POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

Jorge Tiede has written extensively on this blog and elsewhere about how the AAUP’s commitment to academic freedom was seriously threatened by the general repression of dissent throughout the U.S. during World War I. A recent series broadcast by PBS has emphasized that this repression of dissent stood in stark contrast with the promotion of democratic values that was at the core of President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. So, in effect, the rationale for the repression of dissent was that the values that justified U.S. involvement in the war were obstacles to winning the war. Obviously, wars are full of self-contradictory circular reasoning, beyond the specific example that gives Heller’s Catch-22 its title.

 

How World War I Changed British Universities Forever

John Taylor

The Conversation

November 2018 marks the centenary of the end of the World War I. It was a turning point in British social history, but one aspect that is less well researched is the impact it had on British universities, the subject of my recent book. Based on my archival research, here are some of the most profound ways in which the conflict reshaped higher education.

Casualties

Universities contributed to the war effort in many ways. Most significantly, the thousands of staff and students who fought as volunteers and conscripted combatants.

In November 1918, the University of Liverpool recorded 1,640 names on its Roll of Honour, including 176 fatalities and many others missing. . . .

Estimates suggest that Oxford lost 19% of those who served, Cambridge 18%, and Manchester and Glasgow 17%.

 Relationship with Government

Before 1914, universities were essentially private institutions dependent upon fee income and philanthropy. Central government accepted little responsibility for their work– funding was mainly confined to specific projects.

 With the outbreak of war in August 1914, however, universities faced a financial crisis as men volunteered to fight and fee income declined. Many “new” universities founded before the war had few reserves and institutional closures were a real possibility. And so in 1915, reluctantly, the universities were forced to approach the government for help.

At the same time, the government began to recognise the contribution of the universities to the war effort, particularly as the main source of officers for the armed forces and as a focus for war- related research. Consequently, universities and the government found themselves drawn into a closer relationship – and this process resulted in the allocation of special grants to most universities. . . .

 In 1917-18, civil servants began to refer to a national “system” of higher education, words unheard before the war. . . .

Research

The war has been characterised as a “war of the scientists.” Universities were prominent in the development of tanks, aircraft and submarines; at Imperial College, Martha Whiteley’s work on tear gas earned her the nickname “the woman who makes the Germans weep”. Other research in universities had more benign consequences, including important developments in anaesthesia, antiseptics and the treatment of diseases such as malaria and dysentery.

The war brought an acknowledgement that an emphasis on research would be needed if the economy was to compete effectively. New relationships between universities and industry were forged, stimulated by a new national Committee for Scientific and Industrial Research. . . .

Teaching

Universities continued to teach during the War. Retired staff and senior students were deployed to replace male teachers, and many women took on teaching positions. Universities also collaborated to maintain certain courses. Female students represented a higher proportion of total numbers, but did not increase significantly in absolute terms.

The war also stimulated important developments in some subjects, including the creation of new modern language departments, especially in Russian and Spanish. The need for more students in business studies became clear, and new models of teaching emerged–such as “sandwich courses” to build links with business.

Supporting the War Effort

But the impact of the war on the universities went much wider and deeper. University buildings were taken over as hospitals and laboratories were widely used for the manufacture of munitions or other key supplies.

Staff and students worked actively in their communities. . . .

The war had devastating consequences. But it also helped to break down barriers between universities and their communities, leading to new relationships and responsibilities. It was also a turning point in the development of the British public university.

The complete text of Taylor’s article in available at: https://theconversation.com/how-world-war-i-changed-british-universities-forever-106104.

Taylor’s book on the topic has been published by Palgrave-Macmillan and information on it is available at: https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137524324.

All In: The University and The Great War

Promotional Item for an Exhibit at the University of Pittsburgh Libraries

In spite of the country’s neutrality in the three years prior, prominent Pittsburgh residents felt that America ought not to let Europe fall to Germany and the Central Powers. One such person was Mrs. Henry L. Collins (Elizabeth B. Thaw), who donated $25,000 to the University in April 1917 to equip what would become Base Hospital No. 27 at the Mongazon Seminary in Angers, France. Just weeks before the U.S. entered the war, 46 Pitt physicians and 50 medical students from the University volunteered to set up and staff Base Hospital 27 well before any American soldiers were at the front.

University faculty, staff and students in the sciences were assigned to tasks in support of the war. By January 1918, 88 Pitt faculty members and 450 students were in government service either as soldiers or as staff for the War Department. Some faculty members were sent to head up Federal departments that focused on administration of science and engineering functions of the War Department. The chemists in the Mellon Institute (then part of Pitt) were assigned to Gas Defense Work. The School of Economics conducted a course to train men for the supply division of the Ordnance Department. Faculty in Engineering set up training courses for work on the gasoline engines of the Standard B “Liberty” Truck. Within six months of their arrival on April 11, 1918, 2,200 men were being trained at Pitt.

To accommodate this influx of recruits to the Pitt campus, the University built seven barracks that could each house 1,000 men, a mess hall that could seat 2,000 men, and a YMCA hospitality center on the hill above Soldiers & Sailors Hall. Prior to this time, the University did not yet have dormitories, so until these buildings were constructed, students had lived at home, in boarding houses, with local families or in fraternity houses.

Military training became compulsory for all male students. The Student Army Training Corps was formed for draftees to provide military training while also completing classes. University lectures were shortened and classes were completed by 4 PM so that military drills could be conducted in the early evening. Pitt Co-eds (as the female students were called) were required to devote at least four hours per week to national service activities. Pitt women, including students, faculty, faculty wives and staff were encouraged to volunteer for various war activities. The Red Cross Auxiliary made surgical dressings and knitted garments for soldiers, the Red Cross Home Service Institute offered training to support military families, and the Women’s Liberty Loan Committee sold bonds.

Pitt students wrote a letter to President Wilson suggesting that students of all colleges volunteer to work on farms. Called the Pittsburgh Plan for a short time, the letter suggested that “Europe will have to rely on the harvests of America to ensure a robust food supply for the war and our allies.” Under the School of Education it became the War Garden movement. This encouraged cultivation of small plots of gardens as well as volunteers to bring in the harvests at local farms and classes in preserving food.

Holidays were shortened, semesters compressed and graduation was scheduled year round. Some students got their degrees in absentia.

Selected photos from the exhibit are available at: http://exhibit.library.pitt.edu/ww1/.

Princeton University during World War I

Princeton Blogs

This post has been adapted by Spencer Shen ‘16 from the FAQ written for our old website by Susan Hamson (2003) as part of the launch of our new website.

By December 1914, students had petitioned successfully for Princeton to offer organized military training. Overseen by what would later become the Committee on War Courses, the program was approved by the University trustees and headed by General Leonard Wood. Over the next two years, more and more lectures were presented by officers of the Army on military history and organization. Tactical excursions were offered and covered skills such as trench and pontoon building, bridgework and road construction, and rifle practice.

 After a German U-boat sank the British passenger ship R.M.S. Lusitania on May 7, 1915, killing 1,198 people (including 128 Americans), 116 members of the Princeton faculty signed a formal protest to send U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (Class of 1879). Wilson said that America was “too proud to fight” while continuing to pursue a policy of non-intervention. Meanwhile, [University President John G.] Hibben was outspoken in his desire for the United States to get directly involved. Ultimately, the United States did not declare war on Germany until April 6, 1917. The atmosphere at Princeton changed instantly: the University cancelled the schedules of all competitive sports, and within ten days the entire campus was drilling. Between the sinking of the Lusitania and the declaration of war, 166 Princeton men had already left to enlist and 142 had given up academic work to take the first Intensive Military Training Course.

However, despite the popularity of a call to war at Princeton, it would be a mistake to assume that every member of the student body supported U.S. involvement. Two pacifist students petitioned President Hibben to use Marquand Chapel for a peace meeting, but the request was denied. “Princeton will not allow the use of its building for anti-war meetings. Nor will the University authorities tolerate pacifist propaganda by students,” reported the Newark Star-Eagle. It was also reported that, while Hibben professed a belief in the freedom of speech, he declared that it was “no time for divided counsels.”

 By December 1917, there were at least 3,000 Princetonians in military service, including 117 faculty members. The war resulted in a 63% drop in admissions, and the University found itself with a $135,000 deficit despite trustees having reduced expenses by some $120,000. In order to stay afloat, Princeton opened its campus to the military in 1918, essentially becoming a military college.

 Beginning in the fall of 1918, all students 18 years of age or older were enlisted in the United States Army or Navy and could be called to service if needed. The New York Times noted that “this revolutionary change in the course of study and the status of the student will prove of benefit . . . for it keeps alive and functioning patriotically a well-equipped plant that might otherwise soon have been obliged to close its doors except as a training camp or hospital.” Princeton did not seem to be in danger of closing its doors forever, but opening its doors to the military was a move that nearly all colleges in the country made in order to remain viable.

By the end of hostilities, a total of 6,170 students and 139 faculty had been involved in the conflict. Casualties numbered 117 students and three faculty members. Princetonians received 430 decorations from 13 nations: 227 awarded by France, and 117 by the United States. World War I was at the time a war without parallel—with estimates of over 10 million dead and 200,000 wounded, it was thought to be the war to end all wars—but only 27 years later, Princeton would once again be called upon in the nation’s service.

blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2016/01/princeton-university-during-world-war-i