Frank L. McVey and the University of Kentucky: A Progressive President and the Modernization of a Southern University

Conclusion: McVey in Retrospect

316 Conclusion What is a university? A university is a place; It is a spirit: It is men of learning, A collection of books, Laboratories where work in science goes forward; It is the source of the teaching Of the beauties of literature and the arts; It is the center where ambitious youth gathers to learn; It protects the traditions, Honors the new and tests its value; It believes in truth, Protests against error, And leads men by reason Rather than by force. —Frank LeRond McVey, 1940 Frank L. McVey was a man of exceptional vision who possessed remarkable leadership capability. Commenting on the accomplishments of leaders like McVey, Thorstein Veblen quipped, “What such a man, so placed, will do with the powers and opportunities that so devolve on him is a difficult question that can be answered only in terms of the compulsion of the circumstances in which he is placed.” In a posthumous tribute UK historian Thomas Clark claimed that, despite McVey’s precarious posiMcVey in Retrospect 317 CONCLUSION tion, his vision constituted the essential component of UK’s growth during the interwar years, and he argued that McVey’s accomplishments were “of immeasurable importance to the world of scholars.” Such a tribute from a legendary scholar was amazing, considered in light of the fact that many of McVey’s contemporaries tended to lose sight of the substance of educational reform, looking only for the material trappings of success and becoming “lost to the republic of learning.”1 Considering the challenges McVey faced while in the Bluegrass, his list of substantive achievements on campus is astounding. He set out with a goal of revolutionizing the institution, changing it from a struggling college to an outstanding university. He initially began this transformation by instituting a modern organizational structure to coordinate the efforts of the various colleges. He then established the University Senate to aid in policymaking decisions on campus and wrote new rules of governance for the institution. For the faculty he established sabbatical leaves for research, and he organized a research club to encourage publication by professors. He also implemented an insurance plan and created a retirement program for employees who had reached the mandatory retirement age of seventy.2 McVey helped reshape the intellectual and cultural climate of the university by lending substantial support for visiting lecturers and theater performances. He “was one of the pioneers among southern college presidents to promote art and music education.” As he did so, he opened the campus to the local community and encouraged their attendance at exhibits , performances, and lectures. Academically, he helped organize Kentucky ’s first Phi Beta Kappa chapter. He dramatically increased the holdings of the library and made the collection’s home the centerpiece of his building program. He fought for a university press, although this dream was not realized until after his retirement. Of monumental importance was McVey’s “courageous” stand for academic freedom during Kentucky ’s antievolution controversy.3 All of these accomplishments led to his growing prestige among higher-education leaders across the South and the nation. Regionally, he was named the first president of the Southeastern Conference and asked 318 FRANK L. McVEY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY to remain in the post for a second term. He was voted president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and led the modernization of that organization. Nationally, he served as president of both the National Association of State Universities and the National Association of State Land Grant Institutions. His name surfaced for numerous other presidencies during his first years in Lexington, but he passed up more promising jobs in order to complete his initial mission at the University of Kentucky. National leaders such as Charles Eliot and Nicholas Murray Butler were quick to come to McVey’s defense during the antievolution controversy in the early 1920s. Appreciating his administrative acumen , numerous institutions, some more prestigious than UK, requested McVey’s services in conducting surveys of their institutions.4 In his tribute to McVey, Clark stated that Kentucky would be “indebted to him for all time to come” because of his leadership in higher education and his “public service.” It praised his devotion to the commonwealth and his “sense of dignity, of progress, and of inspiration of both heart and mind.” The essay concluded that personally and professionally, McVey had remained dedicated to the “enduring principles” that he set forth in...