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Wilde, Richard (audio interview #3 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the third of four interviews conducted in Wilde's office in the CSULB History Department. The audio quality is good, but there is some background noise as people talk as they pass by in the hall. 11/21/1980
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- 2021-08-31
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- *** File: uhrwilde6.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:50)... Brief introduction. As in the previous interviews, there is slight background noise because of people talking in adjacent rooms and in the hall. These conversations, however, very rarely, if at all, make the interview hard to understand. Following P. Victor Peterson's resignation, the State Board of Education began to look for a new president. Long Beach faculty began to attend board meetings and wrote letters to board members to express their opinions. The faculty, however, did not influence the Board's decision in choosing a president. Faculty did not know the new president's identity until he accepted the job and the board made a formal announcement. In the interim, the appointed a caretaker president and he was well received by the faculty during his brief term. (3:50-8:18)... Faculty members worked on committees with administrators to make policies about hiring, promotions, and the distribution of new faculty positions. These committees led to the development of others, including a committee to write a Faculty Manual. Beginning in 1958-59, the faculty exercised substantial influence over the policies in the manual, which became a vehicle for change on the campus. Mcintosh also insisted that the Faculty Council handle curriculum changes and be involved in establishing grievances procedures. (8:18-17:28)... When Peterson was president, he refused to deal directly with the faculty. He sent his administrators to committee meetings to negotiate with the faculty. The Faculty Council was preceded by a Steering Committee that developed a constitution for the Council. Rather than cooperating, Patterson stalled by insisting that the constitution of the Faculty Council required approval from the State Board of Education. Ultimately, the State Board ruled that approval of the constitution was a local matter to be handled by Peterson, at which time Peterson agreed to distribute the constitution to the faculty. Once the Council was formed in 1958, it published hiring policies, position allocations policies, a Faculty Manual, and created a Committee on Committees to oversee administrative activities and policies. Over time, the Council also was active in budgetary matters and created a committee dealing with those issues, of which Wilde was chairman. In this position, he worked very closely with McIntosh. (17:28-24:13)... The Faculty Council changed the hiring policies in the Social Sciences Division. The division chair cooperated with faculty in allocating faculty appointments. McIntosh, unlike Peterson, consulted with faculty about hiring new teachers and he facilitated a process through which faculty could indicate what kinds of new teachers they'd like to see hired. In 1960-61, Wilde became the first chair of the History Department. All of the new faculty members hired that year later left to teach at more prestigious places. (24:13-27:23)... Although McIntosh disagreed with the faculty on certain issues, his vision of the governance structure for the campus was very similar to that of the faculty. McIntosh was supportive of faculty involvement in campus governance including budgetary matters. As chairman of the Budget and Planning Committee, Wilde worked with McIntosh on a regular basis and also accompanied McIntosh to Sacramento when the budget was reviewed by the state Department of Education. Wilde believes that McIntosh encouraged the committee to accept responsibility because he was not sure that the deans he inherited from Peterson's administration would make changes in campus policies. (27:23-30:24)... The relationship between the Faculty Council and the division deans who remained following Peterson's resignation was somewhat distrustful. Wilde does not believe that people such as Robert Rhodes and David Bryant appreciated faculty involvement in campus administration. McIntosh, however, was very clear about his intention to override the deans when they tried to obstruct the work of faculty committees. (30:24-35:51)... Wilde worked with McIntosh on the budget on a weekly basis. McIntosh appointed several new administrators including Raymond Lindgren as Dean of the College. In cooperation with Lindgren, the college underwent a period of reorganization. In addition to Wilde, faculty members Leonard Towner and Donald Simonsen were invited to work on the budget committee and then later became administrators. The Faculty Council and the administration worked well together until a confrontation erupted with McIntosh over the the conflict between Vernon Metzgar and Carl Gregory in the business program. (35:51-42:47)... In 1963, there was a physical confrontation occurred between Metzgar and Gregory at a Business Division meeting. Metzgar was suspended and McIntosh supported Metzgar's suspension. Some faculty members charged that the administration did not follow AAUP disciplinary procedures when suspending Metzgar and there was an investigation. The Faculty Council supported Metzgar. Ultimately, there was a hearing and Metzgar was reinstated but some faculty members were unhappy since Metzgar had been a supporter of the faculty's attempt to force Peterson to include them in campus governance. (42:47-44:56)... There was also a controversy regarding James Noguer, a Spanish professor. It erupted when people accused him of vindictiveness and questioned whether he wrote a legitimate dissertation. There were many attempts to resolve this matter. (44:56-46:16)... In addition to its constitution, the Faculty Council also wrote a Faculty Manual and a series of documents defining campus policies End of tape. Interview ends at 46:07. *** File: uhrwilde7.mp3 (0:00-2:30)... Brief introduction Early in his administration, McIntosh insisted that the faculty become involved in curriculum development. The Faculty Council wrote a series of documents related to these matters, many of which were published in a Faculty Handbook. There was also controversy over how to reorganize the campus. For the first time, academic departments were organized to replace the broader "divisions." (2:30-13:57)... The Faculty Council sometimes had problems getting the governing documents they created accepted as official college policy. Ultimately, the Council decided to send McIntosh its documents and give him 30 days to respond. Many of the documents simply became campus policy even though they were never accepted by the administration. The Council eventually became the Academic Senate, which was a change in name only. Howard Kimball, in particular, supported the change because he believed it could facilitate organization of a systemwide Academic Senate. This movement may also have been part of a campaign to remove control of state colleges from the Board of Education and to create a separate Board of Trustees. Between 1959 and 1964, the Faculty Council/Academic Senate created many documents, although they are now somewhat changed, that are still govern campus policy. (13:57-16:14)... After spending a year at the University of Wisconsin, Wilde returned to Long Beach to teach for a year. Then he was appointed Associate Dean of the School of Letters and Science. Except for occasionally substituting for professors on emergency leave, Wilde stopped teaching in the History Department. (16:14-25:21)... The expansion of the History Department peaked between 1967 and 1969 while Wilde was Associate Dean. Administration of the School of Letters and Science was divided into 3 policy areas: personnel, fiscal, and educational. As Associate Dean for Educational Policy, Wilde managed curriculum development and was responsible for class scheduling and allocating faculty positions among departments. During this period, the faculty initiated efforts to limit their workload. In response, Wilde manipulated the 12 unit workload by initiating a plan to give professors credit for research and professional development to decrease their teaching responsibilities. He also was secretary of the school Curriculum Committee. McIntosh did not agree with some of these changes, but did not interfere with them. (25:21-30:50)... Before becoming Associate Dean of the School of Letters and Science, Wilde served as chair of the Faculty Council's Research Committee and devised a plan for developing a university press, improving the library, and creating research opportunities on campus. As a plan was developed for a separate state college Board of Trustees, the Faculty Council campaigned to have the plan recognize research as a legitimate faculty activity. The Research Committee was committed to this ideal and convinced the college foundation to set aside money to fund faculty research. McIntosh took issue with the Research Committee's proposal for faculty control of awarding the grants; he favored outside reviewers. When Wilde became Associate Dean, he continued working with the Research Committee. He also attempted to move other liberal arts programs into the School of Letters and Science so that it would be a liberal arts school, but he did not succeed. (30:50-34:03)... Faculty in the School of Letters and Science disagreed with those in the School of Education over the best way to train elementary teachers. Wilde and others argued for a diversified liberal arts degree with both a concentration and a breadth requirement. School of Education faculty wanted to continue requiring their own courses for elementary school teachers. (34:03-36:57)... Faculty of the School of Letters and Science also disagreed with the Engineering faculty over the development of a large lecture halls. Engineering faculty wanted the large spaces to offer introductory classes. Other faculty members opposed construction of large lecture halls because they would not accommodate their classes and would freeze further campus development. McIntosh was in favor of the lecture halls, but assigned Wilde and others to work on the Planning Committee. Ultimately, the Planning Committee won out and the lecture halls were not built. (36:57-42:15)... During the period other campus committees were formed such as the Financial Affairs Council. The Academic Senate was overloaded with responsibilities, and tended to become involved in political issues that distracted members from curriculum development and other academic matters. The other councils and committees were organized in an effort to handle university business parallel to the Academic Senate. (42:15-45:41)... As Associate Dean of the School of Letters and Science, Wilde created the machinery to support interdisciplinary programs on campus. This included funding, faculty allocation, curriculum development, an office for interdisciplinary studies, and the appropriate paperwork and documentation to establish the programs. End of tape *** File: uhrwilde8.mp3 (0:00-2:05)... Some believed every faculty member should be committed to one department. Departments were the path through which faculty were promoted, etc. So creating interdisciplinary programs required adjustments to this system. At first faculty wanted interdisciplinary programs in American Studies and Asian Studies. The machinery created to set up these programs was later used to establish ethnic studies program and the program in Women's Studies. (2:05-7:35)... Near the end of McIntosh's administration, controversy erupted over MA candidate Bill Spater's sculpture exhibit. Some suggested that the Art Department was looking for publicity so that they could expand their facilities. As a compromise, Spater's exhibit of his controversial sculptures was to be open only to adults. Before that exhibit opened, his sculptures appeared on a campus lawn. As a result, members of the legislature and the Board of Trustees took notice. McIntosh and the Academic Senate supported exhibiting the sculptures as an example of academic freedom. McIntosh was damaged by the affair because he allowed it to become a public controversy. (7:35-23:43)... Black students argued for a separate Black Studies Department. Wilde opposed this when the students refused to follow the established guidelines for interdisciplinary programs. He also did not see the value in having a separate program and degree outside traditional academic disciplines and was afraid it might become a segregated department. Ultimately, pressure from Black students led McIntosh to agree to establish a Black Studies Department within the School of Letters and Science. When McIntosh left and Steve Horn became president, Horn met with representatives of various factions and decided to hire "Sleepy" Montgomery, later known as Amen Rahh, as the head of Black Studies without consulting administrators in the School of Letters and Science. Wilde and others did not approve of Montgomery because of his lack of academic training. Horn, however, hoped Montgomery's prestige as a basketball player might quiet Black students. Matters in the School were further complicated by two deaths in the Dean's office. A new Associate Dean, Jim Robinson, disagreed with Wilde over policy and believed Robinson should control all of the ethnic studies programs. (23:43-31:30)... Following the establishment of a Black Studies program, other minority groups argued for their own programs. In response, the campus set up interdisciplinary programs for Asian American and American Indian studies. Mexican American and Black students continued to pursue degree granting programs against Wilde's advice. While coordinating the ethnic studies programs, he often wondered if he was doing a disservice to minority students because they were creating segregated programs where it was difficult to find faculty with strong academic training. In addition, he feared that ethnic studies degrees would not lead to good and satisfying jobs. (31:30-37:15)... When ethnic studies programs were established, Wilde worked with the campus Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) to set up facilities to make minority students feel comfortable on campus and succeed in their classes. As a result, people he worked with on various committees and councils often questioned these activities. His commitment to the program, however, overshadowed his doubts. He continued working to get ethnic studies courses approved by campus committees. (37:15-43:09)... There was an "anti-McIntosh" movement on campus but Wilde was not involved in it. It is unclear whether McIntosh was forced to resign or decided to resign on his own. Wilde recalls having drinks with McIntosh one evening, when McIntosh admitted he was tired of campus battles. After working in the dean's office for 3 years, Wilde also felt the strain of campus politics. He came to see that administrators have a difficult time making decisions without compromising their principals. Faculty and staff seldom forget or forgive those errors and often develop hatred for administrators with whom they disagree. (43:09-45:46)... In the History Department, Kenneth Applegate began teaching part time and then was appointed chair. Applegate was not an effective chair and, as Associate Dean, Wilde quarreled with the department over scheduling and curriculum. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Richard Wilde was an early faculty member who helped shape governance and curriculum on the campus as an administrator and faculty activist. He served as Associate Dean, Dean of the School of Letters and Science and Associate Academic Vice President. In these four interviews, he discusses his background and education and what he found when he arrived on the Long Beach State campus. He found a campus where the President made all of the decisions so he joined the fight to make the campus into a liberal arts and professional college in which governance was shared by the faculty and administration. After serving on faculty committees, then in the administration, he returned to teaching and scholarly research. This interview was conducted as part of a project to document the history of California State University, Long Beach TOPICS - Faculty Council; Carl McIntosh; governance politics; P; Victor Peterson; David Bryant; Robert Rhodes; Raymond Lindgren; Leonard Towner; Donald Simonsen; Metzger-Gregory case; AAUP; and James Noguer;Carl McIntosh; Faculty Council; Academic Senate; ACSCP; School of Letters and Science; curriculum development; School of Education; university politics; and Engineering Department;interdisciplinary programs; ethnic studies; Black Studies Department; Bill Spater; Carl McIntosh; Stephen Horn; Aman Rahh; James Robinson; EOP; curriculum development; governance politics; and Kenneth Applegate;
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