Ray O. Wyland - Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

Wyland became affiliated with the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America on August 1, 1922 and was connected with the National Council throughout the intervening years. He started as National Director of Relationships for what was first called the "Bureau of Church Relations" then later the "Relationships Division". He would also become acting Director of Education in 1925, then Director of Education in 1930. He would hold these positions until 1952.

As Director of Relationships, Wyland coordinated the work of Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Latter-day Saint, and other religious groups in their Scouting participation, also educational institutions, civic groups, service clubs, fraternal bodies and parent institutions which sponsored Scout Troops and Cub Packs.

As Director of Education, he edited Principles of Scoutmastership (first training material for Scoutmasters in the early 1930s) and other publications.

His doctoral dissertation was Scouting in the Schools: A Study of the Relationships Between the Schools and the Boy Scouts of America. His dissertation advisor was Dr. Elbert K. Fretwell, who would become the BSA's second Chief Scout Executive. It was first published in book form in 1934 by Teacher College Press, part of Columbia University.