TWO DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT

1939-59
State Teachers College
Bloomsburg, Pa.
Volume 28

JANUARY. 1960

Number 2

Harvey A. Andruss, college president;
born Fort Worth, Texas, February 19,
1902; s. Edward Hamilton and Myrtle
(McDaniel) A.; A.B., University of
Oklahoma, 1924; M.B.A., Northwestern
University, 1926, graduate work, 1928;
Ed.D., Pennsylvania State College ( now
Pennsylvania State University) 1949; m.
Elizabeth Archibald, June 12, 1929; 1
son, Harvey, Jr.; Principal, Oklahoma
High Schools, 1921-24; head, commerce
department, Ponca City (Oklahoma)
High School, 1924-25; lecturer, Northwestern University School of Commerce,
1925-27; supervisor, Department of
Commerce, State Teachers College, Indiana, Pennsylvania, 1927-30; organizer
and director, Department of Business
Education,
State Teachers College,
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 1930-37, dean
of instruction, 1937-39, president since
DR. HARVEY A. ANDRUSS
1939; special lecturer, New York University, 1937, University of Oklahoma,
1939, Oklahoma A. & M . College, 1942, 1943, and 1949. Educational consultant
and head, department of accounting, First Army University, Shrivenham, England, 1945-46; consultant, higher education, Pennsylvania State College, 1948;
consultant, citizenship education, Teachers College, Columbia, 1950. Visiting
professor, Pennsylvania State University, summer 1957. Represented American
Association of Teachers Colleges in hearings before both House and Senate
(78th Congress) on legislation to extend the Civil Pilot Training Act of 1939.
Editorial consultant, Southwestern Publishing Company, Gregg Publishing Co.,
Macmillan Company, Lyons & Carnahan, Memorial Victory Fund Committee,
Third Federal Reserve District, Philadelphia; consultant, Business Problems
Committee, Investment Bankers Association of America, Chicago; adviser on
Civil Service examination, Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, Department of Labor and Industry, Harrisburg; secretary, Co-operative Commission
on Teacher Education in Pennsylvania; consultant, Educational Policies Committee, N .E.A., Washington, D.C.; Educational Adviser, Army Air Force Association, 1959; president, Alpha Alumni Association of Phi Beta Kappa in
Pennsylvania; director, Bloomsburg Hospital; member, executive committee
Bloomsburg Chapter of American Red Cross, chairman 1933-35; member, executive committee Consumer Education Round Table; Pennsylvania State Education
Association ( vice-president, college and university section) ; member, executive
committee Salvation Army (Bloomsburg); past president and vice-president,
commercial section, Pennsylvania State Education Association; vice-president,
College Instructors Round Table of National Commercial Teachers Federation;
member, Pennsylvania Education Commission, Kiwanis Club; member, N .E.A.,
Pennsylvania State Education Association, Eastern Commercial Teachers Association, Eastern Commercial Association, National Business Teachers Federation,
Southern Business Education Association; Presbyterian; Mason ( 33 ' ) . Author
five books, including: Ways to Teach Bookkeeping and Accounting ( 1942);
Burgess Business Law, 1952. Home: Buckalew Place, Light Street Road,
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania, tmder the Act of August 24, 1912.

TWO DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT
1939 - 1959
,•

Editor's Note: This is a series of articles which appeared in the Morning
Press of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in September, 1959, dealing with
the first twenty years of the administration of Dr. Harvey A . Andruss
as President of the Bloomsburg State Teachers College.
The clouds of an impending international conflict hovered over the
world like a giant octopus in August,
1939, when Dr. Harvey A. Andruss
was appointed president of the State
Teachers College at Bloomsburg. His
appointment, at the age of thirty-seven,
was another highlight in a distinguished
career in education during which he
served as a high school principal at
the age of nineteen, as a university instructor at twenty-four, as a college
department head at twenty-eight, and
as dean of instruction at thirty-five.
Dr. Andruss succeeded Dr. Francis
B. Haas, president from 1927-1939,
who had accepted the position of State
Superintendent of Public Instruction
for the Commonwealth.

a German army of about one million
men, with tank divisions and the most
powerful air force in Europe, attacked
Poland at dawn. The theory of the
blitzkrieg or "lightning war", featuring
tanks and planes, was to have a profound effect on science, industry, and
education in the United States.
In what seemed like rather quick
succession, the United States recovered
from a severe depression, fought and
won a world war, exploded the first
atomic bomb, made the transition from
wartime to peacetime production, developed the hydrogen bomb, faced a
lingering cold war with Communist
nations, engaged in an international
police action (The Korean Conflict),
and overcame an economic recession .
It was a time that called for leaders
of sound judgment, far-sighted vision,
and daring action. And education was
called upon more than ever before, to
help preserve democracy and to keep
it in the vanguard of world leadership.
What part did Bloomsburg play during
this critical score of years?

Critical Time in History
It seems likely that the two decades,
19 39-19 59, may well be considered one
of the most important and most critical
eras, not only in world history, but in
the annals of our nation, its forty-eight
states, and the many institutions and
organizations which breathe life and
strength in to our national government.
From October, 1938, to March, 1939,
Adolph Hitler successively annexed
Austria, the Sudetenland, Memel, and
the Czechoslovak Republic. The futile
attemps by Great Britian and France,
to appease the Nazi dictator, came to
an end on September 1, 1939, when

New Course Is Set
In a report published in 1945, "Five
Years Are Finished", Dr. Andruss
stated, "A new course must be set to
determine whither we shall go 'when
Nation shall not raise sword against Nation, neither shall they learn war any

3

and atmosphere for learning." Included
in a report published by Dr. Andruss
in 1945, this statement aptly sums up
one of the major considerations which
face college administrators.

more'. What of the future? We cannot
answer this question until we know
where we are, and the route that we
traveled to arrive - where we are."
Half a decade later, John A. Hoch,
dean of instruction, had written in
"Five More Years Are Finished, 194 519 50" . . . "A world, weary and disillusioned by war, is now seeking peace.
The uncertainties of the future have
been intensified by the challenge of the
atomic age which has, in turn, deepened and broadened the responsibilities
for higher education. American colleges
and universities face the need for improving traditional tasks and for assuming new tasks created for them by
a rapidly changing world. What has
been happening at our college?"

When the college year began in
September, 1939, four new buildings
dotted the campus - a gymnasium,
a junior high laboratory school, a shop
and maintenance building, and an addition to the heating plant. Since the
college budget had been prepared before the buildings were completed,
President Harvey A. Andruss had to
solve the problem of securing additional funds to open and operate the
new buildings.
By the prompt action of the college
administration, a short time later, arrangements were completed to train
Army and Navy Flyers and Navy Deck
Officers, and the necessary funds became available. The Junior High School
became "Navy Hall", and since 1945,
it has provided several classrooms for
general use and a location for offices,
classrooms and machine rooms used by
the Division of Business Education.
During World \Var II, the college was
able to spend nearly $100,000 on buildings and field equipment, movable
equipment, contracted repairs, and
grading roads and walks. This included
critically-needed new underground conduits to supply power and light for all
buildings. In addition to safety and
landscaping considerations, these new
conduits and transformers gave Bloomsburg the lowest relative electric cost
among the State Teachers Colleges.

An examination of enrollment, cur-

riculums, faculty, plant, and related
activities, during the twenty years Dr.
Andruss has served as President, reveals
considerable adjustment, change and
growth. Subsequent information will be
presented not only as a review of
events and accomplishments but as an
indication of the possible improvement
and extension of services which the
colleges can render in the future to
citizens of the Commonwealth and the
Nation.

EXPAND PHYSICAL PLANT;
MORE IS NOW REQUIRED
There has been considerable expansion of the physical plant of the
Teachers College since the close of
War II and much more is going to be
required to make the physical plant
large enough to handle those who wish
to study at "the friendly college on the
hill ."

From 1945-1955, nearly three-quarters of a million dollars were spent on
internal changes and improvements in
existing buildings. The entire first floor
of Carver Hall was completely reconstructed to provide a central and attractive location for administrative officers.

Buildings and Equipment

"While colleges are not buildings
alone, the plant provides background

4

tend the institution. The program to
meet these demands is now well
launched and more are being projected.
Most of the changes, described in
previous articles in this series, were
designed to improve buildings which
could accommodate a population of
800-900 students.

The Old Waller Hall Gymnasium was
rebuilt to be used as a Lounge for students and to house a College Book
Store and Snack Bar. The changes in
these two buildings rarely fail to evoke
admiration from alumni and visitors
alike. Extensive changes in the first
floor corridor of Waller Hall provided
spacious Lounge areas for students and
faculty, administrative offices for the
social deans, and a new communications center, which includes mail facilities for all students and a PBX telephone switchboard.

President Andruss sensed the need
for a coordinated, long-range campus
plan of building and development
which would allow the college a
systematic method of meeting the
mushrooming demand for education .

BSTC IS FIRST TO GET
"OK" ON CAMPUS PLAN

First Approved Plan

The idea bore fruit and, in 19 57,
Bloomsburg became the first State
State Teachers College in Pennsylvania
to have a plan approved by the Department of Public Instruction. In the

Changes had to be made in objectives at the Teachers College through
the past score of years to meet the
demands of those who wished to at-

The College Commons -

5

1957

spring of the same year, the doors of
the new College Commons were
opened to provide dining-room service
for more than five hundred men and
women dormitory students and about
150 male students who lived in private
homes in the Town of Bloomsburg.

ence of the large number of commuting
students who must drive cars to
campus each day.

Enrollment
In October, 1939, there were 659
class one students enrolled at Bloomsburg. This year the enrollment is nearly 1600. Do these figures indicate a
slow but steady growth for twenty
orld
years, including the periods of
War II and the Korean Conflict when
millions of men were being called into
military service? Dr. Andruss noted,
in 194 5, "Before the passage of the
first Selective Service Act in 1940 it
was evident to some college administrators that changes were impending.
,1/ere the transition made gradually,
there would be less interruption in the
work of faculty and students at a given
time. However, those institutions which
insisted on 'keeping on' doing the same
things as before, have been denuded
of students. Their opportunities for
contributing to the war effort have been
limited by a slow start."

The modern and spacious facilities
of the Commons have also been made
available to those community and area
organizations having a membership too
large in number to be accommodated
elsewhere. The old dining room in
,1/aller Hall was completely rebuilt as
a library area which more than doubled
the amount of shelf space for books
and periodicals.

,;v

Removal of the old library made it
possible to house forty more students
on the second floor of
all er dormitory in September, 19 58. These
changes, along with the optimum use
of all classrooms, permitted the following growth in enrollment at Bloomsburg since 1955, with the enrollment
increasing steadily. For the past five
years it has been: 1955, 935; 1956,
1078; 1957, 1187; 1958, 1368; this
year, approximately 1600.

,;v

Prevent Drop During World War II
A sudden and severe drop in enrollment at Bloomsburg was prevented by
the successful efforts of Dr. Andruss
and the Board of Trustees in securing
war programs. ,1/hile the enrollment of
regular full-time students dropped from
718 in 1940 to 361 in 1944, enrollment was supplemented by the addition of from 200 to 600 war students each year.

Newest Buldings

In the summer of 19 58, two more
parts of the campus plan became a
reality. Ground was broken for a new
dormitory to house 200 men and for
another building, Sutliff Hall, which
will provide six science and geography
laboratories and eight Business Education classrooms. Constructed by the
General State Authority at a cost of
more than one and a third million
dollars, the two buildings will be put
into use by January, 1960. Due to
limited dormitory space, for housing
men and women on campus, the college is now completing a new 100 car
campus parking area for the conveni-

As a result, the number of faculty
members at Bloomsburg was decreased
only 8 per cent while the average decrease in all teachers colleges was 24
per cent. The enrollment also had a
favorable effect on curricular offerings
and use of buildings. Equally important was the fact that a forward-looking college administration provided

6

valuable military training for more than
1300 Army and Navy personnel and,
at th e same time, allowed men an opportunity to begin or complete the
requirements for a Bachelor of Science
degree - a useful asset for their return
to civilian life.

COLLEGE FA CUL TY ALMOST
DOUBLES IN TWENTY YEARS

The faculty of the Bloomsburg State
Teachers College has almost doubled
in the past twenty years, but throughout that period the shortage of well
trained, experienced teachers has been
a major problem for many school administrators.

Stabilized For Period
In spite of increased demands for
admission to college during the period
from 1950-1955, enrollments were
stabilized between 800 and 900 students. This was due in part to limited
dormitory capacity, limited seating in
the dining room and auditorium, and
a strong desire on the part of the college administration to provide quality
education for future teachers in the
Commonwealth.

Statistics show that in September,
19 39, there were forty-two members
on the Bloomsburg faculty. When the
new term began this year, there were
eighty-two faculty members, but only
six, including President Andruss, have
been at Bloomsburg during the past
twenty years. Seventeen members have
completed ten years of service since
the College was last accredited by the
Middle States Association in 1950.

President Andruss foresaw the tremendous increase in enrollment pressures resulting from the continued need
for classroom teachers and the desire
of more young men and women to receive a college education. Renovations,
rebuilding, and optimum scheduling
helped make more classroom and dormitory space available for gradual increases in enrollment from 19 5 5-19 59,
while a long-range, comprehensive campus plan has been developed and approved to accommodate approximately
3000 students by 1970.

One of the major changes, supported
by President Andruss and the Faculty
Association, was the enactment of a
series of laws by the state legislature
since 1950, establishing faculty rank,
minimum salaries, and salary increments for the 14 State Teachers Colleges. The original act also establishes
minimums of academic preparation and
years of experience for instructors, assistant professors, associate professors,
and professors. The legislation includes
qualifications and compensation for cooperating teachers in public schools
who participate in the teacher-training
program of the Colleges. Salaries and
qualifications of faculty employed in
State Teachers Colleges in Pennsylvania have now reached a more desirable level in comparison with other
states and other colleges and universities.

The ratio of men and women after
\1/orld War II was two to one, and
after the Korean Conflict, it was five
to three; in recent years, men have held
a slight numerical superiority.
Briefly, it can be said that the careful planning and initiative of the administration have been responsible for
maintaining enrollment, during war and
peace, at a constant and maximum level
in keeping with educational standards
and available buildings.

At the present time, the trustees and
administration, along with the faculty,
are supporting legislation which will
improve salaries, retirement and sick

7

leave. Under consideration by trustees,
faculty, and the board of presidents is
a uniform policy relating to employment and dismissal of instructional employees at all State Teachers Colleges
in Pennsylvania.

include Mrs. Anna M. Knight, secretary
to the president; Miss Ethel M. Wilson, secretary to the business manager,
Miss Beatrice Eyerly, employed in the
College Store.
The future addition of dormitories,
a library, an auditorium, classroom
buildings, and a field house - all provided in the Campus Plan - will demand the same careful selection of
non-instructional employees if Bloomsburg is to preserve the beauty of the
campus and the many services rendered
by administrative offices.

Student-Teacher Ratio

Since his tenure as president began
in 1939, Dr. Andruss has devoted effort, not only to improving salaries and
professional qualifications, but also to:
maintaining a desirable student-teacher
ratio; securing faculty members who
have completed their academic preparation at many of the nation's leading
colleges and universities, and have, in
addition, a diversity of experiences related to their teaching assignments;
maintaining a professional staff of which
thirty percent or more have earned doctor's degrees. An analysis of the personal qualification of this year's 82 members will show that considerable
progress has been made in meeting
these objectives.

J

BSTC CHANGES PROGRAM
TO MEET CURRENT NEEDS
The changes that have been made
at the Teachers College in the past
score of years to aid in the great national emergency of World War II,
and the development since of various
phases of the program to meet the
needs of the educational front, as they
arise, have been milestones in the program of the local institution .

Eighty-Eight Employees

It has often been said that "what
is taught" and "how it is taught" are
of paramount importance in any program of directed learning activity.
Children must be prepared for college
study or for a vocation.

An attractive campus of more than
55 acres indicates the interest of the
administration in the physical plant,
its surroundings, and the men and
women who are engaged in non-instructional activities. With an enrollment of
659 students in 1939, the College employed 44 non-instructional employees.
The construction and operation of
seven new buildings since 19 39 and an
increase in enrollment to 1600, has
been accompanied by an increase in
the staff to eighty-eight employees.
Here again, the matter of adequate
qualifications and salaries has been a
matter of prime concern involving
members of both the maintenance and
secretarial staff. It may be interesting
to note that three members of the present secretarial staff have completed
twenty or more years of service. They

A Teachers' College must prepare
teachers who can and will keep instruction geared to scientific and technical changes in our culture. The record
of the present college administration
since 19 39, shows evidence of how
changes must and can be made for the
welfare of a democratic society.
During the 1940-1945 period, when
many colleges had to curtail activities
and curriculum offerings, Bloomsburg
continued at or above the pre-war level;
although the immediate program was

8

I

J

designed to train military personnel in
the following war programs, there was
a carry-over of experience and knowhow into the activities and learning experiences of the post-war period.

regular schedule of college classes. Most
of the ground school classes were
taught by members of the college
faculty while the entire college community received a better insight into
some of the many aspects of the coming Air Age. A majority of the studentpilots became flying officers in the
Army, Navy, and Marine Air Forces
during World War II .

War Training Programs

i/

In the fall of 1940, Bloomsburg was
one of 600 institutions of higher learning which was asked to participate in
the Civilian Pilot Training Program
under the Civil Aeronautics Administration . From then until the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor on December
7, 1941, the college trained 100 airplane pilots.

A pre-flight aeronautics course for
teachers was sponsored at the college
in the summer of 1942 by the Civil
Aeronautics Authority. Bloomsburg had
a quota of 20, and was the first college
in the nation to offer the course exclusively for teachers-in-service, instead
of intermingling them with Civilian
Pilot trainees. From this summer program was born the concept that a field
or area of concentration for teachers

These college students received
flight instruction at the Bloomsburg
airport and ground school instruction
at the college in addition to carrying a

1
)

William Boyd Sutliff Hall -

9

1960

should be developed. Such a program
was approved by the State Council of
Education and became a part of the
curriculum for the education of Secondary Teachers. One hundred high
school teachers were ultimately trained
to become teachers of aeronautics.

ity was not available in its entirety anywhere else in the eastern portion of
the United States.
One of the major adjustments in the
program of instruction initiated by Dr.
Andruss was the change on July 1, 1940
from a college year of two eighteenweek semesters to three terms of sixteen weeks each. This allowed students
to complete four years of instruction
in three years, made more te~chers
available during the war, and made it
possible for 40 percent of the regular
students to begin teaching a year
earlier. Although the college returned
to two eighteen week semesters in September, 1945, many students still pursue the three-year accelerated program
by attending three summer sessions of
twelve weeks each. \1/hile the summer
session program helps to alleviate teacher shortages by making more teachers
available sooner, it also provides an
opportunity for teachers-in-service to
complete work for a Bachelor's degree
or to become certificated in special or
additional areas of instruction. Summer
session attendance reached an all-time
high in 19 59 when nearly 1850 students were registered during the four
sessions of three weeks each.

From 194 2 to 194 5, Bloomsburg
provided flight instruction for 30 Army
Service Pilots, for 400 Navy Cadets in
the V-5 Program, and for 500 Navy
Flight Instructors who were destined
to teach flying and ground school subjects to Navy Cadets; the college also
trained 500 Navy V-12 Officer Candidates in a program which could lead
to a Bachelor's Degree. Bloomsburg
was one of the 140 institutions, selected from 1700 institutions of higher
learning in the nation, to participate
in the V-12 program.
In other contracts with the national
government, the college provided Engineering, Science, and Management
War Training Courses to over 2,000
industrial workers during evening classes
in Science Hall. Arrangements were
also completed to train 20 nurses each
day, in biological and social sciences,
for the Bloomsburg Hospital.

Each of the \Var activities, listed in
previous paragraphs, was developed
along lines of possible post-war expansion. Changes and additions since
World War II are also worthy of mention.

Aviation Laboratory Schools

Aviation Laboratory Schools were
conducted by the college during the
summers of 1944 and 1945. They were
open to young men and women above
the age of fourteen and to high school
teachers interested in aeronautical subjects. The course included an opportunity to learn to fly and to receive the
seventy-two hours of ground school instruction required for a private pilot's
license. The programs were so unique
and successful that feature stories were
written about them in the New York
Herald Tribune and Aviation magazine.
This type of civilian aviation opportun-

FIRST AMERICAN
ARMY UNIVERSITY
In May, 1945, the Secretary of War
selected President Harvey A. Andruss
as one of a group of college administrators to organize the First American
Army University, located at Shrivenham, Berkshire, England.

10

The development of admissions policies has had a salutary effect on the
program of instruction. As a result of
the emphasis placed on intelligence,
achievement, personality traits, and
physical capacity, the college has been
able to improve its selection of students
who wish to become teachers. The results cannot yet be fully measured, but
the improved process has already brought benefits to the students and their
parents, to the faculty and the college,
and to the taxpayers who help to maintain the Teachers Colleges.

Here, 4,000 G.I.'s who could not
return home immediately after the close
of World War II, were enrolled for
eight week sessions, the first beginning
in August and the last in October of
1945.
A full - fledged University with graduate and undergraduate course offerings
was organized, faculty employed, and
buildings were readied in July for students who were enrolled in August.
Doctor Andruss was Head of the
Department of Accounting and acted
as Pre-Registration Counselor for Veterans, many of whom returned from
combat experiences on the Continent
of Europe by way of England and
finally home.

Another very significant development in curricular offerings was brought
about in 19 57 when President Andruss
established the Division of Special Education. This includes clinics for Speech
and Hearing Therapy, Psychological
Testing and Remedial Reading. The
tremendous demand for Bloomsburg's
graduates in this field has already given
an indication of the value and success
of the program and the many benefits
it will bring to the thousands of handicapped children in Pennsylvania.

The success of the G.I. Programs
at Bloomsburg State Teachers College
beginning in 1946 was in no small
measure a result of the experience of
Doctor Andruss in this First American
Army University in England.
In 1948, with a total enrollment of
900, of which 600 were men, the
soundness of the policies developed by
Dr. Andruss, growing out of his experiences with the Armed Services
Training Program, both in the United
States and over seas in the European
Theatre of Operations, was evidenced.

COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY
CO-OPERATION
The events of the past twenty years
indicate rather clearly that Bloomsburg is not merely "a town with a college" but rather a community in which
the town and the college cooperate to
provide mutually beneficial services.

Added Programs
Driver education and training and
general safety education programs were
established in the summer of 1948 to
prepare teachers who could give adequate instruction and training to senior
high school students. A retail selling
sequence was added to the Business
Education curriculum in 1946; for
three years, the college cooperated with
Pennsylvania State University in the
education of freshmen students in the
field of Liberal Arts.

When the need for large numbers
of trained personnel became an urgent
problem in 1939, the resources of the
College - including faculty, administration, and buildings-were quickly made
available to provide learning and training for personnel who would contribute to the war program at the local,
state and national level. Most of these
specific areas of cooperative endeavor

11

have been listed in previous paragraphs
describing the curriculum, enrollment,
and buildings and equipment.

when freshmen, sophomores, juniors,
and seniors considered plans to raise
money which would be contributed to
the Columbia County United Fund or
to a similar agency dedicated to meeting the needs of the community.

After World War II, when the
Commonwealth conducted an intensive
campaign to clean-up the streams of
Pennsylvania and improve health conditions, local communities were requested to construct Sewage Disposal
Plants . In September, 19 56, the college presented a check for $15,000 to
the Municipal Authority of the Town
of Bloomsburg in final payment of
$35,000, the cost of construction assumed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when the Disposal Plant was
constructed. The College has continued
to pay, according to the original agreement, an annual rental to help defray
the cost of operation.

The concern of the college in the
economic health of the community has
been demonstrated in many ways in
the last two decades including two
rather novel approaches - the Sales
Rally and the Fashion Show. More
than 1,000 business men, retail sales
people, and high school and college
business education students are given
an opportunity to see and hear the
latest and best techniques presented
by the nation's outstanding salesmen.
The Fashion Show involves a very close
degree of cooperation between college
personnel and Bloomsburg merchants.

Aids Civic Music Program

For nearly a decade, the Community
Government Association of the College
has contributed $1,000 annually to the
Civic Music Association to bring outstanding musical talent to residents in
the area. That amount was increased
to $1,500 for the 1959-60 series, and
represents half the total budget of the
Civic Music Association. Outstanding
concert and lecture programs have also
been brought to the campus and, generally, residents of the area have been
invited to attend the performances as
guests of the college.

Many In Private Homes

One of the highlights in college community relations is directly related to
the increasing enrollment at the college. For the past several years, between
300-400 men and women students
have been housed in private homes in
the town . The response by homeowners has been very gratifying, and,
in turn, the college administration has
assumed responsibilities in providing information and promoting understanding for good relations between the students and the homeowners.

Recently, when funds were needed
to purchase and maintain a Community Ambulance, a check for $1,000
was presented to the Ambulance Association by the college. The Trustees,
students, and faculty have assumed the
responsibility for providing funds at
regular intervals to furnish and maintain a room at the Bloomsburg Hospital. The example set by the administration of the college was reflected recently in a slightly different manner

The complexities of urban and industrial living emphasize the need for
a variety of services. While many citizen-groups hold meetings on the campus, they frequently require not only
a meeting place but also the use of
equipment and the services of faculty
or non-instructional personnel. Two
years ago, President Andruss and the
Trustees approved the request of the
Air Force Reserve for a two-semester

12

evening course to be taught to the
officers and enlisted men by a member of the college faculty.

during the past 20 years have determined the quality of the institution's
public relations with its many publics.

The needs and activities of 1,600
students and 170 college employees
favorably affect the economic and
cultural patterns of Bloomsburg. Money
spent by students and by visitors, plus
employees salaries and maintenance of
the college plant, brings nearly a million dollars into the community each
year.

In order to expand and improve the
total program, President Harvey A.
Andruss established, in 1946, a faculty
public relations committee with a director of public relations to coordinate
the public relations aspects of all activities of the college. These include:
news releases which are mailed to more
than a hundred daily and weekly newspapers throughout the state; special
stories for newspapers and television
and radio stations; an annual series of
radio broadcasts originating from the
college; and a placement office which
serves both Bloomsburg's graduates and
public school officials who hire teachers; an extensive recruitment and high
school visitation program which now

PUBLIC RELATIONS

It has been said that "Public relations is a way of life for an institution
- not a job for a single individual."
The policies, program, and practices
of the Bloomsburg State Teachers College and the performance of its people

New North Hall Dormitory (for men) -

13

1960

provides direct contact with more than
a thousand juniors and seniors in nearly 80 high schools each year; the development of motion pictures to bring
the scenes and action of campus activity to prospective students, alumni
groups, and other important college
publics; a speaker's and entertainment
bureau through which the college makes
available the instruction, information,
and entertainment resources of faculty
members and students.

College athletic teams have written
outstanding intercollegiate records for
nearly 15 years in football, basketball,
baseball and wrestling. In each of these
four sports, Bloomsburg teams have
won the Teachers College Conference
championship one or more times in
the past ten years and, on occasion,
have earned statewide and national
recognition for outstanding winning
streaks and performances. Swimming
and golf were added to the varsity intercollegiate program for the first time
this year.

Publications
Recent Highlights

A variety of promotional leaflets,
bulletins, and brochures have been
published since 1940. Among them
are: the annual placement brochure,
introducing Bloomsburg seniors to
school administrators; progress reports
- "Five Years are Finished " (1945),
"Five More Years Are Finished"
(1950); recruitment aids - "If You
\,Vant to Teach", "Twenty Questions
Most Often Asked by High School
Graduates" and "Your College Career
at Bloomsburg." Special bulletins are
also published periodically by the divisions of business, secondary, elementary, and special education.

Two events of the past college year
(19 58-59), which began as collegecommunity relationship projects, have
had significant public relations results.
In one instance, the college community
made an all-out effort during the annual campus visit of the American Red
Cross bloodmobile with the goal of
restoring Bloomsburg to a Class I
priority rating; although many students
donate blood regularly in their home
towns, they rose to the challenge, met
the goal, and restored the Town of
Bloomsburg to Class I priority standing.

Added Since War II

The second event resulted from a
recommendation made by President
Andruss - that the deans of men visit
and interview householders who are
housing either college men or women
in their homes this year. The purpose
was to create mutually good understanding between students, householders, and college officials. Judging from
the responses of householders, this has
been one of the most successful public
relations gestures in recent years.

In the years since 1946, other features have appeared on the college
calendar as annual events-the Fashion
Show, the Sales Rally, Parents Day,
and the Invitation High School Wrestling Tourney.

The success of the public relations
program has been reflected in the
growth and development of the college
and the confidence it inspires in the
people of the Commonwealth whom it
strives so ably to serve.

The college has continued and enlarged such on-campus activities as the
annual Education Conference for Public School Teachers and Administrators,
the annual Business Education Contest
for high school students, and the annual Invitation High School Basketball Tournament.

14

862 for projects at the local Teachers
College. They reflect not only the
needs for a growing college but the
successful efforts of President Andruss
and the Trustees in planning for the
education of future teachers in the
Commonwealth.

$1,818,862 .00 IN BUILDINGS
FOR BIENNIUM (1959-1961)
Availability of funds, expansion of
curricular offerings, the addition of
courses leading to graduate degrees,
possible changes in the purposes of the
institution, and the continued increase
in the number of prospective college
students are factors which will have a
direct and important influence on the
future history of the Bloomsburg State
Teachers College.

For nearly five years, a faculty committee has been working with President Andruss in keeping an up-to-date
survey of the number of teachers who
are interested in securing graduate degrees at Bloomsburg; the committee
also gathers and organizes data, showing the preparation Bloomsburg has
made to meet the requirements set up
by the State Council of Education; it
is hoped that a program of graduate
studies will be approved in the near
future.

According to Governor Lawrence's
budget, the following projects are nearing completion or will be completed
during the 19 59-1961 biennium:
Sutliff Hall (classroom building,)
$571,063; New North Hall (men's dormitory), $729,090; extension of utility
lines, $70,186; Special Education facilities, $84,755; architects fees and
equipment for buildings, $218,264;
land purchases, $125,000 and parking
lot, $20,504; total, $1,818,862.

The recent emphasis on Community colleges and possible changes in
the purposes of the college will lead
to even more extensive changes, growth,
and development at Bloomsburg. The
campus will be increased in acreage,
more buildings will be constructed,
more faculty members will be needed,
and the curriculum will be expanded.

The governor's budget for 1959-61
also includes appropriations for capital
improvements at Bloomsburg. This includes the following items not yet
passed by the State Legislature:

Bloomsburg is prepared to meet these
changes as it has met other challenges
of war, peace-time expansion, recession
and international tension. Much of the
responsibilitv will be borne by the administration but proportionate shares
of responsibility must be assumed by
all - students, faculty members, and
other college employees - if the institution is to write a record which
compares favorably with the past 20
years.

Addition to heating plant and utilities, $540,000; replacement of water
mains, $80,000; architects fees, $62,000; minor repairs, $50,000; total,
$732,000.
$2.5 Million In Biennium
The Governor's budget for 19 59-61
includes, therefore, a total of $2,5 50,-

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