Herman B Wells - Academic Career

Academic Career

In 1930, Wells joined the faculty in economics at Indiana University in Bloomington. This led to a 1933 offer of an assistant professorship in economics at the university, which he accepted but from which he took a leave. In 1935, Wells became Dean of the School of Business Administration which later became the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

In 1937, two years later, Wells was offered the position of acting president of the university after the retirement of William Lowe Bryan from the post. Ironically, Wells accepted the posting on one condition: that he never be considered for the permanent presidency of the university. He became interim president on July 1. With this posting, he became the youngest state university president in the nation. One year later, Wells agreed to become the university's 11th president, assuming the title on March 22, 1938. He held this post until 1962.

Following World War II, Wells oversaw the largest increase in the student population in the history of the university, nearly tripling the student body from 11,000 students statewide in 1938 to 31,000 in 1962. Wells's tenure as president saw him regularly involved in student activities, with an active interest in their lives. His frequent walks around campus often found him engaged in lively conversations with students. Wells oversaw the desegregation of the university. Alfred Kinsey, a professor at Indiana University during Wells's tenure, came under heavy scrutiny and criticism for his studies in human sexuality. As a strong advocate of intellectual freedom, Wells supported Kinsey in a controversy that advanced academic freedom.

Wells was pivotal in expanding the horizons of the university to a more worldwide base, including the attraction of significant academicians from countries overrun by Nazi Germany such as Nobel Prize winning geneticist Hermann J. Muller. Wells travelled in excess of 33,000 miles (53,000 km) to attract bright, young, as well as established faculty to the university.

Numerous buildings were constructed on campus during Wells's term as president to accommodate the vast increase in size of the university. More than 1700 acres (6.9 km²) of property were added to the Bloomington campus, greatly expanding the physical size of the university to be much of what it is today. Despite rapid expansion and increasing demands for space and physical plant requirements, Wells remained a staunch proponent of the environment. He strongly advocated the retaining of tree and green space throughout the campus. He once said, "To cut a tree unnecessarily has long been an act of treason against our heritage and the loyalty, love, and effort of our predecessors who have preserved it for us." As a direct result of these efforts, the Indiana University campus is often considered one of the top five most beautiful campuses in the nation.

During his tenure as president of the university, Wells personally read and signed every diploma issued by the university, a total of 62,621 diplomas, frequently adding personal notes.

Wells retired as president of the university in 1962, accepting a lifetime appointment as chancellor of the university. This post was created for him by the university's board of trustees. He never accepted a salary for this position. He held this post until his death in 2000. In 1962, Wells purchased a home very close to the campus which he promptly gave to the university with the condition that he be allowed to live out his life in the home.

Wells died late on the evening of March 18, 2000. His funeral was held four days later, on March 22. This was the 62nd anniversary of his ascension to the presidency of the university. In June 2005 Indiana University renamed its Main Library the Herman B Wells Library; the university had to wait five years after Wells' death in order to name the library in his honor due to a policy Wells himself put in place requiring sufficient time to pass before the naming of a building to determine the name would endure.