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Chapter 3: McVey’s Darkest Days 1920–1922
- The University Press of Kentucky
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100 McVey’s Darkest Days 1920–1922 Chapter 3 Unless the members of this Association [the National Association of State Universities] have had their heads in the sands of oblivion or contrawise extended into the clouds of fancy, of which no state university president has been accused, no one here can be ignorant of the increasing criticism of higher education that has arisen in the past five years. —Frank LeRond McVey, 1923 As the new decade began, Frank McVey’s influence was evident to concerned citizens in Kentucky and throughout American higher education. Nearly all his reforms, however, focused on internal renovations, restructuring , governance, faculty issues, and increased presence across the commonwealth . To be sure, the impact on the psyche of the state was apparent in the major newspapers. Enrollments continued to climb, yet not one significant structure had been built during McVey’s tenure (the university had utilized federal funds to build a shop during World War I). In 1920 McVey reported that of the 1,629 students attending the university, 700 lived off campus, and 200 others did not enroll because they could not find lodging. Another nagging issue was low faculty salaries. McVey reiterated his mantra for increased funding: “The question of salaries is becoming more and more serious. . . . We often get people of less experience and the standards of the University are in danger of being lowered.” Two months later he lamented that “men are leaving us all the time” and that 101 McVEY’S DARKEST DAYS filling positions was becoming more difficult. Faculty teaching loads rose, and graduate students increasingly assumed classroom responsibilities to meet the challenge.1 Along with the growing pressure to retain current faculty members and hire new ones came a second urgent demand: developing a physical plant to accommodate the growing student population. McVey warned the board that the challenges of the years ahead would be far different from those faced during the recent past. Construction and renovation of buildings became an integral part of McVey’s plan to create a true research university. In December 1920 he presented the board with a list of construction needs for the decade ahead. He cited more than thirty construction projects, with an estimated cost exceeding $5 million. The price tag seemed astronomical for a state whose support had been less than wholehearted.2 Indicative of the state’s unwillingness to support even modest growth of the university was the plight of the Memorial Building Fund. McVey initiated the idea in 1919 in an attempt to raise funds for the construction of a building that would serve as both a monument to Kentuckians who had lost their lives during the Great War and a facility for student activities and convocations. As the first circular sent out during the summer of 1919 to alumni and other citizens stated, it would “honor the dead” and “inspire the living.” McVey’s fund-raising goal was $300,000, but actual pledges resulted in just over half that amount. Collecting on the promises proved even more difficult, and the building campaign stalled.3 Struggling with private fund-raising, McVey needed a substantial increase in revenue from Frankfort to accomplish his ambitious plan. Earlier that year he had hosted both chambers of the legislature on campus. In his “Kentucky Tomorrow” speech he had emphasized the changes that were transforming Kentucky from an agricultural to an industrial state. The university could play an integral role in the process if it received the proper support. He offered his services to Governor Edwin Morrow in developing a taxation plan and stressed the need for an income tax. In the end, however, McVey concluded that Kentuckians were “not ready for an income tax.” The legislature kept the same funding plan that it had ad- [34.204.177.148] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:00 GMT) 102 FRANK L. McVEY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY opted in 1918, providing less than half a million dollars for university operations. McVey’s budget estimate of $630,000 would have to be seriously trimmed because of the state’s limited income. This appropriation would barely keep the school functioning.4 By the spring of 1921 McVey took a more aggressive stance to promote increased revenue. The successful growth of Kentucky’s public schools meant that the wave of students coming to Lexington would continue for the rest of the decade. He predicted (rather accurately) that by 1930 the student population would more than double, to approximately 3...