Today's. Forecast:
Cold
and Clearing
VOL. 57. No. 76
Trustees Approve Study
iluate Facilities
Itural Program
To Ev
For Cu
By JUDY HARRISON
ficials have been authorized by the Board of
irtake a study to determine whether present
notably Recreation Hall and Schwab Audi
inverted or made available for an expanded
University of
Trustees to unde
campus facilities,
torium, can be cc
student cultural program.
The action grew out
Mine Blast
Claims 37
in Virginia
BISHOP, Va., Feb. 4 UP)
Thirty-seven miners perished to
day in a rumbling gas explosion
deep in the giant Bishop Coal
Mine that burrows under the
mountains of the Virginia-West
Virginia line.
It was the nation’s worst mine
disaster since 119 died in a blast
at West Frankfort, 111., Dec. 21,
1951.
There was no immediate official
word on what touched off the
blast that sent acrid, dust-laden
fumes whistling through the mine
337-feet below the surface. A fire
boss had reported the area free of
hazard prior to the time the mid
night shift went to work. Time of
the explosion was set at 1:55 a.m.
• It appeared to many of the res
cue workers that the lives of the
37 were snuffed out by the result
ing lack of oxygen rather than the
force of the blast.
About 180 men were under
ground at the time but the 37
victims apparently were the only
ones in the immediate blast area.
First intimation something was
wrong down in the cavernous two
million-ton-a-year producer of the
Pocahontas Fuel Co. qame in a
phone call to the tipple.
Rufus Trail, a mine motorman
who was outside after carrying
two hauls of men to the diggings,;
said a miner below reported things
didn’t look right—there was a
heavy accumulation of dust. This
call was believed to have come
some distance from the explosion
area.
The last word officials of the
company received from below
came by phone from Raymond
Owensby: He said his section was
all right if the smoke and fumes
would abate. But Owensby was
among the trapped men and per
ished ’in a spot described as “a
five-fninute walk” from the foot
of the elevator shaft.
Sky to Clear;
Cold Remains
• The local groundhog, whose
cavernous home is not far from
the den of the Nittany Lion, de
fied the intimidations of the
weather-weary king of beasts,
emerged as usual, sneered at the
(apprehensively watching Lion,
and viewed
gleefully his
ominous shadow
ion the ground,
thus warning of
another six
weeks of wintry
weather.
And the Lion
was never con
vinced of the
soothsaying abil
ities of the lowly
groundhog when
he awoke in the middle of the
night and glanced at the mercury
~ which stood at the 32 degree
mark.
He expected little relief in a
slight predicted rise of six de
grees today, but is thankful, how
ever, for the prospect of clearing
akies.
of a request from All-University
Cabinet that the trustees consider
adoption of a student fee to help
support an expanded program of
concerts and lectures. The trus
tees approved theh idea in prin
ciple at their January meeting
but asked that action on the fee
be withheld until a more com
plete study is made.
Took Action Nor. 2
Cabinet passed a recommenda
tion Nov. 2 asking a $2-a-semester
increase in student fees to help!
support expansion of such a pro
gram. At that time, Dr. Albert
Christ-Janer, director of the
School of the Arts, said it would
cost $60,000 to acoustically equip
Rec Hall, and $5OOO to do the
same for Schwab.
In the study, University officials
will endeavor to determine how
much of a series would be possible
without seriously curtailing the
programs of required' physical
education and athletics now
housed in Rec Hall; what alter
ations and/or equipment would
be necessary to prepare either
Rec Hall or Schwab for such a
program; and the cost of such
changes.
Early Report Seen
A report will be made at an]
early meeting of the Board. _ ]
Dr. Christ-Janer told Cabinet
in November that if the student
fee is raised $2 per semester, the
cultural program could realize ap
proximately $26,000 a semester,
or $52,000 a year. The community
will buy approximately $BOOO
worth of tickets, he said, giving
the program $60,000 a year.
The community concert series
would be given $6OOO for the!
spring semester, and the remain-j
ing $20,000 applied as a down pay
ment to the Board of Trustees
for the refurnishing of the two
buildings, Dr. Christ-Janer said.
Uurged 'First Step'
“The Board of Trustees, seeing
such action on the part of the stu
dents,” he continued, “could be
nothing but impressed, and I am
sure they would consider follow
ing through with generosity.”
Dr. Christ-Janer urged Cabinet
to take the first step in making
such a program possible, saying:
“You (Cabinet) are in a position
to make an historic contribution
to this University by putting it
on a true university level.”
Admissions Booklet
Preceding Cabinet’s approval,
Dr. Christ-Janer told the group
that if fees were raised, students
would then be given a booklet,
(Continued on page six)
University Awaits Budget Message
The public will learn how
good a salesman the Univer
sity has been in Harrisburg
when Gov. George M. Leader
submits his $2 billion-plus
budget request to the General
Assembly, this afternoon.
Especially interested in Leader’s
budget message will be the Uni
versity faculty members, since
the size of the appropriation for
the University will determine
how large a salary raise they
will receive.
The University is believed to
have asked Leader for more than
$3O million for the next biennium,
beginning in July. The Univer
sity has been operating the last
two years on a $25 million-plus
appropriation.
. • Dr. Walker,, in * major speech
FOR A BETTER PENN STATE
STATE COLLEGE. PA.. TUESDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 5. 1957
Trustees Elevate 3
To Vice President
Three administrative staff members have been moved into newly-created vice presiden
cies by the University’s Board of Trustees.
Dr. Michael A. Farrell, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and director of the
Agricultural Experimental Station has been named vice president for research; C. S. Wy
jand, executive assistant to the President, has been named vice-president for development;
and Lawrence E. Dennis, provost, has been designated vice president for academic affairs.
Spring Enrollment
Reaches New High
Enrollment at the University for the spring semester
totals 14,379 students, according to unofficial figures released
yesterday by Dr. C. O. Williams, dean of admissions. A total
of 12,003 of these students are on campus.
The unofficial figures, wh
of registration Saturday noon,!
show an enrollment gain over a'
year ago. Late registrations will
increase the number.
Meanwhile, the University con
tinued to be the 10th largest uni
versity in the United States in
full-time enrollment, according to
Dr. Raymond Walters, president
emeritus of the University of Cin
cinnati, in his 37th annual sur
vey of student enrollments pub
lished in School and Society
Magazine.
Largest Number of Colleges
Dr. Walters’ survey also reveals
that Pennsylvania, with 67 col
leges, has more institutions of|
higher learning than any other!
state and. with 105,578 students
enrolled, ranks second only to]
New York. His figures are based
on fall semester enrollments.
The University enrollment totals
thus far are more than 500 stu
dents higher than the total of 1
13,808 reported at the close oL
registration a year ago, although!
slightly under the final figure]
of 14.433 for the same semester.]
A final enrollment count will,
be made on Feb. 16 with the sum-!
mary of enrollment for the spring
semester to be made later. |
New Metric Cards !
Students may secure their per
manent identification and activity
card in the ballroom of the Het
zel Union Building according to a]
mimeographed schedule issued]
during registration. Students who]
registered Wednesday received;
their cards yesterday. ]
The balance of the schedule,:
with registration day listed first]
and card pickup day second, is as
follows: Thursday morning, this
morning; Thursday afternoon;
this afternoon; Friday morning,
tomorrow morning; Friday after
noon, tomorrow afternoon; and
Saturday morning, Thursday
morning.
Students unable to pick up their
(Continued on page six)
to the faculty last semester, said
he believed the University has
a strong talking point for why it
needs an increased appropriation.
This, he said, was the need ol
higher salaries for faculty mem
bers, especially at the full-profes
sorship level.
Dr. Walker and his staff mem
bers late last semester went to
Harrisburg to request the in
creased appropriation. They were
armed with many figures, espe
cially those on faculty salaries.
Figure Not Released
The University has never re
leased the figure it requested to
Leader and it will probably not
be known whether Leader and
his staff cut the request before
including it in the budget mes
sage.
An informed Old Main source
has said that he believes the re
quest is for more than $3O mil
lion.
egtatt
ich were obtained at the close
Council Elects
Insurance Man
New Burgess
Claude H. Decker, operator of a'
local insurance agency, was elect-'
ed burgess of State College last
night at a meeting of Borough
Council.
Decker, who was chosen from a
list of eight nominations for the
post, will serve until Jan. 1,1958.
filling out the unexpired term of
David R. Mackey, former assist
ant professor of speech, now at
Boston University. Mackey served,
three years in the office. ]
Was Tax Assessor
The new burgess, a native of]
State College, served as borough;
tax assessor for three years dur-i
ing the 1940’5, and for the past!
six years has been a member-of
the State College police civil serv-!
ice commission. He lives at 500;
W. Nittany Avenue.
Decker will be officially sworn:
in as burgess at a later council 1
meeting. He was not available for ;
comment last night. I
Other Nominees Listed
Other nominees for the post!
were Guy C. Mills, justice of the!
peace; William ■ S. Hoffman, for
mer burgess; Leonard A. Doggett,
retired faculty member; P. A.
Frost, local realtor; Edward Stei
] die, retired dean of Mineral In
dustry; John Doty, local realtor;
and Ross Edmiston, local busi
nessman.
Who's Who Available
Students whose names appear!
in “Who’s Who in the News at
Penn State” may obtain copies]
of the publication at the Hetzel
■Union desk. Each student will re
ceive two copies.
To raise the teaching staffs
■alaries 1 per cent, Dr. .Walker
.old the faculty, it would take an
additional appropriation of one
hird of a million dollars.
Other Personnel Raises
Dr. Walker said the University
cannot stop with raising teachers’
salaries, but also must raise those
of secretaries and service person
nel. for they too need raises. i
“If we raise salaries, we al
most have to raise dormitory and
food service costs too,” since a
raise in salaries reflects in the
cost of running food service and
dormitories, he said.
Dormitories and food service.
Dr. Walker said, “must pay their
own way.”
More money will also be needed
for additional faculty members,
he said.
The qply specific request re
leased by the University was for
' (Continued on page-six)
The
Forgotten Class
See Page 4
Dr. Farrell becomes the newest
appointment to President Eric A.
Walker’s staff, which, including
Wyand and Dennis, is composed
of S. K. Hostetter, Wilmer E. Ken
worthy, Edward L. Keller. Ken
neth R. Erfft, Louis H. Bell. Os
sian R. MacKenzie, Robert G.
Bernreuter, and Christian K. Ar
nold.
Dr. Farrell has served on the
faculty of the. University since
1934 and has directed the agri
cultural research program since
1951. He began his academic ca
reer as a biology teacher at Le
high University and came to Penn
State as an instructor in bacteriol
ogy. In 1936, he was named head
of the division of bacteriology,
which at that time was a part of
the department of dairy science,
ard in 1940 was named head of
the new'department of bacteriol
ogy.
Assistant Director
He was named assistant direc
tor of the Agricultural Experi
ment Station in 1947 and four
years later became acting director
of the Station. He was named to
his present position in 1952.
As director of the Station, Dr.
Farrell coordinates a research
program that embraces more than
325 studies in all phases of agri
culture and that last year oper
ated a s2'-i million budget.
Joined Faculty in *3l
Wyand, who received his bach
elor of arts degree in arts and let
ters from the University in 1929
and his MA degree in economics
in 1934. joined the faculty in 1931
as an instructor in economics. In
1946, Wyand, 'then professor, of
economics, was appointed admin
istrative assistant to the Presi
dent, then the late Dr. Ralph Dorn
Hetzel, to aid in planning for the
postwar expansion program of
■ the University. He has served on
the staff of the President of the
University since that time.
Wyand also studied at Colum
bia University and prior to his
appointment to the University
faculty, served with. Far Eastern
Division of the National City
Bank of New York and later as
[assistant to the president of the
iMcGraw Hill Book Co. He is a
[native of Waynesboro.
U.S. Ed Official
Dennis, prior to his appoint
ment as administrative assistant
ito the President in 1954. served as
special assistant to the U.S. Com
missioner of Education in Wash
ington, D.C.; on the faculties of
Kansas State College, the State
[University of lowa, and Drake
[University Community College;
and as an editorial writer for the
]Des Moines, lowa, Register and
Tribune.
Born in Virginia, Minn., Den
nis received his B.A. degree from
(Continued on page six)
Collegian Calls
For Candidates
Students interested in be
coming candidates for The
Daily Collegian news or sports
staffs may attend a meeting
at 7 pan. tomorrow in 9 Car
negie. _
Students need not be journ
alism majors nor have previous
newspaper experience to be
come candidates.
The operations of Collegian
and what wilLbe expected of
candidates will be explained
at the first meeting. At- other
meetings, to be held weekly,
the candidates will be taught
different phases of newspaper
reporting and editing.
FIVE CENTS