Herman B Wells: The Promise of the American University

520 Pages·2012·7.662 MB·English

by  James H. Capshew

JAMES H. CAPSHEW
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
Indiana Historical Society Press Indianapolis
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450 West Ohio Street Capshew, James H.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-3269 USA Herman B Wells : the promise of the
American university / James H. Capshew.
indianahistory.org p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and
© 2012 by James H. Capshew index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35720-5 (cloth : alk.
All rights reserved paper)–ISBN 978-0-253-00569-4
(e-book) 1. Wells, Herman B. 2. Indiana
No part of this book may be reproduced University–Presidents–Biography.
or utilized in any form or by any means, 3. College presidents–Indiana–
electronic or mechanical, including Biography. I. Title.
photocopying and recording, or by any LD25161938.W44 C38 2012
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without permission in writing from the [B]
publisher. The Association of American 2011044883
University Presses’ Resolution on 1 2 3 4 5 17 16 15 14 13 12
To the Genius Loci of Indiana University
and
in loving memory of Herman B Wells
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Consult the Genius of the Place in all.
Alexander Pope, 1731
We are the children of our landscape; it dictates behaviour and
even thought in the measure to which we are responsive to it.
Lawrence Durrell, 1957
The soul of a landscape, the spirits of the elements, the genius
of every place will be revealed to a loving view of nature.
Karl Jaspers, 1970
One has to learn what the meaning of local is, for universal
purposes. The local is the only thing that is universal.
William Carlos Williams, 1929
To become intimate with your home region, to know the territory
as well as you can, to understand your life woven into the local life
does not prevent you from recognizing and honoring the diversity
of other places, cultures, ways. On the contrary, how can you
value other places if you do not have one of your own? If you are
not yourself placed, then you wander the world like a sightseer,
a collector of sensations, with no gauge for measuring what you
see. Local knowledge is the grounding for global knowledge.
Scott Russell Sanders, 1993
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Contents
Preface A Hoosier State of Mind xiii
· Acknowledgments xvii
· List of Abbreviations xxi
Prologue Campus Centennial 1
Part 1 The Shaping of a Fiduciary, 1902–1937
1 In the Land of Jordan 11
2 Betwixt Banking and Social Science 37
3 The Politics of Bank Reform 59
4 First Taste of Academic Stewardship 73
Part 2 Transforming the University, 1937–1962
5 Acting like a President 89
6 A Vision for Indiana University 115
7 Charting a New Course 135
8 War Stories 147
9 Renouncing Prejudice 165