Clarence Lucien Phelps

Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XLII, No. 2

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Clarence Lucien Phelps

Summer 1996

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I he origins of UC Santa Barbara may be traced back to i8gi and thejoimdingofthe Anna S. C.Blake Adanual Training School. The school ivould undergo seven name changes and six changes in location before ojjicially becoming the University of California, Santa Barbara in ig^8.

A key figlire in this story oj transition and groivth is Clarence Lucien Phelps, loho aiiived in Santa Barbara in igi8 to become the president of the Santa Barbara State TJonnal School of A'lanual Arts and Home Economics and retired twentyeight years later as provost oj the University of California, Santa Barbara College. Undcr Phelps guidance, a small, highly specialized teacher-training school ivas Lransjoiined into a fine liberal arts institution ojjering degrees in a ivide range ofdisciplines.

Unic[ucly qualified to tell this story ojdevelopment and gmvth and oj Phelps’central place in it is the author ofthis quarterly, Waldo Phelps, the oldest son ofClarence Phelps. Cjrowing up in Santa Barbara, graduating from Santa Barbara State College, then moving on to his own distinguished career in higher education. Dr. Phelps ivntes hisfather’s stoiy with an insid er’s perspective and an educator’s understanding.

Front cover photograph is ofa draioing ofClarence Phelps by Hamilton Wolf head oftlle art department at Santa Barbara State College, igzz-iq. 1 he drawing appeared in the 1923 annual, La Cuinbre. The pen and ink drazving ofthe quad on the Santa Barbara State Col lege campus on the backcover, exeaited by William Everitt, appeared in the igzq La Cumbre.

The sketches interspersed throughout the text and on this page arefivm a number of the college’s anniuib. All photographs arefrom the collections ofthe Santa Barbara Historical Socie ty, unless othenvise noted.

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS: NOTICIAS is a quarterly journal devoted to the study ol the history of Santa Barbara County. Contributions of articles are welcome. Those authors whose articles arc accepted for publication will receive ten gratis copies of the issue in which their article appears. Further copies arc available to the contributor at cost. The authority in matters of style is the University ofChicago Manual ojStyle, iqthedition. The Publications Committee reserves the right to return submitted manuscripts for required changes. Statements and opinions expressed in articles arc the sole responsibility of the author.

Michael Redmon, Editor Judy Sutclillc, Designer

© 1996 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. Dc la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara. California 93101 ● Telephone; 805/966-1601 Single copies $5.00 ISSN 0581-5916

? Clarence Lucien Phelps

in life he looked back and spoke with ad miration about the McGuffey Readers.

Clarence and an academically inclined cou sin, who became a lawyer, also "went to school" on their own, building a small log cabin with a fireplace where they worked on grammar, composition, spelling, hand writing. mathematics, and Latin, and where they discussed literature, poetry, history, civics, and the lives of great men.

An enormous inspiration was a local man who had been born fifty miles away— Abraham Lincoln.

Clarence Lucien Phelps passed away in Santa Barbara at the age of eighty-three on May 7, 1964. The next day the Santa Barbara News-Press began its lead editori al titled "Many Monuments” as follows; Clarence L. Phelps, educator and college builder, has gone to his rezvatxl after a life that is almost unique in the story of higher education in y^menca. In in loio, fre: frotn earning his masters America. ioi8, fresh ' r . Stanford .. t 3 university, UniVersit'V. wnere where ne he naa had degree from graduated a jexv years earlier, Nlr. Phelps was called to Santa Barbara to head the small Santa Barbara State Normal School of Nlanual Arts and Home Economics. It had a ofzo, afaculty faculty of zo,and a student body of 8g, all but four of whom were young women. He came here only on the stipidation mat he could reorganize the little school and develop it and he /tept his promise.^

The limited format schooling and the program of self study enabled Clarence at age eighteen to pass the State of Ken tucky Teachers Examination. The Twelfth United States Census in 1900 in

TTe official University of California In Memoriam tribute, written by colleagues Russell Buchanan, Hazel Severy. and El mer Noble, accurately summarizes his ca reer: "For the next twenty-eight years he headed an institution that gradually evolved into a campus of the University of California."^

cluded Phelps, Clarence L., age nineteen, and his occupation —"school teacher."^ Phelps briefly attended nearby small Georgetown College and then moved on, in 1901, to Berea College, eighty miles to the north. As he made the journey to Ber ea, he had no way of knowing that his destiny was already being decided in the small California city of Santa Barbara, Anna S. C, Blake, the daughter of George Blake, an international banker, had frequently traveled in Europe and had developed great respect for the sloyd sys-

Clarence Phelps was born January 8, 1881. in a modest log house built by his fa ther on "Phelps Acres" in southeastern Kentucky. He slept in the loft with his younger brother and sister, helped on the farm, and attended a nearby one-room school where all grades were caught. Later

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' Waldo Woodson ’ Phelos

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Although Waldo Woodson Phelps was bom in San Francisco, hisfamily moved to Santa Bar, bara two weeks after his birth. He attended local schools and received an A.B.from Santa Barba ra State College. He ivent on to receive a NIA. from the University ofDenver and a Ph.D.in PJietoric and Public Addressfrom the University ofSouthern California in igqg. He thenjoined ifomia at Los thefaculty at the Universi ' Angeles ivhere he taughtforforty years. He was awarded an Outstanding AchievanentUniversity Service trophy by the UCLA Alumni Aissociation in igyg andis Emeritus Professor of Rfietoric, Department of English, UCLA.He IS the son ofClarence Lucien rhelps.

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tcm of using craits and manual arcs to complement an academic curriculum. In Boston, she had helped to develop an after school program of sewing, home econom ics. carpentry, and metal work, and when she moved to Santa Barbara in 1890 due to health problems, she began to replicate the system in the Santa Barbara public schools. By 1893, Anna Blake had built a separate building in Santa Barbara for her sloyd classes and was busy educating her principal teacher, Ednah Rich, by sending her to observe schools in Boston, Sweden, and Germany. Later, she prevailed upon the young Santa Barbara woman to repre sent her at meetings around California. In a 1932 publication. Rich, then Mrs. Lewis Kennedy Morse, credited Anna Blake's sponsorship of her education with her be coming the first woman president of a state normal school.'^ "In 1909 when the city schools could no longer support the after school classes, and the state refused

to provide any help to a local school sys tem, Rich and noted Stanford Professor of Education Elwood Cubbcrly drafted the bill which established Santa Barbara State Normal School of Manual Arts and Home Economics,”^ This also was the year that Clarence Phelps graduated from Stanford; his undergraduate advisor was Elwood

Cubbcrly.

Ac Berea, Phelps met and fell in love with the lovely young lady whom eventu ally he would marry, Margaret Ann Livengood.^ He boarded at the house of Mrs, Doris Yokum, who, when the time came for him to travel west, assisted him financially.

THE BAY AREA BECKONS Berea College, in central Kentucky, de scribed as "one of the finest small colleges in the country." was the subject of a lengthy Smithsonian tiniclc in 1993, which describes its history since 1855 of provid-

Anna Blake’s Queai Anne-styUd Sloyd School at 8i^ Santa Barbara Street.

Constructed in 1893,it ivas damaged in the 1925 earthquake and U'os razed in iq^o.

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CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS ing higher cducacion co populacions that would otherwise not have access to it, in part by requiring students to work on campus/ Wliilc Phdps was attending Berea, he became aware of the recently es tablished Stanford University in Califor nia. He read with great interest in the Stanford catalog that no tuition was charged and that "a considerable number of students manage, in one way or an other, co earn the whole or part of their expenses while attending the University.”

Three or four hours of work a day would be necessary: a reduced study list was strongly suggested, and various kinds of work that Phelps could do well were in cluded. He would need co be a resident of California co be eligible for the no-tuition provision.^ He discussed all this with Margaret, who saw a great opportunity if he could manage the finances, and with Mrs. Yokum. co whom he was graceful for the rest of his life.

Clarence Phelps came west and, after seeking advice from Stanford about what CO study, enrolled at nearby San Jose State Normal School in 1904. Possibly looking ahead co Ph.D. language requirements, he enrolled in German, which he continued to study later at Stanford. He graduated from San Jose State with a teaching cre dential in 1905 and with residency require ments for the State of California fulfilled.® He could then apply for admission as an undergraduate student at Stanford. With his scholarship at San Jose raced "excel lent," he asked for and received thirty hours of advanced standing on the basis of work completed at Berea and San Jose.

Tliis meant chat he could cake a some what reduced academic load while com pleting work on his A.B., as suggested in the StanfordBulletin.^’^ Phelps had originally planned co study law and was advised co take a course in education since, as a lawyer, he would no doubt eventually serve on a school board.

His education professor was the national authority on school administration, El-

T^argartt Livengood Phdps with htr oldest child, Waldo. Courtesy of Waldo Phelps.

wood P. Cubberly—so much for the study of law. Late in life, my father would re member with emotion, gripping the arms of his chair as he listened co Professor Cubberly. Even then he spoke of him as "Dad" Cubberly.

Clarence Phelps received his A.B. de gree from Stanford in 1909 at age twentyeight.^^ After graduation, he became a member of the faculty at Tcmpe Normal School, now Arizona State University.

Now he could send for Margaret. Follow ing is the beautiful letter that accompa nied the ring he sent co her.

Dear Tdargaret, 1 wish I could tell you what my feelings are as I send you this little visible token ofmy love and de votion. But such feelings are not to be described.

They cenne but once m a lifetime and the best I can do is to set your imagination to workjfor if1 say that in these is bound up the dreams and hopes of my ivhole life 1 cenwey but a hazy imp-ession which may be interpreted in a thousand ways,and if Isay that in these is an almost uncontrollable ea gerness and at the same time a deep sense ofre sponsibility I do not half convey my meaning, and ifIsay that there are plans and ambitions subordi nate maybe to the intense bnging of the soulfor cofnpanionship I but state another phase in the complexity offeelings which possess me. But there are other phases stiu which, Like a reliefmap,make all that is sweet and sacred stand out prominently and occupy a largeplace in myfeelings.

The sending of this little gem set in a ring, the sign to the xvorld ofan offer ofeternal love and de votion, is thusfuller ofmeanmg than my poor pen can portray. The intriyisic value ofthe ring is not

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as great as I wish it might be but its meaning in the expression of heart and soul is beyond all value.

And I expect it to be a constant reminder ofthe sa cred relation that is to exist between us, and as the diamond embodies the qualities that go to 7nake a perfect gem,so may our life together be made up of acts and thoughts the embodiment of which will constitute a perfect relation. It is with this hope that 1 present you this ring, the symbol ofunending devotion and beg ofyou to accept it as a token ofmy deep and abiding lovefor you and as apromise that we will solemnize and legalize it before the world at the time we have already appointed.

Yours always, Clarence

Phelps by pre-paying the five-dollar diplo ma fee, something he did on rare occasion.

Phelps "then became head of the newly established training school at Fresno State Normal School and served there for four

West Margaret came, and on Decem ber 18, 1909. they were married in Phoe nix in the presence of three witnesses.

Shortly thereafter, an article in the Nor mal School paper welcomed them and talked about how delighted everyone was to have such an attractive young couple on the faculty. In his second and final year at Tempe, 1910-1911, Phelps served as fa culty advisor to the senior class; in 1961 at age eighty, he returned for a nostalgic fiftieth reunion.

Candidacy for Degree of Doctor of Philos ophy” in educational administration with a first minor in educational psychology and a second in economics, approved by Dr. Cubberly; proposed date of comple tion, May 1919, a deadline that would not be met.^*^ By the spring of 1918, he was working on his dissertation when he was called in by Dean Cubberly; the termina tion of a small, two-year manual arts and home economics training school in Santa Barbara that Cubberly had helped estab lish was being considered, and authorities in Sacramento wanted Cubberly's advice.

As he explained to Phelps, he had told the State Board of Education that an on-the-

years, during three of which he was vice president of the institution.”^^ (During this time a mishandled delivery of a son who would have been my older brother al most cost Margaret her life.)

Returning to Stanford again, Phelps on October 17. 1917, filed a "Statement of

Returning to Stanford where Margaret worked in the library and Clarence taught mornings at San Jose State, he was award ed the Master of Arts degree in 1913. Pro fessor Cubberly directed his thesis, "A Proposed Reorganization of the School ”12 System of Kentucky.

He surprised

spot survey should first be made and he had just the doctoral candidate to under take it. Phelps made the survey and wrote

The Rj-via-a campus ofthe Santa Barbara State Normal School ofthe Manual Arts and Home Economics as it looked shortly before the arrival of Clarence Phelps. Courtesy oj University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

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CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS a report that Dean Cubberly forwarded to Sacramento. The report noted that al though the community of Santa Barbara was small (19,441 in 1920), it would con tinue to grow (22,618 in 1930), and Santa Barbara was exceptionally well suited as the home for an institution of higher edu cation but, most critically, that in stitution would not survive by offering training only in manual arts and home economics—its purpose and function must be broadened

of residence listed on my birth certificate for both my parents is Santa Barbara. A few days later we three Phelpses headed south, Tlic Santa Barbara years were now to begin.

BUILDING A COLLEGE: EARLY YEARS President Phelps believed that nothing an institution of higher education could accomplish was as important to society as graduating carefully se lected, liberally educated,

and expanded.

My father told me on more than one oc

trained teachers for the public schools. With this in mind, he moved

casion that after giv ing the report to Dean Cubberly, he prompt ly forgot about it and returned to his dissertation; he was surprised, therefore, when Dean Cubberly called him in a few days later and told him that tf

, quickly to implement I the report he had preI pared for Dean Cubberly and the State Board. In 1919, the school's mission was broadened to include (and professionally training of all elementary school teachers, and the

State Board had agreed give the small scho^ chance—if my father

lamc was changed to Santa irbara State Normal ol, like the others in Cali-

promptly move to Santa uaroara and begin to implement his own sugges tions. The two of them mulled over and discussed a vexing dilemma; he had come so far. and could complete his Ph.D. in one more year, but Stanford's strict require ment that the final year must be spent in residency would mean that if he took the Santa Barbara job. the degree never could formally be awarded. He was 37 years old, however, finances were a real prob lem. I was soon to appear. Santa Barbara was a beautiful city—perfect for cultivated Margaret, this was an exciting opportuni ty. and as Dr. Cubberly pointed out, he would immediately be President Phelps, Cubberly also promised to help him via correspondence to complete his study.

I was born on June 15, 1918, at Stan ford Hospital in San Francisco. The place

lornia.

In 1921, "after Phelps campaigns suc cessfully for normal schools to become four year institutions, the school becomes Santa Barbara State Teachers College.

The 1921 annual. Normal Life, described the process; President Phelps was chainnan of the Legisiative Committee for the Normal Schools during the recent session of the Legislature. This Coinmittee was responsible for seeing that measures trajisforming Normal Schools into Teacher’s CoT leges were drafted and presented at the legislative session. Another one ofits duties was to securefor these bills the approval of all educational bodies in the state. That this worfi was satisfactorily done is attested by the passage ofthe measures,i^

ABOVE:Clarence Phelps, takpi shortly before he cume to Santa Barbara to become president ofthe Nonnal School. Courtesy olWaldo Phelps.

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During this same year, Santa Barbara Junior College, established by the Santa Bar bara High School District in 1908, was taken over by the State College. In the words of Professor William Ellison: The Santa Barbara Junior ColUze, the second one set up in Calijomia, was mainly engaged in preparing students academically V .. for admission as juniors into the ^ ●.

University of California, Stanford or other universities orcolleges It was clear to discerning Presi dent Phelps that the annexing ofthe localjunior college to the Santa Barbara State Teachers’Col lege could have desirable results. It ivould add to the numbers in the college and increase the propor tion ofmen on the campus. Also it would necessi tate additional acadetnic studies so that those en rolled could get the approved preparation needed for transfer to universities as juniors after two years ofjunior college studies. The increased enrollment would justify the additiem ofa few more well equipped teachers in academic Jields. Presi dent Phelps liked this prospect...feeling strongly that prospective teachers needed the acadetnic if

anybody didP Early in his career the president of San ta Barbara State Teachers College began what he would continue to do — travel east: At the igzi meeting ofthe National Council of Normal School Presidents in Washington, D.C., President Phelps spoke as a representative of the Western states. He advocated, in his address, that the teacher-training institutions assume aggressive leadership in theformulating and maintaining ofstandards in elementary education.

In the course of his eastern trip. President Phelps visited Teachers College at Columbia University and attended a national meeting ofschool superin tendents at Atlantic City.^^ Tlie 1922 La Cumbre reported that

'ram constructStudents in the industrial arts _ ing the primary grade school building, one ofthree teacher-training buildings they completed in the summer of1925.

Critics and a Constructive Program,” was published in School and Society.

Albert Kenneth Phelps was born on September 4, 1923. His lengthy, distin guished service across the Pacific on the battleship Tennessee eventually shortened his life.

Inspection of the 1924 La Cumbre re veals that activities typical of a college are under way: student body government, men's club, associated women students, school newspaper, men's and women’s glee clubs, literary forum, debate, plays, assemblies, men's and women’s athletics, and a very popular Outing Club, whose highlighted activities included a nighttime hike to La Cumbre Peak, arriving before sunrise to prepare breakfast, and an all day trip to Santa Cruz Island. Taking part along with several faculty members was President Phelps, Further progress was recounted in the 1925 La Cumbre:

"The Santa Barbara State Teachers Col lege was immediately admitted to the American Association of Teachers Colleg es; on April 4 of this year a four year course leading to an A.B. degree was ap proved." In 1923 the first of what would be many articles Clarence Phelps would write throughout his career, "Educational

Dwirm thefour years since the establishment ofSanta Barbara State Teachers College, the in stitution has grown to include a wide range of courses and branches of work, Degrees are now granted in three major departments: Home Eco nomics, Community Mechanics, and Qeneral Professional, certificating the holder to teach in any elementary school in California.

The universities of the United States accord

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS the State College the same ratingfor under^aduate work, that is given to other colleges ofrecog nized high standing. Additional courses are to be added next year in History and English that will make the degrees of the institution acceptable to Columbia Universityforgraduate study.

This institution has the great honor of being thefirst teachers college on the Pacific Coast with a Class A rating, a factor that gives a distinct preference to the students ofthe institution.^'^

After Sacramento agreed to furnish money for supplies, students in the shop program built a three-building K-9th grade school on campus during the summer of 1925, where teachers in training could practice their craft. The school was built of redwood and left unfinished inside. Those buildings were, in the wonderful words of Dr. Elizabeth Bishop, professor of psychol ogy, "strikingly reminiscent of early Cali fornia mining town architecture."^^ A playground was prepared and there one hundred of us went to school until 1931, when Jefferson School opened a few blocks away on the Riviera. This allowed the col lege school to be absorbed into the Santa Barbara School District and provided more practice teaching opportunities for the in creasing number of Teachers College stu dents preparing to be teachers.

Without missing a beat. President Phelps promptly converted the three "tem porary" buildings into college classrooms and faculty offices, a print shop, and a health cottage. Recently, more than sixty years later, many of us who attended this short-lived training school enjoyed the most nostalgic reunion that any of us could remember. Among those who attended was our 98-year-old primary grade teacher, Edee Leonard, now UCSB professor emerita of education, who recalled of President Phelps: "Your father had incredible longrange vision; he could see farther ahead and then plan better than anyone else.”

Santa Barbara State Teachers College continued to progress despite a relative lack of state support. Interesting is the contrast in funding for the Santa Barbara and the San Diego normal schools. From

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the official history of San Diego State College. "In 1900, a movement for the erection of a new training school was ini tiated. On March 21, 1907, Governor Gillett signed a bill appropriating $40,000 for a separate preparatory school; the building was completed at a total cost of $55,000, including equipment.

Until the pur chase of the Mesa campus, the Santa Bar bara institution was on a yearly "trial” ba sis. Often referred to as "the rugged years,” the situation was accurately de scribed by Professor Bishop after her suc cessful job interview in 1925 with Presi dent Phelps, "What was needed on this job was obviously less an ivory tower sci ence teacher than a cock-eyed optimist who was willing in an emergency to try anything once.”^^ The 1928 La Cumbre was dedicated to President Phelps. In January, 1928, a per manent, multi-purpose structure that had been funded by the 1925 Legislature was dedicated. The building housed adminis trative offices, a 750-scat auditorium, a "spacious" library, and, in a room espe cially designed for the purpose, the begin nings of the Lincoln Memorial library494 volumes. By 1944, when the Univer sity of California took over, the collection had grown to almost 10.000 volumes and was nationally recognized.

The 1927 Legislature authorized an ex-

William Ellison, standing at rear, conducts his Lincoln Saninarfor a select group ofhistory stu dents in the Lincoln Wlanorial Lihrary.

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institution you represent.

The seven-member Commu

nity Board of Advisors agreed that the faculty should be named Phelps Field.

The 1932 La Cumbre not ed another honor that was be stowed on the college's leader, "Because of his farsighted work to achieve the best in

Charlotte Ebbets,long-time head ofthe Home Economics De partment, after whom Ebbets Halt on the Riviera campus was named.

penditure of $175,000 for the home eco nomics wing of a second permanent build ing, and the 1928 Legislature authorized a similar amount for the science wing; the building was named in honor of Miss Charlotte P. Ebbets, head of the Home Ec onomics Department. Included in the southeast corner home economics wing was a model apartment used by senior class home economics majors to gain prac tical experience.

By this time there was considerable student and community interest in the football Roadrunners (the athletic teams' name before the Gauchos, and named for the birds that were then all over the Rivi era). Because the small campus multi purpose field was overused and inadequate for football practice, a fifteen-acre parcel in Mission Canyon was purchased from the Santa Barbara Mission for $15,000. the money coming from communityminded citizens and a small amount from the student body. The field was graded, the track prepared, tennis courts and a shower room were built thanks to a $10,000 gift from a donor who wrote con gratulating President Phelps: "The splen did work you have undertaken and the things you have already accomplished have deepened my interest in you and the

his profession, President Phelps has been honored with membership on the Commit tee for Revision of Standards of the American Association "25

of Teachers Colleges.

By 1932. the faculty had more than doubled and now

included six Ph.D.'s: two in history and one each in English, psychology, geogra phy, and education. Also represented on that faculty were specialists in art. biolo gy. chemistry, foreign languages, music, physical education, physics, mathematics, science, sociology, and zoology, in addi tion CO the increasingly strong programs in home economics and industrial educa tion.

Also by 1932 there was no longer any talk in Sacramento about whether to keep the small school in Santa Barbara. The institution had survived, and more than sur vived, the rugged, difficult, exciting early years, and now looked forward with in creasing confidence to the future.

ACQUIRING THE MESA CAMPUS The administration building and Ebbetts Hall were the major buildings con structed on the Riviera Campus while Clarence Phelps was president. In addition to the Training School buildings, Pine Hall was built next to Mission Ridge Road at a cost of $8,000. This wooden building, with its large lecture room, four class rooms and faculty offices, was thought of as temporary yet is still In use today. A similar building. Ridge Hall, was located west of the Administration Building

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS where condominiums now stand. As en rollment slowly but steadily moved up ward, President Phelps understood that the eleven-acre campus, with no realistic way to expand, eventually would be Inad equate and chat parking increasingly would be a problem and an irritant. Pain ful as it might be, the college eventually would have to move to a larger site.

President Phelps kept his colleague and close personal friend, Paul Stewart, super intendent of the Santa Barbara City Schools, apprised of his chinking, Stewart assured him in confidence chat the Riviera campus would make an excellent high school or technical school, and chat Phelps Field would be an ideal location for an ele mentary school.

Increasingly, President Phelps won dered if the site of the Leadbetter estate, on the Mesa above the harbor, might be available. The old mansion, severely dam aged in the 1925 earthquake, had simply been abandoned. He asked for, and re ceived. permission to enter the property, sketch pad in hand, to lay out what a campus might look like. He also learned chat it would be possible to obtain an op tion on what is now Santa Barbara City College's West Campus — the Garvin Theatre area. Santa Barbara city council man Walter B. McIntosh wrote to Major F. W. Leadbetter, asking if he would take $75,000 for his property provided it be

One ofPhelps’closest colleagues was Professor of History and,formany years, head ofthe Social Science Department,Dr. William Ellison. Here Phelps and Ellison chat in 19-^7.

Courtesy of University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

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used for college purposes. The scipulacion was exactly what Lcadbetter wanted, for he immediately agreed in spite of a $450,000 offer from a hotel company.

"Officials Summoned by Phelps” was the front page Morning Press headline on De cember 16. 1931, followed by "Would Move State College from Riviera to Mesa's Rim," and "President Phelps Con siders Oceanfront Location Ideal, "Phelps Leaves to Interest Kersey,” was the headline, referring to the state su perintendent of public instruction Dr. Vierling Kersey, in the Morning Press the following day. There was also reaction from community leaders; Mayor Harvey T. Nielson commented that, "It would be a shame to let this opportunity pass. State College has reached its capacity in its present location. The Leadbetter sice would be the most Ideal in the country, as far as I know,” County Supervisor Sam J. Scanwood enthusiastically agreed, "I think chat the plan for the state to purchase the Leadbetter property on the ocean is one of the finest propositions I’ve seen presented in this city in the sixty years chat I have been living in Santa Barbara!” L. Deming Tilton, director of the County Planning Commission said, "I have never heard of an offer so generous, of such good will and friendly spirit coward a community from a man who does not live in it. The proposed Mesa site for the college is wich-

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ouc parallel in beauty for an ideal college location in the country.”28 In a major front page story, the Morn ing Press. on December 21, 1931. reported that Rolland A. Vandergrift. state director of finance, had been in town the previous day, had inspected the Mesa site with President Phelps, "and had given an en dorsement of the project, qualified only upon the ability of the state to 'dispose of the present plant to the Santa Barbara School district with sufficient revenue to reestablish our plant on the new location.’

Director Vandergrift placed upon the shoulders of Clarence Phelps, College pres ident. the responsibilities of evolving a plan for the disposal of the Riviera site and buildings.”29 The Legislature appro priated $90,000 which provided extra money to dismantle the mansion and build a Cliff Drive entry and, on March 22.

1932. Superintendent Kersey and Presi dent Phelps presented a check for $75,000 to the attorneys for Major Lcadbetter.^® This was not the only good news the Morning Press reported about the college at this time. In the December 18, 1931, edition the paper reported that "Santa Barbara State [Teachers] College was ad mitted to membership in the Pacific Southwest Association of Colleges and Universities during a meeting in Los An geles, according to President Phelps who returned to Santa Barbara last night. The admission of the local institution to the as sociation places it in an organization with the large colleges and universities of the southwest; San Diego State [Teachers] College is the only other teachers’ college which has a membership in the organiza tion which accepted Santa Barbara yester 31 day. President Phelps said.

While things were going well profes sionally for my father, there was at the same time, for the Phelps family, tragedy.

On October 22, 1931, at the age of fortyseven, Margaret Ann Livengood Phelps passed away after a long, heroic struggle with cancer. The front page Morning

NOTICIAS Press headline for October 23 read, "Mrs. Phelps/Is Called.” The October 24th Morning Press gave this report: Mrs.Phelps Is/Laid To P^est Funeral services for Mrs. Clarence P/ie/ps, who died early Thursday evening, were held triday afternoon in the Chapel ofthe Santa Barbara Cemetery. Dr. William Maxwell, head of the English Department ofthe college, read from the Scriptures and offered a prayer. Mrs. Helen Bar nett, head ofthe Department ofMusic,sang three hymns.

The services were attended by throngs of friends, among whom were Pptarians, educators in various schools in the city, and scores ofstu dentsfrom the college where afternoon classes had been dismissed.

Although Mrs. Phelps had requested that there be no jflowers, the faculty ofthe college and manyfiends disregarded her wish and the casket was covered and surrounded with blossoms. Stu dents are planning a more permanent memorial to be placed on the college campus.

Mrs. Phelps shortly before her death requested that herfuneral service be held as soon after her death as possible. Another request, that college activities go on as usual, was also complied with when thefootball game between the ftpadrunners and La Verne College was played here last night.

Between halves the spectators rosefor a moment of silent tribute to the presidents wife, who had been so deeply interested m the school and its students, and while the crowd was standing the lights were dimmed and three young men from the band sounded "taps.

The Morning Press for May 16, 1933, contained the following headline, "College Memorial Fountain / Tribute to Late Mrs. Phelps.”

Students,faculty members andfriends ofSan ta Barbara State college Sunday unveiled afountain in the State college court, honoring the memo ry (ff the late Mrs. Margaret Livengood Phelps, wife ofPresident Clarence L. Phelps./^rs. Phelps diedon Octoberzz, 1931.

Designed and carved by Mrs. Helen Qould Seegert, thefountain is a permanent memorial to Mrs. Phelps, whofor 10 years was associated in timately with the life ofthe college, as wife ofits president.

Lhe State College Men's Glee club opened the simple ceranony wim a Latin hymn. Dr. William Maxwell,ofthe English department,gave the in vocation, and Mrs. Florence Lyans played a

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CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS number on the harp. A double trio,[ram the Wom en’s Qlee club,closed the service.

Miss Laura Lou Houghton, representing Delta Sigma Epsilon, sorority of which Mrs. Phelps was a patroness, removed the drape which covered thefountain.

Kenneth Phelps, younger son ofMrs. Phelps, turned the spigot which released the first water fro)n the fountain. Waldo, another son, also sur vives Mrs. Phelps.

Located in a comer of the college court, the fountain is surrounded 'by eucalyptus trees,ferns andflowers. Thefigure ofa kneeling woman bear ing flowers and leaves is carved from natural stone tafenfrom the hillside. It rests upon a square concrete base over which the waterflows.

Thefountain typifies Mrs.Phelps'lovefor nat ural beauty. It bears a simple metal plate with the inscription, "fianeinbering Margaret Livengood Phelps,faculty, students, and otherfriends unveil thisfountain. May 14,1933."^'^

SANTA BARBARA STATE COLLEGE In 1935. "the state gave way to his persuasion," as the Neivs-Press put it, crediting President Phelps, provided extra faculty positions, dropped the term "Teachers” and designated the institution Santa Barbara State College. Professor Ellison and others consulted agreed with the president that in the future only those with a Ph.D. should be employed in the liberal arts and sciences. By 1940, one third of the total faculty held this ad vanced degree. The existing English and Social Science departments were strength ened and new majors in science, biological science and economics were initiated.

Young Ph.D.s in the following fields were

Santa Barbara State College’s new industrial education building on the Mesa campus under con struction in 1^40. Today the building serves as the administration buildingfor Santa Barbara City College. Courtesy of University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

32

now members of the faculty; education, music, psychology, government, sociolo gy, speech pathology, philosophy, and foreign languages coming from, among other institutions, Stanford. Columbia.

Yale, Chicago, and the University of Cali fornia, Clearly, by 1940 an impressive Letters and Science faculty was being assembled.

These young Ph.D.s were attracted in part by the institution itself, in part by the beauty of the recently acquired Mesa cam pus, and in part by being able to live in Santa Barbara. So important was choosing faculty carefully, that President Phelps sought and received expense money from Sacramento so that candidates could be

brought to Santa Barbara or to national meetings that he attended before contracts were signed.

In his unpublished history of the Col lege. Professor Ellison noted. "In the sever al departments that were not academic but specialized, the M.A. degree was consid ered satisfactory. It should be recorded that by 1940, faculty members in both ac ademic and non-academic departments carried on research in their specialties vol untarily, and books and studies were pre pared and published by them.”^^ Dr. Elli son set a good example for the young faculty members with his research pro gram and his publications. His history seminar on historical methods and histori ography helped prepare students for en trance to graduate study at Berkeley.

The applied degree programs in Home Economics and Industrial Arts were known and respected throughout the state. The same was true of the academic programs which led to the A.B. degree and to certificates to teach primary, ele mentary, or junior high school. The de mand for Santa Barbara State College graduates constantly outran the supply.

As Santa Barbara State College, the in stitution increasingly became attractive to high school graduates and junior college transfers, who. at least initially, did not

NOTICIAS

intend to teach in the public schools. After graduation, some pursued advanced degrees.

Santa Barbara State College graduates taught in public and private schoob, became counselors, principab, superintendents, community college presidents, university professors and Th.D.'s. At least three became mayors (including Santa Barbara), one was a member of the Los Angeles County Board ofSuperubors, another a member and speaker pro-tem ofthe State Assembly, one Southern Section Cennmissioner for the California Interscholastic Federation, another athletic type chairman ofthe Presidents Council on Physical Fitness, two wait on to professional football careers, and the Ibtgoes on The newlymamed Qauchos were competitive and exciting and quickly developed a large and devoted community following. Block S letterman sweatas appeared, "Follow the Qauchos"spare tire covers were everywhere, and a booster club hunted Jor part-time jobs. From ig^ until igq.x and the war, the Santa Barbara State College Qauchos helped in important ways to integrate the College into the city. The schorl and the city gainedfrom each other in otherways as well. Indi vidual students as well asfraternities and sorori ties rented houses and rooms. College groups used Rpekwood womens club, the beautiful ballroom at the Samarkand Hotel, and El Paseofor dances and dinners. Basketball teams played at the Na tional Quard Armory. Faculty manbers joined service clubs, churches, and other organizations.

The debate squad and musical groups made the rounds. Between doublefeatures at the Cp-anada Theater,students heldfootball rallies.

The Quad was the great gathering place for both studaits andfaculty. With its lawn and its benches — no longer there — it was an ideal meeting place. T^idmoming, after the early meet ings, tiie crucial mail, and the immediate phone calb, the President often would appear briefly to Ibten, observe, and interact: to refresh himself, as he put it.^^

Enrollment at State grew quickly after 1935 until World War II broke out. Presi dent Phelps, in his "Message from the President” in the 1940 La Cumbre could report with pride: This year marks the greatest advancement in the history of the Santa Barbara State College.

Among important achievernents thefollowing are outstanding:the beginning ofthe new plant on the beautifid Leadbetter site; the all-time high record in student enrolbnent which is twice that ofig^6;

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS and the announcanent ofnew major lines ofivork_ in the catalog for next year—two in science and three in the social sciences.

This year the college has moved decisively into the ranks ofthe larger state colleges. It is definitely out ofthe local, or even regional type, as evidenced by thefact that new students come this yearfrom tfiirty counties ofthis state andfivm twenty-seven other states andfivmforei^ countries.

The transfer group ofstudentsfrom other col leges and universities constituted ^y.8% ofthe en tire new enrollment, comingfcnn 79 other institu tions.^'^

Affairs at Santa Barbara State pros pered in ocher ways as well. The master plan for complete development of the Leadbcccer property had been approved, with an option on land chat adjoined to the west. On July 22, 1932, the J^ewsPress announced that a 9,000 seat stadium and athletic field would be developed on West Beach sands near the foot of Leadbecter Hill, Supervising the preparation of the crack was Santa Barbara County Olympian / Nick Carter, brought to State by President Phelps as crack and field and cross country coach and physical edu cation professor, A few iBK years ago, Santa Barbara City College named ' the facility the Nick Carter Track. On March 30, 1939, the News-Press announced char $646,000 had been allocated coward the $1,500,000 new State College about which Santa Barbara had been

i B

dreaming about for J years. A large scate-of- f the-art industrial educa- f cion building, now the m administration building ^ ' for City College, was dedicated February 6,

33

1941. The industrial education equipment was at once moved and the department faculty established themselves in the new building, "In the year 1941,” wrote Profes sor Ellison, "the college rightly felt that it was sitting on cop of the world.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor ended the euphoria. The slim 1944 La Cumbre was dedicated to the men and women stu dents, alumni and faculty who were in the service. Lists of State College dead, miss ing, or prisoners of war were included.

Following pictures of the sororities, all

The legacy of the colleges manual arts training days was apparent in the strong industrial edu cation department. Here two "Ppsie the Rjveters” work_ in the aircraft shop during the Second World War.

34

with far fewer members chan they had a few years earlier, and representing the fracernicies was, very poignantly, a single blank page.

On July 1. 1944. Santa Barbara State College ceased to exist and the University of California Santa Barbara College came into being. The 1944 La Cumbre contains this message from President Phelps.

"This wartime volume of La Cumbre completes the student annals of the Santa Barbara State College. On July first of this year the institution became a college of the state university system. The con tinued allegiance of faculty, student and alumni will be of great help in the period of transition and a guarantee of success of the Santa Barbara College in its new rela tionship.

TTere had earlier (1939-40) "developed in Santa Barbara a move for putting an end to the State College as such and hav ing it become a branch of the University of California.” "At no time,” wrote Profes sor Ellison, "was there an extensive gener al movement in Santa Barbara for such a change. A few persons or small groups from time to time would paint a glowing picture of what such a change would do for Santa Barbara. Their talk was stimu lated by the development of the Universi ty of California, Los Angeles, with its glamour and the wild real estate specula tion in Westwood. This possibility ap pealed to some UC alumni residing in San ta Barbara."*^^ Shortly after UC took over, it was announced that the Mesa campus was inadequate for University purposes, and that a new site would be sought.

On July 1. 1944, President Phelps be came Provost Phelps of the University of California Santa Barbara College "and served in that capacity for the first crucial ”41 two years, During this time, he served as chairman of the transition team and as sisted faculty in the applied arts who need ed or simply wanted to relocate. Earlier he had insisted that a stipulation protecting faculty rights be written into the transfer

NOTICIAS

legislation. During the rest of the war he continued to write in his own handwriting to bereaved families of College students who had been killed and to wounded ser vicemen who had been returned to the United States. As the fall 1945 semester began, he happily welcomed back those who had served and returned to college.

With these responsibilities met by the summer of 1946, with his understanding that new leadership was appropriate and with his customary superb sense of timing —and without consulting anyone—he sent a short letter of resignation to UC Presi dent Robert G. Sproul. His 28-year admin istrative career in Santa Barbara was over.

RETIREMENT For twenty-six years, Santa Barbara State Normal School, Santa Barbara State Teachers College, and Santa Barbara State College had no president other than Clar ence L. Phelps. The two additional years as provost of the University of California Santa Barbara College, however, left him far short of the ten-year requirement for UC administrative emeritus status.

After a few months to catch his breath after retiring in 1946 (he explained to fel low Rotarians that he was going to sit in his rocking chair, and that eventually he might rock a bit), he became more active ly involved in an organization he had been associated with almost from the moment he arrived in Santa Barbara, the Mission Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Over the years, he was a frequent visitor to Camp Drake (near Lake Cachumaj. In the early 1920s, Santa Barbara State Teachers College offered a course to train Scout leaders. Once retired. Clarence Phelps served as council President, 194950, and later received the coveted Silver Beaver, "an award for distinguished ser vice to youth and the highest award that can be bestowed on a volunteer Scouter. '42 Today his picture hangs with those of other Council presidents at Council headquarters on Modoc Road.

35

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS

The auditorium of the old administra tion building, also built while I was a child, has been for the past twenty-five years home of the popular Riviera Thea tre. Both Dorothy and I remembered classes, lectures, films, plays, and rallies held there. Dorothy had earlier recalled in 1994 in a letter to the editor of Coastlines magazine a special moment in that hall; I enrolled at State in September igdi, and thus was a relative newcoinerwhen Pearl Harbor occurred. 1 had an early morning class on 7^on~ day, December 8th, and 1 remember ivatking up the hill saddened, angry andfrightened. At the top ofthe stairs 1 was tola to proceed to the auditorium; President Phelps wished to speak to us.

Along with many others Ifiled in, and there he was—standing alone cm the stage. He spoke briefly. He was poised, calm and direct; he urged us to continue ourstudies,get on with our lives as best we could and prepare to make whatever sac rifice would be required. I went to class much bet terfocused. Later in the day I made an appoint ment to see him.

Clarence L. Phelps, age 65, at the time ofhis re tirement in igq.6. Courtesy ofWaldo Phelps.

The old Riviera campus is now the Riviera Park Research and Communica tions Center. It is the sice each August of the nostalgic Riviera Reunion, hosted by the UCSB Alumni Association, for gradu ates of Santa Barbara State College and chose graduates of UC Santa Barbara Col lege who attended the Riviera campus.

The buildings have been upgraded and are impressively maintained by Towbes Asso ciates. and the landscaping throughout is a delight to see. Visiting recently, I lived on two levels: the present, which is impres sive; and the past, remembering when, for example, Ebbecs Hall’s two wings— science and home economics—were built when I was a child and the specific classes I had there later along with the professors and fellow students. My wife. Dorothy, and I stood for some time in the beloved quad, with its reflecting pool where we had been married more chan 50 years ago.

All ofthis was long ago, and yet to this day I cannot walk what is now the Riuiem Theatre without seeing on the stage the wonderful human being who would be myfather-in-law.^^

Up Foothill Road in Mission Canyon, where the College’s football practice field and track were originally located, is now the strikingly beautiful Tennis Club of Santa Barbara. Its twelve courts, large pool, and well appointed clubhouse are surrounded by oaks, sycamores, pines, and redwoods. Owner Harvey Bottelson purchased the 11.6-acre sice for $75,000 from the Santa Barbara School District when the District determined it no longer needed it to build an elementary school.

After purchase, the field was raised slight ly, the trees were planted, and the club was built. "A perfect setting for tennis,” as Bottelson describes it. "private, quiet, secluded—people come from all over the world.

Santa Barbara City College now occu pies the sice Clarence Phelps worked so hard to acquire for Santa Barbara State College, so visiting there is another heart warming, nostalgic "return home." Like

36

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its predecessor. City College has been blessed by benefactors, enjoys high state wide academic standing and popularity with students, has a well-trained, dedicat ed and creative teaching faculty, all over seen by outstanding leadership. City Col lege’s excellence is reflected in its outstanding success in preparing students for transfer to UC and the California State

All of the early Santa Barbara commu nity leaders would be most proud.

I also feel at home walking around the spacious UCSB campus, viewing the plaques on the edifices which are named for faculty employed by President Phelps and brought originally to Santa Barbara State College: A. Russell Buchanan Hall "Dedicated

University.

Santa Barbara City College president, Peter MacDougall. recently wrote to me;

to a gifted teacher and scholar who as Professor of History 1936-1973 and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs 1961-

h is important for an institution to have a sense oj its history and roots. Certainly, SBCC has benefited greatly as a result oftheforesight of individuals who first acquired the property on which the College now residesfor Santa Barbara State College and later the University ofCalifor nia. We are the beneficiaries ofthat early planning and the beliefthat individuals had in higher edu cation. Certainly your father, Waldo, was a vi sionary; we are still benefitingJrom his actions.'^^

1973 played a major role in transforming UCSB from a small college to a general university campus.”

William H. Ellison Hall "Dedicated to William Henry Ellison, distinguished Pro fessor of History. California Historian, au thor, Dean, and Educational Leader who served the Santa Barbara campus and its antecedents. 1924-1948.”

In ig^6, the Qoleta campus ofUC Santa Barbara did not lookmuch dijferent than it did when it was a base to train Marine aviators during World War II. Courtesy of University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS

;

-■ r

^

By 1959, the Qoleta campus was rapidly shedding its military lookunder the impact of an ambitious buiuiing program. Courtesy of University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

Harry Kenneth Girvetz Hall "Dedicat ed to the memory of an eloquent Professor of Philosophy who forcefully served UC Santa Barbara from 1937 to 1974.” [As re search secretary to the governor when the state was preparing Master Plan for High er Education; as first chairman when the Philosophy Department was developing its M.A, and Ph.D. programs; as chairman of the faculty Committee on Privilege and Tenure during the campus disturbances of 1969 to 1971; as prolific author.]

Theodore Harder Stadium "Named for the outstanding administrator, Athletic Director, and Coach whose leadership and dedication helped guide the University during his 37 years of service, 19341971.”

Elmer R. Noble Hall "Dedicated to a distinguished teacher and scientist who

served UCSB as Professor of Zoology from 1936 to 1974 and whose leadership as Dean, Acting Provost and Vice Chan cellor contributed richly to the develop ment of the campus.”

John Clifton Snidccor Hall "Dedicated to a Professor of Speech who as a gifted teacher and scholar 1940-1972 and Dean 1948-1960 contributed richly to the ad vancement of the campus and the science of speech pathology."

Charles Duncan Woodhouse Laborato ry "Dedicated to an inspirational Profes sor of Zoology and the wartime Dean of Men.” Now there is also Theodore W. HatIcn Theatre recently "Named in honor of Theodore W. Hatlen, founder of the De partment of Dramatic Art and its chair man from 1964 to 1976. His commitment

38

NOTICIAS

CO research, production and actor training combined with his leadership leaves a lega cy of excellence and achievement for dra matic arc at UCSB.”(Dr. Hacicn was em ployed in 1944 by President Phelps.]

Special Collections in the Davidson Li brary now houses the volumes brought to the State College campus by William Wyles. The collection has grown to over 38.000 volumes written about Lincoln, the Civil War, slavery, and the westward ex pansion. Thanks to Wyles’ endowment, the collection continues to grow and cur rently is the largest such collection west of the Mississippi River and a singular asset for UCSB. Santa Barbara State College, which ceased to exist over 50 years ago, has left many legacies in addition to the Wyles Collection: the already named as well as ocher distinguished faculty members; the Gauchos; La Cumbre, the school annual; and the beginnings of academic depart ments now recognized internationally—all under the leadership of Clarence Phelps. In 1969, shortly after his passing, upon rec ommendation by a campus committee and Chancellor Vernon Cheadle and approval by the UC Regents, a major UCSB cam pus building, previously East Hall, was named Clarence L. Phelps Hall. Cheadle said of this decision, "It is highly appro priate chat this structure be named after him because of its importance in the aca demic life of the campus. The building contains language departments and labora tories and the departmental offices for the Graduate School of Education, an area of '46

profound interest to Phelps.

Clarence Phelps resigned as provost in 1946 after twenty-eight years as head of the college. President Sproul and the Re gents accepted his resignation, but, relying on one of the Regents’ rules—which ordi narily made good sense, did not award him UC emeritus status-a snub the Re gents eventually would be invited to cor rect. He thus now had no official status of any kind. Two long-time faculty mem¬

bers. William Ashworth, chairman of the Department of English and Dean of the Lower Division, and Dr. Charles Jacobs, Chairman of the Department of Educa tion and Dean of the Upper Division were awarded emeritus status by the Regents— well deserved recognition. Dt. Ellison was kept on after retirement age to assist in the transition. The statewide argument over the transfer of a state college to the University of California was protracted, complicated and bitter. In the words of John Aubrey Douglass: On March the regents adopted a plan to formally take over the Santa Barbara campus, then located on the R}viera and on the Mesa (where Santa Barbara City College now stands)on July i. In August, thei^ents tooklegal title ofall land and f^lities.

University had embarked on an ambitious unification plan.

Despite theformal action ofthe regents, there remained substantial opposition frenn both State Superintendent Dexter and the State Board of Education; the boards attorney claimed that the acquisition ofSanta Barbara was probably unconstitutional. The state college presidents and faculty joined the boards protests, charging that unification was a direct attempt to control the col lies and was a threat to theirjobs and ambitions.

Though the Legislature pushed Santa Barbara into die fold, many laumakers also shared a ^wing view of the University as the new age octopus."It appeared evident that the University would continue to obstruct regional desires for new colleges and,from the safety ofits constitu tional autonomy,force its will.

The State Board, however, did find a way to thwart the unification plan, if not regain Santa Barbara, through an initiative-based constitu tional amendment. Backed by the California Teachers Aissociation, the Board and Superinten dent co-authored Proposition 3 which, among a host ofother items,forbade the transfer ofany state college to the regents. In the Noveritber igAb gen eral election the jyroposition passed easily. The new constitutional amendment promptly ended the scheme ofSproul and the regents to systemati cally take over all ofthe state college campuses.'^^

TRIBUTE In early 1958. a committee of the origi nal state college Ph.D.s began planning a special evening. Dean Helen Sweet Keener (Ph.D., physiology. University of Chica-

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS go) served as chair of the February 21 ban quet along with Harry Girvetz (Ph.D.. philosophy, UC Berkeley), Russell Bucha nan (Ph.D., history. Stanford), Jack Snidecor (Ph.D., speech pathology, University of Iowa), and—fortunately—Elmer Noble (Ph.D., zoology. UC Berkeley), who at the time was acting provost. A special confidential advisor to the committee was my father’s second wife, Mildred Pyle Phelps, former dean of women and profes sor of sociology at the college, whom he had married in 1933.

The Santa Barbara NeivS'Press report ed on the evening: Clarence L. Phelps, who 40 years ago became president ofwhat was later to becenne a branch of the University ofCalifornia, was named Provost, Emeritus, ofthe Santa Barbara College at a testimonial banquet last night in his honor. Me held the post of provost fivm igqq, when the former

Transition anbodied, igqq:former Santa Barbara State Normal School of the Manual Arts and Home Economics President Ednah liich Morse is flank,ed by Santa Barbara State Collese President Clarence Phelps on the t left and by University of Califeornia President Robert Sproul.

Courtesy of University Archives, UC Santa Barbara.

39 state college became part of UC,until igdb.

The surprise announcanent tvas made by Dr. Elmer R, Noble, actirw^vost, who read a com munication from UCTPresident Ppbert Cjordon Sproul, xvhich said in part, "The Regents of the University of California, on my recommendation, ive this day made an e.’xception to the standing orders ofthe board, and have conferred upon you the title of Provost Emeritus, of Santa Barbara College, a title normally restricted to those who have served 10 years or more on the academic staff' ofthe university.’’

Spwul stated that the exception was made in recognition of Phelps’long service as president of Santa Barbara State Collese and because your two years as provost covered a period oftransition and calledfor more tact and patience than would ordinarily be used in 10 years." President Sprrxnd added his pasonal congratulations and good wishes. The conferral action xvas tahen yesterday at the Regents'meetmginLaJolla The heartfelt speeches of the evaiing from alumni,faculty anafriends all expressed praise of Phelps' ability to overcome every

40

that the progress—and even continuance—of the college zvas assured, and for his leadership, and his zvann and wiselfish character.

Jiecounted throughout the evening, too, were the many humorous but jneaningfiil incidents of the early but rugged years ofthe colleges develop' ment under the able guidance oftheformer Ken tuckian.

Representing the community zvas A4rs. Afux Schott, one ofSanta Barbaras honored citizoxs: "I could see that thefeeling ojgoodwill was growing in our tenon, as it continues to grow today. 1 be lieve that President Phelps, his faculty, and the many students helped by the college, all had a part in this. 1 salute you. President Phelps."

Dr. Harry Qirvetz, piofessor of philosophy. speaking on behalf of the faculty, commended Phelosfor his recognition ofthe important ideals of acaaemic freedom some twenty years ago which, he said, "zvas the greatest ofall his gifts.'

Hie fnal presentation was a beautifully bound collection ojletters ivritten by many ofthose attending last night and by others zvho could not be there. Dr. John C. Snidecor, dean of applied arts, presented the volume to him.

The yj-year-old Phelps received a standing ovation lasting several minutes. He was obinousfy deeply moved by the occasion and made his response brief. "Whatever is exposed here tonight in i tazns ofthe siiccess ofthe college is because ofyo. people 1 see here in this room. It wasn’t 1, it zvas you. IfI had my hat on I would take it ojfto all of you.’’

Fiist page oj the banquet ^gram:"A oibute to Clarence Lucien Phelps. An institution is the lengthened shadozv of one man, Ralph Waldo Emerson,SelfReliance."^^

After the program ended, a line formed as guests waited their opportunity to con gratulate Provost Emeritus Phelps as he stood to receive them. Among them were his colleague at State since 1924, who him self had accom plished so much and who spoke to me with feeling. Profes sor William Ellison; and the former State Superinten dent of Public In struction. Dr. Vierling Kersey, who in his customary blunt way told me that it was about time. 1 tried to thank my former professors, including

NOTICIAS Helen Sweet, who, full of emotion, told me that I would never experience an eve ning like this again. Helen was right.

Finally, after the room cleared, I went up to Dad and congratulated him, saying how moving and appropriate it was for him to be thus remembered so long after his retirement. Normally, Clarence Phelps was very calm, even in moments of great stress, but now as I talked to him, he seemed almost awe-struck. "My son," he said, "I have attended functions of a simi lar character all of my life, but (pause) 1 have never seen anything like this!" I told him what Helen Sweet had just said.

At the next meeting of the Rotary Club, he was heartily applauded and then fined for being a shameless publicity seeker!

In his 84th year. Clarence Phelps passed away on May 7. 1964. As his health began to fail, I came up for the day from UCLA during the week when I could. On one occasion we drove out to Pea Soup Anderson’s in Buellton. As we visited, he became increasingly seri ous and told me that he now was "skat ing on very thin ice," and that he want ed me to understand that "when it is time for me to meet my maker, Waldo, I shall do so with no feeling of any need for apology."

Much of his life had worked out in al most storybook fashion; he felt he had done his best and within himself felt satis fied and w'as profoundly grateful to many others. Some things simply had to be ac cepted; the loss of Margaret was with him always and he praised me for con stantly being devot ed to her memory.

He felt that Santa Barbara City Col lege would continue to grow and mature and that the Mesa location increasingly would be an asset. He also felt that the ar rival in 1962 of Chancellor Vernon Chea-

41

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS die, who on more than one occasion came to see him, would give UCSB the stability and leadership it needed.

Eventually, Clarence Phelps was in a rest home for only a few days; he very quietly, very serenely simply went to sleep. What he said to me about meeting his maker was of great comfort.

In a statement titled "No Greater Me morial" Chancellor Cheadle wrote as fol lows: It is with deep regret that we learned of the death ofourfiend Clarence Phelps zvho was the head of this institution and its predecessors for more than a quarter ofa century.

It is clear that without his foresight, and friendly determination, this branch ofthe Univer sity ofCalifornia would not be in existence today.

His leadership brought the college through a series ofstepsfrom an institution devoted to only a limit ed curricula of teacher training to a broad pro gram ofgeneral education and a growing empha sis on the liberal arts.

President Phelps was faced with extreme hazidicaps hampering the develop^nent of the for mer Santa Barbara State College, but it was his dedication to an educational ideal and the ability to convey these ideals to public officials which brought the institution to its high level ofachieve ment.

It can literally be said that he devoted his life to building thefoundationfor what we are today—a respected part ofa great university. After his re tirement in 1946 he continued to provide advice and counsel to the leadership ofthe Santa Barba ra campus and, until his recent illness, participat ed reegularly in our campus activities.

No man could ask for greater memorial— educating the youth ofour nation on the highest

level of intellectual endeavor. For this, all of its should be mostsrateful to the outstanding educa tional leader, Clarence Lucian Phelps.'^^

The Neivs-Press concluded its '’Many Monuments” editorial this way: 'Clarcnce Phelps is one of the 'Fathers’ and one of the 'architects' of the University of California at Santa Barbara, and inciden tally a fatherly 'uncle' of the City College.

He has many monuments to his dedicated work on the several campuses and in the hearts of former students and faculty members.

In the University of California In Memoriam volume for April 1966, colleagues Russell Buchanan, Hazel Severey. and El mer Noble concluded their tribute with the following: In his long and honorable career, Clarence Phelps provided effective leadership well adapted to meet the changing needs ofthe college and the state, while supporting the professional training ofteachers, he insisted that these teachers be liber ally educated. Throughout, he was sensitive to the needs and interests o/students,faculty, and com munity. The University ofCalifornia, Santa Bar bara, tak.es pride in his long period offriendly, ef fective leadership.^^

The plaque on Phelps Hall reads, "Dedicated to Clarence L. Phelps (18811964) Dynamic Pioneering Educational Leader and President, Santa Barbara State College and its antecedents, 1918-1944; First Provost of the University of Califor nia at Santa Barbara, 1944-1946."

Many monuments indeed.

42

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NOTES 1. Santa Barbara Ncivs-Press. 8 May 1964.

2. Russell Buchanan, Hazel Severy, and Elmer Noble. University ofCalifornia:InManoiium (April 1966):93.

3. U-S. Bureau of chc Census. Twelfth Census of Population 1900. State of Kentucky.

Russell County, Jamestown Precinct (Washington 1900).

4. Jon Bartel. "Anna S. C. Blake: How a Gen erous Bostonian Brought Educational Re form to Santa Barbara," Coastlines. JulyAugust 1982, 15.

5. IbicL 6. Margaret Ann Livengood was born in 1884 and grew up in Ravenna. Ohio, where she attended high school. Her father passed away from consumption just before she was born and her mother likewise when she was a girl. A guardian then raised her.

In 1903, she enrolled at Berea, where her older brother had preceded her. She and Clarence almost instantly became insepara ble. and it was agreed that when he went west, she would wait for him, and he, when graduated and found a job, would send for her. Margaret graduated from Ber ea in June 1906 with a Bachelor of Letters dcgrec and began teaching school in Ohio and working at Berea. She was a skilled seamstress, could knit and crochet beauti fully, and played the piano the same way.

She wrote poetry ancl stories for young children that involved animals and birds.

She knew her history and her poetry and her literature. Her favorite American au thor was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who, of course, went oy his middle name. She named me after him. My father gave me my middle name. Woodson, which had been the middle name of his father and of other Phelps forebearers before him. The Phelps ana Woodson families lived close CO one another on the lower James River in Virginia, circa 1650.

7. Rudy Abramson. "From the Beginning Berea Nurtured Those Most in Need.”

Smithsonian. December 1993. 92-103.

8. igo^ Bulletin, Office of the Registrar, Stan ford University. 65.

9. Clarence L, Phelps file. Office of the Regis trar. Stanford University.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12, Ibid.

13. Buchanan, 92.

14. Phelps file, i5. UCSB Directory ofAlumni and Alumnae

(White Plains, New York: Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, 1992), vi.

16. Associated Students of the Santa Barbara State Normal School, pub.. INormalLife (1921): 12.

17. William H. Ellison, "Antecedents of the University of California, Santa Barbara, 1891-1944"(unpub. manu., n.d ), 135-136.

Distinguished professor of history, Ph.D., University of California. Dr. Ellison joined the faculty in 1923 and served throughout the life of the college as chairman of the Social Science Department. He was also the first director of the Lincoln Library, prolific writer on California history, and mentor to young faculty Ph.D.s. His sen ior seminar prepared history majors at State for graduate study at UC. He was one of President Phelps’ most valued advis ors. Ellison Hall on the UCSB campus is named in his honor.

The official history of UCSB and its predecessors, as proclaimed in the publici ty given the recent fiftieth-year cc ebration, is Transformations, UC Santa Barba ra, igog-igja, written by the late UCSB Professor of History, Dr. Robert Kelley, and published in 1981. By beginning in 1909 with the establishment of the normal school, instead of in 1891, Dr. Kelley docs not acknowledge the crucial earlier contri butions of Anna Blake, founder of the Sloyd School in Santa Barbara, and then Ednah Rich, who was a teacher, then the principal of the Sloyd School before be coming the first president of the Santa Barbara Normal School.

In his book. Professor Kelley covers the Deriod 1909-1944 in a six-page preface.

Dr. Kelley attended Santa Barbara State briefly during World War II before enter ing the service, and graduated in 1948 from UC Santa Barbara College. In marked contrast to the six pages he devot ed to the earlier thirty-five- year period, he wrote ten chapters on the following thir ty-five-year period, 1944-1979(from the acquisition by UC to the early years of chc Robert Hutcenback Chancellorship). A more accurate title for his book would be Transformations, iggg-igyg. Appropriately dedicated to the late Chancellor Vernon Cheadlc, what Professor Kelley does dis cuss in those ten chapters is interesting, in formative. in part disturbing, as UCSB's on occasion troubled past is recounted—an excellent official history of the UC years.

CLARENCE LUCIEN PHELPS

For assistance in the preparation of this ar ticle. the yct'unpublishea manuscript writ ten by Professor Ellison is the relevant doc ument.

18, T^ormalUfe, 1921, 14.

19. Students of the Santa Barbara State Col lege, pub., La Cumbre(1925): 14.

20. EuzaDeth Bishop Williams, speech deliv ered on February 21, 1958.

21. Lewis B. Lesley, comp..San Dkgo State Collie, The First Fifty Years(San Dieg(O: San Diego State College, 1947), 18. Tne total cost of the school plant at this time amounted to $312,000.

22. Williams, February 21, 1958, 23. Ellison. 157.

24. Students of the Santa Barbara State Col lege, pub.. La Cumbre(1928): 19. The Board of Advisors consisted of Mr. Francis Price, Mrs. F. A. Conant, Mr. Alfred W. Robertson, Mr. William Porter, Dr. Harry L. Allen, and Mr. William Vv^lcs.

25. Associated Students of Santa Barbara State College, pub., La Cumbre(1932): 21.

26. Santa Barbara A’eivs-Press. 31 December 1934.

27. Morning Press(Santa Barbara), 16 Decem ber 1931.

28. Morning Press(Santa Barbara). 17 Decem ber 1931.

29. Morning Press(Santa Barbara), 21 Decem ber 1931.

30. Santa Barbara Daily News, 22 March 1932.

31. Morning Press(Santa Barbara). 18 Decem ber 1931.

32. Morning Press(Santa Barbara). 24 October 1931.

33. Morning Press(Santa Barbara), 16 May 1933.

34. Santa Barbara NewS'Press, 8 May 1964.

35. Ellison, 166.

36. Waldo Phelps, "Santa Barbara State Col lege: A Fond Remembrance,” Coastlines.

Winter 1994, 10-11.

37. Students of Santa Barbara State College, pub.. La Cumbre(1940): unpaged.

38. Ellison, 169, 39. Students of Santa Barbara State College, pub..La Cumbre(1944). The state universi ty system to which he referred is, of

43

course, what has become the University of California system.

40. Ellison, 170.

41. Santa Barbara News'Press. 8 May 1964.

42. A1 Hutchison, conversation with author, April 22. 1996. Hutchison is the Scout Ex ecutive for the Los Padres Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

43. Dorothy Depweg Phelps, Coastlines.

Spring 1994, 14. After giving birth to our two oaughters, Margaret and Marilyn Dorothy stayed home until they were in school, then went on to have a distin guished career as an elementary school teacher.

44. Harvey Bottlcson, telephone conversation with author, April 1995.

45. Peter MacDougall. letter to author. 10 April 1994.

46. SantaBarbaraNews-Press, 4 September 1969, 47. For a detailed discussion ot the issues surrounding the proposed takeover of all state colleges Dv the University of California, see John Aubrey Douglass,"On Becoming an Old Blue; Santa Barbara’s Controversial Transition from a State College to a Cam pus of the University of California,” Coastlines. Spring 1994, 6-7, 10-11, 37.

An article appeared in the September 19.

1994 issue of 03106, a publication discributcd to the faculty and staff of UCSB by its Public Affairs Office. Tlie article was part of an on-going scries, Legacies, produced to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of UC to Santa Barbara. The article did not properly recognize the academic credentials nor the accomplishments of Clarence Phelps and, after a year and a half of protests and requests chat the article be re-done, the university agreed to publish an article on my father written by me. This article appeared in 93106 on February 20, 1996.

48. Santa Barbara News-Press. 22 February 1958, 49, Vernon Chcadle. "No Greater Memorial,” UCSB Alumnus. Spring 1965, 1.

50. Santa Barbara News-Press. 8 May 1964.

51. Buchanan, 94.

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Pg. 21: Clarence Lucien Phelps