Charles E. Hess

Dr. Mason Gross, 16th president of Rutgers University (1959-71), provided the intellectual environment for the formation of Cook College. Drawing upon his experience in Cambridge, England, Dr. Gross promoted the concept of a cluster of small, self-contained colleges each with a specific theme related to important societal issues. Livingston College was the first addition to the New Brunswick campus based upon this model. It was dedicated to teaching and scholarship focused on urban and social issues and multi-raciality. Livingston College joined the existing Douglass College, formerly the New Jersey College for Women (NJC), and Rutgers College, the original men’s college in New Brunswick devoted to a broad liberal education. Rutgers College became co-educational in 1972. Dr. Gross envisioned the establishment of other colleges near Livingston College that was being built on the land formerly used for a World War II military base, Camp Kilmer.

In 1967, Leland Merrill, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES), formed a committee chaired by Associate Dean Richard Merritt to develop a proposal for a second college on the Camp Kilmer site. Building on the recommendations of the Merritt committee, a committee chaired by Dean Merrill to develop “Kilmer II” was established in 1968. The basic concept was to develop a college that incorporated the “Land Grant Philosophy” and did research, teaching, and outreach on environmental issues that were abundant in the nation’s most densely populated state. During this period of planning for a new college, President Gross requested that CAES elect a planning committee. Elected faculty included Paul Griminger, Bruce Hamilton, George Luke, Bea May, and Mark Singley. Dean Merrill asked Bruce Hamilton to convene the committee. The committee learned that in addition to the Kilmer property, the University Planner, Ed Wilkins, had plans for development on the CAES site. Douglass College would take over the CAES facilities and two new colleges were planned on the College Farm, neither of which had agricultural or environmental themes. Rather than developing a totally new college on the Kilmer site, the Hamilton committee recommended a coeducational residential college that incorporated the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES). Their report entitled “A Proposal for the Development of a General Purpose College on the CAES Site was issued in May, 1970. The Committee also suggested that the new college be named Cook College in honor of George H. Cook (1818-1889), who was a prime mover in the establishment of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and served as its first director. Cook also played a key role in the designation of Rutgers University as a Land Grant College in 1864. The Cook College would have as its major theme, and the focus of its teaching, research and outreach, “Man and His Environment”. New Jersey, known as the “Garden State”, was also the most urban state in the nation. The state provided the ideal laboratory for research at the urban/rural interface.

Contributions from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science

The College of Agriculture and Environmental Science had a distinguished record of teaching, research, and extension in the agricultural and environmental sciences. In addition to teaching, most faculty members also had appointments in the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (AES). The AES had a separate line item in the State’s budget to fund research in the agricultural and environmental sciences. The State funds were partially matched by Federal Funds from the US Department of Agriculture under the Hatch Act passed by Congress in 1887.

The third component of the tripartite organization of CAES was Cooperative Extension. Extension served as the mechanism by which research results were delivered to the clientele in each county of the state. Equally important, extension served as a feed-back mechanism to alert the extension specialists and research faculty about new problems that might benefit from research. The Extension Service also received federal funds, authorized by the Smith Lever Act of 1914, allocated to each Land Grant college on a formula based upon the value of agriculture and the size of the rural population. In addition to serving as an information delivery and feedback system, extension helped bring the “real world” into the classroom. Each county had an Extension office with a staff to address the agricultural and environmental problems (using information from CAES as well as other universities) and to communicate with extension specialists and research faculty. Another component that made the College unique was the Board of Managers that provided management advice to the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. There was a board member from each of the State’s twenty-one counties.

The extensive outreach system of CAES was critical in the implementation phase of Cook College. When Charles Hess was acting Dean of CAES, he participated in a program to hold a meeting in each county at least once a year. The County Extension Agents, often in cooperation with the Board of Manager member, set up the meeting. Clientele from the county were invited, as were state legislators. The program consisted of a presentation by the dean outlining research being conducted by the faculty and informing them about what the college was doing for the people in the county. Often John Gerwig, Director of Extension, would participate in the program, and staff in resident instruction would present information about students, teaching programs, and scholarships. It provided a very important mechanism by which the college’s clientele could be kept informed, and enabled the college to receive advice and reactions to the concept of changing the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences to Cook College. It was recognized that a change of this nature could be a threat and source of concern to the people who were part of the original system or were clients of that system. However, the very effective communications system, plus a trust in the administration of CAES, made the transition from CAES to Cook College relatively free of conflict. As will be described later, this communication mechanism proved invaluable as the new Cook College faced some major challenges.

In summary, CAES provided a strong base of research and teaching in the agricultural, biological, and environmental sciences, and a mechanism to deliver information and receive feed-back from its clientele. CAES had a deep interest in students as evidenced by the quality of the teaching and advising. It provided a sound liberal education along with skills that were relevant to societal needs that gave students a competitive advantage when seeking employment. The ability to find jobs was also enhanced by extensive use of and cooperative education programs.

The Cook Advantage

The proposed transition to Cook College strengthened the existing teaching, research, and extension programs of CAES. From a student perspective, new majors could be established that were academically excellent, innovative and socially relevant. In the junior and senior years, the curricula would be problem-oriented and interdisciplinary. By becoming a residential college, students would no longer have to commute from the dorms along the Raritan River or other locations in New Brunswick. With students living on campus, the college could develop a student life program so that all aspects of a student’s educational experience could be coordinated and supported by the college. A very special contribution of the development of Cook College was the opportunity to hire new faculty in the social sciences and humanities to provide greater interaction among the sciences, technology, and social and humanistic concerns in teaching and research. In dealing with the challenges of having an economically viable agriculture and a sustainable environment in one of the nation’s most densely populated states, a multidisciplinary approach involving, biological, physical, environmental and social sciences was required. Having faculty in the social sciences as members of Cook College ensured that their teaching, research, and outreach were relevant to the mission of the College.

The broadened curriculum and integrated student life programs made Cook College more attractive to students. CAES, as most colleges of agriculture in the United States, had experienced a decline in enrollment in the 1960s. Enrollment in CAES was 354 students in 1960. By 1970, the enrollment had increased to 904 students, but after the establishment of Cook College, enrollment grew dramatically, reaching 2,248 students in 1975. Student interest in Cook College remains strong today with 3136 students enrolled in 2002.

Implementation

In October 1970, a committee chaired by University Vice President Henry Winkler approved the concept of “simultaneous planning”, including the expansion of Livingston College, Kilmer II, and Cook College.

In March 1971 a Cook College Implementation Committee was established. The committee was chaired by Charles Hess, Associate Dean and Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. One of the first activities was to develop a partnership with Douglas College to provide academic programs that were not available in CAES. Dr. Richard Merritt played a lead role in the negotiations with Margery Somers Foster, Dean of Douglass College, and her staff. In April 1971 a partnership with Douglass College was approved. The Senate recommended approval of Cook College on May 13, 1971. An attempt was made by Hess to have the Board of Governors approve Cook College before Dr. Mason Gross left office and a new President was appointed. Sufficient copies of the proposal were prepared to provide each member of the Board with a copy and Hess brought them to President’s office. Unfortunately, the Board of Governors’ secretary, Dr. Karl Metzger, decided that the size of the proposal was too large to mail to the Board and distributed them only at the meeting. The Governors declined to act on the proposal because they did not have a chance to read it and there were no other Board meetings before the new President, Dr. Edward Bloustein, was scheduled to arrive at Rutgers.

By this time Dr. Leland Merrill retired as Dean of CAES after ten years of service. Dr. Merrill felt that it took five years to learn how to do the job and another five to accomplish what you had set out to do and at the end of ten years, it was time for a change. Dr. Charles Hess was appointed acting Dean of CAES on July 1, 1971. Acting Dean Hess decided that it was critical to visit with Dr. Bloustein prior to his arrival at the University at which time he would be inundated with activities of a new presidency. There was concern that the momentum for establishing Cook College would be lost if there were a delay in getting it onto the president’s agenda. In addition there were some skeptics who questioned the ability of the “aggies” to plan and establish a general purpose college. To preempt influence by naysayers, it was important to see the new president before he came to New Brunswick. Charles Hess called Dr. Bloustein and made arrangement for Hess, Richard Merritt, and John Gerwig to meet with him at Bennington College, in Bennington, Vermont where Dr. Bloustein served as President. The Rutgers group arrived in the afternoon and were greeted by Dr. Bloustein who was informally dressed in a sports shirt, wash pants, and sneakers. The group spent about two hours going over the Cook College proposal, why it was proposed, and gave the advantages that were envisioned for students, the University and the State. Dr. Bloustein seemed to be very interested and supportive of this new venture and promised that he would pursue the proposal when he arrived at Rutgers.

Cook College was approved by the Provost’s cabinet and the President’s cabinet on November 8, 1971 and was approved by the Board of Governors on November 19, 1971. Concurrently a request was made to include $5 million in a Higher Education Bond Issue for a Library and Dormitories. Dr. Bloustein followed through on his promise to pursue the Cook College Proposal.

Search for a Dean

A committee chaired by Acting CAES Dean Hess initiated a search for the first dean of Cook College. The search brought some interesting candidates to the campus, including Dr. Barry Commoner, a plant physiologist, environmentalist, and author of the book “The Closing Circle – Nature, Man & Technology”. However, the committee decided that none of the candidates had a record with the proper mix of research and teaching in the biological, environmental or social sciences and demonstrated leadership in administrating a land grant college. Therefore, a second search was conducted under the leadership of Professor Ben Stout and Acting Dean Hess was encouraged to be a candidate. The search committee recommended that Hess be named the first dean of Cook College. The appointment was approved by the University administration effective July 1, 1972.

The Beginning

The first class of Cook Students matriculated in the fall of 1973. Cook College quickly became a very popular choice for students who wanted to come to Rutgers University. In some years it had the highest number of qualified applicants per opening of any college in New Brunswick. Students actively participated in the governance of Cook College. A Cook College Community Council was established with representatives from the student body, faculty, and administration which addressed many areas of student life and services. The Council was chaired by a student. A Cook College Parents Association was also established to provide a mechanism for the College to communicate directly with the parents and to respond to their questions and concerns. A CAES newspaper called “Green Print” had begun publication in the fall of 1970 and was expanded with the creation of Cook College. Assistant Deans Tom Concannon and Lee Schneider, and Assistant Director Roger Locandro all did a superb job of organizing and managing student life and services in the early years of Cook College. By 1973, new Departments in Human Ecology and Social Science and the Humanities and Communication were added to the college and excellent faculty were recruited.

The administrative team during the early years of Cook College worked very well together. Associate Dean for Operations Dick Merritt was highly organized and had good rapport with the department chairs and faculty. He provided the leadership under which the academic programs of Cook College were developed. Dr. Merritt became Dean of Instrucction in 1974 and had responsibility for academic and student life and the short course program. Associate Dean Andrew P. Vayda played a key role in the development of the humanities and social sciences in the new college. John Gerwig, Director of Cooperative Extension, was an outstanding administrator who had responsibility for extension specialists on campus and all of the county agents in the state. He ensured that research information got out to the users and that problems were quickly addressed. Chet Teller as director of the Communications Center did a very good job of publishing extension stories that served the clientele in the state and kept them informed about activities at Cook.

The programs in agriculture and the environmental sciences, now under Cook College, continued to make major contributions to the citizens of New Jersey. New varieties of fruits, vegetable and ornamentals were developed. Faculty in the Department of Environmental Resources introduced the concept of the transfer of development rights as a mechanism of maintaining open space. The agricultural engineers developed new greenhouse designs. Food Science flourished and had excellent relations with New Jersey’s large food processing industry. A new office and laboratory facility was constructed at the South Jersey Research and Development Center in recognition of the expanding vegetable, fruit and nursery industries in that area. Cooperative extension took the lead in developing an excellent publication on vegetable production that served not only New Jersey but also the Eastern Shore of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Norm Smith, County Agent for Cumberland County introduced the use of plastic film in agricultural production to control weeds, save water, and speed plant development. He became a national leader in plasticulture.

But there were also major challenges during the early years of Cook College. One was created when the State experienced a shortage of funds and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station “line item” budget became a target. The fact that CAES, and then Cook College, had a line item in the State’s budget that was separate from the rest of the Rutgers University budget, was always a bone of contention with the University Administration and with the New Jersey Department of Higher Education. There was a proposal that the Experiment Station budget be cut out and also that funds for the Extension Service be reduced. This was a time when all the effort in building a support base in each county in the state paid off. The county agents did an excellent job of alerting clientele about the proposed cuts. Dean Hess and John Gerwig had breakfast with the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Walter Foran, and presented the arguments as to why the proposed cuts were not in the interest of the state of New Jersey. The parents of participants in the 4-H youth development program were particularly effective in reaching their legislators, as were the farm community and Farm Bureau. At one point Senator Foran even called and asked Dean Hess to “call off the troops” because the legislature had never received so many letters of protest on any other issue. The Experiment Station “line item” budget remained intact and the cuts were much less than proposed.

The second challenge came from within the University. Although President Bloustein had played a crucial and very supportive role in getting Cook College approved by the University and the Board of Governors, he became interested in appropriating some of the resources of the College. The Experiment Station “line item” budget was one example, but another resource also attracted his attention: the Communications Center. A major responsibility of the Extension Service was to publish bulletins and newsletters that provided the latest information, for example, on new crop varieties, new ways of controlling insects and disease, effective use of fertilizers without polluting ground water or streams, and various approaches to maintain open space. The Communications Center also provided information about the College, including the faculty and students, and important research accomplishments. The Center did an excellent job of preparing high quality publications. It was widely acknowledged that the Cook Communications Center was larger and better run that the University’s publication office. President Bloustein also noticed this excellent resource and proposed that the University take it over and combine it with the University publications office. It was suggested that the resources would complement one another and that the merged center could be run more efficiently. It was the Cook College view that the Communications Center was very well run as it was, and that there seemed to be no added value from a merger. In addition, there was concern that in a merged operation the extension publications would no longer have a high priority. This was a critical issue; because of the seasonal nature of agriculture and environmental issues, the publications had to be available at the time the information was being put to use. The College suggested, as an alternative, that the Communication Center would assist with University publications, but there was no interest on the part of the University in exploring that approach. Since it had not been possible to convince the President with the academic rationale as to why the Communication Center was central to the mission of Cook College, it was decided that a legal approach might have more impact. This time the College turned to the Board of Managers and asked their help in hiring one of the top attorneys in the state, Mr. Robert Wilentz. The Board enthusiastically joined the battle and Mr. Wilentz prepared a brief that stated that the University could not take over the Communications Center because the Center was established and operated using Federal funds provided by the US Department of Agriculture. The issue ended in a standoff, at least temporarily, but the whole battle had a very negative impact upon morale of the Communications Center staff.

About this time Dean Hess received an invitation to become Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California - Davis. Dean Hess left Cook College in July 1975 and Professor Grant Walton was appointed Dean.

Acknowledgements

John Gerwig, Roger Locandro, Bruce Hamilton, Leland Merrill, and Richard Merritt reviewed the manuscript. I deeply appreciate their verification, addition, and/or correction of the original draft. I particularly enjoyed the communications with Bruce Hamilton who provided a very colorful review of the establishment and activities of the Hamilton Committee. It is truly wonderful that so many of the individuals who played a key role in the development and implementation of the Cook College vision are here to participate in the 30th Anniversary Celebration.

October 2003