History of The University of Redlands - Redlands During and After World War II

Redlands During and After World War II

The 1940s brought many changes to the University of Redlands. They began with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As conscriptions and enlistments for the war depleted classes, courses were set up for the soldiers at Camp Haan and March Field. Physical education and military science courses at the college began to assume a much higher priority. An emergency control center was set up in California Hall, and drills were conducted in event Redlands was bombed.

Although the war-time economy was disastrous to faculty finances, the University itself was on a much surer footing. Rather than cut salaries or lay-off employees, the Trustees promised to borrow against capital to maintain "an efficient educational program" and "efficient faculty personnel." By February 12, 1942, in fact, for the first time in twenty years, the University was completely out of debt.

The July 1, 1943 arrival of a Navy V-12 unit, composed of 631 men for officer candidate training, along with a civilian enrollment of 473 women and 110 men, gradually lead to the easing of social restrictions at Redlands. Military men were not required to attend chapel, and on New Year's Eve the Marines clandestinely held the first impromptu dance ever at Redlands. Two months later, the Navy held the first formal dance on the commons, and the Trustees finally discarded the "no dancing" policy in 1945, after the Redlands V-12 unit had been disbanded.

President Anderson died unexpectedly in 1944. Rather than select an acting president, Redlands was run by a faculty administrative committee for a while. In June 1945, the Trustees elected George H. Armacost, then head of Education at William and Mary, the fifth president of the University. He served as president for 25 years, leading the university through times of tremendous change, and instituting it. As he later said in a 1990s interview, in order to establish himself "one of the first things I had to do was root out the old-line Baptists from the Board."

The passage of the GI Bill the year before further opened the doors at Redlands. By special action of Congress, housing units from Washington State University for 50 veteran's families were installed on campus. Of the 219 graduates of June 1949, 126 were veterans, and of these 70 were married, breaking Redlands' longstanding policy against student marriage.

The 50s saw other changes. Fraternity houses were established for the first time, and other improvements made to the university. KUOR, the university's radio station, began broadcasting in 1955. The first Ph.D. ever granted by the University was received in 1957, by Milton D. Hummex, in Philosophy.

Faced with increased competition for student recruiting due to the establishment of new state universities in Riverside and San Bernardino, Redlands partnered with other institutions to form the Independent Colleges of Southern California organization in 1952, to jointly publicize their programs and solicit support from local industry. In 1954, an Association of Independent California Accredited Colleges and Universities of both Northern and Southern California was formed to lobby the state legislature on issues affecting their campuses. New, ambitious fund raising goals were set in anticipation of Redlands' 50th anniversary in 1959.