend two hours on the road for every one they teach, and the state foots the extra expense. A couple of Weber instructors keep things running smoothly in the extension division. Harold Bateman takes care of USAC extension work. Edward Chriv tensen represents the U. Weber College provides space for the training, opens its library doors to the students and even stocks special books for their use. But beyond that its position is hardly more than a favorably-disposed onlooker. Well, say Now- IBAC Got 4 Years Pueblo's Having . , , As a Handout Same Troubles Ogden isn't the only city its size in the West without a four- year college. Pueblo, Colo., doesn't have one either. On the other hand, 25 Western cities in the same population bracket do, according to Dean Gardner, a graduate in law from Stanford University, who did a lot of checking around. Mr. Gardner, a political and social science instructor, came up with another eye-opener. Sixty-one communities smaller than Ogden in the 11 Western states send their youngsters to senior colleges right in town or not more than 10 miles away. Weber College has more students than three out of every four four-year colleges in the whole nation, the U. S. Office of Education reported in > survey published fast month. Branch Agricultural College, a junior college until a few years back, was handed on a silver platter an expansion very similar to what Weber asks. Its parent institution, Utah State Agricultural College, simply made the change. No legislative sanction was required. In 1950-51 there was one student at the four-year BAC for every four put through their mental paces in Weber College classrooms. Idaho saw the light soon after World War II ended and established a Southern Branch of the University of Idaho at Pocatello. Its limited charter is almost exactly what boosters are hoping for here. 75 Cents Out of $100 Out of each $100 Utahns spend annually for liquor, only 75 cents would have to be set aside to make up the $94,500 that upper division work at, Weber College would cost in the next two years.