1 life , career
1.1 montana state college
1.2 oregon state college
1.3 death
life , career
strand born on february 12, 1894, in victoria, texas, august m. , christina (dohl) strand. father born in sweden 1855, , mother in sweden 1861. emigrated united states, first taking residence in missouri, first 3 children born: rose l. in 1885, ettie c. in 1888, , may f. in 1887. family moved victoria, texas, august born in 1894. brother victor d. born there in 1896. strands moved helena, montana, in 1901 last child, helen e., born in 1905. strand graduated helena high school in 1913.
strand enrolled @ known montana state college (now montana state university) , earned bachelor of science degree in entomology in 1917. 1917 1919, served in united states navy aviator rank of ensign. 1919 1923, served assistant state entomologist state of montana. left in 1924 become assistant extension entomologist @ pennsylvania state college (now pennsylvania state university) in state college, pennsylvania. (the cooperative extension system program of u.s. federal government administered land-grant universities , colleges educate farmers , ranchers modern agricultural practices.) enrolled in doctoral program @ university of minnesota in 1924, receiving master of science in entomology in 1925 , ph.d. in entomology (with concentration in agricultural biochemistry) in june 1928.
strand served teaching assistant @ university of minnesota 1924 1928. appointed assistant professor in 1928, , served until 1931.
montana state college
strand received appointment assistant professor of entomology @ montana state college in 1931. later promoted professor , head of department of entomology.
president alfred atkinson resigned in 1937 become president of university of arizona. strand, had discovered ways of controlling devastating locust invasions in montana, named new president. first graduate of college become president. on july 6, 1937, strand elected president of montana state college (msc) school s board of regents. dr. atkinson called him 1 of nation s top 3 entomologists @ time of election.
an upsurge in campus drinking occurred after end of prohibition, , in 1940 student union building (now strand union building) built provide students gathering spot on campus (it hoped) keep them away saloons downtown.
president strand resigned office in 1942 accept presidency of oregon state university. (he remained there 19 years, turning oregon state world-class research , teaching institution.) montana still not yet having emerged great depression, college struggled find new president. engineering professor william cobleigh took on acting president until 1942 1943 while replacement strand found. during cobleigh s year president, college enrollment plunged young men entered armed forces or left work in war industry plants on west coast. nonetheless, federal funding increased united states department of war sought rapid, significant increases in number of chemical, engineering, , physics graduates feed war effort.
oregon state college
strand elected president of oregon state college on august 6, 1942. term of service began on october 15.
strand inherited college adrift. president george w. peavy had retired in july 1940, , replaced dr. frank llewellyn ballard (vice president overseeing cooperative extension service). ballard fell ill , turned on duties administrative council. became clear illness going lengthy 1 followed extensive convalescence, ballard resigned in 1941. dr. francois a. gilfillan, dean of science, named interim president. gilfillan remained involved in research in synthetic rubber, , need rubber war drew attention more , more.
after nationwide search, state commissioners of higher education awarded presidency strand. strand autocratic leader asked little input administrators or student body, little appreciated advice, , reacted defensively when challenged. nonetheless, governance style fit of period in served president. enrollment @ osc fell half during first year in office young men enlisted or drafted armed forces. osc s key location near west coast , relative safety inland anticipated imperial japanese attack made ideal location military research , training, , united states army seized many campus buildings duration of national emergency.
once war ended, however, strand rapidly rebuilt oregon state. between 1945 , 1960, enrollment doubled. firm believer in scientific research, strand pushed faculty @ osc engage in research , faculty , university apply federal research grant funding. support effort, created science research institute receive funding, , added new research laboratories study transportation , water resources. of strand s focus on school of science, became largest school @ oregon state. school of science rapidly expanded curriculum , course offerings, , added departments of natural resources, oceanography, , statistics. effort largely successful, oregon state became 1 of active research universities in nation. strand won legislative approval expand school of education, school of pharmacy, , school of science; build new school of business , technology , new school of humanities , social sciences; , designate school university , rename oregon state university. created university s first undergraduate honors program, , constructed startling 25 new buildings on campus. among these $2.38 million valley library , $5 million engineering-physics building. constructed during tenure gill coliseum , parker stadium.
a major scandal rocked oregon state university in 1949. in february, strand summarily fired untenured professor of chemistry ralph spitzer , untenured professor of economics l. r. lavallee. neither given reason dismissal, strand believed both individuals communists , working soviet union undermine not oregon state united states. (in particular, strand outraged spitzer supported environmentally acquired genetic inheritance theories of soviet scientist trofim lysenko.) end of february, strand found himself target of several scathing attacks, although of public, faculty, , student body supported him. among critical of terminations sidney hook , linus pauling. strand s replies these critics (and responded great many of them) rude, condescending, , offensive. although spitzer affair quieted down after year or two, pauling refused invitations visit oregon state decades. shortly after incident ended, writer bernard malamud visited campus conduct research novel spitzer affair . used research 1961 novel new life.
death
a.l. strand died april 27, 1980, in nursing home in corvallis, oregon, after extended illness.
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