Rutgers College Department of English, 1940-1968 Records

Rutgers was one of the first American universities to establish English as a discipline of study. While courses in English initially focused on rhetoric, as the nineteenth century progressed, the study of literature was integrated into the curriculum as well. By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, students could earn a bachelor's degree in English.

After World War I, Rutgers modified its standards to attract more students. The English Department made changes as part of the effort. It offered new practical courses such as composition, as well as new electives. In 1928, the department established its own graduate courses and by 1933 the faculty had created a Master's degree program. Part of the transformation can be attributed to Charles Huntington Whitman, the department chair, who decided to change the curriculum to match the change in the school. Antiquated theoretical courses like "rhetoric" were replaced with the much more practical "composition," during his tenure, which would eventually become a requirement even for students with majors other than English. Class offerings expanded to include American literature and literary criticism.

In the wake of Whitman's sudden death in 1938, J. Milton French, a John Milton scholar from Queens College in New York was hired as Chair. Concern for literary giants such as Milton continued, as evidenced throughout this collection, when hiring was discussed.

After World War II, enrollment at Rutgers suffered a large drop, but the G.I. Bill helped change that significantly in 1944. New campuses were created and teachers were hired. French helped refine the curriculum, adding new courses, as well as the Freshman Writing requirement for all students to improve incoming students' writing skills and more literature courses for non-majors. The school began to require faculty to produce research excellence instead of just teaching excellence in order to be promoted. Finally, in 1947, the PhD in English program was offered for the first time.

In response to increasing enrollment from the G.I. Bill, French hired more full-time teachers, increasing the number of faculty from ten in 1945 to thirty-five in 1947. In 1955, Rutgers saw another increase in enrollment and a need for more faculty. French worked hard to hire dedicated and knowledgeable faculty, although budget restraints meant he could not always offer a competitive salary. French was insistent that faculty members research and publish in order to obtain tenure. Until 1960, while he was Chair, French and faculty published 40 books, more than 300 articles, and 200 other works.

As the postwar enrollment numbers again began to decline, and the faculty was reduced to keep pace with the trends of the time. Challenges for J. Milton French, his faculty, and his staff continued throughout the time period covered by this collection. Rudolf Kirk followed J. Milton French as Chair of the department. During Kirk's tenure, Rutgers College saw a change in applicants, including more women applying for graduate programs. Budget concerns, meant the department could not afford to pay prospective faculty as much as requested. However, some applicants were willing to take less money because academic positions were not as widely available.

From the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s, Harry G. Owen, of the English Department, served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. His correspondence with administration and faculty were primarily between J. Milton French and Rudolf Kirk. French, who was Chairman for the English Department for twenty years, was also Chair of the Council Committee on Educational Polices for ten years. Rudolf Kirk taught for 35 years and was Chairman for the English department for the last 3 years of his career. Albert E. Meder, Jr. whose papers are also included served as acting Dean of Administration from 1945 through 1968.

Note: For a comprehensive history of the English Department at Rutgers from its founding to the late 1950s, see "A History of Rutgers English" on the English department Web site. Materials from Special Collections and University were consulted in the writing of this six part series which was prepared for the Friends of Rutgers English Newsletter.