EXTRA! - 'ailt .11:kitIll (i i i . :.-, 1. ; Trittegiatt EXTRA! VOL. 46-NO. 7 'Prexy' Dies Suddenly Hetzers Death Brings Recent College Expansion To Mind The tragic death this morning of President Ralph • Dorn - Hetzel brought to mind the many plans and aspirations for the College which he had publicly and privately expressed on numerous occa- In his message to the incoming sophomoa•e class on September 23, the president stressed the adjustments that would be required of undergraduates this , year and the challenge that post-war condi tions represented. "You will find that we are still laboring under handicaps because of the large enrollment and' the problems of housing you and your classes. These difficulties have been with us and other colleges for several years because of the dislocations' of the war and its af termath, as well as the problems of a rapidly growing college popu lation "Those who have gone before you have risen to the occasion, and we know you will too. We will' do our best to help you get started and to make the most of the facilities provided here for your education. By working to gether, I know we shall have a most successful year." Predicted Good Year At the convocation of the entire student body and faculty held last September 27, the last such gath ering before his death, he pre dicted that the ensuing year would be "the greatest in - the his- Hetzel Liked 'Prexy' Title Better Than Degrees To members of the faculty and administration he was President Hetzel but to the students he was lust plain "Prexy." a title he liked better than any honorary degree he had received. While he was at New Ha.mp shire. he read an editorial in Col legian to the effect that although the Trustees could appoint a President of The College. only the students reserved the right to call him "Prexy." After he had been at Penn State for a short time a student delegation came to his office and escorted him to the auditorium where. in a very formal cere mony. he was officially duUbed "Prexy." Old Main Football Rally Cancelled By Committee The football rally to have been held on the steps of Old Main at 7:15 o'clock tonight has been call ed off due to the sudden death of President Ralph Dorn Hetzel. Richard Serge. chairman of the pep rally committee said this af ternoon. The rally. the first of Penn State's 1947 football season. was to have started with a street pa rade led by the Blue Band. The Blue Band has also called off all oractices scheduled for today. Bulletin Dodger World Series hopes brightened this afternoon. as Brooklyn tied the Yankees at two games by taking this after noon's contest, 3-2. The losing pitcher, Yankee Sevin, gave up only one , hit to pinch-hitter Levagetto--the last man to face him in the last half of the ninth. The winabeir Pitches was Hugh Campy. Come On The football game between the Nittany Lions and Buoknell will be held tomorrow after noon at 2 p.m. as scheduled. Harold R. Gilbert. graduate manager of athletics stated this afternoon. Lineups of the came appear on page 2. tory of Penn State." "We now have the largest group on campus in our history," the president stated on that occasion. "10,000 young men and women are now enrolled with the College (Continued on •.•e four) President Hetzel's Tenure Characterized By Expansion Dr. Ralph Dorn Hetzel's twenty years at the Pennsylvania State College were characterized by his vigorous policy of expansion. When the noted administrator entered upon his duties December 15, 192/3, the College had been consistently growing for forty years, but Dr. Hetzel considered the time to be opportune for expansion far beyond anything previously considered. Dr. Hetzel believed that the Pennsylvania State College, though the Pensylvania State Col though inadequately provided for by the State of Pennsylva nia before this time, presented the greatest opportunity for educa tional work of any higher institu tion of learning in the nation. The most important need ac cording to the president's views was that the public character of the College be recognized by the citizens of the state and that this fact be more firmly establish- The Open Door I am writing this in the reception room of the Prexy's office on the second floor of Old Main. The chair I am seated in is located just a few feet from the opened door of Dr. Hetzel's office. When I entered the reception room a few, minutes ago the open door was the first thing that attracted my attention. I have visited this office on a number of occasions but this is the first time that I can recall ever seeing the door open. For over 20 years behind this closed door the destinies of Amer ica's tenth largest college have teen carefully mapped out by Dr. Hetzel. The Prexy's office has a par ticular note of dignity this after noon; and except for the occas sional ring of a telephone and the subdued voice of a secretary, silence prevails in this room and the adjoining offices. As I look into the Prexy's of fice I notice for the first time that the wine colored drapes. the deep green carpeting and maroon leather furnishings tend to add to the solemnity which prevails in the room. The open fire place at one end of the room reminds me of the warmth with which the Prexy has always been known to greet his visitors whether they were nervous students or admin istrative officials. The rows of book shelves which flank the fire place calls to mind the great wealth of knowledge which was the President's . . . . knowledge which he expertly FRIDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 3, 1947 DR. • RALPH DORN HETZEL Arrangements for temporary direction of the activities of the College will be decided upon by the president of the Board of Trustees. Mr. James Milhol land. in conjunction with the Board. Mr. Milholland is sched uled to arrive in State College lord • ht. Enrollment Enlarged When Dr. Hetzel came to Penn State in 1927, the College had 3099 students enrolled for resi dent instruction. Today the en rollment exceeds 11,000 with 8.000 of this number on the cam pus. The faculty and staff like wise increased from 846 to more than 1500. The scope of both extension and research activities have been greatly expanded during the past 20 years. Expenditures for exten By Lawrence G. Foster combined with a deep under standing of human nature. Seeing the top of the desk cleared of important papers—the unlit desk lamp—and the empty chair behind the desk makes his absence a stark reality. Of the many oblccts In this large room which I have a choice of gazing on, the one which stands out most of all is the green visor which rests on the desk. To me, the visor accurately charac terizes the qualities of leadership that belonged to the Prexy. This simple obiect did more to break down the intangible barrier which separates student and President than any uther thing I know of. Somehow a student can't bi , .- ture the College President in shirt sleeves and wearing a green visor and seated behind a desk littered with papers., Perhaps this informality was re sponsible for the name Pixy ,end the reverence which accompanied its use. President of College Succumbs Cerebral Dr. Ralph Dorn Hetzel, 10th president of the College, died very suddenly at 11:25 o'clock this morning at his home on campus. Death was attributed to a cerebral blood clot. He was 64 years old. Dr. Hetzel, who was in his 21st year as chief executive of the College,.collapsed while sitting at the telephone where he was preparing to make a call. Dr. Herbert R. Glenn, College physician, was summon• ed and pronounced the president dead upon arrival. The entire community and county were shocked as the news traveled speedily. Spontaneous expressions of sympathy came from every mouth, from the newest student on campus to veteran Col lege employes and towns- sion have more than doubled from $767,050 to $1,910,124 while expenditures for research have increased more than 13 times from $189,936 to $2,524,578. The number of graduates of the College greatly increased too during Dr. Hetzel's 20 years as president. During the terms of the nine men who preceeded Dr. Hetzel as president, the College conferred 9,026 degrees. During the past 20 years, 23,753 men and women received diplomas from the College. Many changes in organization at the College were effected by Dr. Hetzel. The School of Physi cal Education and Athletics was established and new departments were organized. While some cur ricula were discontinued, the number of curricula offered in creased from 38 to 56 in the past 20 years. The College Library grew rapidly too, increasing its number of volumes from 100,000 in 1927 to more than 270,000 today. While growth has been marked in all fields during President Hetzel's administration, it is es pecially noted in the size of the physical plant. In 1927, the value of the physical plant was record ed as $3,700,000. Today, it exceeds' $26,423,000. More than 30 of the 55 major buildings in use on the, campus today were completed during the past 20 years. During President Hetzel's ad ministration, the College weath :Ted two critical periods. The first was the economic depres sion that started in 1929, and the second was another world war. During the war, more than 10,000 men in uniform attended classes on the campus and extension services reached another 140,000 people in the State through five special war training programs. The end of the war brdtight with it problems of a different kind for Dr. Hetzel, as well as for college administrators throughout the nation. Veterans, leprived of a chance to obtain their degrees because of the war. returned to the campuses by the thousands. In order that the greatest pos _ible number might be granted admission to Penn State, Dr. Het zel devised the "farming out" system whereby nearly 3,000 freshmen were enrolled at other colleges, including the State Teachers' Colleges, for their first year. PRICE FIVE CENTS at 64 From Blood Clot people who knew "Prexy" as a personal friend. Present At Death At the presidential home at the time of Dr. Hetzel's collapse were Mrs. Hetzel and Mr. and Mrs. James Hutt houseman and cook for the Hetzels. In addition to Mrs. Hetzel, Dr. Hetzel is survived by three sons. two daughters. and a brother. The sons are Ralph. Jr., of Wash ington, D.C.: Roger, of Lancaster: Philip. of Abilene, Tex.: and the daughters. Mrs. B. K. Johnstone. of Pittsburgh: . and Mrs. J. A. Wil liams, of Palmerton. His brother. H .C. Hetzel. lives in Sanford. Fla. Born in Wisconsin Ralph Dorn Hetzel was born at Merrill. Wisc.. Dec. 31. 1882. a son of Henry Clayton and Sadie Dorn Hetzel. He received degrees from the University of California, Dart mouth. Bucknell. Lafayette. Uni versity of New Hampshire and the University of Pittsburgh. He held merni,ership. in the following fraternities: Phi Beta Kappa. Delta Upsilon. Gamma Sigma Delta. Phi Kappa Phi. Kappa Phi Kappa. Pi Delta Ep silon. Phi Sigma lota. Phi Eta Sigma. President Hetzel, who was grad uated from the University of Wis consin in 1906, began his career as an educator in 1908 at Oregon State College. He served there as an instructor in English. later be came professor of English and political science, and from 1913 to 1917 was director of the extension service. He then went to New Hampshire and served as presi dent of the University of New Hampshire until 1926. All of his experience as an educator has been in connection with land grant colleges. Headed Land Grants Commenting on the future of land-grant colleges, Dr. Hetzel, who• recently was elected presi dent of the Association of Land- Grant Colleges and Universities, predicted that "because of the public character and the tradition of public service which have de veloped' about them, the land grant colleges and universities are destined to grow in strength and in influence. They are insti tutions peculiarly democratic and American in character." Dr. Hetzel, who headed the As sociation of College Presidents of Pennsylvania in 1933, in 1934 was named president of the National Association of State Universities.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers