Lewis Webster Jones Administration Records

Lewis Webster Jones was chosen as the fifteenth President of Rutgers University on September 7, 1951. Born in Nebraska in 1899, Jones graduated from Reed College and received his doctorate at the Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government in 1927. He went abroad to work on post-doctoral studies at several European Institutions. Upon completion of these studies, Lewis Webster Jones stayed on in Europe and held many positions as an economist before joining the original faculty of Bennington College in 1932. Jones' career at Bennington was quite successful and in 1941 he became President. In 1947 Lewis Webster Jones left Bennington to take the position of President of the University of Arkansas. During his time at Arkansas, Dr. Jones enjoyed many successes, even being asked to serve as a member of the President's Commission on Higher Education.

When Dr. Jones arrived at Rutgers in early September of 1951, the University was at a crossroads. For some time there had been discussion about making Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, but no action had taken place. The end of World War II and the GI Bill created a boom in college enrollment that the University was not equipped to handle. Across the state, heated debates over the question of funding, expansion, and the general future of Rutgers were taking place. When Jones arrived on the scene, he inherited all of these issues from his predecessor Robert Clothier, and one by one he began to find solutions. The seven years that he spent at the University can be considered the most important transitional period in the history of the University.

The first major issue that President Jones dealt with was the reorganizing of the Board of Trustees in 1956. The reorganization was meant to give the state a larger role in the running of the University. The new Board of Governors was to have 11 voting members; six appointed by the Governor and five from among the Trustees. The Board of Trustees would continue to exist in an advisory capacity, to manage certain funds of the University and to oversee educational standards. Lewis Webster Jones worked to establish Rutgers as the State University in order to reap the benefits of State funding.

Along with becoming the State University, Rutgers underwent many physical changes during Lewis Webster Jones' time as President. Rutgers was already experiencing a deficiency in resources due to the past years of depression and war. In order to meet the demands of a growing student enrollment, the University would have to expand. Lewis Webster Jones began a huge building program which resulted in the construction of the Alexander Library, Demarest Hall, and the three River Dormitories (Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh, and Campbell) on the College Avenue Campus. On the New Jersey School of Agriculture campus Lipman Hall was built, while the construction of new buildings for the study of horticulture and poultry began. The New Jersey College for Women, which had been renamed Douglass College, also began to plan for the building of two new dormitories and a health center, while Busch Campus became the home to the Waksman Institute of Microbiology.

During his time at Rutgers University, Dr. Jones also contributed to the specialization of the University. In 1952 the Nursing program was introduced in Newark and within four years it had grown into the College of Nursing. In 1954, two new divisions, the Graduate School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Library Science were created. The bequest to Rutgers by Mrs. Florence Eagleton funded the Institute of Politics. As a scholarly man, Jones understood Rutgers need for quality graduate programs. He worked to make them a reality for the University.

Lewis Webster Jones submitted his resignation on August 15, 1958. Dr. Jones was president during one of the most exciting and expansive times in the history of Rutgers University. Yet, he left Rutgers University after a successful term as its president in order to become the President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. By 1965, he had retired to Sarasota, Florida. He remained there until his death in September of 1975.

1899

Lewis Webster Jones is Born in Emerson, Nebraska

1927

Received PhD at Brookings School of Economics and Government.

1932

Joins Original Faculty of Bennington College in Vermont

1941

Named President of Bennington College

1947

Resigns as President of Bennington and Assumes Presidency of the University of Arkansas

September 1951

Selected as the Fifteenth President of Rutgers

1952

Nursing Program is Created on the Newark Campus

1954

Two new graduate divisions of Rutgers are begun; The Graduate School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Library Service

1955

The New Jersey College for Women is renamed Douglass College after its first Dean, Mabel Smith Douglass

1956

The Board of Governors is created; The College of Nursing officially opens

1958

Lewis Webster Jones Resigns his Position as President of Rutgers University and Accepts the Presidency of the National Conference of Christians and Jews

1965

Dr. Jones Retires to Sarasota, Florida

September 10, 1975

Lewis Webster Jones Dies